Hey friends. Time to write another Season Preview together for 2020 AKA Who's can find the best Simpsons quote about disappointment?
If you don't know the drill by now, I'll post some topics in the comments. Write anything you want to contribute below each topic.
Posted Jan 2, 2020, 2:58 AM UTC
2020 List and Coaching Changes
Really really good. Completely addressed issues and also took BPA with our highest pick in the draft as you’re supposed to.
Because Kozzy is young yet expected to be our future forward pocket I don’t expect him to contribute much from day one, hence I think 9th is a pass mark. But nevertheless an awesome pick for the future.
Langdon a really good pickup especially for a second. He runs his heart out two ways, and I believe he will find a way to clean up his kicking(kicks at full pelt a lot, with time and space I think his kicking is passable).
Tomlinson I’m fine with, has more utility than Frost. Earmarked to play wing; I don’t mind that. We were way too undersized last season from all the injuries, often playing Lockhart Dunkley Wagner ANB etc. on the wing. Tomlinson should give us a bit in one on one situations(which I feel we were terrible in last season). That being said I’m not the biggest fan of him and I think I’d prefer him to play CHB. Because of his utility should be best 22 in one way or another, and if that’s the case then 500k for him probably about fair. Also: Pedersen at ruck in 2017 was awesome using his ground level ability to win clearances. I think Tomlinson as second ruck could have a similar effect.
Mitch Brown another super underrated pick, not a huge game changer but a solid plug and play guy at CHB/CHF.
And if Harley comes off...boy oh boy wowee. Not expecting anything myself, but if he gets on the park that’s enough. Loved watching him play even in limited minutes Freo. So talented. Reckon he probably plays forward for us.
From delisting and retirements: nothing too notable. JKH expendable. Sad to see Maynard get no luck with injuries because he really took to AFL very nicely after converting from basketball, clearly just a very talented athlete. And we replaced Bull with Brown so not too big a loss there even though I loved Timmy whenever he got on the park for us. Jeffy was cooked as good as he was from 2014-2017 for us
It’s so hard to comment on coaching as an outsider. Losing Jennings(seemed to be mastermind of 2018 game plan) sucks, but I don’t think we were adaptable enough in 2019 so maybe that’s a good call. But again hard to say.
Burgess has good rep but a mate in the industry says he’s super overrated so again hard to say. But it seems we are managing guys like Viney, Chunk, TMac, Vanders quite well given their injury histories
Burgess coming in was essential. Every other coaching change is fine, I like Richardson.
List changes are great, first time in years it feels like we've been a little bold and taken some good risks.
2019 Review
I mean what can you say. Everything went wrong.
Fitness wasn’t there, strategy wasn’t there.
One of the things that pissed me off most was the forward structure, so many of our forwards occupied similar areas, some forwards really struggled leading into space and providing an option. Too many times we came together as a pack which makes it quite easy to rebound from fifty for the opponent. Hopefully that changes in 2020.
It was staggering how evident that was too, half time of round 1 against Port Adelaide I felt like I was watching a team I hadn't seen play since we lost to Hawthorn earlyish last year.
You can't make me.
We had one good win all season and it wasn't the coach.
Our best games were probably in losses to West Coast tbh.
Overall Team Strategy
For goodness sake, can we please see a “plan B” this year? For the past 2 seasons, you can tell we will lose a game in the first 10 minutes, because “plan A” isn’t working, and there is no plan B.
This is entirely a coaching issue, so I hope that group have taken a good hard look at the strategy books and actually implemented something more than the one high risk/high reward game plan we have played the last 2 seasons. This plan is great against poor opposition, and/or when the entire team are hitting targets at 90% efficiency. This game plan alone will not win a GF.
Inside based for sure. We’ve got Trac Clarry Gussy Viney and Harmes who all win it at the coal face.
Defensively I don’t know what we are our communication was a mess. On paper we have very switchable defenders with May/Nev/Hibbo all capable of playing on talls and smalls. I think we want Lever intercepting, so depending on matchup we probably play with a 3rd tall which unfortunately means OMac probably plays. We seemed to like to use May on quicker types too, especially with Nev out. I don’t mind making use of your versatility, but I really don’t think picking a plodder like OMac is good because he just doesn’t have much defensive awareness compared to a May/Lever.
Everyone knows that we are capable of running and gunning from defence which is great to watch when it works. I think overall we’re becoming more adaptable. We don’t really switch from wing to wing very effectively, but Langdon coming in should help that with his amazing guy running. Because of our strength inside we should be able to go down the line to packs very well, with Weed and Maxy crashing packs and taking marks quite well.
Players on Notice
OMac. Time to shine baby. For real, hes good enough a user of the footy these days. We just need him to play respectably in those monster talls, which he did well in 2017 and 2018. Hopefully has a good pre season. Honestly scapegoated way too much, yes he’s slow but he’s also got genuine ability in one on ones. There’s a spot for OMac, if he plays well he should be best 22.
Weideman. Seems Petty might have overtaken him. We won’t play with 3 tall forwards given how tall Fritsch, Petracca play. Petty and Brown mean Weed has seriously stiff competition in that tall forward role. He won’t have to second ruck too much this year you’d think though since we added Tomlinson. Whoever the second tall is(Brown/Weed/Petty/Preuss), it’s time we got some consistent footy from them. Need 35 goals from both our key talls next year.
Chunk. Entering the twilight of his career. He’s cooked as an inside mid, and Trac is way too good at ground level to not play more inside midfield minutes. Can our heart and soul he find a role down back or up forward?
Petracca. Just get fitter. We know how good you are, we just need you to be able to play 100 minutes a match with at least half of them in the guts.
OMac was on notice last year. He should be moved to Casey by Rd 5 if he doesn’t start pulling his weight.
He'll start there if the rest of our backline is fit.
Which they won't be.
Attention fans, we have completed our evaluation of the team, and regret to announce the following players on notice, which I will read in alphabetical order:
McDonald, Oscar
That is all.
Concerns for 2020 (lol)
Just the game plan. We were definitely the worst team in the league last year from a structural and tactical standpoint, and the losses eventually built up and affected our confidence.
The game plan defensively needs to be ten times better. We need someone holding Clarry and Gus accountable on defence. We need May and Lever to haul everyone in line defensively like they started to do last year.
We need a good start. When we are playing confidently we should be able to match it with anyone. Our inside mids are so strong that they’ll break even, at worst, every single match In clearances and congested footy. That’s a huge advantage, so it’s time we start getting everything else right.
Meta (Comments about the Season Preview)
Best 22 for 2020
Jetta O.Mcdonald May
Salem Lever Hibberd^A
Tomlinson Oliver Langdon
Melksham Weideman^B Hunt^C
Fritsch T.Mcdonald Chandler^D
Gawn Harmes Brayshaw
Viney Petracca Vandeberg ? ^E
A: Hibberd or Rivers or Chunk or maybe even Kade Kolodjashnij(unlikely) for a spot here, or potentially both with Salem moving up the field. Rebounding defenders who can hold their weight defensively. Could also be Josh Wagner I guess but he’s not very good, and he’s more defensive than the others.
B: as mentioned in previous reply, Weed Petty J. Smith Brown Preuss fighting for one spot. Can’t be too tall-heavy
C: Hunt, but also Hannan and Bennell could be a shot for that half forward role. Melksham plays up the ground, the other HF needs to give pressure and kick goals. At the moment it’s Hunt because of his solid 2019 season
D: specialised pressure forward. Could be Chandler, could be Pickett second half of the season, could also be CWags or Bedford
E: based purely on pre-season and matchup as I think we have most bases covered with the other 21 players. I wouldn’t mind Oscar Baker myself, could be Jones, could be Goody’s favourite ANB. Could probably be another tall. If Bennell is fit and shows he can play wing he’d be amazing here. Marty Hore, Chaz Spargo, Tom Sparrow, James Jordon, Kyle Dunkley, maybe even Luke Jackson. Could raffle this spot basically IMO.
FF: Fritsch J. Smith Melksham
HF: Petracca T. McDonald Vandenberg
C: Langdon Viney Tomlinson
HB: Salem Lever Hore
FB: Jetta May Hibberd
Foll: Gawn Oliver Brayshaw
Int: Hunt, K. Kolodjashnij, Lockhart, Hannan
Open to suggestions. Potential other inclusions: Weideman, OMac, ANB, Mitch Brown, Wagners.
I'm assuming no Harmes is an oversight and you aren't actually leaving out one of our top 5 players.
Oh wow. I knew I was leaving out someone important.
Jetta, Petty, Lever
Hibberd, May, Salem
Bennell, Tomlinson, Langdon
Gawn, Oliver, Harmes
Petracca, T. McDonald, Fritsch
Melksham, Weideman, Hunt
Hore, Viney, Brayshaw, vandenBurg
E: J. Wagner, Sparrow, Kolodjashij, Brown
Expectations for 2020
Better than 2019, but not reaching the heights of 2018. At best, 7th or 8th, but we are clearly a fair way off the pace when looking at teams like Richmond, Collingwood, GWS, West Coast. I see us winning around 10-12 games. A lot of promise will be seen but this will be still be disappointing because we have been 'promised' so much over the last 15 years and haven't seen much at all.
I mean pass mark is 9th, I’d say contend for finals most of the year. If we can’t win 11 games with the most talented team we’ve had as a supporter when are we ever going to win?
If we get cursed by injuries I still expect us to finish top 12 because our depth is so balanced this year, compared to last year
Players to look out for in 2020
Kolodjashnij back to contact training, could be amazing.
Is this true?? Last I saw of him was a clip the club put up on the website of him pretty much calling it a day. Apparently he’s still very much dogged by concussion issues. Can’t watch TV or read an iPad etc. I mean, I’d love it if it weren’t the case.
Unfortunatley he's taken a big turn for the worst yes. Completely ruled out of contact training now, very unlikely to ever play AFL again :(
I think everyone knows what most of our best players do honestly.
Trent Rivers at HB could usurp Hibbo by the end of the year. Maybe.
James Jordon a powerful athlete who can play half back or in the guts.
Tommy Sparrow was named R1 and quite versatile himself.
Luke Jackson is super versatile too. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him named round one off the bench, but I think he and Tomlinson would probably play for one spot.
Oscar Baker another powerful athlete with good agility.
Would love to see Chunk prove me wrong and show me he’s got more good footy left in him. Couldn’t be a better player to break Neita’s games record but Chunk has struggled recently.
Bayley Fritsch up forward. He kicked 16 goals in the last 7 games of the year (all losses) after being sent forward and just generally looked dangerous. It seems like his more natural position.
Pass Mark (lol)
False. We cant pass or mark.
Really think 9th is the pass mark. Finals are very much possible. Fans deserves something.
But I think the top 7 from last year are all so strong. I’ll take finishing 2nd out of the chasing pack (Hawthorn Sydney North Saints Crows Freo etc.) whether that means finishing 8th or 9th(injuries are real as we all know)
Seen a lot of people suggesting that if we don't make finals that goodwin as gone.
I agree with you, it's a brave person that suggests Geelong, Richmond, Collingwood and West Coast aren't going to feature in September next year.
Brisbane and GWS would be more likely than not to be back there as well.
I would hope we're contending with those 6 clubs, but I think more likely we're in that pack with Dogs/Essendon/Port/Crows/Hawks that occupies 7-12. With Saints/Dockers/Blues breathing down the necks of those clubs too if they have a few bad losses.
I probably wouldn't want to finish below 13th if I was Goody.
Agree with this, have to remember we weren't great in 2018 either but just did enough then played two ripping finals. I see us as a fringe top eight team that just blew a year of development.
We peaked at the right time. We still arent a true good team. Dees remind me of the Sacramento kings right now, or really any developing team. To be great you go through hardship.
We have to make finals this year, easier draw, no fitness issues, Ed Langdon, we've had a year to create a new game plan to adapt to 6-6-6.
A pass mark is top 4. We have exactly the same list that almost got us top 4 in 2018 with more games in the list and a few handy additions, so I don’t see why expectations should be set lower than that.
This is of course very different from my actual prediction.