An early sample of 2019's best 22s

There is some depth in key areas that Freo haven't had for years, which is pretty heartening. We possibly might not get to see Hogan fulling hitting his straps until later in the season, so that injury thing may be a factor sooner rather than later (not to mention Bennell's & Apeness' fragile bodies). Ian Hill is a good fit for their needs and looks likely he'll be available at 14. Nothing wrong with more pace too.

I have heard rumours that SOS was very big on Bailey Smith who I imagine would still be on the board at 6. TBH though if the Suns give up 3 and 6 for 1 (especially a year after giving up 2 for Weller) the AFL should launch a complete review and look at replacing the entire recruiting department.

Agreed. This is a strong effort, showing solid knowledge of the list — though personally I'd like to see McCarthy rate a mention in the dot points at least. Nice to see recognition of Stephen Hill as a genuine on-baller. When it's a theoretical exercise like this and you can ignore injuries, etc., and rate on potential alone, it just goes to show how much quality there is in Freo's best 22, particularly if you have the likes of Bennell, Logue and McCarthy failing to make the cut. So much quality, in fact, that I start to fear for the development of younger players (needlessly, of course, given injuries are inevitable). Hopefully the coming season Brayshaw and Cerra will be managed through games off rather than reduced time on ground, giving the chance for a debut or two. Ballas may still surprise, but more than likely he'll be spending a bit of time at Peel, mentoring the younger players, which should give Switowski or Colyer or (please, please, please!) Ian Hill a few opportunities. Personally, I think Tucker is more likely to lose his spot to Logue than Cox, but again, injuries will probably make the question redundant.

Solid crack at a Freo best 22. Personally would love to squeeze in Duman and Switkowski somehow. Ballantyne had better hit the ground running next year (as opposed to his trouser hams) or he'll be there mostly for non-weekend duties. On that score, Matera will be interesting to see how he goes after a year now to settle in, while I'd love to see Freo pick up Bob Hill in the draft. Cox's development will need to be handled well. Maybe given some time down back will really help his development, but he could develop into a brilliant weapon, able to take his marking prowess forward or back.

There's no way on earth that Patton would be left out of GWS' best 22.

Too harsh Macca.

Yeah sorry Bretto, you are dead right of course. Sier is an absolute beauty and just the emerging inside mid we need. A fit Scharenberg too.

Looking forward to draft night. I have been very keen on Walsh but the fact Gold Coast are very keen on him opens up to SOS doing a trade of picks. Walsh would be a great long term prospect but the top 8 players ranked in the draft are apparently worthy of being pick 1. I heard Lukosius and Rozee both toured Ikon Park recently and both said they would love to land there. Max King was SOS’s number 1 before his knee injury and Walsh and Lukosius were his top 3. The talk is SOS could be open to trade pick 1 to Gold Coast for picks 2 & 6 or 3 & 6 to pick up Lukosius and Rozee. I wouldn’t mind that if it eventuated as much as I don’t mind going with just Walsh.

Yeah completely agree Col, the blues were keen to push Williamson into a midfield role in 2018 before his medical issues and he looks to have returned in great shape judging by the photo's. Schumacher made some real strides forward in the 2's in 2018 and has some great attributes so I wouldn't be surprised for him to put his name into the mix off half back. As for Polson I know a lot of people like to knock him but I really see something in him, he has great burst speed and works his ar$e off, when he gets more comfortable at AFL level and slows down enough to use the ball better I think he could really add something to our forward line.

That would be a park bench?

For me we are truly improving when Lester and Robertson become depth coverage and not Best 22! Lions best 22, I’ve got Walker walk up start. His second half of last year was fantastic and he get 1st crack. I’m not convinced McCarthy walks into best 22. Jarryd Lyons will and should probably start. I like to see at the coal face and hopefully free up Zorko back to high half forward role. On Leadership, I wasn’t a fan of Zorks as captain and still not. But I can’t see that changing just yet. I can see a joint captaincy between Andrews and Berry in the not to distant future. Maybe 2021

Surely Sier needs to be in that team PtS? He looks better each game and could be a champion.

One of Freo's best ins this season will be Logue. Fast, tall and very strong with great hands. #8 draft pick who was really impressive in his first season. Out all of last year he is one of the many the pundits forgot didn't play last year. This column did acknowledge him and Bennell. Well done.

That is close enough to Carlton’s best side. The thing that is encouraging to me are the players not in that team. Newman, Williamson, Jones, Silvagni, Lang, De Koning, Garlett, Macreadie, Lobbe, Cunningham, Polson, Phillips, Kerr and Casboult, all of whom have AFL experience. The only players on our list at the moment with no AFL games are Shumacher and rookies Le Bois and Owies (picked up as a category B Rookie last month. Of the above I think the following could push to be playing in the first round. Newman, Williamson, Jones, Lobbe, Cunningham, Lang, Garlett and Polson. We are finally getting some decent depth onto our list.

Macca, agree with Williamson if he is back to full fitness. I would even have him on a wing as I think he could turn into an Isaac Smith type. I even think Nic Newman could come into the side and allow Docherty to play some midfield time. I am also hearing Schumacher and Polson are looking good. At last we are getting some decent depth.

Still room for Jarryd Blair on the bench surely Macca? :)

Haha, I think I'm one of the "some" you refer to. Too many clangers for me, and gives away a lot of free kicks, at least based on anecdotal viewing. I think we're a better side if we can move beyond him. I don't mind that lineup at all.

I think the blues team is a pretty good effort, I would have Williamson in ahead of Walsh though, I hope Fasolo will really have to fight for his spot and it would eb great if Thomas gets pushed out as the season goes. I small thing it is Zac Fisher, not Sam.

Great effort. Having gone through a similar exercise (but without going the extra step of writing an article), I've compared our teams and here are my thoughts. Freo: I would have Matera ahead of Ballantyne. I also had McCarthy in the team, but happy to have Taberner instead. I somehow missed Luke Ryan - have now slotted him back in. Average age: 25.0, average # of games: 93.6. Good looking team on paper, will be interesting to see how they play and whether they can push for the top 8. Gold Coast: I'd have Murdoch before Ah Chee and Holman before Fiorini. Jesse Joyce probably slots into the HB line, with Hanley to HF and Corbett drops out. Average age: 24.7, average # of games: 79.2. Not a terrible best 22, but depth is minimal and injuries will hit hard. Probably headed for the spoon. North Melbourne: I had Anderson, Wright and Turner ahead of Garner, Simpkin and Vickers-Willis. On reflection, I'll drop Wright and include Simpkin. Average age: 26.5, average # of games: 113.0. Good amount of experience and should be hard to beat (but not unbeatable), I see them just missing out on the 8. GWS: I didn't include Mumford as he's not on the list yet, so Simpson in for him. I also had Patton and Reid instead of Bonar and Perryman. Average age: 26.0, average # of games: 111.7. Plenty of talent and experience, so should make the 8 and challenge for the top 4. Brisbane: I had Walker, Robertson and Lester instead of Lyons, Robinson and McCarthy. Average age: 24.8, average # of games: 92.6. I think they'll win more games than this year, but not enough to make the 8. Carlton: I didn't include Walsh as he's not on the list yet, so Williamson on the bench. I also had Garlett instead of Pickett. Average age: 24.0, average # of games: 84.0. Still a young and inexperienced line-up, especially if players like Simpson or Thomas are pushed out of the best 22. They should win more games than last year, but looking at their draw, I can't see them getting any more than 6. Collingwood: I had Scharenberg, Aish, Mayne and Sier instead of Elliot, Phillips, Thomas and Mihocek. I'll swap out Aish and Mayne and put in Phillips and Thomas. Average age: 25.9, average # of games: 113.2. It's interesting to note that the top 4 teams from this year's ladder (Richmond, West Coast, Collingwood and Hawthorn) have average ages of around 26 and average # of games of 120 for their best 22. I know this isn't the be-all and end-all, but it does indicate that experience is a valuable commodity on an AFL list. Other teams to have similar averages are Adelaide (26.0, 113.2), Geelong (26.8, 131.8), GWS and North Melbourne (see above), Port Adelaide (26.2, 121.0), and Sydney (25.7, 126.0).

I won't pretend I looked much beyond the Brisbane writeup, but it looks reasonable. Nick Robertson probably the most glaring omission, and I know some aren't convinced about him. I'm really excited about McCluggage. AA in 2019 might be a bit optimistic, but I reckon he'll get there in the not too distant future.