Offseason recruiting priorities

[Happy Days]

It's at this point of the season that we can identify some players that are out of favour but could perform a role for us if recruited. Ideally this is the buy low portion of their career, and certainly i think many of these guys are worth giving a go over another year of Lynch/Hayes/Smith/Greene/Gowers etc. I generally think if a player isn't getting a game for a side, no matter how good the side is, that that is a big warning sign so I am not overly sold on many of these, but i do think there is some merit in looking into them.



Aliir Aliir: We need a good tall defender that can take the big guys and ideally isn't purely lockdown. Aliir is all that and is currently not getting picked in Sydneys side. Is he worth looking at for us?

Brayden Fiorini: We spent a lot of last year trying to create a hard running wingman out of Hayes and/or Smith but seem to have gone off that idea. Fiorini is that, is not getting picked in Gold Coasts side, and generally is good. Isn't quite the offensive threat that say an Isaac Smith is, but could be another Hunter type and really help link up our forwardline with the rest of the side.

Darcy McPherson: Kind of a more advanced Rhylee West type, big link to the Dogs, and not getting a look in at the now good Suns. Is a decent forward, can push up the flansk into a midfield type role, could be worth adding to the squad.

Ian Hill: Small indigenous forward who is a smooth mover and seems to be kind of the type we need imo. Only played the one game this year after getting a handful last year. GWS are pretty good judges, in that if a player isn't getting a game for them they usually aren't that good, so sceptical on this one but Hill certainly has attributes we could use.

Zac Langdon: Another small forward, gotten much more of a look in than Hill this season. Not sure he is quite the chaos forward i would like and could be more the Dale type. Two goals this year from 7 games is not very encouraging though.

Mitch Hannan: Seems to be in and out lately, and has the Dogs connection from his Footscray days. Again probably a bit much of a Lloyd type for me to be really keen, although is a better version of Gowers in that he is an aerial threat. Like Crozier and Howe before him is kind of a low possesion half forward who can take a speccy but doesn't impact games greatly, i wonder if a switch back for him could also reap dividends.

Tom Lynch: Lead up forward who is a good linkman up the wings and is pretty positive with the ball. The most established of this list (doesn't really fit the on the outer narrative of the rest) but not part of Adelaides next tilt so might be worth asking the question for all parties involved.

Sorry not an overly inspiring list but i do think some of them are worth considering and almost all should be relatively cheap.

It seems weird but my preference of that list, considering the cost of getting the players in and actual output in the AFL to date, is probably Langdon.

Allir is a nice looking player at full flight but his skills are aneurysm-enducing and I don't think I could handle it. Lynch is finished. Hill looked terrible and out of shape in his games in the AFL this year. Hannan is a similar type to Weightman rather than a true small forward and would piss us all off trying to sit on heads instead of waiting on the ground. Fiorini is a one-way player who we could accomodate but would detract further from our already shaky defence between the arcs. Macpherson is pretty much the opposite; a hard worker who is limited by skills, who I see more as a very poor man's Hunter rather than an advanced West, and as such wouldn't really add anything to our side.

Langdon would be a nice addition but I think we can dream bigger. There's still a slew of players out of contract in anticipation of a list size reduction that is still entirely rumoured and we could get in early on some clear best 22 guys.

[Axe Man]

Would come with a bit of baggage but is Jesse Hogan worth consideration as a key defender? I don’t know if he can play there or not but certainly has the talent and the asking price shouldn’t be high. Freo might even chip in some of his salary.

[azabob]

Would come with a bit of baggage but is Jesse Hogan worth consideration as a key defender? I don’t know if he can play there or not but certainly has the talent and the asking price shouldn’t be high. Freo might even chip in some of his salary.

Surely if he came across it would be as a key forward?

[Bumper Bulldogs]

1, Hard as nails big man. Someone like Mumford
2. Hard as nails mid. Someone like Selwood
3. Hard as nails forward with speed. Someone like Picken.
I recon we have enough talent and speed but lack that hard edge or a captain that will drag us over the line off the back of hard work.

[bulldogsthru&thru]

1, Hard as nails big man. Someone like Mumford
2. Hard as nails mid. Someone like Selwood
3. Hard as nails forward with speed. Someone like Picken.
I recon we have enough talent and speed but lack that hard edge or a captain that will drag us over the line off the back of hard work.

Yeah this is English’s biggest issue at the moment. He’s too passive almost to the point he avoids physical contact. He had a couple chances on the weekend to absolutely crunch some Melbourne defenders in a marking contest but barely touched them and allowed them to mark it. Same in ruck contests, he hates engaging contact.

[comrade]

I'd love to add an athletic ruckman in the mold of Rowan Marshall or Chol to the team, someone that can cover ground and be a genuine threat up forward.

[Grantysghost]

I'd love to add an athletic ruckman in the mold of Rowan Marshall or Chol to the team, someone that can cover ground and be a genuine threat up forward.

Rhys Stanley?

[comrade]

Rhys Stanley?

Yeah, someone that can team with English and split the ruck/around the ground duties in a similar way to how the Saints/Cats structure up.

[GVGjr]

Rhys Stanley?

He was in the same draft as Trengove and Roughead but is renowned for his training which seems to be something we regard highly
He's versatile and could provide English with some support in the short term

[Rocket Science]

With Hawthorn presumably going 'youthy' from here on in, might we kick the tyres on Gunston?

[GVGjr]

With Hawthorn presumably going 'youthy' from here on in, might we kick the tyres on Gunston?

He's been a wonderful player, how has he performed this year?

[comrade]

English as the only genuine ruck option is years away from working well, if ever and using Dunkley or Bruce isn't ideal. We're also unlikely to ever play English and ruck only type such as Sweet together.

Someone who can ruck and also provide a genuine forward option would be ideal.

[azabob]

English as the only genuine ruck option is years away from working well, if ever and using Dunkley or Bruce isn't ideal. We're also unlikely to ever play English and ruck only type such as Sweet together.

Someone who can ruck and also provide a genuine forward option would be ideal.

It’s mind boggling we haven’t tried Lewis Young in this role yet.

[comrade]

It’s mind boggling we haven’t tried Lewis Young in this role yet.

Yeah, I think it's at least worth a shot.

[Axe Man]

Surely if he came across it would be as a key forward?

We don’t need a key forward and there was talk of him going back for Freo which seems like a greater area of need for us.