OK Mick - here's what you're working with

[Mick]

OK, just for Mick Malthouse, if I were coach:

Current - best 18
B Orchard Presti Lockyer
HB Burns A Rocca Crosisca
C Lane Buckley Davis
HF Tarrant Kinnear Michael
F Brown S Rocca Freeborn
R Monkhorst Williams Betheras

Backup Talls
Richo - gotta keep him on the list until we have 2 quality talls but could trade because would have value elsewhere

Young Talls
Fraser - will take some time and shouldn't take 1st ruck for a year or so at least
Tuckey - hasn't impressed me but due to lack of height worth one more year
Venables - really did little - but we need hardness so one more year to make it

Young Smalls
Adkins - they have pretty big wraps on him but will take time to break in
Scotland - seems pretty nervous but could give more run through HB
Oborne - needs more development but gives us another goal sneak - would prefer to see him stretched to midfield like Cousins
Anderson - no nothing about him but wouldn't bank on senior play next year
Godden - is tough and did play some good footy - deserves another shot
Jacotine - will be better for it - may step up to first rover
Licuria - played good footy - not a goal-kicker - should rotate via back-half
King - won't ever be a fisrt stringer but knows how to get it and like Shawry uses it well over short distances
Wasley - just for Foxy - if he can step up our backline needs more pace / even a wing

Unknowns
Watson - if he stepped up to play HB it would add great depth to the team; otherwise trade
McDonald - must be traded/delisted or lead from experience
Olarenshaw - one more shot - if he steps up on a wing it gives flexibility to push Lane forward or back
Schauble - good trade bait - need a backman or on-baller - backline is too slow eve without him
Patto - little value to trade - maybe MM can teach him to play like Phil M - maybe I'm dreaming but same reasons for Richo we are short of crumbers and could survive another year
Tape - given our weakness in back half - has played some good games - deserves a chance for MM to lift his game back to his Richmond level

Delist
Wild - obvious reasons
Smith - rate Richo a ten times better player so Smith has gotta go first
Crow - plays contract games at the end of the year - is too slow for midfield
Fuller - hasn't shown enough and too slow
Gardiner - shown nothing and only got senior games on trial - we picked the wrong Gardiner - doesn't play as a tall and not mobile enough
Kirwen - failed project player
Raso - hasn't improved and lacks the body to make it - plenty ahead of him
Sharpen - don't know who he is
Walker - obvious reasons

That's 9 delistings which is a reasonable turnover. Gotta remember that if you played for a team where half your mates got the sack every year it wouldn't do good for your morale/team ethic. Cull but cull smartly.

Rather than banking on players to step up too much from the best 22 we've got to recruit and strengthen the backline and midfield. Both experience and youth should be aimed at those areas. Given MM's credo he will definitely look to improve the back half. As such would expect big moves for Colbert. Big moves for Everitt make sense because it means we don't have to wait for Fraser to take over from Monky or to endure a period of Richo as first ruck. We're going to have to trade draft picks to get these two. Maybe the strategy will be use 1st on Fraser, trade pick 3, use pick 19 on Rhyce Shaw for midfield and then go from there. Believe to get a player Geelong would consider Schauble and a draft pick. Colbert has a lot more pace and flexibility than Schauble and would be just as big. Still reckon Mansfield's cool head surrounded by young legs would be a great pickup and maybe for a bargain (why would he care what the Cats get for him since they dumped him). This would be up to MM whether he could get him back on track. Don't reckon we'd get anything for our experienced fringe players so we'd be lucky to pull off another Lane/Mahoney deal but if we can it would add a player to the seniors. Would be reluctant to add guys like Manfield and that bloke from the ammos - reckon they are both long shots not worth taking - would prefer to either trade the late draft pick or get someone from the U/18 system.

[foxy]

ok, here's my version of the best 18:

B: Licuria Presti Burns
HB: Schauble A.Rocca Williams
C: Lockyer Buckley Lane
HF: Tarrant Richardson Michael
F: Brown S.Rocca Davis
C: Monkhorst Betheras Orchard

Potential benchwarmers:
Freeborn - consistent this year but will never be a first-class HFF. can kick a long goal and marks strong but isn't goal-hungry enough. experienced if used off the bench.
Crosisca - a strange omission i know but we can't depend on him game in game out anymore. will definently take a place on the bench.
Olarenshaw - thought he played well in the last couple of games this year. still knows how to find the ball and is pretty young. links well. needs to work on his kicking.
King - could've easily been put in as our 1st string rover. all he can do is rove, and he does it pretty well. when he injured himself against hawthorn i really felt we lost the heart of the team. knows how to get the ball.
Wasley - got a feeling he might take a place in the back half this year. expect to see him more of him in any case.
Tuckey - can kick it a mile and takes a good pack mark. also has a great leap which few of us have seen yet. developing.
Kinnear - probably unlucky to not get CHF. is a great talent; has to work on ground level skills though.
Oborne - give him another year developing and then he'll repay us i'm sure. think his 4 goal effort against brisbane was just a little ploy by the match committee to show us what's in store.
Jacotine - will figure prominently in the seniors next year, both as a young leader and another hungry rover. takes a very strong mark.
Scotland - look to replace schauble if he can't do the job. mick, i wouldn't say he's nervous at all. in fact he seems just as cool-headed as lockyer, and a lot tougher than tarks.
Tape - still a great athlete and very desperate. has a fantastic spoil; skills are a bit of a worry though.
Watson - would be great to see him take a place at half-back and relive his glory days of 94-95. unlikely to happen but hey who knows.
Patto - will probably hang around for another year.
Gardiner - knows how to tap it and that's about it.

i have no idea who will be delisted. don't want to know because i'm too sentimental. look for fraser to play most senior games next year at a forward posting.

the fact is, unlike all other teams we know everyone on the list can play a bit. if mick can just get the message to everyone that they'll need to try bloody hard to make the seniors, then we'll see a dramatic improvement in skills and a rise in quality on the field. add a few traded players to that best 18 and i reckon we can easily make the top 8 if the team 'gels'. melbourne did it last year, brisbane did it this year. carlton's doing it now. essendon's been doing it all year. adelaide decides to do it during the second half of grand finals. it's the key to success.

[Mick]

foxy - we almost agree on the side - interesting Wasley couldn't make it to even your best 18!

reckon playing Willo HBF is a waste of time - we've got to play Bucks,Willo and other goal kicking players forward of centre. Guys like Orchard, Licuria are not goal kickers. Basic rule - if they can run and carry the ball but are not big goal scorers then they should play HBF to Wing - if they can score should play Centre-HFF. Lets hope we never see the likes of Wild resting in the forward line again !

[Charlie]

Pretty good.
Its worth while to consider what strategy MM will adopt to build a top rate footy team. Will he go for youth ? . or will he go for experience ?. He has mooted that he needs to keep the older players to help the young ones, he mentioned Crosisca and Brown.

I considered this today :

Pagan/Parkin
These 2 are always willing to pick older experienced players.

MM/Sheedy
Like to use november draft, always developing their youth.

Given this , I would think that MM may for necessity sake keep players at the end of the year he would normally drop. But we should still expect an almighty shakeout.

Over the last 2 years we have cleared approx. 25 players. These were right on the edge, and obvious delistings. This year we will see the fruits of MM appointment. Players who are not young, not fast, not skillfull, will get the boot.

Do you keep patterson or Tuckey ?
Patto : old/er,slow,one sided.
Tuckey:young,fast,not quite there yet.

These will be the considerations. MM will keep youth for development purposes, and clear out those who can play , but can't win games.