A agree with most of what you say Ludwig, but I would rank the Rookies with Murray at the top in terms of potential; beautiful kick, genuine pace and a largish mid, perfect winger or attacking hbf.
Toby Pink I also rank very highly, very young, relatively quick for a tall, plenty of footy smarts and good skills.I would put him on a similar trajectory to Melican but with potential as a forward.
O'Riordon I like, and he has developed good skills, but I wonder whether he has the pace to make it at senior level to avoid being caught on some of his attacking runs.
Fisher has potential, is young and a ball magnet, but I hope he can improve his kicking, which can be very inconsistent.
Shaun Edwards is a depth player who still may develop some improvement - line ball.
Fox proved a pretty good pick-up and a lot of confidence was shown by the coaches in putting in him in the seniors early on. A genuine inside mid with good acceleration and ability to read the play, probably a keeper.
Ronke seems a really smart and skilled young player but it is hard to judge where he is physically. After his injury struck start to the season, if he can be bigger and stronger and fitter he could make it.
However, in terms of needs, as Rookies we have 3 x HBF/Wingers in Edwards,O'Riordon,Murray; 3 x Midfielders in Fox, Fisher, Ronke; and only one KPP in Pink and NO ruckmen. So I think there will need to be some hard decisions made re the HBFs and I think Murray is ahead of Edwards & O'Riordon due to he potential. We need a ruck rookie and one more KPP in my opinion. As far as midfielders go Fox, Fisher and Ronke all probably deserve another go the coaches assessment of their potential, but that may depend on the other available talent and .
With regard to the senior list, Talia, BJ and Leonardis are certainties to be delisted (Talia has no chance with AJ, Aliir, Melican and Maibaum all in contention); with McVeigh a possibility to retire. It is hard to see others being delisted given current contract status but there may be trade potential, as you suggest, for Laidler and Marsh. Melican will also need to be upgraded to the senior list, so unless there is a trade or two, the room on the senior list is extremely limited, with only 2 or 3 draft spots available.So to get a reasonable turnover on the list the Rookie list will be closely examined with the potential available talent an important determining factor.
Overall, the senior list seems to be pretty healthy and capable, with one or two obvious exceptions who shall not be named. Overall there seems to be good potential for list improvement without too much trauma. A position a lot of clubs would envy.
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