Unofficial Preview SEASON 2025 - Best 22, Game Plan, Personnel

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One thing I am hopeful about in regards to 2025 is the prospect of us FINALLY having a stopper in the midfield in Callum Mills. The criticism of our midfield has been our inability to win the ball, but that is only half the issue. The other half is our inability to curb opposition midfielders from doing maximum damage against us.

Too often this year, particularly in first quarters, we let midfielders go on rampages against us where we'd struggle to contain them and we'd then have to spend the next three quarters trying to reel in the damage they caused in just one big quarter.

Round 3 vs Richmond - Tim Taranto has 10 disposals in the first quarter.
Round 4 vs West Coast - Elliot Yeo has 11 disposals in the first quarter.
Round 11 vs Western Bulldogs - Ed Richards has 11 disposals in the first quarter.
Round 16 vs Fremantle - Caleb Serong has 10 disposals in the first quarter.
Round 20 vs Western Bulldogs - Adam Treloar has 11 disposals in the first quarter.
Round 23 vs Essendon - Dylan Shiel has 11 disposals in the first quarter.
Qualifying Final vs GWS - Tom Green has 12 disposals in the first quarter.

That's seven first quarters where we let an opposition midfielder have 10+ touches, and we lost 6 of those quarters by an average of 14 points. If I'd bumped down the criteria a fraction to a midfielder having 9+ touches in the first quarter, then BOTH Lachie Neale & Hugh McCluggage in the grand final would've made the cut, along with many others over the course of the season.

Just can't keep happening. We need a genuine shutdown player who can go into the mids and nullify an opponent. Jordon is one, but he tends to take the outside players and flankers more than the contested inside players. So it has to be Mills.
 
One thing I am hopeful about in regards to 2025 is the prospect of us FINALLY having a stopper in the midfield in Callum Mills. The criticism of our midfield has been our inability to win the ball, but that is only half the issue. The other half is our inability to curb opposition midfielders from doing maximum damage against us.

Too often this year, particularly in first quarters, we let midfielders go on rampages against us where we'd struggle to contain them and we'd then have to spend the next three quarters trying to reel in the damage they caused in just one big quarter.

Round 3 vs Richmond - Tim Taranto has 10 disposals in the first quarter.
Round 4 vs West Coast - Elliot Yeo has 11 disposals in the first quarter.
Round 11 vs Western Bulldogs - Ed Richards has 11 disposals in the first quarter.
Round 16 vs Fremantle - Caleb Serong has 10 disposals in the first quarter.
Round 20 vs Western Bulldogs - Adam Treloar has 11 disposals in the first quarter.
Round 23 vs Essendon - Dylan Shiel has 11 disposals in the first quarter.
Qualifying Final vs GWS - Tom Green has 12 disposals in the first quarter.

That's seven first quarters where we let an opposition midfielder have 10+ touches, and we lost 6 of those quarters by an average of 14 points. If I'd bumped down the criteria a fraction to a midfielder having 9+ touches in the first quarter, then BOTH Lachie Neale & Hugh McCluggage in the grand final would've made the cut, along with many others over the course of the season.

Just can't keep happening. We need a genuine shutdown player who can go into the mids and nullify an opponent. Jordon is one, but he tends to take the outside players and flankers more than the contested inside players. So it has to be Mills.
Partly troops (Mills), partly set-up (possibly - not my expertise) and partly Grundy being sharked (IIRC he did poorly in most of those games first quarters).
Jordon when he did tag started outside the circle. He did a decent job tagging mids but I like the idea of Mills better. Sheldrick can do the same thing when Mills is elsewhere. He weighs 1kg less (86 vs 87) and is a terrier. Give him one job.
Let Rowbottom have a more general role.
 
Partly troops (Mills), partly set-up (possibly - not my expertise) and partly Grundy being sharked (IIRC he did poorly in most of those games first quarters).
Jordon when he did tag started outside the circle. He did a decent job tagging mids but I like the idea of Mills better. Sheldrick can do the same thing when Mills is elsewhere. He weighs 1kg less (86 vs 87) and is a terrier. Give him one job.
Let Rowbottom have a more general role.
That is pretty much what I would do. The issue is would Horse do it, or is he just going to continue to (wrongly) believe that being great at tackling means you can do a tagging job?
 

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Well, the list is complete for the foreseeable future, so thought I'd have a go at what I personally would like our best 23 to look like come round 1 next year.

FULL BACK LINE
Dane Rampe - Will start best 23, but given he will be 35 next year, it'd be ideal if he didn't finish best 23. His replacement needs to start banging down the door, and I think that is either Snell or Edwards.

Tom McCartin - Pretty self-explanatory. He & Melican aren't perfect but they're the best we've got in terms of a key defensive duo.

Harry Cunningham - Like Rampe, it'd be good if we could have a replacement for his lockdown role lined up. But unlike Rampe, I don't think it's quite as urgent. Cunningham is only 30 and was one of our top 5 performers in the finals IMO.

HALF BACK LINE
Nick Blakey - Quality player but needs to keep improving and going in the right direction.

Lewis Melican - See: Tom McCartin.

Matty Roberts - Some see a midfield shift for Roberts, but I think Sheldrick & Cleary have shown a bit more chops for that sort of role. He may surprise me but I'm fine with him continuing to do as he did this year, maybe with more consistency of another pre-season. Kinda get young Zorko vibes.

CENTRE LINE
Errol Gulden - When I say put him on the wing, I mean ON THE WING. Not inside. He gets mauled and looks like a headless chook. He's too good for that. Let the boy run and distribute by foot FFS.

Callum Mills - Could be the tagger we've been crying out for. He's hard, he's tough, he's strong. More of what we need in the midfield.

Justin McInerney - I think he has another level he can go to. Arguably our best kick inside 50 so if he can be more of an attacking wingman rather than one doing so much rebounding from half back, he could be even better than he already is.

FOLLOWERS
Brodie Grundy - Not perfect as has been well-documented. But is the best we've got. More of early-season Grundy would be nice.

Isaac Heeney - Clearly played the best footy of his career as a midfielder, and is just the sort of player we need in the midfield, so we need to leave him there. But also be smarter with how we use him. Give him more stints forward as a rest, etc.

James Rowbottom - Probably the first magnet on the team board and the safest one on there.

HALF FORWARD LINE
Caiden Cleary - Has all the things we need, both in the forward line and in the midfield. Zippy closing speed and pressure inside 50, and hardness and clean hands in the guts. So this seems a good position for him to be able to rotate between the two. I'd like him to be our fifth mid rotating in and out of there.

Logan McDonald - Is trending in the right direction, though I'm still not 100% convinced by him. I do get the feeling that if he goes on to have a very long and successful career, it will only be as a Gunston-like third-tall. Which would be no shame, btw.

Chad Warner - This is on the assumption that Horse will continue to allow Warner to be a one-dimensional show-pony. If so, just play him forward and stop wasting his and our time with him in the midfield. He'll get the goals he craves and can do a bit more damage in general play than at stoppages where he does little.

FULL FORWARD LINE

Tom Papley - Our best scoring small, so... yeah.

Hayden McLean - I think he probably has the inside lane on Amartey given his experience as a second ruck. But if it is the opposite scenario it is much of a muchness really. Each have their pros and cons, I personally prefer McLean.

Will Hayward - Just keep scoring goals please.

INTERCHANGE

Angus Sheldrick - Like Cleary, he has what we need more of in the midfield. Heeney & Rowbottom desperately need fellow players suited to the contest to work with, not these flashy outside players who are hopeless inside. So in you go Angus.

Jake Lloyd - A bit like Cunningham, in that the time to phase him out is on the horizon, but we're not there yet. He was also a top 5 performer in our finals series, so there's life in the champ yet. With my set-up I'd also have him as the third wingman to give Gulden or McInerney a chop out. He is quite clearly our third-best wingman and any talk of a Roberts or Campbell or Florent being as good on the wing as Lloyd is folly.

Ollie Florent - I am struggling to find a place for Florent really. But he has 150+ games of experience and I like him and I think he is too good to be in the VFL. I think he is quick and classy inside 50, so I'd add him to that rotation of Papley, Cleary and Warner. Just go all-out speed, ground balls, pressure inside 50.

Unknown - There are so many options for this spot.

There's James Jordon, who I haven't named yet, because I'm still not convinced that in a team loaded with flankers, he does quiiiiite enough outside of his shutdown roles. But they are a big asset and point of difference for him.

There's Robbie Fox, the most versatile of the options. He could help out down back in a lockdown sort of role, help out up forward in a pressure sort of role. There's also just the fact that he really, really deserves it, for so rarely letting us down.

There's Taylor Adams, if we want more hardness and contested strength in the midfield (but I am also backing in the additions of Mills, Sheldrick & Cleary and the omissions of Gulden & Warner to cover this.)

There's Riley Bice, who is a mature-aged pick I presume we have not recruited just to boost our age on the census report. I'd imagine they think he can impact as soon as next year, just a matter of whether he's good enough and if he want yet another flanker in the team. Given my back six set-up only has two pure rebounding options in it, maybe he is more needed.

There's Joel Amartey, who I omitted because he does my head in. However if we persist on going down the three talls route, he exists.

There's Braeden Campbell & Jesse Dattoli, two zippy, classy forward half players who I think we are all keen to see more of, one because he's a highly-rated prospect yet to fulfil his potential, the other because he is a brand spanking new shiny toy. But I also feel like the need for these two would be quite dependent on whether literally any of the Cleary/Warner/Florent trio are playing in the forward line. I don't think it's a given that they will be, but I hope they are.

SUB

Whoever is the best and/or most versatile of who is left.

------

So as far as all of the contentious positional debates, I have gone with two talls and four smalls in the forward line, five contested players in the midfield, three wingmen, three talls in defence. With that final bench spot able to be someone who can provide extra in any of these roles depending on where we decide to go. I personally would like this extra player to be flexible and based on what is needed for any given opponent or conditions.

Does this all make sense to anyone else or am I talking absolute dribble?
 
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Well, the list is complete for the foreseeable future, so thought I'd have a go at what I personally would like our best 23 to look like come round 1 next year.

FULL BACK LINE
Dane Rampe - Will start best 23, but given he will be 35 next year, it'd be ideal if he didn't finish best 23. His replacement needs to start banging down the door, and I think that is either Snell or Edwards.

Tom McCartin - Pretty self-explanatory. He & Melican aren't perfect but they're the best we've got in terms of a key defensive duo.

Harry Cunningham - Like Rampe, it'd be good if we could have a replacement for his lockdown role lined up. But unlike Rampe, I don't think it's quite as urgent. Cunningham is only 30 and was one of our top 5 performers in the finals IMO.

HALF BACK LINE
Nick Blakey - Quality player but needs to keep improving and going in the right direction.

Lewis Melican - See: Tom McCartin.

Matty Roberts - Some see a midfield shift for Roberts, but I think Sheldrick & Cleary have shown a bit more chops for that sort of role. He may surprise me but I'm fine with him continuing to do as he did this year, maybe with more consistency of another pre-season. Kinda get young Zorko vibes.

CENTRE LINE
Errol Gulden - When I say put him on the wing, I mean ON THE WING. Not inside. He gets mauled and looks like a headless chook. He's too good for that. Let the boy run and distribute by foot FFS.

Callum Mills - Could be the tagger we've been crying out for. He's hard, he's tough, he's strong. More of what we need in the midfield.

Justin McInerney - I think he has another level he can go to. Arguably our best kick inside 50 so if he can be more of an attacking wingman rather than one doing so much rebounding from half back, he could be even better than he already is.

FOLLOWERS
Brodie Grundy - Not perfect as has been well-documented. But is the best we've got. More of early-season Grundy would be nice.

Isaac Heeney - Clearly played the best footy of his career as a midfielder, and is just the sort of player we need in the midfield, so we need to leave him there. But also be smarter with how we use him. Give him more stints forward as a rest, etc.

James Rowbottom - Probably the first magnet on the team board and the safest one on there.

HALF FORWARD LINE
Caiden Cleary - Has all the things we need, both in the forward line and in the midfield. Zippy closing speed and pressure inside 50, and hardness and clean hands in the guts. So this seems a good position for him to be able to rotate between the two. I'd like him to be our fifth mid rotating in and out of there.

Logan McDonald - Is trending in the right direction, though I'm still not 100% convinced by him. I do get the feeling that if he goes on to have a very long and successful career, it will only be as a Gunston-like third-tall. Which would be no shame, btw.

Chad Warner - This is on the assumption that Horse will continue to allow Warner to be a one-dimensional show-pony. If so, just play him forward and stop wasting his and our time with him in the midfield. He'll get the goals he craves and can do a bit more damage in general play than at stoppages where he does little.

FULL FORWARD LINE

Tom Papley - Our best scoring small, so... yeah.

Hayden McLean - I think he probably has the inside lane on Amartey given his experience as a second ruck. But if it is the opposite scenario it is much of a muchness really. Each have their pros and cons, I personally prefer McLean.

Will Hayward - Not a fan, but he's fine.

INTERCHANGE

Angus Sheldrick - Like Cleary, he has what we need more of in the midfield. Heeney & Rowbottom desperately need fellow players suited to the contest to work with, not these flashy outside players who are hopeless inside. So in you go Angus.

Jake Lloyd - A bit like Cunningham, in that the time to phase him out is on the horizon, but we're not there yet. He was also a top 5 performer in our finals series, so there's life in the champ yet. With my set-up I'd also have him as the third wingman to give Gulden or McInerney a chop out.

Ollie Florent - I am struggling to find a place for Florent really. But he has 150+ games of experience. I think he is quick and classy inside 50, so I'd add him to that rotation of Papley, Cleary and Warner. Just go all-out speed, ground balls, pressure inside 50.

Unknown - There are so many options for this spot.

There's James Jordon, who I haven't named yet, because I'm still not convinced that in a team loaded with flankers, he does quiiiiite enough outside of his shutdown roles. But they are a big asset and point of difference for him.

There's Robbie Fox, the most versatile of the options. He could help out down back in a lockdown sort of role, help out up forward in a pressure sort of role. There's also just the fact that he really, really deserves it, for so rarely letting us down.

There's Taylor Adams, if we want more hardness and contested strength in the midfield (but I am also backing in the additions of Mills, Sheldrick & Cleary and the omissions of Gulden & Warner to cover this.)

There's Riley Bice, who is a mature-aged pick I presume we have not recruited just to boost our age on the census report. I'd imagine they think he can impact as soon as next year, just a matter of whether he's good enough and if he want yet another flanker in the team.

There's Joel Amartey, who I omitted because he does my head in. However if we persist on going down the three talls route, he exists.

There's Braeden Campbell & Jesse Dattoli, two zippy, classy forward half players who I think we are all keen to see more of, one because he's a highly-rated prospect yet to fulfil his potential, the other because he is a brand spanking new shiny toy. But I also feel like the need for these two would be quite dependent on whether literally any of the Cleary/Warner/Florent trio are playing in the forward line. I don't think it's a given that they will be, but I hope they are.

SUB

Whoever is the best and/or most versatile of who is left.

------

Does this all make sense to anyone else or am I talking absolute dribble?
Not dribble.
Firstly I believe there will be 5 on the bench and no sub.
I think we'll stick with three talls so in your team Amartey will be one on the bench to make a seventh forward.
Not sure Cleary gets a spot in the 22 yet, that most likely goes to Jordon.
The bench needs a seventh defender probably Fox or Florent though I would love to see Edwards or Snell.
Of the newbies only Dattoli strikes me as a chance to start first round, probably on the bench.
So my version of your team would see Cleary replaced by Jordon. A bench of Cleary, Sheldrick, Amartey, Edwards and Dattoli.
Adams, Fox, Campbell and Florent miss. Won't happen of course.
 
Well, the list is complete for the foreseeable future, so thought I'd have a go at what I personally would like our best 23 to look like come round 1 next year.

FULL BACK LINE
Dane Rampe - Will start best 23, but given he will be 35 next year, it'd be ideal if he didn't finish best 23. His replacement needs to start banging down the door, and I think that is either Snell or Edwards.

Tom McCartin - Pretty self-explanatory. He & Melican aren't perfect but they're the best we've got in terms of a key defensive duo.

Harry Cunningham - Like Rampe, it'd be good if we could have a replacement for his lockdown role lined up. But unlike Rampe, I don't think it's quite as urgent. Cunningham is only 30 and was one of our top 5 performers in the finals IMO.

HALF BACK LINE
Nick Blakey - Quality player but needs to keep improving and going in the right direction.

Lewis Melican - See: Tom McCartin.

Matty Roberts - Some see a midfield shift for Roberts, but I think Sheldrick & Cleary have shown a bit more chops for that sort of role. He may surprise me but I'm fine with him continuing to do as he did this year, maybe with more consistency of another pre-season. Kinda get young Zorko vibes.

CENTRE LINE
Errol Gulden - When I say put him on the wing, I mean ON THE WING. Not inside. He gets mauled and looks like a headless chook. He's too good for that. Let the boy run and distribute by foot FFS.

Callum Mills - Could be the tagger we've been crying out for. He's hard, he's tough, he's strong. More of what we need in the midfield.

Justin McInerney - I think he has another level he can go to. Arguably our best kick inside 50 so if he can be more of an attacking wingman rather than one doing so much rebounding from half back, he could be even better than he already is.

FOLLOWERS
Brodie Grundy - Not perfect as has been well-documented. But is the best we've got. More of early-season Grundy would be nice.

Isaac Heeney - Clearly played the best footy of his career as a midfielder, and is just the sort of player we need in the midfield, so we need to leave him there. But also be smarter with how we use him. Give him more stints forward as a rest, etc.

James Rowbottom - Probably the first magnet on the team board and the safest one on there.

HALF FORWARD LINE
Caiden Cleary - Has all the things we need, both in the forward line and in the midfield. Zippy closing speed and pressure inside 50, and hardness and clean hands in the guts. So this seems a good position for him to be able to rotate between the two. I'd like him to be our fifth mid rotating in and out of there.

Logan McDonald - Is trending in the right direction, though I'm still not 100% convinced by him. I do get the feeling that if he goes on to have a very long and successful career, it will only be as a Gunston-like third-tall. Which would be no shame, btw.

Chad Warner - This is on the assumption that Horse will continue to allow Warner to be a one-dimensional show-pony. If so, just play him forward and stop wasting his and our time with him in the midfield. He'll get the goals he craves and can do a bit more damage in general play than at stoppages where he does little.

FULL FORWARD LINE

Tom Papley - Our best scoring small, so... yeah.

Hayden McLean - I think he probably has the inside lane on Amartey given his experience as a second ruck. But if it is the opposite scenario it is much of a muchness really. Each have their pros and cons, I personally prefer McLean.

Will Hayward - Just keep scoring goals please.

INTERCHANGE

Angus Sheldrick - Like Cleary, he has what we need more of in the midfield. Heeney & Rowbottom desperately need fellow players suited to the contest to work with, not these flashy outside players who are hopeless inside. So in you go Angus.

Jake Lloyd - A bit like Cunningham, in that the time to phase him out is on the horizon, but we're not there yet. He was also a top 5 performer in our finals series, so there's life in the champ yet. With my set-up I'd also have him as the third wingman to give Gulden or McInerney a chop out. He is quite clearly our third-best wingman and any talk of a Roberts or Campbell or Florent being as good on the wing as Lloyd is folly.

Ollie Florent - I am struggling to find a place for Florent really. But he has 150+ games of experience and I like him and I think he is too good to be in the VFL. I think he is quick and classy inside 50, so I'd add him to that rotation of Papley, Cleary and Warner. Just go all-out speed, ground balls, pressure inside 50.

Unknown - There are so many options for this spot.

There's James Jordon, who I haven't named yet, because I'm still not convinced that in a team loaded with flankers, he does quiiiiite enough outside of his shutdown roles. But they are a big asset and point of difference for him.

There's Robbie Fox, the most versatile of the options. He could help out down back in a lockdown sort of role, help out up forward in a pressure sort of role. There's also just the fact that he really, really deserves it, for so rarely letting us down.

There's Taylor Adams, if we want more hardness and contested strength in the midfield (but I am also backing in the additions of Mills, Sheldrick & Cleary and the omissions of Gulden & Warner to cover this.)

There's Riley Bice, who is a mature-aged pick I presume we have not recruited just to boost our age on the census report. I'd imagine they think he can impact as soon as next year, just a matter of whether he's good enough and if he want yet another flanker in the team. Given my back six set-up only has two pure rebounding options in it, maybe he is more needed.

There's Joel Amartey, who I omitted because he does my head in. However if we persist on going down the three talls route, he exists.

There's Braeden Campbell & Jesse Dattoli, two zippy, classy forward half players who I think we are all keen to see more of, one because he's a highly-rated prospect yet to fulfil his potential, the other because he is a brand spanking new shiny toy. But I also feel like the need for these two would be quite dependent on whether literally any of the Cleary/Warner/Florent trio are playing in the forward line. I don't think it's a given that they will be, but I hope they are.

SUB

Whoever is the best and/or most versatile of who is left.

------

So as far as all of the contentious positional debates, I have gone with two talls and four smalls in the forward line, five contested players in the midfield, three wingmen, three talls in defence. With that final bench spot able to be someone who can provide extra in any of these roles depending on where we decide to go. I personally would like this extra player to be flexible and based on what is needed for any given opponent or conditions.

Does this all make sense to anyone else or am I talking absolute dribble?
Good write up 👍

This year’s drafting strategy makes me think that 2 tall forwards will be the go.

I also wonder if we will be comfortable with just 2 tall defenders as well then? Bice might be a Rampe non-like-for-like replacement if Rampe falls away. Or is he there to compete with Roberts, who struggled at times during the year (though I really like Roberts so hope he can stay in the starting team).

Either way, there is good competition for spots across most of the team, save maybe KPD, inside mid and the ruck - although if Amartey can play ruck, then I am opened minded about a McLean / Amartey duo if it means we can keep 3 tall forwards. I found Grundy a little underwhelming and I hope he is made to earn his starting position.

Agree with you that Florent doesn’t really have a position. But he is also pretty good cover across half back, wing, half forward, and even mid.

I am also curious about how much the game plan will change. Horse has clearly started to pass the reins to Cox (see what I did there? ;) ).

I suspect Cox will push for more of a Hawthorne style game plan. I also think Longmire will support this move as well. Although we all know on this board that Longmire never deserves credit for good decisions, but that all the bad calls are his entirely fault.
 
Not dribble.
Firstly I believe there will be 5 on the bench and no sub.
I think we'll stick with three talls so in your team Amartey will be one on the bench to make a seventh forward.
Not sure Cleary gets a spot in the 22 yet, that most likely goes to Jordon.
The bench needs a seventh defender probably Fox or Florent though I would love to see Edwards or Snell.
Of the newbies only Dattoli strikes me as a chance to start first round, probably on the bench.
So my version of your team would see Cleary replaced by Jordon. A bench of Cleary, Sheldrick, Amartey, Edwards and Dattoli.
Adams, Fox, Campbell and Florent miss. Won't happen of course.
Interesting. I hope that we get good and accountable enough that Jordon becomes a horses for courses player. Either that, or Jordon refines his game and grows out of his pure tagger role.
 
Not dribble.
Firstly I believe there will be 5 on the bench and no sub.
I think we'll stick with three talls so in your team Amartey will be one on the bench to make a seventh forward.
Not sure Cleary gets a spot in the 22 yet, that most likely goes to Jordon.
The bench needs a seventh defender probably Fox or Florent though I would love to see Edwards or Snell.
Of the newbies only Dattoli strikes me as a chance to start first round, probably on the bench.
So my version of your team would see Cleary replaced by Jordon. A bench of Cleary, Sheldrick, Amartey, Edwards and Dattoli.
Adams, Fox, Campbell and Florent miss. Won't happen of course.
I guess if it's between Cleary & Jordon (which I'm not sure it is, but in our hypothetical 22s stacked up against each other it appears to be so), I would prefer Cleary for two reasons:

1. I think he can offer more in a pressure-sense inside 50. He is zippy and tenacious, of which Jordon is not (which is not to say Jordon is a lazy sloth.)

2. I think he can offer more in a contested sense in the midfield. As mentioned, he'd only be the fifth cog in my midfield. Behind Heeney, Rowbottom, Mills & Sheldrick in rotations. But having the fifth cog be someone who can win a hard ball, dish out a clean disposal and make a tough tackle... could be a difference-maker.

Outside of his negating roles, which I'm not denying are important, I'm not sure Jordon offers as much. I believe we can win a premiership without someone negating opposition half backs or wingmen. I'm not sure we can win a premiership without a firing midfield group.

I think the potential for them both to be in the same team could come from Lloyd going out. Maybe Jordon replaces him as the third wingman (we definitely need a third wingman, and Lloyd's clearly in our top 3) and then Cleary replaces Jordon at half forward.

Just thinking out loud.
 
This is my effort - somewhere between what I want and how I think our structure will look based on the draft.

FB: Cunningham - McCartin - Rampe
HB: Blakey - Melican - Roberts
C: Gulden - Mills - McInerney
HF: Cleary - McDonald - Warner
FF: Papley - Amartey - Hayward
Foll: Grundy - Heeney - Rowbottom
I/C: Florent - Lloyd - Sheldrick - Campbell - Adams

EMG: Jordon - McLean - Fox

I could see Bice and Dattoli getting games early. I don't mind the idea of Florent spending more time forward if we are keen on getting Bice in, which would probably come at the expense of Cleary or Campbell. Could go either way there, I think both are capable of improving our defensive pressure and speed forward of the footy.

As for Dattoli, I'd give the incumbents I named above a crack first but it will be very good to have options there.

I think the balance of the midfield on paper looks a lot better than what we had this year and the forward line looks more dangerous. So it leaves a fair bit of room for improvement.

In the backline we'll be relying on players like Blakey and Roberts improving the defensive side of their games, the cohesion between McCartin and Melican improving, and Rampe and Cunningham not rapidly declining. Forward lines are becoming dynamic so your rebounders increasingly need to be able to defend one-on-one (I'm guessing this was a big factor in drafting a mature age HBF). Though perhaps with the backline much of the improvement will simply come from not being constantly under siege with an improved midfield set-up.
 
Interesting. I hope that we get good and accountable enough that Jordon becomes a horses for courses player. Either that, or Jordon refines his game and grows out of his pure tagger role.
I guess if it's between Cleary & Jordon (which I'm not sure it is, but in our hypothetical 22s stacked up against each other it appears to be so), I would prefer Cleary for two reasons:

1. I think he can offer more in a pressure-sense inside 50. He is zippy and tenacious, of which Jordon is not (which is not to say Jordon is a lazy sloth.)

2. I think he can offer more in a contested sense in the midfield. As mentioned, he'd only be the fifth cog in my midfield. Behind Heeney, Rowbottom, Mills & Sheldrick in rotations. But having the fifth cog be someone who can win a hard ball, dish out a clean disposal and make a tough tackle... could be a difference-maker.

Outside of his negating roles, which I'm not denying are important, I'm not sure Jordon offers as much. I believe we can win a premiership without someone negating opposition half backs or wingmen. I'm not sure we can win a premiership without a firing midfield group.

I think the potential for them both to be in the same team could come from Lloyd going out. Maybe Jordon replaces him as the third wingman (we definitely need a third wingman, and Lloyd's clearly in our top 3) and then Cleary replaces Jordon at half forward.

Just thinking out loud.
I agree with both of you. I liked what Jordon brought to the side this year, but I think having a dangerous forward line that forces rebound defenders to actually defend (like Brisbane did to us in the GF, particularly Blakey) is much more productive than tagging a defender.
 
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We still need Rampe to perform which is a massive worry imo
Snell or Edwards breaking out next year would be massive. Seems like they're viewed as a vital part of our future, particularly with Snell extending all the way through until 2027. Hopefully we see both get opportunities next year.
 

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I guess if it's between Cleary & Jordon (which I'm not sure it is, but in our hypothetical 22s stacked up against each other it appears to be so), I would prefer Cleary for two reasons:

1. I think he can offer more in a pressure-sense inside 50. He is zippy and tenacious, of which Jordon is not (which is not to say Jordon is a lazy sloth.)

2. I think he can offer more in a contested sense in the midfield. As mentioned, he'd only be the fifth cog in my midfield. Behind Heeney, Rowbottom, Mills & Sheldrick in rotations. But having the fifth cog be someone who can win a hard ball, dish out a clean disposal and make a tough tackle... could be a difference-maker.

Outside of his negating roles, which I'm not denying are important, I'm not sure Jordon offers as much. I believe we can win a premiership without someone negating opposition half backs or wingmen. I'm not sure we can win a premiership without a firing midfield group.

I think the potential for them both to be in the same team could come from Lloyd going out. Maybe Jordon replaces him as the third wingman (we definitely need a third wingman, and Lloyd's clearly in our top 3) and then Cleary replaces Jordon at half forward.

Just thinking out loud.
It might work. Jordon is not a mug but the difficulty would be getting the coaches to try it.
 

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