Massive Seasons for Broomhead and Kennedy

[Dave The Man]

With these 2 Missing the RD 1 game vs the Lions have made me start thinking that it’s there 3rd Season and this is the season for Mids and Smalls to start having a Impact at AFL Level and be in the Best 22.

So hopefully these 2 by seasons end are entrenched in the BEST 22.

IF not It be a Disappointment

Agree?

[Pies2016]

DTM, I think there are two ways to expect improvement from any players in any clubs system. One way is the improvement shown on the back of the number of years they have been at that club and the other is improvement shown on the back of ( senior ) games played.
I prefer to guage someones improvement on the back of games played. Most players and coaches will tell you that footballers generally arent comfortable at the elite level until they have played around odd 50 games.
Broomhead has played 8 ( 2 with vest ) and kennedy played 20 games ( 10 in vest ) Both have had injury historys.
Even if they both played nearly every game this year, they will have still played under 50 career games each.
For mine, im not putting any pressure on them at all in 2015 because they just wont have played enough senior football yet. Should they both play most games in 2015, i would think that 2016 is the year that they should be closer to fulfilling their full potential.

[TimetoFly]

Good post dave.

Firstly I know they have signed contracts but If these 2 don't get regular games the go home factor will increase

Secondly both were 1st round picks and in there 3rd year, so if they can't cement themselves in the best 22 by seasons end, then the alarm Bells will ring

We have a lot invested in those 3 first round picks in Grundy Kennedy broomhead, so we at least need 2 to make it in our best 22.

Freeman & sharenberg certainly have time on there side as injuries have killed them

[Bob Sugar]

To date, the 2012/13 drafts have been a disaster, only grundy's been a win, I'm talking about our prime picks here BTW.

[cityslick1]

I'm hoping it's just a fitness / match practice thing, as I'd have both in before any combination of Blair and Toovey / Ramsay.

To play through the middle and forward line they'll need to build up their tanks, but I'd still blood these guys asap because they should be a key part to our chances of future success.

[burnsy17]

They're both pretty good players IMO, but, of the selected 22 for sat night, who do they replace??

Maybe Varcoe bit then we drafted him from elsewhere so would look stupid not to start him... Right?

[John Wren]

[Damien]

I reckon round 1 is a lot about rewarding guys who have really put in during preseason. For some reason others have made the 22 before them but it's a long year. It might give them a spur, not that they should need it. Broomhead in particular is all class and I'd be surprised if he's not in very soon for good.

[Flashman]

Kennedy and Broomhead have had 3 completed preseasons (though Broomhead missed most of his first one) now and should be fit enough to play midfield at senior level or at least rotate through it by now without a doubt or something is very wrong with our fitness program. I don't believe for a second they aren't fit enough.

Broomhead didn't really do enough to warrant selection on exposed NAB cup form but Kennedy was good in both his hitouts and had a real crack (certainly better than a lot of others named for round 1).

But isn't this year supposed to be about development for a flag tilt in the years to come and if so we should be getting games into these kids to make them into good senior players instead of letting them stagnate in the seconds, playing beneath themselves? Same deal with Karnezis.

Unless the coach reckons they aren't part of the future or is just going for the safe route using his old favourites who frankly were poor last year and don't have any more upside to provide, being as good as they'll ever be.

I just think it's confusing this continued selection policy.

[AN_Inkling]

We want to play Broomhead and Kennedy, it's crazy to think otherwise.

We're in a rebuilding period and playing young early(ish) drafted players would be right at the top of our agenda. Particularly when we traded in Premiership chips for some of these blokes (in more ways than one). It's not all on the selectors though, the players need to be showing enough to warrant selection, if they were they'd be picked. De Goey was able to crack a spot.

[Geek]

[Tannin]

I can live with Broomhead being out. I was just about first man on th Broomhead bandwagon here and I reckon he has a massive future, but his pre-season form has been carp. We don't know why, but carp is carp and on eight games you don't get picked just on reputation. (Cough cough, Swanny.) So Broomy plays seconds until he bangs on the door a bit harder. this is right and proper.

Kennedy is a bit harder to explain. He's showing excellent pre-season form and ought to be straight in. Me, I'd have Kennedy in and Blair out without question. Blair can play in the twos and find a way to demonstrate that he has something more to offer than just trying hard. But that won't happen. Blair has had his papers stamped "automatic pick if fit" and nobody knows why. Kennedy has had his papers stamped "automatic almost-not-quite pick unless you have lots of injuries to cover". I imagine that there are some unknown-to-us KPIs Kennedy has to meet before he joins the magic circle. I'd have thought playing better games than two-thirds of the other smalls in the pre-season would have been near enough, but apparently not.

Meanwhile, we are playing about six half-back flankers. This seems very odd. On the other hand, there really isn't one you'd want not to play:

Williams has been lack-lustre but seems to be starting to run into form and is outstanding at his best;

Sinclair is our best small defender (certainly until Williams regains his best form) and adds vital pace

Toovey has been out of sorts but has pace and experience and can play tall if required. You'd hesitate to leave Tooves out when all the others are young, inexperienced, or haven't played at senior level for a very long time.

Langdon is not the messiah, but he's quite possibly our best defender on current form, and he certainly plays an important role. Hard to leave him out.

Oxley is going to be a gun. Good size, good pace, good kick. He is going to be very hard to leave out of any 22 this year. I'd pick him ahead of Tooves, and possibly even Langdon. Watch this space - with another dozen games under his belt he'll be a fixture.

Ramsay has done nothing wrong and a lot right. He'll never be a star, but he is growing into his role as a classic defender with ability to run forward and be a useful link man. I reckon he'll do his bit tonight, and any time he is called on. He seems to have a fine football brain: a dour defender who doesn't mind putting his balls on the line and taking a risk. I like that.

In short, there really isn't one of them you'd want to leave out. By rights, you'd have to leave at least a couple out to play enough mids, but we have omitted Kennedy and the less said about thomas the better, so I guess it's a case of have to.

PS: Do you reckon that, with Caff and Greenwood both out, they are looking at Sinkers and/or Marley as stopgap midfield taggers this week? Mightn't be a bad idea, actually. If that is the case, then we are only playing twice as many half-back flankers as we need, not three times as many.

[Mossi]