Brad Gotch - mission impossible?

[Mofra]

Ok, so we have some much wanted talented talls on our list after the National draft.
Here's an obvious question - what do we do with them?

A list of talls (incl. rookies) that few have as not in our starting 22 are as follows:

Cordy
Roughead
Jones
Grant
Boumann
Wight
Skipper
O'Shea
Tiller
Mulligan
Shaw

Skipper is earmarked at ruck back-up that he's easy to peg. Grant looks set to be a FF type, his possie is set. Mulligan will be developed as a backman this year, his position is set. Wight will play everywhere according to Rocket. Cordy would break if played in the ruck, and seems to have some serious smarts in the F50.

That leaves 5 spots forward & back (assuming Wight floats from position to possion) for 8 tall players (when Tiller isn't playing seniors), with guys like Lynch, Stack, Ward and O'Keefe spending time forward as well, on top of Williamstown listed talls like Meyer.
Looks like Willy reserves will be mightly strong this year, and perhaps Boumann & O'Shea will find it tough to break into the senior Williamstown line-up.

[Sockeye Salmon]

Add Scott Meyer and Jason Cloke to that list as well.

Willi still want to win a premiership and will play the best blokes they've got, not just develop our young blokes.

[Mofra]

Add Scott Meyer and Jason Cloke to that list as well.

Willi still want to win a premiership and will play the best blokes they've got, not just develop our young blokes.
Agree - and that presents a problem in itself. Meyer could rightly call himself a KPP after last year's efforts, Cloke can play utility but plays above his height, which puts more of our guys back in the 3rds.

[soupman]

Without Williamstown players I think we'd line up something like this:

FB: A. Everitt, P. O'Shea, T. Callan
HB: B. Stack, J. Mulligan, S. Tiller
C: H. White, S. Reid, G. O'Keefe
HF: ???, J. Boumann, ???
FF: M. Lynch, J. Grant, W. Skipper
Ru: J. Roughead/J.Shaw, C. Ward, E. Wood

Int: C. Wight, A. Cordy, L. Jones

[Scorlibo]

Cordy
Roughead
Jones
Grant
Boumann
Wight
Skipper
O'Shea
Tiller
Mulligan
Shaw


BULLDOGS

Grant - FF

WILLI

Meyer - FF?
Cloke - FP?
Skipper - Interchange
Boumann - CHF
Shaw - Ruck
Wight - CHB
O'Shea - FB
Tiller - BP

WILLI RES

Mulligan - CHB
Cordy - FF
Jones - CHF
Roughead - Ruck

Is how I think we may start the season.

[GVGjr]

I touched on this very issue a couple of weeks back and it's one of the reasons I don't think it's necessarily that important to get a full compliment of rookies.
Given the number of developing talls, Gotch and his crew will have plenty of juggling of the group to keep providing everyone with enough opportunities.

This won't be easy for Gotch trying to manage the Williamstown and the Bulldogs requirements.

[Go_Dogs]

This won't be easy for Gotch trying to manage the Williamstown and the Bulldogs requirements.

Do you think it compromises his position a bit in that he has to please both parties, and work in the best interests of both parties?

[GVGjr]

Do you think it compromises his position a bit in that he has to please both parties, and work in the best interests of both parties?

Compromise might be too strong of a word but it's a very difficult job because he has to try and keep all parties happy.

[mighty_west]

I was one jumping up & down when the Dogs were aligned with Werribee, and alot of our players were not seen to be given the best opprtunties with Werribee having so many good players ahead of the Dogs developing players, Pods keeping out Skipper & Walsh & Tiller etc etc.

BUT, soon realised that IF a player is playing in the VFL ressies, and is good enough to be promoted, then he will, thats the bottom line, if he isn't, then he obviously isn't good enough, or he isn't ready, remember some of these kids are just that, kids, some can jump on the scene, and others can take years.

The best thing for the players developing is being part of a good successful team rather than trying to star for themselves, and going nowhere...so of that means Cordy or Roughead or perhaps Stack or Lynch have to keep playing in the 2's, then so be it, it really means they are simply not ready or just not good enough, not every player on every list will make it, and alot of those players are probably not good enough even at VFL level, just because they are on an AFL list, doesn't automatically make them better than VFL listed players.

Having so many talls to play with is really a position in my opinion for Gotch, means he can pick & choose, means the players themselves know they have stiff competition to get a positon, and then hold that.

Plus clubs always get injuries, we all know that at the Dogs, especially with talls, and LETS HOPE Gotch has a few hard decisions in regards to who he plays and where!