TOPIC:

ROYAL 2019 wrote: I have heard of 5 EP boys keen to come back next year Grump you will pleased to know. Now Most people I talk to think we need 6-10 players to even wiin a handful of games. I agree with that but am happy to go 100% home grown and sort out the wheat from the chaff that way. The Eagles boys have done most of the heavy lifting under the alignment.

Firstly it is obvious that our opinions are quite divergent.

The question abt players returning I have already touched on but will reiterate, I can think one maybe two that would be worth having back, they left for their own reasons and that is fine for them BUT the boys who stayed did the hard work and should reap the rewards.

As for the WCE players doing the heavy lifting you seriously have to be joking, perhaps one or two yep but most were there cos they had to be and most did not give a toss! The BF results are based on the WCE coaching panel voting and as a token they made sure that an EP players was in there and the following season they were dropped at various times to make way for a WCE drone!

There is a saying abt agreeing to disagree, I will continue to express my opinions and you can do yours! As the moderator I will NOT delete yours or anyone elses comments unless I or others think that they are likely to cos issue, angst or abuse from other contributors. If you think that you can do a better job at the moderation I will gladly hand it over as I asked to do at seasons start.

Yes the Eagles have filled most of the key positions, and shouldered most of the midfield work. Now our boys get a chance, I do hope the players realise how hard this is going to be and are preparing accordingly.

ROYAL 2019 wrote: Yes the Eagles have filled most of the key positions, and shouldered most of the midfield work. Now our boys get a chance, I do hope the players realise how hard this is going to be and are preparing accordingly.

I get the feeling that the alignment was ok by you, I could be wrong but just the sense I get from the tenor of your comments, also you would say that the win loss ratio is evidence of job done well, mmmm will really are at opposite ends of the opinion polls.

As for the boys knowing what faces them, I get the feeling from the players at the gym on a regular basis that they do and are working towards the expectations that are placing on the themselves.( oh i know this from the steady steam in there before their wind up, which was when the PP had the canteen open for the 14/15's day)

Good to hear Grump. No totally anti alignment and the club heard it directly. Even being against it I still call it as I saw it on field.

I think Barnard is spot on.We need 5-6 experienced recruits to make us competitive.We only won 8 games and were lucky to finish fifth due to a couple of clubs falling over the cliff.5--6 targeted recruits will replace the better eagles players.The other 6-8 positions that the eagles filled last year should give the players who only played semi regularly like Wright,Hille,,Ajang,Samelko,Gorter Miller,Hart,Bolton a regular game.Best news is we won't have to play list cloggers like olongo and England.There will be more opportunities for local players but they will still need to earn their spot.We should not feel guilty about getting 5-6 out of club recruits to bolster our strength and give us depth.All the other clubs will be looking to recruit outside their zone except maybe west perth who you would think would be watching every cent spent.

ROYAL 2019 wrote: I have heard of 5 EP boys keen to come back next year Grump you will pleased to know. Now Most people I talk to think we need 6-10 players to even wiin a handful of games. I agree with that but am happy to go 100% home grown and sort out the wheat from the chaff that way. The Eagles boys have done most of the heavy lifting under the alignment.

If they're fully committed to the cause, it will be wonderful if some of our prodigal sons return to the fold next year, ROYAL 2019.
However, re the "heavy lifting", I'm very much on Grump's side with this one.
In my opinion, because there were a disproportionate number of Eagles in East Perth's side compared to local boys (the game average was 12.74 Eagles to 9.26 locals), it may've appeared they were the ones doing the heavy lifting.
There were a lot of Royals in the reserves who would've acquitted themselves well in the league side if given the chance.

Half glass full there Archie, I hope your right. If that’s the case we should be be pushing for finals without need to recruit. We barely have a player over 5”9 and 75kgs of any ability but opportunity knocks.

I definitely think we need to recruit, R2019, with a couple of pacey midfielders, a pair of "hard nuts" (I'm not talking anatomically here), a ruckman, a key defender and a key forward on the wanted list if we are to be consistently competitive in 2019.
Perhaps wishful thinking given there are considerations such as accommodation and getting players a job if they relocate interstate.
So, hopefully we can unearth a few gems from within our zone.
In terms of talls, I thought Ajang Ajang showed a bit in 2018, while hopefully the red-headed Aaron Redhead kicks on, so to speak.

Archie Duda Goal Machine wrote: I definitely think we need to recruit, R2019, with a couple of pacey midfielders, a pair of "hard nuts" (I'm not talking anatomically here), a ruckman, a key defender and a key forward on the wanted list if we are to be consistently competitive in 2019.
Perhaps wishful thinking given there are considerations such as accommodation and getting players a job if they relocate interstate.
So, hopefully we can unearth a few gems from within our zone.
In terms of talls, I thought Ajang Ajang showed a bit in 2018, while hopefully the red-headed Aaron Redhead kicks on, so to speak.

I totally agree with you.It isn't rocket science why we struggled the last three years.The retirement of three irreplaceable players.With Josh Smith retiring we have had to rely on mediocre kpf players like Tom lamb or inexperienced forwards like brander and matt allen.The last decent ruckman we had was paul Johnson.Last year Scott Jones was developing very well till Giles and Mcinnes came back from injury and made him into a part time ruckman.This year Olongo got in the way of Ajang and we know what happened to Olongo.The last really top notch midfielder we had was brendon lee.The eagles inability to recruit decent midfielders and the fact that we haven't been able to put games into our midfielders leaves us with a paper thin midfield.As much as we all love shaggy the fact that he only needs to trip over his shadow and he miss 6 weeks leaves us no alternative but to look for a kpd.Hopefully Redhead,Samelko and Ajang can make a impact this year.

Ok you all want to recruit, so who misses out from the squad for last years last league game and the reserves final. The ones who I think are perhaps half a season away from league are in bold.
MCGINNITY Patrick MAGINNESS William BLEE Nathan MILLER Benjamin
HART Callum WELLINGHAM Sharrod GORTER Thomas YOUNG Matthew
AJANG Ajang YOUNG Will HILLE Shayne WRIGHT Stanley
MILLER Benjamin HART Callum WAITE Nelson
DOBSON Mitchell EATON Nathan SAMELKO Asher
RILEY Blake BOLTON Dwayn STACK Harley
CAHILL Jaxon LA FONTAINE Kane ARBON Nathan
AMEDURI Christian WILLCOCKS Kye NORTH Taylor
FURMARK Braydn

Then add to this list those coming back from injury that are walk up starters, Jules Ameduri, Mitch Fraser, Jackson Ramsay. I would add one deserter and that would be Tom Hodgson and he is worth the return after having talked to him abt his leaving.