Players that need to lift

[Dry Rot]

I wonder about the bald Eagle - does he need to lift or just change his playing style (don't know if he can).

[The Doctor]

I think the whole bloody squad needs to lift.

[LostDoggy]

I think the whole bloody squad needs to lift.

Too true. Won't the pressure be on if after 3 or 4 weeks we have been on the receiving end of a couple of hidings?
Hudson should make our midfield more competitive and Welsh should add another dimension to our forward line but that won't be anywhere near enough if nearly everyone else doesn't improve.

[dog town]

To be a top 4 side they just about all need to lift. You would probably say that Johnson, West and maybe Eagleton are not going to improve much but even they could refine the roles they play a little bit. Excluding players that have had injury problems and will hopefully lift on last year anyway I think we have a huge list of players that we could hope/expect to lift.

[hujsh]

To be a top 4 side they just about all need to lift. You would probably say that Johnson, West and maybe Eagleton are not going to improve much but even they could refine the roles they play a little bit. Excluding players that have had injury problems and will hopefully lift on last year anyway I think we have a huge list of players that we could hope/expect to lift.

Do you think that Johnson might need to change his role from KPP to flanker setting up the forwards like a Didak for the team to really be healthy.

[LostDoggy]

Do you think that Johnson might need to change his role from KPP to flanker setting up the forwards like a Didak for the team to really be healthy.

I dont think we could afford for him to play a role like that. But Aker, Higgins etc could probably play that role.

I think with the inclusion of Walsh will work wonders for Johnson. Relieve the pressure and who knows, we might even get a couple of extra years out of him.

[Bulldog Revolution]

I wonder about the bald Eagle - does he need to lift or just change his playing style (don't know if he can).

This is only my take, but I think with a player like Eagle, who is still a good player, but probably not likely to improve greatly its better to focus on the positives of what he brings to the table.

Unless he loses speed, his hard running abilities, or the depth in his kicking he should still be a useful contributor, albeit in a smaller role if some of the younger players can step up. He may play a few more run with type roles, but I see many others capable of improving far more than Eagle on the list. And I see many others whose improvement would have more influence on the win/loss column.

[hujsh]

I dont think we could afford for him to play a role like that. But Aker, Higgins etc could probably play that role.

I think with the inclusion of Walsh will work wonders for Johnson. Relieve the pressure and who knows, we might even get a couple of extra years out of him.

My point was more along the lines of we should work on a tall forward for the long term and not use a band-aid type fix (he's probably the best band-aid fix ever but)

[soupman]

These are the players who I think could greatly improve our side if they improve themselves, and how:

Farren Ray: Could be one of the most damaging wingmen in the game. He needs to work on his footskills on the run, and has to really start influencing games. His final against Collingwood was exactly what he needs to do more consistently. I thought he was one of our better players towards the end of the season, and if he fires, we'll be much more dangerous.

Daniel Giansiracusa: I think he does more than he's given credit for, however, he is still frustrating. Still doesn't exert as much influence on games as we would have hoped 2-3 years ago. Bobs up to kick goals every now and then, but otherwise isn't particularly damaging.

Ryan Griffen: One of the quartet of high draft pick midfielders who could, and should develop into game breakers. Last year, prior to the injury was a dissapointment. He struggled to really impact games, and the only game where he really did dominate was against Brisbane, where he got injured.

Adam Cooney: Absolute freak. Could easily develop into one of the best match-winners in the comp. Kicks goals, uses ball well, gets clearances, quick, strong, can play forward, flashy, he should become a star. However, he is yet to break games open on a regular, or even irregular basis. He did it once from memory this year (vs Essendon), and needs to get himself mentally right (plus have a good pre-season). He too often accepts the tag. He is one player who could make a difference of 4-5 wins a year if he can lift, hijm and Griffen being two players on our list who I believe could develop into top 10 midfielders of the competition.

Shaun Higgins: Everybody has nothing but praise for this kid, has strength, goal sense, class, brilliant footskills, a nice burst of pace and according to my sisters and all other girls I know, is absolutely gorgeous. At the moment though he is a bit part player up forward. He needs to start working harder. His defensive pressure is weak, and he doesn't win much of the ball. Could become a very good player, but needs to work harder going both ways, he currently seems like a cherry picker.

Dylan Addisson: Possibly my favourite young player. Has size and a bit of roughness about him, and can play pretty much anywhere. His decision-making and footskills however need work, but he could be a good defensive midfielder next year for us. Also seems to be good in close.

Tim Callan: Really an unknown quantity. Noone is really aware of his situation. If he can step up and give us a lockdown midfielder option, we will be a much better side for us. Whether or not he is up to that or not, we'll have to wait and find out.

Will Minson: Everyone would be dissapointed with his 2007 season. Is a ruckman who could become one of our most important players. However, he is too physical, and doesn't do enough around the ground or up forward. I don't think he'll make it as a forward, not mobile enough to get to the fall of the ball, however, if he was on the lead you'd move out of his way.

Andrew McDougall: I think he showed alot of promise in defence late last season. managed to attack a fair bit of half-back and did some inspiring things (that smother vs Buddy Franklin). I'm hoping he can cement his spot, because he could be a very good defender for us next year.

Wayde Skipper: Saved his skin in the last 7 rounds. I want to see him tried up forward properly; give him a run in the NAB cup. His problem is his confidence, or lack of it. Could be a very good forward for us, strong mark, good long kick and big guy. Whether he'll pull it off or not, I'm doubtful.

[FrediKanoute]

This is only my take, but I think with a player like Eagle, who is still a good player, but probably not likely to improve greatly its better to focus on the positives of what he brings to the table.

Unless he loses speed, his hard running abilities, or the depth in his kicking he should still be a useful contributor, albeit in a smaller role if some of the younger players can step up. He may play a few more run with type roles, but I see many others capable of improving far more than Eagle on the list. And I see many others whose improvement would have more influence on the win/loss column.

Again though their ability to add to the side depends ontheir "improvement". Eagle is not going to improve considerably (if at all), so unless his output declines we know exactly what we are going to get from him over the duration of the season. I think many underestimate him a little and just waht he brings to the side. hard running, penetrating kicks and a good mark for his size are traits which are important in the modern game. add to that 200+ games of experience and in a team whcih has retired almost 1000 games of it, that's a commodity we don't have anywhere near enough of. Until Ray, Addison, Hill, Stack, Lynch, Harbrow etc start delivering on a regular basis lock in the eagle in the starting 18.

[dog town]

Do you think that Johnson might need to change his role from KPP to flanker setting up the forwards like a Didak for the team to really be healthy.

It all depends on the set up they put around him. Johnson coming out of the square on his own is probably not healthy but I dont think we should completely remove Johnson from the forward 50. Their was a time when Johnson was one of the best leading CHF'S in the comp (sounds ridiculous but under Wallace he was). Last year when they put him up the ground a few times he seemed lost. We will still use him up the ground at times but I dont think we will permanently abandon using Johnson as a scoring weapon inside 50.

Higgins and Aker are both much more similar to Didak than Johnson is. Both are natural crumbing opportunists.

[Dancin' Douggy]

[QUOTE=soupaman;20281]These are the players who I think could greatly improve our side if they improve themselves, and how:


Adam Cooney: Absolute freak. Could easily develop into one of the best match-winners in the comp. Kicks goals, uses ball well, gets clearances, quick, strong, can play forward, flashy, he should become a star. However, he is yet to break games open on a regular, or even irregular basis. He did it once from memory this year (vs Essendon), and needs to get himself mentally right (plus have a good pre-season). He too often accepts the tag. He is one player who could make a difference of 4-5 wins a year if he can lift, him and Griffen being two players on our list who I believe could develop into top 10 midfielders of the competition.

If Adam took 4 or 5 more steps before shooting for goal he would be in another class.
Too often he lets fly too soon when not under pressure and the kick gets touched on the line, punched through or punched back into play. I imagine a goal a week goes begging because of it. More responsibility and confidence and he could be the best player in the league. And I'm serious.

[Bulldog Revolution]

Again though their ability to add to the side depends ontheir "improvement". Eagle is not going to improve considerably (if at all), so unless his output declines we know exactly what we are going to get from him over the duration of the season. I think many underestimate him a little and just waht he brings to the side. hard running, penetrating kicks and a good mark for his size are traits which are important in the modern game. add to that 200+ games of experience and in a team whcih has retired almost 1000 games of it, that's a commodity we don't have anywhere near enough of. Until Ray, Addison, Hill, Stack, Lynch, Harbrow etc start delivering on a regular basis lock in the eagle in the starting 18.

Agreed - its really up to the youngsters to improve enough to be able to perform in his role. Ray was given every opportunity to this year but he didn't really nail it. Eagle flies below the radar a bit as a senior player who was never a superstar but nonetheless is a pretty solid and smart contributor.

[Scorlibo]

I think Cooney has been too heavily criticised, this year was his fourth year and he produced improvements in most areas of his game. Griffen on the other hand gets all the raps, when in every season so far Griffen has been behind where Cooney was in the previous season, and 2008 doesn't look to be any different, especially because of Griffen's injury. Both of them have such enormous potential, and 2008 will be a big season for both them. Cooney will look to really step up into the elite, and Griffen will look to vastly improve on last year (not just talking about injury here, before that he wasn't playing very well either).

Gia, Hahn, Murph, Cross and Gilbee all had a performance decline in 2007 largely because of injury, and if they get their fitness up (Crosser we needn't worry about) and remain injury free, then we should see two years worth of improvement from them, as they are all hitting that peak performance age.

Westy, Johnno, Boyd, Harris, Hargrave, Hudson, Welsh and Morris all had good, up to scratch seasons, and should (with the exception of Westy perhaps) maintain that form.

Higgins, Cooney, Griffen, Everitt, Ray, Minson, Williams, O'Shea, Ward, Grant, Harbrow, Lynch and Addison are the young names who will only continue to improve with age.

And then there is Wight, McDougall, Skipper, Street, Eagleton, Callan and Tiller who don't really fit into any of these groups and are the ones who will find it tough to find a spot in the side and even on the list. Wight is still quite young and does show signs of improvement but needs to improve more urgently than the young list of players above. Eagleton finds himself nearing 30, and becoming more and more of a fringe player. Callan could be anything, and Tiller is in a similar situation to Wight.

I suppose the best part about so many players underperforming this year is that there is so much room for improvement.

[Bulldog Revolution]

I suppose the best part about so many players underperforming this year is that there is so much room for improvement.

Agreed Scorlibo - we didn't have too many players whose years we could have been that pleased with