Now that all the hullalaboo and whatnot of the trade period is over, I thought it'd be interesting to take another look at
a.) What our figurative best 18 is going to look like next year, &
b.) what our best 18 will be a couple of years hence. I'm not going to bother trying to put together a hypothetical interchange, because it simply varies too much from week to week depending on form, our opponents, injuries, etc etc.
Backs:
Present-Reid Macintosh Collica
A bit of a no brainer this one. When fit, Macintosh is still on par with Fletcher as the best FB in the competition. Combined with Reid and Collica, we have a balanced, experienced FB line, capable of dealing with any size and shape of forward.
Future- Humm Lynch Collica
Humm could be developed into an archetypical small defender- Gritty, tough as nails, and a great tackler. IMO, Lynch should become our new key defender. He has the size, strength, and marking ability to be an excellent FB, as well as a modicum of pace. Also, I love the idea of having a guy who can comfortably boot the ball 60m doing our kick ins. I get the impression Collica is going to remain a fixture at the eagles for years to come as our midsize defender in the last line of defence. Other options back here include Glass, Carrol, and possibly Haynes.
Halfbacks:
Present- Green Jakovich Hunter
After a stellar season, it seems like Jako could go on forever, and I sincerely hope he does. There are a few players he has a bit of trouble with, but by and large, he cheerfully bitchifies marquee CHFs week in, week out. I get the impression his resurgence this year had a lot to do with having more solid HB flankers to back him up, and this is where the Green and Hunter duo come in- they're both young, relatively fast and tough defenders who've blossomed under Worsfold. Green is a very strong mark, and Huntaaaaaaaa is just a headcase. They fit very well together, adding some extra run off half back whilst Jako anchors the defence. Also might be worth keeping Morrison waiting on the interchange to allow Hunter to switch forward if needs be. Green/Jakovich/Hunter = could be as potent as Mckenna/Jakovich/Worsfold, and remain so, until Jako eventually fossilises, sometime in the next few centuries.
Future- Green, Gaspar, Hunter
Green and Hunter are ready now, Gaspar should slot in against some of the more mobile CHFs next year and over the next few seasons he has the smarts and raw ability to take over the reins from Jako when he's ready.
Centreline:
Present- Fletcher Chick Judd
This looks pretty dangerous. In theory, Wirrpunda/Chick/Judd would be the absolute best centre line, but Wirra and Chick are too damaging up forward to keep them both in the midfield at the same time, so I'm guessing they'll rotate through there. Judd and Fletch make a lightning quick wing combination, the only thing stopping the latter from being a true blue ribbon player is his lack of consistency. Chick, meanwhile, makes a handy mr fixit onballer, laying tackles, going in and under with Kerr, shepherding for Cousins, and doing the sort of grunt work that won him a B&F at Hawthorn. The first person who mentions 'Headland' can go to hell. (not that I'm bitter or anything
)
Future- Adkins Fletcher Judd
Ok, I'm obviously stretching it a bit by naming a guy who none of us had heard of till yesterday, but Adkins does have the right pedigree to be a top flight midfielder in the future. As far as I'm concerned, if he's fit, throw him in the deepend. We need to know whether or not he can play- now.
Ruck-
Present- Gardiner, Cousins, Kerr
A bloody good combination,and one made a lot better by having Chick as the third real onballer. If Gardiner can find consistency, he'll be a superstar, and Cousins and Kerr are still on the improve to even loftier heights.
Future- Cox, Cousins, Kerr
Obviously, Gardiner probably isn't going anywhere in a hurry, but I do get the impression that as he matures more as a player he could spend more time at CHF, mostly because I get the feeling Cox has it in him to be a better 'pure' ruckman than Gardie, which is a pretty bold statement, I know. Cousins and Kerr, meanwhile, should have at least half a decade of peak quality football together, provided they don't punch each other's lights out.
Half Forward:
Present- Wirrpunda, Macdougall Pe. Matera
Obviously Gardiner is an option at CHF, but I'm of the opinion that 2003 needs to be the season where Doogs becomes a bona fide AFL player. Theoreticaly, his status as a high pick in the draft should indicate that he has the ability to be an elite CHF, and in his first game last year, he actually showed a fair bit. He has the potential, he's had a long development period, and now comes the time for the payoff. Chuck him in the deep end I say. Wirrpunda will no doubt spend a fair amount of time in the midfield when he ain't tearing it up on the forward line. Peter Matera, meanwhile, should play out his career on the HFF- his silky skills, experience, and defensive tackling are handy, but on top of that, the fact is he is still probably the most accurate kick on goal in our team, and one of the few players of his size in the league who can comfortably kick 50m+ with deadeye accuracy. On top of that, he still has more pace than most defenders, making he and Wirrpunda a notably slippery couple of flankers. Obviously Chick is also a significant possibility here.
Future- Embley Macdougall Chick
I'm gonna whack on the rose colored glasses for a second, and believe that somehow, somewhere Andrew Embley will actually utilise the incredible size, skill and athleticism he's been naturally gifted with, and become a decent AFL football player. If not, he'll be seeing the door soonish, but if he did, well, he'd be bloody good. Chick will probably spend the twilight years of his career on the half forward line when he gets too old for the midfield caper.
Forwards:
Present: Ph. Matera Wilson Jones.
The first two spots are no brainers. Rowan Jones, however, is obviously a bit more of a smokey. Why do I think he should play as the midsize forward? To function along with Matera and Wilson on the full forward line, we need an exceptionally smart footballer who knows how to create space for them, draw off defenders, and just generally not get in their way. Furthermore, he needs to be able to take a decent mark, make good position, and apply defensive pressure to keep the ball bottled up. That description basically suits Jones to a T, and with our present midfield stocks, we can spare him for the forward line. I really do think he's got the ability to be a career forward- he played an excellent game in the forward line vs Sydney this year when Wilson was out, and kicked a number of opportunistic goals.
Future: Sampi, Wilson, Munro
Sampi looks to be a class object, and Munro actually came good towards the end of the year, most notably vs Essendon, of course. Now about Wilson's future. I honestly believe he could play for maybe another 5 years yet, despite his age. Players tend to retire in their early thirties because some recurring injury they sustained earlier on catches up with them, eg McKenna's back, Kemp's concussion, and no doubt in the future, Milli's hamstrings and Roo's calves. Now in Wilson's case the fact that he started AFL, and indeed football in general, very late is a big factor in his favor, because he hasn't had a decade of physically demanding AFL footy, training and weekly plane travel to accumulate the collection of injury niggles that most 30 year olds would have. In addition to that, Full Forward is probably the least physically demanding position on the field, if you look around, most of the dinosaurs of the league either play FF or FB, so that also suggests he won't be heading out soonish. Finally, he's very fit, built like the proverbial brick dunny, and considers a broken collarbone to be a minor inconvenience. Given that noone else in the league plays FF quite like he does, I can't see West Coast putting Porno out to stud (not the best choice of phrase) until they absolutely have to, which I don't think will be for a while yet.
a.) What our figurative best 18 is going to look like next year, &
b.) what our best 18 will be a couple of years hence. I'm not going to bother trying to put together a hypothetical interchange, because it simply varies too much from week to week depending on form, our opponents, injuries, etc etc.
Backs:
Present-Reid Macintosh Collica
A bit of a no brainer this one. When fit, Macintosh is still on par with Fletcher as the best FB in the competition. Combined with Reid and Collica, we have a balanced, experienced FB line, capable of dealing with any size and shape of forward.
Future- Humm Lynch Collica
Humm could be developed into an archetypical small defender- Gritty, tough as nails, and a great tackler. IMO, Lynch should become our new key defender. He has the size, strength, and marking ability to be an excellent FB, as well as a modicum of pace. Also, I love the idea of having a guy who can comfortably boot the ball 60m doing our kick ins. I get the impression Collica is going to remain a fixture at the eagles for years to come as our midsize defender in the last line of defence. Other options back here include Glass, Carrol, and possibly Haynes.
Halfbacks:
Present- Green Jakovich Hunter
After a stellar season, it seems like Jako could go on forever, and I sincerely hope he does. There are a few players he has a bit of trouble with, but by and large, he cheerfully bitchifies marquee CHFs week in, week out. I get the impression his resurgence this year had a lot to do with having more solid HB flankers to back him up, and this is where the Green and Hunter duo come in- they're both young, relatively fast and tough defenders who've blossomed under Worsfold. Green is a very strong mark, and Huntaaaaaaaa is just a headcase. They fit very well together, adding some extra run off half back whilst Jako anchors the defence. Also might be worth keeping Morrison waiting on the interchange to allow Hunter to switch forward if needs be. Green/Jakovich/Hunter = could be as potent as Mckenna/Jakovich/Worsfold, and remain so, until Jako eventually fossilises, sometime in the next few centuries.
Future- Green, Gaspar, Hunter
Green and Hunter are ready now, Gaspar should slot in against some of the more mobile CHFs next year and over the next few seasons he has the smarts and raw ability to take over the reins from Jako when he's ready.
Centreline:
Present- Fletcher Chick Judd
This looks pretty dangerous. In theory, Wirrpunda/Chick/Judd would be the absolute best centre line, but Wirra and Chick are too damaging up forward to keep them both in the midfield at the same time, so I'm guessing they'll rotate through there. Judd and Fletch make a lightning quick wing combination, the only thing stopping the latter from being a true blue ribbon player is his lack of consistency. Chick, meanwhile, makes a handy mr fixit onballer, laying tackles, going in and under with Kerr, shepherding for Cousins, and doing the sort of grunt work that won him a B&F at Hawthorn. The first person who mentions 'Headland' can go to hell. (not that I'm bitter or anything
)Future- Adkins Fletcher Judd
Ok, I'm obviously stretching it a bit by naming a guy who none of us had heard of till yesterday, but Adkins does have the right pedigree to be a top flight midfielder in the future. As far as I'm concerned, if he's fit, throw him in the deepend. We need to know whether or not he can play- now.
Ruck-
Present- Gardiner, Cousins, Kerr
A bloody good combination,and one made a lot better by having Chick as the third real onballer. If Gardiner can find consistency, he'll be a superstar, and Cousins and Kerr are still on the improve to even loftier heights.
Future- Cox, Cousins, Kerr
Obviously, Gardiner probably isn't going anywhere in a hurry, but I do get the impression that as he matures more as a player he could spend more time at CHF, mostly because I get the feeling Cox has it in him to be a better 'pure' ruckman than Gardie, which is a pretty bold statement, I know. Cousins and Kerr, meanwhile, should have at least half a decade of peak quality football together, provided they don't punch each other's lights out.
Half Forward:
Present- Wirrpunda, Macdougall Pe. Matera
Obviously Gardiner is an option at CHF, but I'm of the opinion that 2003 needs to be the season where Doogs becomes a bona fide AFL player. Theoreticaly, his status as a high pick in the draft should indicate that he has the ability to be an elite CHF, and in his first game last year, he actually showed a fair bit. He has the potential, he's had a long development period, and now comes the time for the payoff. Chuck him in the deep end I say. Wirrpunda will no doubt spend a fair amount of time in the midfield when he ain't tearing it up on the forward line. Peter Matera, meanwhile, should play out his career on the HFF- his silky skills, experience, and defensive tackling are handy, but on top of that, the fact is he is still probably the most accurate kick on goal in our team, and one of the few players of his size in the league who can comfortably kick 50m+ with deadeye accuracy. On top of that, he still has more pace than most defenders, making he and Wirrpunda a notably slippery couple of flankers. Obviously Chick is also a significant possibility here.
Future- Embley Macdougall Chick
I'm gonna whack on the rose colored glasses for a second, and believe that somehow, somewhere Andrew Embley will actually utilise the incredible size, skill and athleticism he's been naturally gifted with, and become a decent AFL football player. If not, he'll be seeing the door soonish, but if he did, well, he'd be bloody good. Chick will probably spend the twilight years of his career on the half forward line when he gets too old for the midfield caper.
Forwards:
Present: Ph. Matera Wilson Jones.
The first two spots are no brainers. Rowan Jones, however, is obviously a bit more of a smokey. Why do I think he should play as the midsize forward? To function along with Matera and Wilson on the full forward line, we need an exceptionally smart footballer who knows how to create space for them, draw off defenders, and just generally not get in their way. Furthermore, he needs to be able to take a decent mark, make good position, and apply defensive pressure to keep the ball bottled up. That description basically suits Jones to a T, and with our present midfield stocks, we can spare him for the forward line. I really do think he's got the ability to be a career forward- he played an excellent game in the forward line vs Sydney this year when Wilson was out, and kicked a number of opportunistic goals.
Future: Sampi, Wilson, Munro
Sampi looks to be a class object, and Munro actually came good towards the end of the year, most notably vs Essendon, of course. Now about Wilson's future. I honestly believe he could play for maybe another 5 years yet, despite his age. Players tend to retire in their early thirties because some recurring injury they sustained earlier on catches up with them, eg McKenna's back, Kemp's concussion, and no doubt in the future, Milli's hamstrings and Roo's calves. Now in Wilson's case the fact that he started AFL, and indeed football in general, very late is a big factor in his favor, because he hasn't had a decade of physically demanding AFL footy, training and weekly plane travel to accumulate the collection of injury niggles that most 30 year olds would have. In addition to that, Full Forward is probably the least physically demanding position on the field, if you look around, most of the dinosaurs of the league either play FF or FB, so that also suggests he won't be heading out soonish. Finally, he's very fit, built like the proverbial brick dunny, and considers a broken collarbone to be a minor inconvenience. Given that noone else in the league plays FF quite like he does, I can't see West Coast putting Porno out to stud (not the best choice of phrase) until they absolutely have to, which I don't think will be for a while yet.
