2019 - Free Agents, Rookies & Roughies

[Crazy Dazz]

(Feel Free to Improve Title)
There's an interesting crop of prospective Free-Agents still this season, but none that really stand out as Targets for us.
Coniglio sure, but as discussed likely to be far too expensive.

In an interesting change to the rules, previous FAs now qualify again when out of contract. So for example, Selwood is back on the list. And Jack Trengove (former #2 pick) who was picked up by Port as a DFA, is on the list. He's one I'd be interested in hearing more about. He had that horrible foot injury that kept out for years and led to his delisting. Now he's a apparently ripping it up in the SNAFL, but Hinkley won't play him.

I can't remember what the rules are regarding formerly listed players. Can they be taken as Free Agents?
If not, maybe a good target for the Rookie list.

Jackson Ramsay
East Perth boy drafted by the Pies. Did an ACL, but came back and played a few games. Delisted at the end of 2017. Now back in the WAFL fulltime and seems to be excelling. Mid-sized Midfielder or Defender. Still only 24

Jye Bolton
A name that gets brought up every year, especially after winning his second Sandover last year. At 27, it may be too late for him. But he is probably the best mid in the WAFL

Kade Stewart
A very promising junior who never quite got there as a senior. Spent a couple of years on the Hawks rookie list.
We're probably well covered for lightweight small fwd/mids.

Mason Shaw
The talented junior and former Port listee, is another WAFL standout who's name gets thrown around every year.
Whilst he has all the halmarks of being a "Great WAFL Forward" and apparently suffers from a small tank, it would be interesting to see what he could accomplish with a bit more time on an AFL list. 25, which is barely getting started for a KPF.
(not really a priority for us, unless we lost Allen or Brander, or Brander was coming on too slowly)

There's a couple of former Crows running around in the SNAFL.
I think both are of the type we already have in spades, capable but not a lot of pace.
Mitch Grigg, 26, has been a consistent star in the SNAFl and won b2b McGarey medals.
James Battersby 23 is a clearance machine.

Liam McBean
Keegan Brooksby 2.0. Former Tiger who is now the leading goal scorer in the SNAFL. Big Unit at 202cm, can ruck, but plays mostly at FF.
Not particularly quick, but can lead and take a string mark (at least against smaller opponents). Good strong kick, but actually gets a lot of goals crumbing off the back of the pack.
We now have a surplus of rucks, but at 25 he'd be a good pickup for somebody.

[Crazy Dazz]

FREE AGENTS
As of the latest list there are some interesting names on the FA list.

Ruckmen
A thought from left-field. With NN a risky bet, should we backfill with alternative #1?
Whilst Bailey is developing, delist Brooksby, and keep one of Hickey or Vardy as backup.
Sam Jacobs When he plays, remains one of the best rucks in the comp. He wants to play on and should manage another season or two.
Todd Goldstein Still one of the best players in the comp, but unlikely to ever again play finals where he is. Will have plenty of Suitors, but he's unrestricted meaning he can choose wherever he likes.
Matt Kreuzer After a late start to this year, has had a very good season. Also unrestricted.
Jonathon Ceglar With McEvoy so often injured, has really started to shine for the Hawks. Saturday's pantsing notwithstanding, I'm not sure he'd be a huge upgrade on Hickey. But it would be nice to stick one to Clarko.

[Perrythegreat]

You could add Goddard from Claremont to the potential ruck rookies. Reckon someone will snaffle him this year

[Crazy Dazz]

You could add Goddard from Claremont to the potential ruck rookies. Reckon someone will snaffle him this year

Obviously unless we do some cleaning-out, the last thing we want is another ruck.
But I was touting Goddard 3 years ago, and it has been interesting to watch his progression. As a Tall, we expect him to take longer to develop, and early 20's is probably the sweet spot. He doesn't do enough around the ground, and really needs to lift his game in those other areas.

[Perrythegreat]

You could add Goddard from Claremont to the potential ruck rookies. Reckon someone will snaffle him this year

Obviously unless we do some cleaning-out, the last thing we want is another ruck.
But I was touting Goddard 3 years ago, and it has been interesting to watch his progression. As a Tall, we expect him to take longer to develop, and early 20's is probably the sweet spot. He doesn't do enough around the ground, and really needs to lift his game in those other areas.

He is an old style ruck, which I think there is still room for. 2nd half of the season disposals and tackles greatly increased. He's 21, 202cm tall and close to 100kgs. Not needed by us with Brooksby, but if Brooksby goes, we could do worse. I think Williams could be a key forward, which only leaves us with NN (injury prone, unfortunately), Hickey (not bad, not great), Brooksby and Williams. I'd be happier with Goddard as he has upside v Brooksby, but that is me!

[Crazy Dazz]

Cameron Ellis-Yolmen, Out of Contract UN-Restricted Free Agent. Could be used as a larger bodied tagger as a way of releasing Yeo more when playing against the likes of Cripps and Bontempelli. Could be had rather cheap I'd think.

Despite what I thought earlier, he still hasn't re-signed, and looks set to depart.

Since as a Free-Agent he costs us nothing, I hope we have a crack.
If Kelly is going to cost us dearly in picks, then we need to look elsewhere to find some talent.

CEY struggles to get games for Adelaide, but does ok when given the opportunity. He's big & strong for a mid, and I think would be a good compliment to our midfield.
Like any FA, it would depend on how much he wants. I'd be surprised if we were offering more than Adelaide, but you never know.

[Fat Side]

Cameron Ellis-Yolmen, Out of Contract UN-Restricted Free Agent. Could be used as a larger bodied tagger as a way of releasing Yeo more when playing against the likes of Cripps and Bontempelli. Could be had rather cheap I'd think.

Despite what I thought earlier, he still hasn't re-signed, and looks set to depart.

Since as a Free-Agent he costs us nothing, I hope we have a crack.
If Kelly is going to cost us dearly in picks, then we need to look elsewhere to find some talent.

CEY struggles to get games for Adelaide, but does ok when given the opportunity. He's big & strong for a mid, and I think would be a could compliment to our midfield.

Injury prone fringe player at the Crows. Has shown flashes of being okay, but...nahh!

[Pinion King]

With Rioli out would it be worth having a chat to and rookie Jarrod Pickett as some depth for our small forwards?

[Fat Side]

With Rioli out would it be worth having a chat to and rookie Jarrod Pickett as some depth for our small forwards?

No. He's had two cracks at it and hasn't been able to take his chances. We have Cameron, Cripps, Ryan and Petruccelle. That should suffice until Rioli returns.

[Crazy Dazz]

I know there'd be an unwritten law somewhere that prevents it but I'd really like us to break with protocol and pick up Jarrod Garlett who recently quit the Suns. Being back in his hometown and having some structure and guidance whilst keeping him in a monitored environment from guys like Troy Cook and Dale Kickett at the Wirrpanda Foundation would benefit him no end.

Delisted by Carltank now.
Would he be worthwhile cover for Willie? Or has he got too much baggage?

I'm hoping we've learnt our lesson and no longer take guys like Josh Smith, Leon Davis etc again. Seems to be a reason they're delisted. I'd rather rookie someone who missed the draft because of injury or a mature ager rather than list another cast off. I'd also like to see us turn over our rookies a lot quicker rather than keeping them on the list for 8 years in some cases. Look at guys like Brooksby, McInnes and Smith where we could have had Pickett or Stack. Love that we took a punt on Harry Edwards and that's what we should be doing not picking up other teams delistings.

This year there is a large contingent of players from WA who didn't have a good run with injury at colts level that I'd rather than Garlett. Mitch Georgiades, Riley Garcia and Jaxon Prior are all available this year. Georgiades suffered a quad injury and hasn't played all year. I'd still take a chance in the rookie draft. Garcia did an ACL but still warrants a rookie spot. Prior is in my opinion under-rated, I'd take him at our 4th pick. All 3 are

Mutimer has been on our list for 4 years.

I think for the most part I agree. I don't know/remember what the story is with Garlett, I wondered if maybe he just had issues being away from home?? But as a general rule yes, 2 separate stints at two different clubs pretty much says it all.
I think there are guys that take longer to mature or develop, and the fact they didn't make it the first time around as an 18yr old shouldn't be seen as definitive.
BUT, they need to be showing something.
It's what gets me about a few of these guys like Mutimer, Ah Chee, Smith, etc.
Masto gets dropped back to the WAFL and averages 30 disposals, these guys aren't even close, and there are plenty of better guys running around in the WAFL. If we accept that all those better guys are not upto AFL, then what does it say about the guys who are on an AFL list but still not as good?

But there are also guys like Mitchell (and Smith) that are just fundamentally too small.

I agree that guys like Edwards are what I prefer to see. If he stops getting injured and continues to improve, he could be another McGovern. But that's what you need to see from guys on the list, that improvement.

[Crazy Dazz]

Cameron Ellis-Yolmen, Out of Contract UN-Restricted Free Agent. Could be used as a larger bodied tagger as a way of releasing Yeo more when playing against the likes of Cripps and Bontempelli. Could be had rather cheap I'd think.

Despite what I thought earlier, he still hasn't re-signed, and looks set to depart.

Since as a Free-Agent he costs us nothing, I hope we have a crack.
If Kelly is going to cost us dearly in picks, then we need to look elsewhere to find some talent.

CEY struggles to get games for Adelaide, but does ok when given the opportunity. He's big & strong for a mid, and I think would be a could compliment to our midfield.

Injury prone fringe player at the Crows. Has shown flashes of being okay, but...nahh!

Been offered a 4yr deal at Brisbane

[Streaker]

I'd take Sokol as a rookie.

https://www.wafl.com.au/player/ben-sokol

[Crazy Dazz]

I'd take Sokol as a rookie.

https://www.wafl.com.au/player/ben-sokol

Yeah, I'm surprised nobody has been prepared to role the dice on him. A rookie only gets a year? So he'd be worth a punt.
He's more of a Lecca than a Willie, but he managed 60 goals this season. Give him a crack and see if he can replicate some of that at AFL level.
At the very least he'd give our WAFL team an actual scoring option.

In all seriousness, why would the club sign Brooksby, Smith, and McInnes, and not give this guy a go?

[Crazy Dazz]

Should we have a crack at Jamie Elliott as a Willie Replacement?
https://afltables.com/afl/stats/players/J/Jamie_Elliott1.html

He's had injury issues, but managed 16 games this year for 26 goals.

He's a Free-Agent so wouldn't cost us anything but the cash.

He spent time in Dongara growing up so might be ok with a move West, especially if a Premiership window is open.

(Ben Reid is also a Free-Agent. I wouldn't mind a bit of extra depth whilst Brander develops, but I think Reid is basically done & dusted and will likely retire.)

[MrWoollie]

Should we have a crack at Jamie Elliott as a Willie Replacement?
https://afltables.com/afl/stats/players/J/Jamie_Elliott1.html

I thought he was offered a two year deal at the Pies but wanted a three. see https://www.afl.com.au/news/2019-10-03/ ... -will-stay

His pay would be too much
He'll only go elsewhere for a minimum 3 year deal.
He's injury prone.
His current club (who should know) are only willing to offer 2 years due injury risk.

So, No, No, No.