Great!...looking forward to the edge-of-your-seat thrill that comes with sweating on a week-to-week basis on the fitness of both our CHB (Williams) AND our CHF (Hansen).
Truth be known, I don't mind the cut of Hansen's jib. We could do worse.
BORDERLINE FLYING
Eagleton must be retired at years end.
Likely trade: Ray (if you got a 2nd round pick you would have to consider
Tiller:
Street:
On a side note: I am worried where Minson is at this stage of his career. Will he get any better?
At the moment he is a 2nd ruckman who is an average fwd IMHO. I like my fwds to be able to take a mark on a lead as well as in a contested situation. One of his assets is his physique yet he does not take enough contested marks.
He does ruck well in bursts however when was the last time he rucked for the majority of a game? Does he have the tank, will he ever? Am I being too harsh? I know big men take longer to mature......however has he got what it takes to take his game to a higher level?
I know for a fact Adelaide rate him very highly.
Would we gain anything by trading him to an Adelaide and picking up a Kosi for say a 2nd rounder? I think we would. Firstly I believe Kosi needs a change and has proven he can take his game to a high level. Whilst he is sadly out of form at present, a change of clubs could possibly see him capture that form of 2006 for memory when he was playing with confidence. (I can vivdly recall a game against us at the MCG where he kicked 4 and took a dozen marks.
I thought he was pretty good yesterday, took a few good marks up forwards and down back, and generally provided a good contest around the ground and at the stoppages. He still needs to become a little more agile to make more of his stints up forwards, but he's coming along pretty well. He's still a young guy, and has had a few years pretty much ruined by injury.
He'd be on my 'must keep' list at this stage, unless a very favorable deal arises.
i don't see will going any where I think he is proforming his role in the Foward line well he is an ok kick for goal and believe he plays down there to make a contest I think his instruction is if you can't mark it bring it to ground so I crumbers can have a crack, then they put him in the ruck to rest Huddo. With Street and Skipper more likely to leave than to stay I wouldn't see them moving Will, Street and Skipper all in the same year and relying on Huddo who lets face it is towards the end of his career and Ayce who is just about to biggin his. Ruckman do take time to develop and I think will has had a good year to date.so hopefully by the time Huddo retires Will would have asserted himself as the no 1 ruck man with Ayce doing a Will type role as he develops.
Hann I think is a untouchable because of his physical presence up forward and he is the only Bash and crash type guy we have.
Ray I would see as the only person with Market Value that they may consider for the right deal but I don't see them being to active in Draft week this year because there really isn't to many spots that need filling. Besides a KP player but lets dace it every club says they want a KP player.
I think if they could pick up Cousins it might be worth a punt he obviously is going to be kept on a short leash rom the AFL if a return is made he would still take a quality player to contain and possibly free up a Cooney or Griffen also. I know he comes with baggage but if the price is right (draft and salery which I expect he will) why not. He won't have the Rockstar image he had in Perth because its not about the AFL in Perth it is about the West Coast Eagles it is a whole different world over there so he was a big fish in a small pond if he played in Melbourne he would be a smaller fish in a bloody big ocean.
That is why I suggested we look at getting Kosi who can play CHF, ruck and occasionally CHB. He would be handy if a Williams is injured next year as we would have a back up. At the moment we do not have any dpeth in our KPP stocks. Only problem is the saints would want a 1st round which I would not be willing to give away, 2nd round I would consider.........
Will on the other hand is a 2nd ruckman come fwd.
I think it is a cop out when we say that Will is there to provide a contest. That to me translates to "he can't take a contested mark so lets just bomb to him so it falls to the ground and our crumbers can get it".
The other concern I have with this is that we do not have a genuine quick crumber at the fall of Will's feet.
How often have you seen the ball bombed on from 60 out to a pack of 6 or more guys and Will has brought it to ground you can't expect the guy to mark it in a situation like that. I think he has been put there to enable the centres to have that long bomb in if needed and they know that they have a guy over four foot tall that can give a contest. Much has been made of our lack of a tall foward though Will isn't ideal I will give you that we can only make the best of the tools we have at least he can be physical towards the marking contest or pack contest though sometimes he is over aggresive ang gives away a silly free kick now and then.
I am a big fan of Will and think we should persist with him. What would you rather a Ruckman/ Pinch hitter foward in Will or CHF/ Pinch hitter Ruckman. If you don't have a guy that can get it to the centres to enable the supply a CHF is useless. I think you will see Will improve now he has a decent Ruckman at the club that he has to chase and can learn from also.
UNTOUCHABLE
Cooney
Griffen
Johnson
Gilbee
Murphy
Lake
Ward
Higgins
Williams ( I still have faith)
West ( ditto)
J.Grant (untried)
ALMOST UNTOUCHABLE
Gia
Everitt
UNTRADEABLE {and worth keeping}
Aker
Hudson
Welsh
RETAIN FOR COMPETITIVE SPIRIT AND CLUB HEALTH BUT CONSIDER SERIOUS OFFERS
Minson
Hahn
Cross and / or Boyd
ON THE TABLE
Rest of list.
I know this might seem a bit harsh and I know people will come out swinging.
I think the major pivotal player for us is Tom Williams. If he's fit and firing, Shaggy, Everitt and Morris are great assets in defence. But none of them are able to replace him. Shaggy's not tall or strong enough and Morris isn't tall or attacking enough. Everitt doesn't have the build or height. So if Williams comes through, we've got a great backline as all those players are great as flankers or back pockets. But if he doesn't, we're exposed. We might need to trade some of our 2nd string defenders to A. cover him or B. invest in the future.
Any thoughts?
Perhaps correct, but this highlights the depth of problem we have at the club.
We are relying on a 21 yo who can not string more than 3-4 games together to become one of the most important players in the side.
When you look at recent champion Bulldogs, they have something which Tom hasn't shown yet - durability. Yes, Grant overcame some serious injuries later in his career & West has struggled this year, but all these guys managed to find a way to get on the paddock & make an impact for the bulk of their careers.
As great as Tom may be, we can't bank on an injury prone kid making a major difference to our list. As good as Ward looks, I'm starting to wonder if Richmond really did screw us by taking Rance at 18.
would be the first time Richmond screwed anyone in the draft!