Fantastic news! I, too, look forward to seeing his debut. I was a bit spooked by people suggesting we might lose him to another club. I'm sure the offer of a position on the senior list and, I suspect, some concrete indication of where an opportunity to debut might come from helped getting him signed up.
Not such good news for Laidler, I fear, given that he has already dropped down the pecking order. Of the players not currently in our 22 there are a few that either are already part of our best 22 but injured or look like they will merit selection sooner or later (Newman and O'Riordan are the most promising unblooded talent and Sam Reid, Zak Jones, Talia, maybe AJ are returning from injury. Then there are the fringe players: Cunningham, BJ, Foote, Robinson, Towers) - and that leads to the question who can be left out of our playing 22 to make room for the new blood? I think McGlynn's time is nigh. (Towers isn't in our 22 currently but I think we should trade him out if he is worth anything and keep him for depth if he isn't.) Papley needs to keep in front of the fringe players but if he does should be ok. I like Hewett. X will likely lose his spot to Reid. I guess Macca is coming towards the end of his career, but it's not imminent. Who else can make way? Maybe we lose Mitchell, that will free up a spot which will see a shuffle of positions allowing someone like Newman into the team. That still isn't enough to see Newman (or O'Riordan or whoever) get a debut when we have a healthy list. Still, injuries are inevitable and so maybe that's the way it happens. Is anyone else vulnerable? Lloyd is the quiet achiever that plays his role and isn't seemingly in danger of being overtaken by any of the others. I guess Swampy is the last one on and hasn't cemented his spot yet (although he is obviously firmly in front of Laids at the mo') and could be overtaken by Newman or O'Riordan. There's no one else, is there?
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