List Management 2015

[1eyedog]

It really depends what version of Grant we're talking about. If it's the wingman we saw for most of 2015 it's pretty conceivable to think Suckling could slot in there

They can play the same position but I'm not sure they could play the same roles.

Conversely how confident are we that Suckling is actually coming to the club?

[Bulldog Joe]

Yep and to be fair, Grant's high(er) disposal efficiency is supported by the fact that he only chips it 15-25m and has rare hurt factor. Suckling is the opposite - at times he goes for too much - but the hurt factor is extreme. This is why I don't like stats - they're not in the same universe when it comes to kicking a football.

While I have reservations about Suckling and his ability to defend as well as win his own ball, there is absolutely no doubt that he is light years ahead of Grant with his kicking.

The goal he kicked on 3/4 time against Freo just could NEVER have been kicked by Grant.

[1eyedog]

While I have reservations about Suckling and his ability to defend as well as win his own ball, there is absolutely no doubt that he is light years ahead of Grant with his kicking.

The goal he kicked on 3/4 time against Freo just could NEVER have been kicked by Grant.

Horses for courses. Grant is far better mark so can play tall if required, plus he's much quicker. What attribute are we looking at in terms of our plan and which one(s) are more relevant?

[Greystache]

Horses for courses. Grant is far better mark so can play tall if required, plus he's much quicker. What attribute are we looking at in terms of our plan and which one(s) are more relevant?

They both took 4 contested marks for the season and Suckling took almost twice as many uncontested marks. Dahlhaus took more than both. I wouldn't consider marking a strength for either player.

[chef]

Has Grant ever played 'tall' for us.

[GVGjr]

That absolutely needs to be our guide, but when it comes to signing free agents I'm not sure it applies. The AFL have tightened up the discounts for Father/Son and academy players but introduced a freebie with free agency.

I don't think the fact that he is a FA counts that much in my rating of him. We have 3 senior spots open and we must draft 3 players in some form. We have 2 more players we haven't signed up and it's unlikely we will. The gap in our playing list is around key defenders and as a minimum I believe we need to trade for/or acquire at least one during the trade period unless we are confident we can draft one.

In Suckling's case we should count ourselves lucky that our senior coach is his former line coach as that could get us over the line with him, there will be other clubs interested in signing someone for nothing as well, including those more in need of his type.

We don't want to get into a bidding war in an area we have good coverage but this could be a real bargain for us

I don't see it that way, I'm just looking at where he slots into our line-up. He has some limitations and that's more than okay with me. He has probably already played his best football though so there isn't a lot of upside but the positives I think he potentially provides us are around getting a player with a 100 games playing experience, including finals experience, plus he is a good user of the ball.

The Grant comparisons don't interest me much as they are different players. If we get him that's all good and well but he isn't the type of player we desperately need. I think we could have covered him with the players we have but I understand it's a somewhat easy acquisition for our club.

I look at our real push into the top 4 starting in 2017 and I see next season as one of continued development of the younger players.
I certainly don't mind it if we are adding an experienced player to the list but I question it a bit given it's in an area we have some good youngsters like Biggs and Webb that are also pressing for a spot in the back line.

[bulldogtragic]

All roads and conversations lead to Grant somehow this year.

Let me test this theory... I think Grimace was a nothing character and Hamburglar should've had more time in the spotlight.

[Bulldog Joe]

Horses for courses. Grant is far better mark so can play tall if required, plus he's much quicker. What attribute are we looking at in terms of our plan and which one(s) are more relevant?

My comment was merely around kicking.

Stats do not show the absolute superiority of Suckling by foot.

I personally do not see a great need being filled by Suckling.

[Scorlibo]

My comment was merely around kicking.

Stats do not show the absolute superiority of Suckling by foot.

I personally do not see a great need being filled by Suckling.

Of course they do, you're just not looking at all of the stats on offer.

[boydogs]

We're still missing a quarter of a cake given our extreme deficiencies in KPD stocks

Jordan Kelly is gone if we were counting him, Michael Talia is going and Jordan Roughead is moving to the ruck, yet we still have more 190cm+ defenders (Morris, Roberts, Hamling, Z Cordy) than 190cm+ forwards (T Boyd, Redpath, Stringer)

[Happy Days]

All roads and conversations lead to Grant somehow this year.

Let me test this theory... I think Grimace was a nothing character and Hamburglar should've had more time in the spotlight.

Someone at the elimination final told me its grimace's fault that Hunter missed him with the handball, and he's just too laconic and Doesn't Want It Bad Enough™ to be the lead mascot.

[bulldogtragic]

Someone at the elimination final told me its grimace's fault that Hunter missed him with the handball, and he's just too laconic and Doesn't Want It Bad Enough™ to be the lead mascot.

Fair enough too. That's a wonderful insight, it's now clear the coaches and especially Ronald just don't rate Grimace.

[jeemak]

Or at least they rate Hamburglar more highly.

[GVGjr]

Jordan Kelly is gone if we were counting him, Michael Talia is going and Jordan Roughead is moving to the ruck, yet we still have more 190cm+ defenders (Morris, Roberts, Hamling, Z Cordy) than 190cm+ forwards (T Boyd, Redpath, Stringer)

You're looking players heights and making fixed assessments on their playing positions and while I get that you don't see it that way, throwing Kelly's name into the discussion is meaningless.

Kelly was 191cm but I can't recall him playing as a fey defender for Footscray. Most of his games were on a wing or a flank. We delisted a big midfielder not a key defender.

Now lets look at it a bit more logically.
Morris will most likely be in his final year, Hamling is 194cm tall but it's more around his athleticism he adds to our back line than just his height. Roberts has some questions marks on his durability and mobility as a defender and Cordy will be groomed to replace Morris and assuming Talia is gone, it's a thin list and one that gives me the most concern.
We have asked Wood to play tall for most of the season because of injuries and form of others. We might be able to get another season out of that but I doubt it's a long term answer.

Our bigger forwards are Crameri, Boyd, Stinger and Redpath but they will have Roughead and Campbell spending time there plus Bontempelli might even spend more time in the forward line with Liberatore returning to the midfield. That seems pretty good to me.

We need an athletic tallish defender and because I believe the game is changing with chaos entries into a smaller forward line working well I think it's clear where the gap is.

[bulldogtragic]

Or at least they rate Hamburglar more highly.

For all Grimace's faults, he never stole junior burgers. Those team things never get mentioned. Unfair to compare them in my opinion.