So little to do, so much time! Sorry, reverse that, I am confused.
North Melbourne
The expectation for North in pre-season was for marginal improvement, with a prediction that they would finish one up from 17th to 16th position. This is the case. Last season, they finished with a percentage of 63.5. This year, their percentage is 76.7, which is an improvement of 12%. And, by looking at the matrix, it indicates that it will be about 2 or 3 years until North should expect a percentage of 100 and put together strings of games.
In its junior section, North has a very good spread of sizes. In the draft, it just needs to focus on drafting match-winners.
Port Adelaide
What a disappointment Port have been this season?
Apart from the gap in its mobile talls (190-194cm) the list looks reasonably good. Is it the ageing of its core players – Rioli. Boak, Byrne-Jones, Wines, Atkins, Allir, Finlayson & Soldo? Or is it the internal machinations within its football administration? The blood on the floor reminds me of the Roman Civil War after the assassination of Julius Caesar or even Paris’s Concorde during the guillotine terror. The heads of ex-premiership players and directors lay on the floor as the jostle for next season’s hierarchy is settled. And who is Port’s inclusive leader? I may have to think of a “Sunrise” to remember.
Port Power, meh! Maybe it needs another cash-cow!
Richmond
Tiges have done better than the expected zero wins. $ wins are better than the two from last season. But four games is still pretty ordinary. This season’s percentage of 64 is the same as last season. And when Nankervis, Vlastuin, and other leaders retire, one might foresee a further slump.
With that in mind, the Tiges need to continue recruiting the best junior match-winners around. Picks 2 and 3, plus more!
With none of Colina, Hayes-Brown or Sampson showing significant improvement, will they look to either Duff-Tytler or Emmett as a junior ruck?
Will they go with Dyson Sharp or Ollie Greeves as their draft match-winning midfielder?
They have Balta, Broad, Miller, Young, Gibcus, Blight, Gray, and the junior Trainor (8) as key backs. Do they need that many? Will another club trade for one of these?
They have Vlastuin, Short, Tresize, Brown, Smith and Banks as running backs. Do they need this many? Will another club trade for one of these?
They have Colina, Hayes-Brown or Sampson as spare ruckmen. Will another club trade for all of these?
Time will tell.
For more detail, please refer to Oz Footy List Manager.
Part 4 to come.
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About
It was 25 years ago that I began developing a model for analysing footy squad lists for the purpose of improving those lists into a premiership window. Since then, the model has been used to successfully predict premiership clubs and to improve either lop-sided or underdeveloped lists into premiership lists. Indeed, the model was used for an article that I had published as a double page spread in The Age 2005 Pre-Season magazine. Over the 25 years, I have analysed the annual lists of one particular club but have used it for other clubs upon request. It has always been on my bucket list to display the lists of all the clubs, using the model, which I've done since 2021 on my website - OzFootyListManager.com
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