5 key defenders

[jazzadogs]

My guess is we will go into as many games as we can with the 3 of them playing and Gardner being the ones that plays on a variety of players in terms of size etc. Bruce might also be a surprise and I'm not sure who gets squeezed out then.

I think Bruce and Keath are competing for one position - their body type, strength, agility is similar. I am glad we are training Bruce as our back up for the big Hawkins types - even if it doesn't work, at least we've tried to have a plan.

I think Gardner and Jones will play together unless injury or team balance become an issue. O'Brien probably is our next option if one of them breaks down, but it's hardly inspiring. I would prefer that we kept developing Khamis there as well - Jones, Keath, O'Brien and Bruce are likely gone within a couple of years, so to me our succession plan is better with Buku, Cleary and Busslinger all being groomed for the role.

[jeemak]

O'Brien needs some continuity after what was probably a difficult year in attempting to adjust to how we play, set up, and run. For better or worse, due to personal we play a pretty technical game that requires a lot of concentration and run from our defencive talls. If he's been in the rehab group and missed a lot of team/ system based training then he's probably going to take a bit of time to get into things again.

I think given Gardner's athletic ability we can go with the three talls in he, Keath and Jones. I'm a bit worried about our mid-sized defencive stock as I'm not as enamoured with Khamis as others seem to be, and with Crozier down a yard a lot rests with Richards to stand up and improve again. Williams is still capable of helping out, but I want to see how he develops on a wing.

What we do with Bruce is anyone's guess. I don't really see him as a defender irrespective of training to date, but Bevo has made me look silly in the past when it comes to swinging an over 30 back to revatalise a career, so let's see how it goes - if it actually happens.

[Mofra]

I think Gardner and Jones will play together unless injury or team balance become an issue.

This is my take too - and the third 'tallish' player won't be a KPD, but a designated interceptor.
With Khamis playing forward this pre-season, there are 3 guys on our list capable of playing an interceptor role (all with question marks) - Sam Darcy (raw, missing a chunk of pre-season) Keath (body) O'Brien (meh-ness).

I'd guess Keath gets a crack at purely intercepting because he has done it at Adelaide, with Sam stepping in if/when Keath needs resting or is injured. Bonus being Sam can swing forward and can use the ball well.

[GVGjr]

This is my take too - and the third 'tallish' player won't be a KPD, but a designated interceptor.
With Khamis playing forward this pre-season, there are 3 guys on our list capable of playing an interceptor role (all with question marks) - Sam Darcy (raw, missing a chunk of pre-season) Keath (body) O'Brien (meh-ness).

I'd guess Keath gets a crack at purely intercepting because he has done it at Adelaide, with Sam stepping in if/when Keath needs resting or is injured. Bonus being Sam can swing forward and can use the ball well.

Keath should get the opportunity of playing that role but I think Gardner can also make the transition.

I think we will need the extra KPD depth this year so having Bruce, TOB and Darcy available to fill in when needed will be a huge bonus.