Can't believe how quick the season has gone. Only seems like yesterday that it was round one.
It hasn't been a good year for the Demons with the team only winning two games however there were some positives to take from the season.
- The recruitment of players such as Aidan Tropiano, Liam McKenna and Brett Wolfenden has been a success. Tropiano and McKenna have added to our midfield while Wolfenden has added some outside pace, even if he does turn the ball over from time to time.
Jacob Payne despite him having his critics on here has played every game and is a good solid footballer. I think he does a lot of unrewarded running and while he his another who can turn the ball over from time to time you would give his recruitment a tick at this stage.
Toby Gianatti has had some good performances but at times and this is not through lack of trying hasn’t had an impact on games. He was being used as a defence forward so you could argue that this role would also contribute as to be fair the ball didn’t really spend a lot of time in our forward 50 this year. I think he still has a role to play, whether he continues as a defensive forward or even if he goes back to the backline where he played when he finished in the top three in the best and fairest at Peel.
Callum Walley has slowly got better each game he played and had some pretty good performances over the last month or so. Kicked 14 goals in his last six games as well as averaging 4 tackles over that period. Makes the odd clanger by disposal but he showed a fair bit in his last six games and I hope to see him at the club in 2016. Has pace as well which is something we don’t have a lot of at the club.
Brent Latch was another who showed signs that he could hold down a key defensive role. I like Latch and Johnson as key defenders but think that we still need to get another key defender down there so that Latch can take the second tall and Johnson can either take the third tall or sit in-between the full forward and centre half forward.
- It may have taken a while but it was pleasing to see young players finally getting a go at league level. You have to blood the kids at WAFL level and this as has been spoken about before on here is something we have struggled to do. Jarred Bell (19 games), Michael Sinclair (14 games), Cody Leggett (14 games), Brent Edmonds (11 games), Scott Doncon (11 games), Kurtis Chester (10 games), Ben Power (10 games), Reid Polak (7 games), Haydn Tanner (5 games), Marshall Jones (5 games) and Sam McGillivray (4 games) all showed promising signs at one stage or another throughout 2015 and I look forward to seeing which players benefit from another preseason in 2016.
- The word from the players was that the preseason done between the end of 2014 and the start of the 2015 season was one of the hardest done at the club for a number of years. Looking back over the last 20 games it was clear that the players were fitter than what they’ve previously been however they are still a fair way off from the top teams in this area. I hope that the fitness staff led by Frank Rodriquez and Matthew Olds continue to push the players over preseason and we can see more improvements in this area again next year.
One thing that we can improve on that is in our control is our decision making, skill execution and the way we transition the football, particularly out of the backline. I reckon I would have counted at least 5-6 goals a game that cost us. Through poor ball use when entering our own forward 50 and missing easy targets we missed the chance to at least have shots on goal and then poor decisions and ball use when bringing the ball out of our backline led to turnovers that resulted in goals to the opposition. We had an average loosing margin of eight goals this year.
If the fitness of the players improves again next year like I mentioned above then this should see the players less fatigued which means they should be able to make better decisions and execute their skills for longer. Or at least that’s what all the fitness buffs say haha. If we are able to reduce these turnovers then the average loosing margin obviously drops and we are in games for longer, giving us a better chance of winning more matches.
Recruiting can be hit and miss and you never really know what you are going to get out of some players but the stuff mentioned above is within our control and can be addressed in the offseason.
Recruiting For 2016
You are allowed a maximum of 120 points to be spread out evenly over the squad. At last check I think our team total was around 102 points. This leaves 18 points to be spent on players.
All players try hard when they’re at the club and give their all however sometimes tough calls need to be made. If we are able to get somewhere between 35-40 points this is where I would look at addressing first.
Ruckman - We need a ruckman desperately that can give our midfielders first use of the ball and offer more of a presence around the ground and in front of goals.
Key Forward - We have been crying out for one of these for years.
Key Back - As mentioned above someone that can take the number one full forward each week.
Depending on how many points are left then you would look at other areas but I believe these are the three most important positions that need to be filled. I did have a midfielder in there previously ahead of a backman but I have now changed my opinion as I reckon we can cover the midfield more so with the players we have at the club than what we can compared to down back. Also adding a ruckman to the midfield group will help this area also.
