Originally Posted by
Ludwig
If Newman has a strong pre-season, and he's starting well, he should be given a crack at HB. At 24, there would be no point in upgrading him if we didn't think he was AFL ready. I thought he was our best reserves player last year, closely followed by Foote.
Talia is the other one I see coming into the senior side. We might try Reg, AA and Talia as KPDs. AA and Talia are both attacking players. We are quite deep in defence now. Marsh and Laidler will have a hard time cracking the seniors unless we have injuries.
I'm not counting on any of the new recruits having much influence this season, although I expect Florent will get a crack at some stage.
The question about our forward line will rest mostly on whether Reid can have a season without injury and if we sign him up for another few years, as this is the year of his free agency. We still have Buddy for 6 more years. He's so dominant that it's hard for other key forwards to make an impact. I think we can muddle through until Nick Blakey comes along. Good key forwards are expensive, as we know, and we should do fine with Rohan, Dawson and Hayward playing supporting roles over the coming years. Those 3 can all score from outside 50, which should open space closer to goal.
I see Macca fading out of the side and becoming a depth player unless he can rejuvenate this year.
Hewett is the one who is the most natural replacement for Mitchell and would like to see him get increasingly more time at the stoppages. He's got good vision and skills and can kick well off both sides. He's not quick enough to be your ideal forward. When he gets the ball in the midfield he's good at hitting up the next target. Heeney and Mills can play anywhere and have and impact.
Rose has some real talent and a bit of x factor about him. But certainly the pressure to step up this year will be on with Florent and Hayward breathing down his neck.
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