Thought you guys might find this article interesting: http://www.sportsnewsfirst.com.au/articles/2011/01/21/koschitzke-slow-recovery/ <blockquote>Koschitzke is on an extensive running program to be completed before he resumes full ball-work and match-assimilation training. Gardiner’s recovery from surgery to regenerate growth in his troublesome right knee with radical stem cell treatment is not expected to be rushed by Saints management. The veteran big man could be held back until well into the new season as the Saints rely heavily on emerging big man Ben McEvoy leading the ruck. With growing doubts on Koschitzke and Gardiner being available for early games, the Saints have further rejuvenated their tall forward options. The versatile Gilbert is apparently being developed as a back-up forward as well as offering significantly improved scoring power around the Saints goal-mouth.</blockquote> Basically from what i can work out and from recent training reports, Kosi will have delayed start to the season and the Saints arent going to risk Gardiner getting injured early. So what does this mean for supercoach? Basically without Kosi & Gardiner playing early on, Ben McEvoy will have to shoulder the entire ruckload himself with Blake (not supercoach relevant) pinch hitting and it also means the Gilbert move forward could happen. But it also means Rhys Stanley is almost certain to play from round 1 and possibly (depending on NAB Cup) will play some time in ruck to help out McEvoy. So Rhys Stanley at $220K (i think from memory) could possibly be even more valuable then first thought, especially with his DP. Also McEvoy could be looked at as he should be cheap.
Thanks SKT. I've got both Stanley and Gilbert in my side at the moment, but have been giving some thought to whether Gilbert will be a good option. Is the nude photo scandal likely to affect him? I heard a rumour he will be traded at the end of the year
I've been wondering about that as well- In the media, the team has to be giving the message that everything is fine. But when you weigh up the circumstances of what happened, surely there has got to be a bit of something going on behind closed doors. Yes, hopefully they can all be professional enough on the field- but they are just people as well...
Nude photo shouldn't affect Gilbert, but the fact that he is an ex-league player might. He appears a good defensive forward, but the game is a lot easier to play when you are running straight at the ball without needing to turn around. I see Gilbert as getting his usual 90 or so when defending, and about 75-80 as a largely defensive half-forward who will try to hit on the counter attack (sort of like the Macaffer role at Collingwood) McEvoy would be seen as cheap but realistically not good enough to take an R2 and too expensive to be R3. I honestly think St Kilda's future would be better served by playing lots of games into Stanley with his pace, but with the window of success fast closing with the current list, I can understand why the big Mac would be the first choice. Kosi, unsure to me looks finished, might have been better off going to the Gold Coast (reminds me a lot of Fraser - low pick, never really did what was expected even though he was a good 200 game player)
Personally i wont be selecting Gilbert for those reasons you have mentioned. Just a feeling ive had since the whole saga started. His move forward, if it actually does happen (never trust what Ross Lyon says in the media) will also affect his scoring. He gets most his possessions from opposition marks in the defensive 50 and rebound 50 kicks. Would have to kick 2-3 goals a game imo to score the same, and well i have huge doubts he is capable of that. Especially considering he has only kicked 18 goals in his career. On the trade rumour, i expect to see him in GWS colours next season. Once you piss off and lose the respect of your captain, its one hell of a long road back.