We'll be OK regardless.

[richo]

Everyone is seeming to forget that before the 03 GF we were favourites to win the flag with a similar list to what we have now. There is however one key difference, season 04 allowed many of our younger players experience and in season 05 I believe we will see the positive result of that. So what, we had a bad year in 04. We still have some bloody good players on our list and we are stastically one of the youngest squads in the comp. Our young players will improve and if we get a couple of trades then that's all well and good. But basically we will be competitive with what we have, we can make the finals with what we have and if we don't land any big names it will not be the end of the world. Sit back and see what happens, but all the big trades in the world are no substitute for a solid preseason and confidence gained through experience. After all a champion team beats a team of champions and I believe that is where the pies are headed. Needless speculation amounts to Jack Sh*t.

[richo]

Below is what I think of the players on our list for next season at the moment and how they can improve and where I think they may play in 05 -

Dean Benson - unsure of.
Nathan Buckley - expect another consistent year, may spend more time in the forward line as a part of a rotation.
Scott Burns - again should have a consistent year in the middle. Should drift down to kick a few goals (15-20)
James Clement - solid as a rock across HB, FB.
Cameron Cloke - will get more gametime, backing up in the ruck and across the forward line (will provide relief for Rocca and Fraser), predicting a big season.
Jason Cloke - skills will improve and will help form the nucleus of the backline.
Richard Cole - will improve again, will hopefully spend more time in the midfield (skills and decision making need to improve).
Justin Crow - not sure, if retained may play 8-12 games.
Tom Davidson - fingers crossed, may be the "recruit" of the year if he can stay injury free.
Leon Davis - more time in the midfield.
Alan Didak - more time in the midfield.
David Fanning - VFL.
Josh Fraser - Key ruckman with Richards, needs to kick more goals.
Brent Hall - Unsure.
Brodie Holland - is improving, needs to control temper, may become one of the most revered taggers in the comp if he can maintain concentration.
Ben Johnson - solid across half back, we need his run.
David King - needs more game time, more of an impact player off the bench at the moment (potential is there).
Zane Leonard - Unsure.
Paul Licuria - big preseason will have him back to his best.
Tarkyn Lockyer - still young and a real leader, cameo appearances up forward may result in 15-20 goals next year.
Matthew Lokan - needs to step up, was down last year. His run on the wing and off HB is great.
Ryan Lonie - needs to do more in my opinion, had a reasonable year but skill errors have been costly at times.
Nick Maxwell - HB in the making, more game time in 05.
Mark McGough - if he stays it is make or break, a bit slow but can be damaging given the right conditions.
Billy Morrison - the jury is out.
Luke Mullins - needs to improve skill.
Bo Nixon - unsure, is meant to be great hasn't shown it yet, still very young.
Shane O'Bree - when on his game difficult to stop, confidence needs a boost, skill errors let him down.
Simon Prestigiacomo - expect another solid year in defence.
Guy Richards - will handle the ruck with Josh, Cam and Pebbles, expect further improvement.
Anthony Rocca - make or break year IMO. Must perform. I'd like to see him play FF.
Julian Rowe - will improve, needs to bulk up a bit.
Luke Shackleton - may find it hard to break into the midfield, if we are injury free.
Brayden Shaw - unsure.
Heath Shaw - unsure.
Rhyce Shaw - could make a lot of us look stupid if he has a good year, he may not, but be prepared to bite your tongue if he does. Better off across HF, Wing.
Dane Swan - could become a very solid BP player.
Chris Tarrant - will improve, needs a big preseason, unstoppable when on his game.
Shane Wakelin - solid in defence, injury prone, may have 2 seasons left in him.
Tristen Walker - will become KP this year. I like him across CHF but struggles to kick straight.
Andrew Williams - don't know where he fits in at the moment, may find it hard to break into the side.
Shane Woewodin - another solid year across the middle, would be a nice sweeper off HB.

Not a bad list really IMO.

Richo.

[richo]

And if the pies do find their mojo then look out everyone else. We have a reasonably good draw and a few early wins may give some of these young guys the confidence to go on.

[GreekLunatic]

we do need new blood theres is no way we will win a flag with our current list or go well in 2005

[richo]

And we will get some new blood which will add to what we already have.

[Brown26]

We'll do well enough with our current list - we may even win the flag if one of the not-quite-midfielders (Davis, Didak, MCG, the Shaws etc) step up and have a great year in the middle. Our forward line will be unstoppable next year, Cam Cloke is going to be great and Davidson will be too if he can play more than a quarter without losing the use of a limb.

Tarrant Rocca Davidson
Fraser C Cloke Buckley

will be unbeatable, a bit top heavy but good at ground level for their size, and I'm sure Holland and Leon wont mind a run down with the big boys every now and again

We just need to lift in the middle - why oh why wont WC trade Kerr? ohh Worsfold foiling our plans! )

- Ben

[richo]

We may pick up a midfielder at the last minute, someone no one expects. OR we might get nothing much at all and we will all have to hope that Didak, Davis, Holland or someone else step up and surprise us.

[Johnson#26]

I'm sure we will do well last year, but our real troubles at the start of 2004 were the lack of new blood. Kids are fine, but you need new senior players to add excitment. We need to look at James Kelly, Bartel or Brent Harvey. All players can improve. The ones that need to do it most to propell us into the eight and beyond are the kids. If they can do that,. we will go a long way.

[MarkT]

New Blood for 2005:
Pick 7
Travis Cloke
Brayden Shaw
Heath Shaw

Newish Blood:
Nick Maxwell
Guy Richards
Cameron Cloke
Julian Rowe

Add to that a few more maybes like Mullins, Shak, Leonard, Swan and Walker.

We don't need new blood we need to fill a few holes and or get more top end talent.

[Streak]

True, we will have a great forward line next year - even if they're only decoys! Should we meet a side able to blanket all our forwards, our midfield can kick goals - as they have had to for all of 2004.

But richo, seriously, how can you say this year is make or break for Rocca? The man is a champion. You saw him play this year - did he not look injured? I think he carried an injury for most of the year and was well below his best. But he remains the barometer of the side - when he performs (as in the last 2 years) we win. When he has a poor game/season, we do. We talk about the talent of one C. Tarrant a lot, but Tarrant only works if Rocca's out there, too.

Oh, one more thing. The offseason is a great time for predicting who's going to step up, have the season of their lives, etc. But the best part is being surprised... think about the players you expect nothing from next year - they could be the ones... I LOVE THIS FREAKING SPORT!

One more thing, while you're doing your list assessment, there's a point I have to make. While Pies fans are perceived as overrating their players, there are certain players we consistently underrate - one I want to point out now is Brodie Holland. He already is one of the best taggers going around, and he's come a long bloody way.

[richo]

I agree Brodie Holland has come a long way and is a fantastic tagger, he does however still have a problem with misguided aggression and if he could channel all of that aggression into focusing solely on the ball and stopping his opponent he would be a much better footballer.

In terms of Anthony Rocca, he had a great year in 02, I thought his 03 form was below what he is capable of and I agree that last year injury affected his performance. He is however getting towards 28 years old and needs to start breaking games open. Too often when we need him to kick goals he misses or when we need him to provide a marking contest he doesn't. A lot of that may be to do with poor delivery but I do not think we have seen him fulfill his potential yet. When he plays in the same side as Tarrant he creates big gaps for Taz to lead into and they work very well together but we cannot rely on that all of the time. He needs to step up and stake his claim as a genuine superstar of the game. He is one of my all time favourites but if he has one or two more seasons where he does not produce what do we do with him? I love thebloke but I think he has underachieved apart from in 02.

[Damien]

I agree with the sentiment of this thread but when you sit back and think that you dont need to improve; that is when you are stuffed. Realistically even Port will need to improve if they want to win the flag in 2005.

I think some of the player assessments here are a bit rich. Dane Swan, David King and Matthew Lokan are good honest toilers at best.

Of all of the debutants from 2004, the only one that got me real excited was Nick Maxwell. He showed remarkable poise for a first year and was really growing in confidence when he got injured towards the end of the season. After a pre-season in the gym I'd be looking to him to step up to become a real rebounder off the half back line

[3rd degree]

Maxwell will outmuscle Fraser Gehrig in all one out contests next year. He can already beat him in the benchpress!

[Joel]

You serious? Where'd you find that info?

[3rd degree]

www.ghostandghoblinsagainstgherig.com.au