What makes us better in 2017

[Born to Pie]

Many on Nick's seem to think 2017 is going to be another non-event for the Pies, apart from the fact that Buck's future as a coach/ex-coach has been discussed ad-nauseum, I think we have quite a long list of positives to look at in 2017.

There is a long list of players that can add something to 2017 either by staying injury free or through natural progression, before any further drafting or additional FA's or DFA's.

We have two A graders that will be the linchpins for the team, Pendles and Treloar who both played 22 games in 2016, the same again is more than enough, but the following players add real positives to 2017:

Adams - Missed 9 games through injury, averaged 27 disposals @71% efficiency, we need him available as much as Pendles and Treloar.

Aish - If he can reproduce the form he showed in the second half of 2016 we are a better team.

Broomhead - only 2 games in 2016, better than that makes us better in 2017 and beyond.

Cox - Now has 11 games which on it's own is nothing to trumpet, but when you are 211cm & 110kg and can kick straight!

DeGoey - Has 36 games now, no promises......but!

Elliott - 0 games 2016. May never get back, but if he does, are we better or worse?

Fasolo - Only played 12 games and produced probably his best season, if he can stay injury free, our forward line is so much better.

Grundy - 62 games to date, explain to me why he won't be better in 2017?

Hoskin-Elliott - May be a bust, but have a look at what he produced in 2014 before injury ruined 2015 & 2016.

Moore - 26 games, needs to be managed but boy oh boy, every pre-season counts.

Ramsay - 9 games to date, 2 in 2016, yep potential is nothing unless he can get out there, however he has potential in spades.

Scharenberg - 0 games in 2016, total of 4 to date, he may be a bust, but if (IF, IF, IF) he gets a run at it!!!

Sidebottom - 26 years old in January, prime time for Steele.

Smith - 2016 averaged 21 disposals @80% efficiency, thank-you very much

Wells - Look at the list above, and then add his class.

Varcoe - Went from averaging 17 disposals @79% in 2015 to 15 @ 73% in 2016, what if the whole team improves marginally?

Yeah it's a list of maybe and possibly and potential, but it is exciting!

Go Pies

[BazBoy]

Have a thought on Keefe re entering backline and suggest when he and Frost first got AFL games they were young talls doing a job

Around that period both experience talls Brown and Reid were in and out for long periods due to innjuries

Now Keefe has Reid back and hopefully over soft tissue injuriy --had almost full 2016
And Dunne also experienced as well as Howe's excellent 2016

So Keefe will have three experienced backs to help him into back six

[themonk]

Simple, no injuries

[Number 35]

1/ Midfield Growth.
- If Adams can take the next step and lead Treloar Wells Greenwood DeGoey etc Pendlebury and Steele can be used around the ground to devestating effect. There were 11 goals between the duo in our 2010 finals series. Sidebottom who played mostly in the forward line that year produced 24 goals. Now he is 7 years more experienced. In the forward line he will not be exposed for his lack of speed. And could easily get us 40 goals. Pendlebury reading of the game and use of the ball is greatly needed across half back.

- Pendles and Steele have plenty of class but they cant break the lines, and i believe playing them both together in the centre can expose us for it. Adams Treloar Wells DeGoey Varcoe Thomas are all capable of winning ball and breaking tackles and driving forward.

2/ Fresh Forward Line

-It may take a few rounds for them to really start gelling but i predict by round 7 we will have the most dangerous forward line in the AFL. Moore Fasolo Elliotx2 ManicMayne Cowboy Crocker White/Keefe? Steele? Daicos? Reid/Howe potential swingmen. Potential recruit of Andreas Everitt? Who averaged over a goal a game with Carlton.

- No negative force in Cloke.

3/ Defense

- We will be much better at using the ball from Defense next year, without Brown Marley Frost etc. DO NOT underestimate the differnce this will make. Whats probaly even more important or just as. Is the fact that our new look defence will consist of 5-6 constant players who like to Mark instead of punching. Wheras it was split 50/50 in 2016. And we were EXPOSED heavily for that. I can count close to 80 goals in which we conceded because the Deadwoods would punch the ball to the opposition crumbers. Its Cringeworthy. The punch is Pre-historic now. I would like to see combinations of Howe Pendlebury Scharenberg Reid Langdon Maynard Keefe White etc.

- We can probaly all count another 80 goals that were conceded over the top Joe the Goose style. That is Midfields fault as much as it is Defence. Having Deadwood back there doesnt help. Neither does slow mids who dont rank for contested ball. If our mids come together in this regard with pressure acts and contested ball and clearnces a lot more kicks going into our defense will be intercept marked by Reid Howe Scharenberg Pendlebury Langdon(who could thrive having the Captain instructing him Maxwell style). Then our Goals against will decrease dramatically.

Number 4 Brodie Grundy..........

For the first time since 2010-11. We may have a Decent Ruckman. Who is actually quite Mobile.

Grundy the most important player for us and our improvement next year.

[Geek]

[HAL]

But what?

[Number 35]

I would also like to raise a point!

I loved Daicos and Brown. They were my Heroes. Along with Pants! However, if we let them slip now. Surely we can find a way to get them back to the Pieland in 2-3 years? Is kind of like throwing them in the deep end to see if they sink or swim. Yeah they will cost us more in the Future if they are ripping it up for say Lions and Suns respectively. Yet they will surely get more gametime and grow to be better players.

In soccer you can loan players. Let them grow at a lesser team and help them with their battles. And if they earn the clubs respect they will find thier way back home soon enough.

Im raising this point as the signings of ManicMayne and Wells coinceiede with the clubs views on 2017 being the year our Window opens for a Flag attempts.

If that is SO. Then Michael Barlow/Clancee Pierce and Andreas Everitt Interest me quite a lot. As quality Depth and experience.

I say this as i dont understand the techincal side of the draft, yet feel that our chances of gaining Barlow/Pierce Everitt Brown and Daicos is low.

I do know that Barlow Pierce are just as hungry and good as Mayne. And i feel that Ross Lyon has lost the trust in his players. They will add to our depth and then i dont see injuries hurting our midfield even with Pendlebury and STeele back and forward. Imagine this... Adams Treloar Wells Greewood Barlow Pierce Varcoe Thomas DeGoey Aish Blair Wills Phillips.

Andreas Everitts stats have been slowly increasing over his career. Jesse White for example has neither increased or decreased. Everitts goal kicking stats in a WEAK Carlscum side are actually quite impressive. And his stocks may sky rocket at his next club. Especially if he is surrounded by quality. He is also a Swingman. And can be further quality depth for us

[Number 35]

Its actually perfect

2010 Tier 1 Swan Pendlebury Didak
Tier 2 Ball Thomas Beams
Tier 3 Wellingham Steele Blair
Best Tier : Swan Pendlebury Ball

2017 Tier 1 Adams Treloar Wells
Tier 2 Greenwood Barlow DeGoey
Tier 3 Pierce Varcoe Thomas
Best Tier : Hard to pick 3 out of Pendlebury Wells Adams and Treloar

[Number 35]

Pendlebury Steele and Beams were around the same age then as Treloar Adams DeGoey Thomas and Aish are now.

However, i still recall Blairs first game that year late in the season against the Eagles at Etihad. He stayed in the side all they way to the granny. And i was hoping the same for Daicos and Brown but we had a lot more Experience in the 2010 side than people think. And Buckley wants a more Run-and-Gun style than Malthouses Slow-and-Choke approach playing the boundary. And chocking opponents at stoppages.

[35forever]

There ain't no problem with the list. Only those trying to find excuses for Suckley ever disparage our list. But someone please kill "No 35" for suggesting that a Daicos play at another club, even for a week!
God that is just insane! Our 5 year malaise has been ALL down to Morale, lack of confidence, and attitude. A Daicos at Carlton or Geelong would flog the morale of every person at Collingwood, especially the fans, and we need the fans to pay the bills!

[MatthewBoydFanClub]

I think recruiting Howe and being forced to play him on the backline when our defence was leaking goals, highlighted just how bad defensively all of Williams, Frost and Brown (first half of season) were in 2016. Now we don't have all three means we start 2017, despite our shortage of tall defenders, in better shape than this year. It wouldn't surprise me if Buckley had a discussion with Howe when the decision was made to recruit Dunn. It's not as if Dunn had to hitch a ride on an aircraft to get to Holden centre. He will stiffen our defence but we will need the pace of Sinclair and Ramsay (assuming he gets back to his preinjury form) to run the ball out of defence.
With the addition of Wells into the middle of the ground and Aish and Sidebottom patrolling the wings there shouldn't be as much rebound from stray kicking which will ease some of the pressure off the back six in 2017. Our contested footy was pretty good in 2016 but our centre clearance differential I think is still negative. Games are won or lost out of the centre. Adams being fit, injured or suspended will have a huge influence on our fortunes in 2017.
Our trading has reason to feel optimistic about our attack in 2017. Mayne will add defensive pressure to our forward line. WHE adds class, pace, marking and ability to kick freakish goals. White has finally come of age as a mobile forward whose job is to roam over the ground and chip in for the occasional goal rather than sit in the goal square to provide a target. No longer being reliant on Cloke changes the dynamics of the forward line. Opposition sides can do their homework on us, but having a forward line which is flexible and less predictable is more difficult to negate than an attack centred around one individual.

[woftam]

Our trading gives me no reason to be optimistic. In fact i think we will fall yet again. We will see I guess.

[qldmagpie67]

This is a great question.
We traded OK in my view. Wells is certainly in our best 22, WHE at th best he has shown is in our best 22, Mayne gets games depending on others form and injuries, Dunnhas been brought in as cover.
We will draft both Brown and Daicos but won't land anything outside of that in the draft.
So if we are going to improve it has to come from within the group we have.
For mine there are several players who really need to step up this season for a variety of reasons.

Scharenberg has been ranked a gem since we drafted him but we have seen nothing to prove it true or false. Not the kids fault having 2 knees plus his feet issues when he first arrived. If he can be the player he was rated when h arrived then our sides skill factor goes up markedly.

Elliott has shown he is a good player but how he returns from this back injury will decide how our forward line goes in 2017. I've got a gut feeling the club is very unsure on his long term future hence bringing in WHE & Mayne. We need Elliott at his best to kick scores we can defend.

Langdon at his best (2014/15) he is a player with immense promise. The 2016 version (the little we saw) wasn't the same player. Whether he was playing injured or what he seemed a few steps off the pace and at times some what disinterested. He's now in a battle for a spot with Ramsay Scharenberg Maynard Smith and others and would want to be at his absolute best to get a game.

Crisp after a very good debut year 2016 saw his struggling at times. His effort was there but his excercution was very poor. He needs to really step up this year. He like Langdon will be in a battle for a spot so anything less than his best and he might be seeing Jared Rivers on a regular basis.

Keefe after 2 long years out of the game because of his own error he owes the club big time. Can he step straight back into the pace of AFL footy ? We need tall defenders and he needs to show he belongs. His presence down back makes our defence look better but anything less than what he was as aplyer prior to his suspension won't cut it.

Sidebottom is a barometer to how the side goes. When he is going good so are we but all to frequently his performance slips down a couple levels. At his best he's a very good player but he needs to produce that performance every week every quarter not just in patches every few games. Personally I believe his best spot is up forward but whether or not that happens he needs to have the gap between his best and average performances close

Treloar yes a funny one I know but his disposal needs to improve. He gets loads of the ball and runs like no ones business but it's pointless if the end result isn't up to scratch. I'll cut him some slack after having little preseason but 2017 he needs to get his efficiency up into the high 70's as a minimum.

Aish what we saw in the second half of 2016 has to be the minimum standard he reaches every week. After a ordinary start to the season culminating in him being dropped he came back in and proved he was a afl standard player. That needs to be his level,every week. If he reaches that the side goes to another level again.

Grundy yeah I know anoth funny one. But he's just about our most important player. If he break evens or gives us the advantage at the centre bounce and ball ups we have the players to hurt teams. His 2nd half of 2016 was superb and we need him to be at that level every week. His second and third efforts are fantastic and with no other first class ruck option we can't afford him to be down on form or injured.

All other player (excluding Pendles) need to lift there performance by 10% and make a spot in the starting 22 a privilege not a case of OK he will do.
I'm optimistic but not overly confident. We need to get our best 22 on the park for at least 75% of the games or 2017 will be like other years full of promise at times but no finals

[Pies2016]

I try not to get caught up in individuals when you talk about on field improvement.
Every team will claim they have improvement in their list just like we do. It's more about the team collective and developing the right game plan for the list that is available .
I believe our biggest improvement will come from the addition of Brenton Sanderson to the coaching panel. Supposedly in charge of ball movement and centre clearances in 2017, it wouldn't take much for him to play a big part in any improvement we show on the field in 2017.

[piedys]