For the Blues, Setanta O'Hailpin looks like a good bet. He probably doesn't have a spot in our starting line-up. He has the versatility to play forward, back or ruck. He would add support to our likely structure, with KPP's being our Achilles heel. He could also be good value against the Pies if we need someone to come on and give Cloke a kicking Aside from Ayce Cordy for the Bulldogs I haven't heard much about who people think their team is likely to start as the sub. NAB won't tell us much with extended benches being used again so I'm interested to hear people's opinions. Will teams with stronger KPP's use a smaller player? Will slower teams bank some extra pace? Or will most teams adopt the approach of using a tall utility as the sub?
Saints will probably be Kosi, Stanley or Dempster. I would have Kosi as he only really has an impact for 1qtr a game these days. Dempster is one that could play in any position if needed so i reckon he's a chance.
Given it's his last year, and knowing Jeffs' desire to go out with a bang, the Honorable Jeffery Kennett is likely to be Hawthorns sub in 2011...
It seems that all the talk I've heard is that teams will go tallish in their subs- but surely they'll cotton onto the advantage of having fresh legs through the midfield sooner rather than later. I spose they just need to balance the risk if a ruck, or KP player goes down that they'll still have a decent structure if they have gone with a burst player. I guess that's no different to what they have been dealing with in the past though.
Agree Walesy, very much a risk vs reward scenario. If a team is playing 3 running types on the interchange already, and the sub is also a smallish/med height player, then the team will have a nice advantage over a team whos sub is a tallish KPP player if there are no injuries. The flip side being if an injury occurs to a tall forward/defender then it might come back to bite them. In all seriousness, I'd speculate that Jordan Lisle may get a gig as the hawks sub at some point in the year as he can swing both ends. Schoenmakers would be a better option but I'm expecting him to play regular senior footy this year.
I would imagine that teams will go with players that can bring a bit of energy into the contest when others are tiring. and I reckon they will generally be younger players - good way to wean them into the AFL game. At Hawthorn - i wouldnt have a clue really, but i am thinking they may go with Smith or Cheaney maybe. someone like that. but yeah - just a guess.
Smith will be in the starting 22 in round1, you mark my word! Cheney is a plausible option though. Not sure how he fares up forward, but that's why the club has been training a number of blokes to be able to swing back and forth if needed. Roughy goes down, Schoenmakers swings forward and Cheney goes down back. I'd still rather give Lisle a go, but that's more a case of him being home bread and liked at BH rather than knowing much about how he stacks up against Cheney.
I reckon we could see a Morton/Suckling type. They have some height, but can play forward, midfield, or even off half back. And Suckling has a huge kick on him, which could be just as important as leg speed, as everyone else is tiring, and kicking the ball less distance. It all depends on the team really. A team with not much versatility on their field will likely go with a versatile player, but a team such as Hawthorn will probably want speed, as we can cover any injury really. ie. Shoenmakers, Stratton, Gibbo and Gilham can all play tall, depending who's in the team. Buddy, Roughy and Hale/Renouf can all play forward, in case one of them goes down. And then we have midfielders who can play HFF/HBF and the forward and back pockets. So we would more likely to go some speed. Although, i agree with Spud, Smith will probably start, and i wouldn't be disappointed if he moved into the 22 ahead of someone like Osbourne or Lewis, who i'm just not sure that they are good enough at the moment.
Ruddy, Jordan Lewis is definitely in our best 22. I went to see the Hawks train down at Pakenham earlier this year and he was burning up the track before he strained his calf.
Is he really? Because he isn't close to being the best in his positions. He seems to barely play on the ball because he isn't as good as the likes of Hodge, Mitchell, Sewell, Burgoyne, Rioli, and so he seems to get played on a wing a lot more, which makes us look slow, because we have a slow player in a position that is best played with speedy players. He also plays forward, and doesn't really have the capacity to kick enough goals as a forward, although i suppose he does do a good role as a defensive forward sometimes. It's not that i don't like Jordan Lewis, he is one of the bravest guys you will ever see on a footy field, it's just, does he really bring more to the team than someone like Smith does, or more importantly, does he bring what the team actually needs, and is in deficit of.
I'm sure Clarko can find a role for him somewhere. He can be used for a variety of roles such as swinging through the midfield on rotations or pinch hitting forward(even as a defensive forward). I know his pace is questionable but I just can't see him playing in the VFL.
For the Dees, I was gonna say someone like Newton, cause he can play forward, pinch hit in ruck and he played down back last year in VFL for some reason...but he got injured. I'm thinking if Dunn doesn't make it into best 21, then he would be it. And potentially a stef martin.
Clarko will probably play him, because even when players go out of form for long streaks of games, they don't get dropped. Guerra, Lewis, Sewell, Murphy, Osbourne and others have all done this over the last 2 seasons, and basically had no threat of getting dropped. Apart from injuries, this is what will keep us from doing what Collingwood did last year. Why should Clarko find a role for him? Why should Hawthorn once again fill a role with a player who cannot play it properly? Instead of playing an inside midfielder on the wing, play a winger! That is half the reason we look slow. We don't have enough speed coming off half back and along the wings. Birchall, Puopolo and Gibson being our rebounding defenders would give us speed coming off half back, instead of Ellis, who really isn't fast. Young, Smith, Burgoyne, Bateman and Rioli rotating through the wings and half forward gives us actually leg speed. We cannot afford to have slow wingers or forwards considering our relatively slow inside midfielders. Especially considering Lewis and Osbourne don't really have much speed, although Ozzy does have some over shortish distances. Smith will kick more goals than Lewis, and will bring more speed to the midfield. That is exactly what we need.
Fair points you raise Ruddy. I think it's common knowledge that we need to address our lack of speed so play players with speed...makes sense I guess. If the likes of Osbourne, Lewis, Ellis and a few others aren't in our best 22 then so be it-play the kids. I am all for giving the young guys that have been on our list for 2-3 years a shot, for sure.
Chad Cornes will be the perfect sub for Port this year. Can play a variety of positions and won't be as much wear and tear on his body if he is only playing less than half a game each week.
I will be amazed if clubs use key position players like Kosi or Ohailpin as subs. Surely it will be guys with a lot of versatility, ie running players with a bit of height. The question is will it be young players or older experienced types - I read Chadmeister might get the gig at Port.