OUTS
Jarrad Kayler Thompson
Has played 108 games for the club and was one of my favourite players. Very good player despite what some people are saying about him. He only played 2 games in 2012 due to injury. When looking at the 2012 team and comparing it to the 2013 team he shouldn’t be considered a loss due to the fact he only played 2 games.
Andrew McDougall
Andrew missed the whole of last season due to injury. Has played 85 games for the club and like Kayler Thompson he can’t be classified as a loss to the 2012 side as he didn’t play a game.
Aaron Elari - LOSS
Was not the same player he was in 2012 as he was in 2010 and at times in 2011. Will go on to play a heap of football for Swan Districts in the future. Definitely should be regarded as a loss. IMO he has the ability to be one of the standout players in WA Football.
Matt Rogers - LOSS
Wasn’t as impressed with him last year as I was in 2011. Has a lot of potential and will be a good player for Swan Districts in the years ahead. Should be regarded as a loss.
Ross Young - MASSIVE LOSS
Well where do you start with Ross Young. He is easily one of the top 5 players in the competition and will be sorely missed by any side.
Aaron Zucconi - LOSS
Only played 23 games over the last 3 seasons due to injuries and taking time out from the game. Still managed to play 98 games and it would be fair to say that most would have liked to see him get to 100. IMO was a great club man and always battled out of his depth in the backline and could have used more support over the years. Should definitely be regarded as a loss from the club but as he only made 7 appearances last year, whether or not he is a loss from the 2012 side is up to you.
Leon Davis - LOSS
Leon, Leon, Leon! I tend to sit on the fence when it comes to Leon. I reckon he was played out of position but was also not completely committed to the club last year. When on song his class stands above the rest and is the type of player that can change the outcome of a match. Definitely a loss.
Tim Noakes
Tim only played 15 games for the club for 15 goals. Found himself more often than not playing up the ground which probably didn’t suit him. Is definitely someone that you would have in your team for depth and can be pretty handy around the goals. Judging by his output last season he can be replaced by someone else in the 22.
Ben Noakes
Ben has that uncanny knack of being able to find the footy at whatever level however he can be prone to poor disposal which lets him down. Won the Prendergast Medal for the reserves B&F last year and would have liked to see him stay on from a depth perspective. Like his brother handy player but can be replaced in the squad.
Llane Spaanderman - LOSS
Everyone knew that Llane can be a head case at times and his 2012 can best be described as a rollercoaster. We saw his best and his worst last year but in 14 games he still managed to average 21 hitouts a game. At his best he is easily one of the top ruckman in the league. Regardless of what you think of him personally, as a footballer he leaves a big hole in the ruck department.
Ben Fraser
Early on in the season I thought Ben was going to come and provide good support in the forward line. Marks well, can kick goals and has a strong presence. In his first 3 games in the reserves he averaged 9.3 kicks, 3.3 handballs, 8 marks and 3 goals a game. Would have liked to see him given some more opportunities towards the end of the season where he could have had a good run at it. Won the reserves B&F last season but as a 10 point player his output needed to be better in the league team. 10 points could be better spent elsewhere and as a result he can be replaced in the team.
Areas that needed addressing
Prior to the players above leaving the club it was obvious that we really needed tall KPP in the forward line, backline and in the ruck. 1-2 more midfields would have been nice to lessen the workload on Ross Lyon and Alistair Smith.
Then the news came out that we were losing Elari, Rogers and Young in the midfield, Aaron Zucconi down back, both our ruckman in Spaanderman and DeJong and Leon Davis. All of a sudden we are looking a bit thin in the middle of the ground, a bit short down back and the only ruckman at the club with senior experience was Christian Eyres. It’s fair to say that a lot of work needed to be done to cover areas all over the ground.
INS
Chance Bateman
Chance will be 32 this year and has played 177 games of AFL football. I hope he has got some run left in his legs and should be a very good recruit at this level.
Kyle Reimers
Flashy and exciting! Kyle played 60 games of AFL and has kicked 69 goals. I expect him to split his time between the midfield and forward line where hopefully he can have an impact.
Jarrad Irons
Jarrad comes back to the club after two years spent on Port Adelaide’s list. He averaged 22 disposals in 16 games at colts level in 2010. Played 3 games at the top level and this experience should hopefully benefit him. Can’t find much about him from his time in the SANFL except that he’s 179 cm and about 75 kg and the club see’s him playing wing and half back.
Jackson Sketcher
Jackson is a young man with a very impressive background. Played 16 games and kicked 10 goals for Box Hill reserves in 2011 where he won a premiership and then switched to Frankston last year where he played 16 games for 2 goals in the seniors. Jackson was co-captain of the Sandringham Dragons TAC Cup team in 2010 and also tied with Dyson Heppell to win the 2010 Morrish Medal as best player in the TAC Cup.
Jared Risol
Jared is a tall CHF or CHB according to the club and is listed at 193 cm and 92 kg. Was a member of the U/16 Vic Country team and has played 37 games for 25 goals in the VFL reserves over the last two seasons. He won the 2011 Community Player Award at Werribee.
Daniel Murray
Formerly of East Perth, Brisbane and Peel Thunder, Murray is a pretty imposing big man at 200 cm 110 kg. Brought to the club as a ruckman.
David Johnston
Johnston is a CHB/FB that played 16 league games for Peel last year. He has played 19 in total. Left Swan Districts for more opportunities and seemed to get them at Peel. However with the host club alignment and Peel getting the services of big men Zac Clarke, Tanner Smith, Craig Moller, Matt Taberner and Jack Hannath from Fremantle as well as Paul Bower signing on he may have struggled for game time in 2013. It’s hard to speculate but if the alignment didn’t happen and all those tall’s didn’t go to Peel would Johnston still be at Peel? Either way what’s Peel’s loss is hopefully the Demons gain and at 192 cm and 90 kg is another KPP at the club.
Mitchell Leyendekkers
I saw Leyendekkers play some games last season and have to say I was impressed with his development. Still very raw but at 200 cm and 90 kg the 21 year old hopefully can continue his development at the Demons in 2013. He averaged 20 hitouts a game last season in 13 appearances.
Josh Stark
Josh is an unknown. All anybody knows at this stage is that he is a utility from Glenelg.
Tyson Rowling
Tyson played 16 reserve games for West Perth in 2011 and managed to find the goals 13 times that year. He’s listed as a 195 cm centre half back/full back. Another tall at the club.
Harrison Morgan
Harrison is from East Perth and is listed as 197 cm, 110 kg ruckmen/full forward. Has only played 3 reserve games.
Dale Wallam
Dale is from East Fremantle. Maybe Freeze can tell us a little bit more about him? All I was able to find out is that he is 188 cm and 73 kg and apparently has excellent speed.
Overall
Before I said that the club needed KPP up forward and down back, 1-2 ruckman and some more midfielders to ease the workload. People say that we haven’t replaced Ross Young and some of the other departures from the club, but the question I ask is how do you replace Ross Young? There is never going to be another player quite like him. Every club loses players of the same calibre as Ross Young. For instance how do Essendon replace James Hird and Dustin Fletcher? Players like David Zaharakis, Jake Carlisle and Michael Hurley come in a step up. The point I’m making is that it’s always hard to replace champion players or players that were integral to your side but you don’t know who is going to step up or who is waiting in the wings for their chance.
The club has recruited midfielders in Chance Bateman, Jackson Stetcher, Jarrad Irons, Kyle Reimers and potentially we could see Dale Wallam and Josh Starke run through there as well. The club has recruited ruckman in Daniel Murray and Mitchell Leyendekkers and has tall KPP in Jared Risol, David Johnston, Harrison Morgan and Tyson Rowling.
Majority of these players are unknown and untried at WAFL league level; however it is unrealistic for the club to be able to go out and get 4 or 5 10 point players. As we have seen over the last 2-3 years sometimes 10 point players (Roberts and Fraser) don’t work out. I can see that the club has made an effort to try and address deficiencies in the team and I hope like most supporters that most if not all the recruits can come in and have an impact this year.
