Basic Premiership model and what we have/need

[Dazza]

I believe there is a basic premiership blueprint that you need to win the flag.

This includes...

Two skilled half back flanks that can do the job both offensively and defensively.
Inside grunt.
A couple of goal kicking mids.
A good stopper or two in the back pockets.
Two skilled half forwards that can rotate through the middle. Utility types.
Genuine KPP's up the spine.
Nippy small forwards capable of kicking goals/providing forward pressure.
Then you need guys capable of playing a few different roles but are mainly midfielders sitting on the pine.
Plus a bit of genuine depth to cover injuries.

I'm purposely going to leave out the guys who are going to be retiring in the next few years as they won't figure into this conversation when we are hitting our straps.

What we have.... (Who have shown they are capable at AFL level)

B- Young Roughead Picken
HB- JJ
c- Griffen Libba Macrae
HF- Stringer Higgins
F- Dahlhaus Jones Dickson
R- Wallis Hrovat Stevens

INT- Addison Lower Smith

Then you have your probables/possibles who could fit into the side like Hunter, Prudden, Roberts, Pearce and Talia.

For mine it looks like we are lacking a Ruck, a chb, a chf, a hbf and a couple of blokes who can do a bit of everything that are preferably skilled and have pace.

We need to get in KPP types pretty badly in the next few drafts to get the balance of the side right. If we manage to get that right we should be a pretty capable and balanced side in the future with a good bunch of guys all getting through around the same age.

Our #1 priority should be a chf/chb type with highly skilled players that can play on either flanks/midfield being our next targets.

What do you think we need most? Do you have anyone in the future line up that I don't? Anyone I've got in there you wouldn't include?

[mjp]

No love for Talia? Roberts? Hunter? etc.

Surely if Picken is in (86 b'day) then Minson is in (85 b'day). Williams is '86 as well but he is out...I know he is injured a lot - but is he actually injured more than Higgins?????

[Mofra]

Minson is one of the form ruckman of the right now.

The other ingredient you missed is the most important - it's not good enough to just be good, you have to be better than your opposition.
I look at the Gold Coast midfielders, consider adding Jack Martin to that, add 3-4 years' worth of development, and shudder.

[Maddog37]

Development of players doesn't always run in straight lines though. Gun junior is not a guarantee of gun senior although it obviously helps. Intangibles like team dynamic etc are hard to predict.

I guess what I am saying is I find it hard to just accept they will be better than us just because they had low draft picks. Take Melbourne as an example.

[Go_Dogs]

Interesting OP.

I'm not convinced we need to go for a key forward or defender when considering the developing options we have on our list. If there is a genuine option who can develop into an A grade KPP then we may look.

I consider that Cordy, Roberts and Talia who aren't playing at the moment are the players we need to continue to develop for those roles. If we drafted a KP this year it's likely we'd be waiting at least 2-3 years for them to have an impact and perhaps 3-5 for them to become a consistent option.

For mine we need class and speed. I'd be looking at adding a player like Billings who could play through a range of positions and adds some class and pace to our list as a top priority.

If we have serious concerns that Cordy, Roberts and Talia aren't going to make it I think we need to target young KP's who have had a year or two of development at another AFL club so we can hopefully have them hitting their straps over the next couple of seasons.

Mofra's point is a good one too, was speaking to some mates about it over the weekend. Ablett, Bennell, O'Meara, Martin - their number one pick David Swallow will be their 5th string midfielder! It's going to be very tough to win a flag over the next 5-7 years as GC become a powerhouse and GWS won't be too far behind either.

With a bit of luck and good timing we might just be able to get our mix right sooner rather than later and make significant improvements but it's unlikely any sides will have the depth of elite quality the two expansion clubs have.

[soupman]

I look at the Gold Coast midfielders, consider adding Jack Martin to that, add 3-4 years' worth of development, and shudder.

In a sense this could be justification for the concentration of inside midfielders that we are recruiting.

No matter how many silky outside mids we recruit we won't match the quantity or quality that Gold Coast and GWS have had access to. Whether it's a conscious decision to focus on recruiting inside players that can at least try and nullify the benefit of the vast quantities of skillfull players the expansion sides have I don't know, but I feel atleast with this philosophy we will have hope in our peak years.

This may go some way to explain a strategy of picking blokes like Clay Smith over Crozier. The silky running player picked at pick 15 is never going to be a match for the silky running player picked at 2, so why go down that path?

[Dazza]

Minson is one of the form ruckman of the right now.

The other ingredient you missed is the most important - it's not good enough to just be good, you have to be better than your opposition.
I look at the Gold Coast midfielders, consider adding Jack Martin to that, add 3-4 years' worth of development, and shudder.



Yeah I fear we might end up losing in another prelim...

They're the cards the competition was dealt though so we'll have to deal with it. This thread is more about just having the basics of a well built side right.

I think we need quality KPP's pretty badly, probably more so than outside polish. They are pretty rare though.

[Nuggety Back Pocket]

I believe there is a basic premiership blueprint that you need to win the flag.

This includes...

Two skilled half back flanks that can do the job both offensively and defensively.
Inside grunt.
A couple of goal kicking mids.
A good stopper or two in the back pockets.
Two skilled half forwards that can rotate through the middle. Utility types.
Genuine KPP's up the spine.
Nippy small forwards capable of kicking goals/providing forward pressure.
Then you need guys capable of playing a few different roles but are mainly midfielders sitting on the pine.
Plus a bit of genuine depth to cover injuries.

I'm purposely going to leave out the guys who are going to be retiring in the next few years as they won't figure into this conversation when we are hitting our straps.

What we have.... (Who have shown they are capable at AFL level)

B- Young Roughead Picken
HB- JJ
c- Griffen Libba Macrae
HF- Stringer Higgins
F- Dahlhaus Jones Dickson
R- Wallis Hrovat Stevens

INT- Addison Lower Smith

Then you have your probables/possibles who could fit into the side like Hunter, Prudden, Roberts, Pearce and Talia.

For mine it looks like we are lacking a Ruck, a chb, a chf, a hbf and a couple of blokes who can do a bit of everything that are preferably skilled and have pace.

We need to get in KPP types pretty badly in the next few drafts to get the balance of the side right. If we manage to get that right we should be a pretty capable and balanced side in the future with a good bunch of guys all getting through around the same age.

Our #1 priority should be a chf/chb type with highly skilled players that can play on either flanks/midfield being our next targets.

What do you think we need most? Do you have anyone in the future line up that I don't? Anyone I've got in there you wouldn't include?

The maturity now of Minson in the ruck would suggest he should be part of our longer term plans. I would add Campbell who is still young but with good rucking skills could eventually take over from Minson. Talia and Roberts both appeal as our future KP defenders allowing Roughead to move forward to lend support to Jones and Stringer. I wouldn't see Higgins as part of our future preferring Hunter instead.
There is still an urgent need to add depth and continue to revitalize our list.
With Cross and Gia to retire plus the possibility of Markovic Vesz Tutt and Grant being delisted together with question marks over Wood and Higgins you would hope that the good recruitment shown this year will continue in 2014.