Our bottom Six.

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gungho

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Dec 31, 2013
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Does anyone think our depth is good at the Dockers? I'm not convinced we have the depth to be a serious premiership contender. Consider our bottom six players on the weekend, who I reckon would be Hughes Tabs, Erasmus, JOM, Johnson and Banfield. (I know Walters had a bad game but he is still consistent enough).

Every team has players that are the 19th or 20th picked but currently, I am not convinced our bottom six players can make a meaningful enough contribution to get us over the line in big games.

So what to do? I think we should start blooding new players to see what they've got.

Hughes - Chapman, Wagner,
Tabs - Voss, Jackson, (when Darce rucks) Sturt.
Banfield (harsh on Banners as he does have some good games, but we desperately need some class up forward and someone who can hit the scoreboard) - Simpson, Deelan.
Erasmus - Brodie, Simpson, Stanley.
JOM - Brodie, Simpson, Stanley.
Johnson - Brodie, Simpson, Stanley.

I think we should forget about selecting based on draft position (Erasmus, Johnson) and actually select guys with 1 agenda - to improve our bottom six players.
 
You make a valid point. Banfield is handy though and he usually converts his opportunities but didn't against Port.

Most of the replacements you mention are either injured or returning from injury though. Of the others the club obviously feel Simpson isn't ready and Brodie was very mediocre in the WAFL game televised the other week.
 
gungho said:
Does anyone think our depth is good at the Dockers? I'm not convinced we have the depth to be a serious premiership contender. Consider our bottom six players on the weekend, who I reckon would be Hughes Tabs, Erasmus, JOM, Johnson and Banfield. (I know Walters had a bad game but he is still consistent enough).

Every team has players that are the 19th or 20th picked but currently, I am not convinced our bottom six players can make a meaningful enough contribution to get us over the line in big games.

So what to do? I think we should start blooding new players to see what they've got.

Hughes - Chapman, Wagner,
Tabs - Voss, Jackson, (when Darce rucks) Sturt.
Banfield (harsh on Banners as he does have some good games, but we desperately need some class up forward and someone who can hit the scoreboard) - Simpson, Deelan.
Erasmus - Brodie, Simpson, Stanley.
JOM - Brodie, Simpson, Stanley.
Johnson - Brodie, Simpson, Stanley.

I think we should forget about selecting based on draft position (Erasmus, Johnson) and actually select guys with 1 agenda - to improve our bottom six players.
Click to expand...
Yeah we have a bit of class injured. From that 6 in an ideal world, if fit and in form -
Cox
Chapman
FREDDY
Darcy are certainties.

Sturt was a class forward in the 22 last year, obviously has had a disastrous pre season.


And then we have promising youth in mids/backs and forwards.

The forward line certainly needs a couple of class finishers but I'd say the depth is coming along ok as the young group matures.

Edit forgot Freddy
 
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Lach72 said:
Look if Banfield is in our bottom two or three I’m okay with it.

It’s when he’s 15-18 I’m concerned.

Can’t wait until Chapman, Drizz and Stanley are in our bottom three or four
Click to expand...

Chapman will be closer to top three or four when fully fit than bottom three or four. At his best he’ll be one of our top ten players easily.
 
We have been in an injury crisis since round 1 when Cox, Worner and McDonald all went down at the same time with Darcy, Chapman, Stanley, NOD and Sturt already on the sidelines. We then lost Frederick as well, They are all top 27 players, when 9 of your best 27 are injured you see how good your 28-33 ranked players are.
We’ve unearthed one in Draper, and it seems like Davies is coming along very nicely at peel as well.
Hughes gives great effort but has the occasional howler.
Banfield has really stepped up his game and actually looks good in the wing/HHF position.
Tabs is absolutely cooked, can expect two good moments per game but will give up lots of intercepts to the opponent's.
JOM is way too slow to come on as sub and I still struggle to see what he provided from a leadership perspective.
Johnson has been down on form all year, starting to think wing doesn’t suit him after playing all preseason as an inside mid, looks lost and unsure of his role.
Erasmus is a terrible Sub, not a high impact player, he’s a workhorse accumulator and shouldn’t be getting games unless he’s replacing AB.
Walters is still class but he is slow and can’t exist in the same forward line as Tabs, makes it far too easy for opponents to rebound out of our D50.
Switter was good for the first 3 games but looks hampered with the calf, only playing due to no ready replacements.
Chapman > Hughes
Darcy > Jackson > Tabs
Cox > Draper (though he’s holding up at this stage)
NOD or Stanley > JOM (on the wing)
Sturt > Emmett (for finishing class, Emmett offers pressure but no scoreboard impact)
Brodie > JOM/Erasmus as the sub, not sure why we aren’t doing this already.
Darcy back soon, allowing Jackson forward and Tabs back to peel will make a massive difference to our forward line.
Chapman replacing Hughes in the backline will greatly improve our movement out of D50 and is only a couple of weeks away.
Am still holding on to hope that Sturt can get his body right and form back in the next month. At the very least it allows Banfield to stay up the ground where he seems to be performing.
 
If we are to be any real shot at winning the whole thing in the coming years we need these six changes, five of which are well documented and one that will ruffle the feathers of a few in here;
1. Elite small forward that takes their chances regularly and requires a lock down defender at all times. A Charlie Cameron type. If sonny had this help, he would get a couple more years but alone he is locked up too easily.
2. Sean Darcy to stay fit, allowing Jackson to be the third tall up forward, therefore relieving Tabs of his position in the side.
3. Chapman to stay fit and relegate Ethan Hughes back to Peel as depth.
4. Johnson and Simpson to come on and deliver on potential - These two could be the class this side needs!
5. Cox to stay fit, allowing Draper to go back to Peel and work on the offensive side of his game ie. intercept marking, getting dangerous on turnover... He is going to be special in a few years.
6. A replacement for Brandon Walker - This guy is an absolute liability with ball in hand and is outclassed so often. His positioning on JHF in the marking contest that allowed the go-ahead goal was extraordinarily bad. It was a dump kick forward and JHF took an uncontested chest mark while Walks watched on. He also has a habit of having his dinky forward handballs over the top, intercepted, often resulting in scores. He really does deserve the nickname caravan as all he does is trail the small forwards around and watch. He's just lucky he has good players around that help. He is good depth but can't be first choice if we are serious.

Outside of this, the list has all the makings of something special. Amiss is coming along very nicely. JT had his breakout against Port and will only keep getting better. The mids destroyed Port and Carlton for the most part (remember all week the media was banging on about how ports midfield is the best in the comp). The backline is incredibly strong (in part to how defensive the mids play). Some minor tweaking to get the mids a touch more aggressive and this team is ready to explode! It's such a pleasure to know we will be in almost all games up to our eyeballs rather than wondering whether we will be blown out, as has been the case in recent years. JL has proven himself already this year to be "him." Players clearly love him and play for him.

Time to enjoy the ride!
 
pK75 said:
We have been in an injury crisis since round 1 when Cox, Worner and McDonald all went down at the same time with Darcy, Chapman, Stanley, NOD and Sturt already on the sidelines. We then lost Frederick as well, They are all top 27 players, when 9 of your best 27 are injured you see how good your 28-33 ranked players are.
We’ve unearthed one in Draper, and it seems like Davies is coming along very nicely at peel as well.
Hughes gives great effort but has the occasional howler.
Banfield has really stepped up his game and actually looks good in the wing/HHF position.
Tabs is absolutely cooked, can expect two good moments per game but will give up lots of intercepts to the opponent's.
JOM is way too slow to come on as sub and I still struggle to see what he provided from a leadership perspective.
Johnson has been down on form all year, starting to think wing doesn’t suit him after playing all preseason as an inside mid, looks lost and unsure of his role.
Erasmus is a terrible Sub, not a high impact player, he’s a workhorse accumulator and shouldn’t be getting games unless he’s replacing AB.
Walters is still class but he is slow and can’t exist in the same forward line as Tabs, makes it far too easy for opponents to rebound out of our D50.
Switter was good for the first 3 games but looks hampered with the calf, only playing due to no ready replacements.
Chapman > Hughes
Darcy > Jackson > Tabs
Cox > Draper (though he’s holding up at this stage)
NOD or Stanley > JOM (on the wing)
Sturt > Emmett (for finishing class, Emmett offers pressure but no scoreboard impact)
Brodie > JOM/Erasmus as the sub, not sure why we aren’t doing this already.
Darcy back soon, allowing Jackson forward and Tabs back to peel will make a massive difference to our forward line.
Chapman replacing Hughes in the backline will greatly improve our movement out of D50 and is only a couple of weeks away.
Am still holding on to hope that Sturt can get his body right and form back in the next month. At the very least it allows Banfield to stay up the ground where he seems to be performing.
Click to expand...

Yeah well put.


We also shot ourself in the foot a bit. We carried two injured players into the year. (Corbett, Kuek)
Both could have been delisted, and they more than likely will at the end of the year.

Our list is also has to many rucks, and inside mids which means we don't have depth in other areas.
 
in a team of 22 players, "the bottom six" is going to be pretty fluid

I feel like there's some players not admitting to injuries (maybe players like Switta) because they fear they wont get back into the team
 
I actually feel like we have some handy depth players, it's just some of them are being played (as depth) in the 22 at the moment due to injuries. Wagner, Hughes and Draper are all very solid depth in defence when Cox and Chappy are back in the 22. Nod and worner decent outside mids, Brodie, Raz, JOM, Johnson all good inside depth/22 depending how you see them each individually. As usual our glaring weakness is the forward line, but an onfield upgrade that then made Emmett depth for instance would leave us with a decent depth player. Tabs, while not in favour with most, has been serviceable this year. I mean if Tabs plays down at Peel for the remainder of the year and his 4 games resulted in 6 goals he has done his job as KPF depth hasn't he?
 
We have limited key back depth, very good depth in the other back spots. Inside midfield we have very good depth, the outside mid not so much, Key forward depth is ok, assuming Tabs is not best 22 he isn't the worst guy to have come in, the other forward spots I think our depth is horrible.

3 x 1st round picks this year should help us cover those holes.
 
go_the_dockers said:
Yeah well put.


We also shot ourself in the foot a bit. We carried two injured players into the year. (Corbett, Kuek)
Both could have been delisted, and they more than likely will at the end of the year.

Our list is also has to many rucks, and inside mids which means we don't have depth in other areas.
Click to expand...

Would we have recruited much better than Voss if we’d delisted Corbett or Kuek? Not so sure we would’ve tbh. Heard we were very interested in Clohesy, so he might be the one if we’d had an extra National

Don’t think our depth is even below average on paper. Most teams would love to have a players as experienced and good (on paper - sometimes players as just past it) as Taberner and Hughes outside the best 22 IMO. People seem to expect depth players to be the same quality as the best 22 but reality if they were they’d either be best 22 or poached by opposition clubs.

We clearly lack small forward depth but I don’t think the club planned well, if at all, for Schultz’ departure. Other than that I don’t think our depth is bad. In fact it’s above competition average. Look at some of the spuds getting a game for Carlton ATM for example - a team that’s supposedly in premiership contention!
 

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Docker82 said:
Would we have recruited much better than Voss if we’d delisted Corbett or Kuek? Not so sure we would’ve tbh. Heard we were very interested in Clohesy, so he might be the one if we’d had an extra National

Don’t think our depth is even below average on paper. Most teams would love to have a players as experienced and good (on paper - sometimes players as just past it) as Taberner and Hughes outside the best 22 IMO. People seem to expect depth players to be the same quality as the best 22 but reality if they were they’d either be best 22 or poached by opposition clubs.

We clearly lack small forward depth but I don’t think the club planned well, if at all, for Schultz’ departure. Other than that I don’t think our depth is bad. In fact it’s above competition average. Look at some of the spuds getting a game for Carlton ATM for example - a team that’s supposedly in premiership contention!
Click to expand...

Corbett and Kuek won't play all year.

Literally anyone is better than them.
 
On paper our depth is good. Chappy back on the hb line absolves us of a lot of sins. It would be amazing if NOD could get back to his 2022 form.
 
I think our biggest mistake in the last couple of years was not going for a journeyman ruck backup, picking Reidy and Knobel in the same draft was a mistake if Reidy isn’t ready to replace Darcy now, it could have cost us two games this year already.
Schultz obviously blindsided us and we didn’t have a plan in place to replace him, Delean and Simpson were the replacements but that is more timed as Walters succession than replacing an injured Frederick or Switta now.
All other areas I think we have covered, even with Cox and McDonald injured Draper is filling the void nicely. Worner and Chapman provide options for Hughes in the not too distant future. Wagner if Clark or Walker go down.
 
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