Your best 22.

[BenDoolan]

I can't believe you put Ryder, Stanton, Welsh & Watson on the bench!

[BenDoolan]

Haha...no particular order Ben

Did I miss anyone?

Perhaps Winderlich, Nash, Slattery would be in our best 22.

Hislop & Hocking haven't really stamped their ability yet, but neither has Gumby.

What about Laycock??????? You can't have Hille burning himself out every week in reality.

[Crazyman]

That is pretty damning if even Melbourne aren't interested...

[Sismis]

I'm basing this on current ability. Which by my definition is a function of a player's talent, application, etc. Talent alone means jack and shit as Cupido and others have demonstrated. This would be my order of merit. Elite = topline AFL consistancy, would get a game in most teams 22. Elite cusp are players who are consistant and improving. Elite potential are players who have demonstrated on occasion the ability required but lack consistance or application. Workman, essential players who get the job done week in week out, 200 gamers. Novice is too early to tell.

1. McVeigh, Our best player, in his prime, Skill, toughness and leadership. Elite
2. Hille, only very slightly behind. Elite
3. Ryder, does the hardest hob in the team every week. Elite
4. Fletch, The backbone of our defence, impacts every game he plays. Elite
5. Lloyd, The centerpeice of our offence, Learned leadership on the job and now has it in spades. Elite
6. Lucas, Heart, skills and goals, so important to our structure. Elite
7. Davey, freakish ability with matching determination . Elite
8. Welsh, came of age in the midfield, elite cusp
9. Stanton, leather poisoning, elite cusp
10. Watson, one of the best ruckrovers in the game. has worked very hard to getn himself to this level, elite cusp
11. Lovett, creates goals from nothing. Amazing speed and ability, downgraded due to application issues, elite potential
12. Slattery, essential defender. Workman
13. NLM, as above.
14. Nash, as above
15. McPhee, best mark in the team, link-man. elite potential
16. Lonergan, tough and skilled gaining consistancy. Workman
17. Monfries, tough, kicks goals, marked down for lack of consistancy, elite potential
18. Neagle, Kicks goals gaining experience, Novice
19. Laycock, beautiful one touch mark and kick, downgraded for lack of consistancy, ????
20. Reimers, good skills, feirce competitor, gaining experience, Novice
21. Houli, should be higher, need to see more of him, elite potential
22. Winderlich, big heart muscle, other muscles struggling to keep up, ????

[andrewb]

Sismis (as usual) is pretty spot on. Just swapped a few around

1 (5.) Lloyd - Mid to late season form was some of the best of his career.
2 (6.) Lucas - Don't forget how good this bloke is. Hoping that the loss of pace after the knee isn't permanent.
3 (1.) McVeigh - A full season like last years and he'll win the brownlow
4 (2.) Hille - 3rd best ruckman in the comp but possibly the one that has the most affect on games
5 (4.) Fletch - Last hurrah, what an effort over 15 odd seasons of footy
6 (9.) Stanton - Best disposal in the team when on and a ball magnet. 3rd in B&F. Watch for even more improvement from Stants next year
7 (x) Prismall - Would have played in this years grand final if not injured and in my opinion would have changed the result. Gun.
8 (3.) Ryder - Needs to change the outcome of games a bit more before I'll consider him elite but definitely the most promise of our kids
9 (7.) Davey - Keep this kid on the park and we'll make the finals. Pure and simple.
10 (10.) Watson - Makes everyone around him better
11 (8.) Welsh - Needs to play 10-15 games at his best rather than 5 but improving every year and a real leader.
12 (15.) McPhee - Don't underrate this bloke. Tries his guts out and creates a lot of goals with his effort. Not far off RO'K in terms of quality but makes some silly mistakes.
13 (17.) Monfries - Found his niche as a defensive forward. Takes his opponent out of the game and is a fantastic spot up player up the wings with his overhead marking and disposal. Also knows where the goals are.
14 (11.) Lovett - Match winner
15 (22.) Winderlich - on 2006 season form rather than 2007 this guy is a ripper.
16 (12.) Slattery - Hard man of rock&roll
17 (16.) Lonergan, tough and skilled gaining consistancy. Workman
18 (13.) NLM - Needs to narrow the gap between best and worst.
19 (21.) Houli, should be higher, need to see more of him, elite potential
20 (20.) Reimers, good skills, feirce competitor, gaining experience, Novice
21 (x.) Gumbleton - if he can stay on the park he's going to be SUPER.
22 (x.) Myers - All class. Can play a variety of roles and has super quick hands and great skills. Good kid, too.

Left out from others' lists:
Laycock - Not good enough last season but I expect big improvements next year in both commitment and fitness. Has all the skills, just needs to decide to be a footballer.
Neagle - Gumby has him covered at the moment. Needs to build his fitness base. Could be a game changing forward in the Hamill mode if he can stay on the park.
Nash - Great disposal but needs to work on stopping the opposition. Myers a better option for the HBF at the moment.
Dempsey - Played one great game in three years. Undoubtably has the talent but just can't stay fit. Myers and Nash ahead of him at the moment.

[tom9779]

Myers above Nash? How do you come to that conclusion?

C'mon Mcphee is miles from being as good as O'Keefe.(aside from my apparent obvious mcphee as a scapegoat mentality..)

and c'mon Gumbleton is a top draft pick, thats all he has going for him..can't possibly be in our best 22, has hardly played any senior games...its like calling courtney johns 2 ago.

Prismall, lets see him play some games in the red and black before passing judgement...I think he needs to work his way into the best 22...if fit,I'd want lonergan and reimers ahead of him..I want to see him be a good player in an average team, as opposed to a good player in a great team.

otherwise agree with the assessments.

Sismis (as usual) is pretty spot on. Just swapped a few around

1 (5.) Lloyd - Mid to late season form was some of the best of his career.
2 (6.) Lucas - Don't forget how good this bloke is. Hoping that the loss of pace after the knee isn't permanent.
3 (1.) McVeigh - A full season like last years and he'll win the brownlow
4 (2.) Hille - 3rd best ruckman in the comp but possibly the one that has the most affect on games
5 (4.) Fletch - Last hurrah, what an effort over 15 odd seasons of footy
6 (9.) Stanton - Best disposal in the team when on and a ball magnet. 3rd in B&F. Watch for even more improvement from Stants next year
7 (x) Prismall - Would have played in this years grand final if not injured and in my opinion would have changed the result. Gun.
8 (3.) Ryder - Needs to change the outcome of games a bit more before I'll consider him elite but definitely the most promise of our kids
9 (7.) Davey - Keep this kid on the park and we'll make the finals. Pure and simple.
10 (10.) Watson - Makes everyone around him better
11 (8.) Welsh - Needs to play 10-15 games at his best rather than 5 but improving every year and a real leader.
12 (15.) McPhee - Don't underrate this bloke. Tries his guts out and creates a lot of goals with his effort. Not far off RO'K in terms of quality but makes some silly mistakes.
13 (17.) Monfries - Found his niche as a defensive forward. Takes his opponent out of the game and is a fantastic spot up player up the wings with his overhead marking and disposal. Also knows where the goals are.
14 (11.) Lovett - Match winner
15 (22.) Winderlich - on 2006 season form rather than 2007 this guy is a ripper.
16 (12.) Slattery - Hard man of rock&roll
17 (16.) Lonergan, tough and skilled gaining consistancy. Workman
18 (13.) NLM - Needs to narrow the gap between best and worst.
19 (21.) Houli, should be higher, need to see more of him, elite potential
20 (20.) Reimers, good skills, feirce competitor, gaining experience, Novice
21 (x.) Gumbleton - if he can stay on the park he's going to be SUPER.
22 (x.) Myers - All class. Can play a variety of roles and has super quick hands and great skills. Good kid, too.

Left out from others' lists:
Laycock - Not good enough last season but I expect big improvements next year in both commitment and fitness. Has all the skills, just needs to decide to be a footballer.
Neagle - Gumby has him covered at the moment. Needs to build his fitness base. Could be a game changing forward in the Hamill mode if he can stay on the park.
Nash - Great disposal but needs to work on stopping the opposition. Myers a better option for the HBF at the moment.
Dempsey - Played one great game in three years. Undoubtably has the talent but just can't stay fit. Myers and Nash ahead of him at the moment.

[andrewb]

Fair points Tom but only my opinion...

Myers above Nash? How do you come to that conclusion?

I would name Myers ahead of Nash at the moment for Rd. 1 next year. I think that he is a more flexible player and has more upside.

C'mon Mcphee is miles from being as good as O'Keefe.(aside from my apparent obvious mcphee as a scapegoat mentality..)

McPhee isn't really that far off O'Keefe. Here's a statistical comparison... it's actually quite favourable to McPhee: http://www.footywire.com/afl/footy/ft_p ... 7&pid2=377. The main difference between the two is that McPhee will make one or two glaring mistakes every game. Will drop a sitter or absolutely butcher a kick / make a bad decision / give away a clumsy free kick. O'Keefe doesn't make those mistakes nearly as often. However, when you consider that McPhee averages more goal assists from less I50s, the clangers could be a result of him trying to be too creative.

and c'mon Gumbleton is a top draft pick, thats all he has going for him..can't possibly be in our best 22, has hardly played any senior games...its like calling courtney johns 2 ago.

Again, on talent alone if he wasn't injured I'd name him.

Prismall, lets see him play some games in the red and black before passing judgement...I think he needs to work his way into the best 22...if fit,I'd want lonergan and reimers ahead of him..I want to see him be a good player in an average team, as opposed to a good player in a great team.

Agree, but as I've said a few times, we don't currently have a lot of guys that would crack the Geelong 22. Prismall does.

[Sismis]

I went with a "runs on board" theory.

Gumby, Myers, Dempsey, etc I have not seen enough of.

Prismal, not enough info on 2 factors, 1, Knee injury recovery. 2. How will he go in a midfeild without the big three. See Des Hedland.

The top six there really isn't much separating them.

[swoodley]

I went with a "runs on board" theory.

Gumby, Myers, Dempsey, etc I have not seen enough of.

Prismal, not enough info on 2 factors, 1, Knee injury recovery. 2. How will he go in a midfeild without the big three. See Des Hedland.

The top six there really isn't much separating them.

Interesting then Sis that you rate Houli as Elite Potential and yet Reimers as a novice. I would have thought that he has shown almost as much as Houli so far and probably loves the contest a bit more than Houli.

[Sismis]

I went with a "runs on board" theory.

Gumby, Myers, Dempsey, etc I have not seen enough of.

Prismal, not enough info on 2 factors, 1, Knee injury recovery. 2. How will he go in a midfeild without the big three. See Des Hedland.

The top six there really isn't much separating them.

Interesting then Sis that you rate Houli as Elite Potential and yet Reimers as a novice. I would have thought that he has shown almost as much as Houli so far and probably loves the contest a bit more than Houli.

Fair point, I did the list on the fly. Reimers would definately fit in the elite potential category. His mongrel factor is extremely high and has the skills to match.

[Ossie]

In mostly particular order

1. Lloyd
2. Lucas
3. Fletcher
4. McVeigh
5. Davey
6. Gumbleton
7. Watson
8. Reimers
9. Lovett
10. Ryder
11. Hille
12. Houli
13. Prismall
14. Stanton
15. Monfries
16. Lonergan
17. Welsh
18. Myers
19. McPhee
20. Nash
21. Neagle
22. Slattery

Which means I have no place for Jetta ( ), Dempsey, Dyson, Winderlich, L-Murray, Pears, Laycock, Atkinson, Bellchambers, Hooker, Hislop and Hocking.

Nice position to be in! Now, fitness gods, do the right thing by us!

[Ossie]

Just had a though to whack my list into a team:

B Slattery Fletcher Myers
HB Nash Ryder Houli
C Reimers Watson Lovett
HF Monfries Lucas McPhee
F Neagle Lloyd Davey
R Hille McVeigh Stanton
I Gumbleton Prismall Lonergan Welsh

Now THAT is a reasonable side. No back up ruck for Hille and no replacement or different option as a tall defender are the only two weak points.

[tom9779]

Jetta is def in our best 22.

I think he will have a great 2009, he has got great goal sense.

I;m a bit worried of how we fit davey, jetta and monfries into the forward line... and you wouldn't play any of them anywhere else other than as a small forward(imo). Maybe at a squeeze monfries could play on the wing.

[BenDoolan]

Jetta is def in our best 22.

I think he will have a great 2009, he has got great goal sense.

I;m a bit worried of how we fit davey, jetta and monfries into the forward line... and you wouldn't play any of them anywhere else other than as a small forward(imo). Maybe at a squeeze monfries could play on the wing.

I think Jetta would struggle to be in the first 22 if everyone was available. He struggled a fair bit this year, and only put in a small handfull of really good performances. If we didn't have such an injury list this year, he would have played a lot more with Bendigo. Not having a crack at him, but he has a fair bit of improvement to do to make a regular spot in the team IMO.

[tom9779]

Jetta is def in our best 22.

I think he will have a great 2009, he has got great goal sense.

I;m a bit worried of how we fit davey, jetta and monfries into the forward line... and you wouldn't play any of them anywhere else other than as a small forward(imo). Maybe at a squeeze monfries could play on the wing.

I think Jetta would struggle to be in the first 22 if everyone was available. He struggled a fair bit this year, and only put in a small handfull of really good performances. If we didn't have such an injury list this year, he would have played a lot more with Bendigo. Not having a crack at him, but he has a fair bit of improvement to do to make a regular spot in the team IMO.

have to agree to disagree.

leroy jetta will be cemented in our best 22 by june next year. has the best goal sense out of all our small forwards. has had a tendency to missing for patches in games, but thats to be expected for a bloke who is only what 19?

[BenDoolan]

Jetta is def in our best 22.

I think he will have a great 2009, he has got great goal sense.

I;m a bit worried of how we fit davey, jetta and monfries into the forward line... and you wouldn't play any of them anywhere else other than as a small forward(imo). Maybe at a squeeze monfries could play on the wing.

I think Jetta would struggle to be in the first 22 if everyone was available. He struggled a fair bit this year, and only put in a small handfull of really good performances. If we didn't have such an injury list this year, he would have played a lot more with Bendigo. Not having a crack at him, but he has a fair bit of improvement to do to make a regular spot in the team IMO.

have to agree to disagree.

leroy jetta will be cemented in our best 22 by june next year. has the best goal sense out of all our small forwards. has had a tendency to missing for patches in games, but thats to be expected for a bloke who is only what 19?

Yes, make that large patches. And yes, it is expected for someone his age and size. But that's why he aint in our best 22 at the moment. He may well be by June next year, but then again, he may not.

[Pazza]

Taking the team description with mine:

B: Slattery, Fletcher, Pears
HB: McPhee, Ryder, Lovett-Murray
C: Lovett, Prismall, Stanton
HF: Welsh, Lucas, Monfries
F: Davey, Lloyd, Jetta
R: Hille, Watson, McVeigh
Int: Winderlich, Laycock, Reimers, Lonergan

[Ossie]

Taking the team description with mine:

B: Slattery, Fletcher, Pears
HB: McPhee, Ryder, Lovett-Murray
C: Lovett, Prismall, Stanton
HF: Welsh, Lucas, Monfries
F: Davey, Lloyd, Jetta
R: Hille, Watson, McVeigh
Int: Winderlich, Laycock, Reimers, Lonergan

Agree with most of it, but quite how you have Tayte Pears in there ahead of people like David Myers is a bit beyond me.

[tom9779]

I had a crack, i think that WA half back line is our backline of the future. Perhaps Winderlich in the team in front of Myers based on experience. Both Pris and Licha are emerg until they have proven to have recovered from serious injury. Dempsey is a guy who I dunno where he will be... NLM is on the way out...younger and better talent coming through...expect him to be relegated to depth role. Bellchambers is on the radar on Laycocks back...still see him getting better in the twos for at least half a season


Nash, Fletcher,McVeigh
Ryder,Gumbleton, Myers
Reimers, Stanton, McPhee
Neagle, Lucas,Monfries
Davey,Lloyd, Jetta

Foll: Hille, Watson,Welsh

Int: Houli, Lovett,Lonergan, Laycock

Emerg: Dempsey, NLM,Pears,Prismall, Winderlich

[andrewb]

b Slattery Fletch NLM
hb McPhee Ryder Houli
c Stanton Watson Lovett
hf Welsh Lucas Monfries
f Winderlich Lloyd Davey
r Hille McVeigh Prismall
i/c Myers Lonergan Reimers Gumbleton