Hypen
First, I’d like to formally record my disappointment at being excluded from this morning’s team meeting. Granted, yeti and I spent the entire last match committee meeting arguing about whether to order scones or muffins from catering, but I feel that we are getting closer on that issue, and in another four or five years might reach some sort of compromise position.
I’ve given some thought to your question, and have put together what to me looks like a plausible 2018 line-up. I’ve excluded players over 30 on the basis that yours is a list question rather than a selection question, but realistically a couple of old blokes would make the Round 1 team. Still, I think it shows our gaps.
2018 (under 30) Line-up
B: Luke Ryan, Joel Hamling, Ryan Nyhuis
HB: Griffin Logue, Alex Pearce, Connor Blakely
C: Stephen Hill, Lachie Neale, Bradley Hill
HF: Lachie Weller, Cam McCarthy, Hayden Crozier
FF: Michael Walters, Matt Taberner, Darcy Tucker
Foll: Sean Darcy, Nat Fyfe, Harley Bennell
Bench: Harley Balic, Ed Langdon, Brennan Cox, Brady Grey
The midfield is strong and entering their prime. Between Fyfe, Blakely and Neale we have enough ball-winning. If Bennell is fit, we have enough outside run between the Hills, Bennell and Weller. Hodor looks the goods as a long-term ruckman, but our ruck stocks aren’t looking great beyond 2018 when Sandi retires.
In the forward line Walters is a star and our small forwards are pretty handy. McCarthy shapes to be really good mid-sized forward, with Kirsten a decent back-up. It’s painfully obvious we’re missing a tall forward who can take a mark (or at least provide a target). Neither Tabs or Apeness have come on to make the spot their own, and there doesn’t look like a ready-made alternative.
Our backline looks a bit shaky. We need a fast lock-down backman who can also kick. There’s not many of those around, so we’d need to find a balance among a number of players. Hamling and A Pearce could form a pretty good KPP combo I reckon, but there has to be a question mark over Pearce’s capacity to play out a season, so we might need Cox to step up. Logue is still really young, but he’s a bit of a liability at the moment. We’re really asking a lot of guys like Ryan, Nyhuis and Hughes who all look likely, but are all rookie / late draft selections.
I think that team on paper is handy, but not great. Certainly it’s a fair step down in quality from the 2013 GF team. I’m not sure how much improvement is in the young blokes, but a few would need to step up mightily if we’re any shot next season.
