"I’ll look after the forwards and some of the offence. They’ve had a pretty strong offensive profile particularly from the back half over the last 12-18 months, but some of our connection inside 50 hasn’t been to the level we’d like so we’ve got some work to do there. It’s pretty exciting that we’ve got some fresh players coming in and a new look in the front half, some new opportunities and ways to move the ball inside 50 and create scoring opportunities. The list itself is exciting: to come in and put a new spin on things with some new ideas with a coaching group that is really open and receptive to that has been enjoyable."
On Carlton’s new forward dynamic:
"Having been at the Pies, that was one of the great strengths: not being solely reliant on one or two players, but having such an even contribution in the front half and becoming quite dynamic in the way we played and moved in the forward 50. I see similarities with Carlton, having brought in some new players. Some of it is reliant on how we move the ball inside 50, but having different avenues to goal is also important. When I look at the forward line and how we’re operating over pre-season, I certainly see the upside with that. We’ve got Harry down there who’s going to be a beacon and draw some football, while bringing in Will Hayward and Ben Ainsworth, there are some exciting options inside 50."
On Will Hayward’s impact:
"Definitely there’s the leadership side to it. His talent has been on show from day one and he’s one of those guys that has an incredible work rate. From his time at Sydney, he’s very role-compliant which is going to be important for us. He’s got the ability to play different roles in the front half and I’ve also enjoyed watching him compete in the air and apply pressure at ground level - he’s that multi-faceted forward, which is important. With the leadership side of things, he’s come from a great culture and environment so he’ll add to us enormously in that regard."
On Harry McKay:
"I still think he’s got so much upside, Harry. For his size and his work rate and his ability in the air, he’s going to draw the best defender each week. Importantly, he’s got a role of making others around him better. He’s clearly going to be a focal point for us in the front half: if he’s playing this role, it might open up opportunities for others as well. I think he can take his game to another level, there aren’t many of his size and shape that move the way he does. He’s had a really good start to pre-season and he’s a great character around the group with good leadership qualities. A lot of it will be how he allows our forward line to function: how he’s creating space, how he’s able to bring the ball to ground, his ability to apply pressure in the front half. That will allow us to have an impact as a collective - he’ll have days where he’s kicking four and five, he’ll also have days where he kicks one or two but is bringing others into the game that we’ll be looking for."
On a new-look club:
"It does feel different, to a degree. I’ve been fortunate to be in a few different environments, and I think footy clubs by and large are full of great people with great intentions that are striving towards the same thing. The thing I’ve enjoyed is the synergy within the coaching group: ‘Vossy’ has done a great job leading and driving that. His leadership qualities are outstanding, and he’s brought in a group of coaches that complement each other but we’re able to have robust discussions as well. Beyond the coaching group, the support staff are terrific people, which goes a long way to team success. The thing with Collingwood is you saw the product on-field, and a lot of the players are the frontmen for that, but the staff around that that build out a club are so important as well."
On emerging youth:
"There are a lot of guys that I don’t know, and I’m getting a fresh lens on them. I’m excited by some of the youth: there’s some talent there that might not have had a lot of exposure but can bring some upside to us. It’s nice to come in with a fresh set of eyes, observe and help develop and mould some of these young players as well."
It's good to see that Josh is looking to improve our connection inside the forward 50. I think that the addition of Will Hayward is a significant part of how we're going to go about that, and how were going to add to our avenues to goal. I'm looking forward to seeing whether Will lives up to expectations and how much his presence improves our scoring power.
Don't give too much weight to a dozen people voting. We could hold the election in my lounge room.
That could be an interesting gathering Lods. Do you have a date in mind?
Building a list isn't just drafting A-graders, however you define them, but it's a factor. More important is using trades, free agency, rookie selections and contract management to maintain a sustainable list with depth and the ability to execute the gameplan.
Without wishing to re-ignite an old debate, SOS wasn't sacked because of his list management, it was club politics. Furthermore, he had signalled his intention to move on. In that context, how many players had SOS added to our list who were at A-grade level at the time of his departure? I would say one; Jacob Weitering (Charlie, Harry and Sam Walsh's break out years were still to come).
How many A-graders has Austin added to our list to date? Again, I would say one; George Hewett. There are plenty of B-graders to go with George and a couple of potential A-graders, if they live up to the hype.
As an aside, Brad Lloyd reckons that we have three A-graders - Cripps, Weitering and Walsh - and four B-graders - McKay, Cerra, Hewett and Saad.
Despite the emphasis on trades and free agents, Austin still drafted some pretty handy players in his first four drafts; Motlop, Ollie Hollands, Cowan, Moir and Wilson.
At the same time, he brought in Williams, Saad, Boyd, Hewett, Lewis Young, Cerra, Acres, O'Keeffe and Matt Carroll and, apart from Oscar McDonald, not one delisted player among them
See, there's a point to make here, but when you include Wilson in 'quality players' you devalue the rest of them.
You did similar with pumping up Binns' tyres not too long ago. Well he was 'so bad' that we paid him to not be here, hardly a ringing endoresement like you would have us all believe!
Wilson won a place in the team in round 22 and improved with every game. He may not be best 23 just yet, but he's certainly got a future.
You must be mistaking me for someone else, Pinot perhaps, because I've always had my doubts about Binns. I think I mentioned his VFL B&F recently but that's about it.
To be fair I think his first 4 drafts he was trading rather than drafting.
Despite the emphasis on trades and free agents, Austin still drafted some pretty handy players in his first four drafts; Motlop, Ollie Hollands, Cowan, Moir and Wilson.
At the same time, he brought in Williams, Saad, Boyd, Hewett, Lewis Young, Cerra, Acres, O'Keeffe and Matt Carroll and, apart from Oscar McDonald, not one delisted player among them
The World Cup Qualifying series between Australia and New Zealand may not have both countries' best lineups but the results are much closer than I expected. After a five point win in game 1, Australia won game 2 with a buzzer-beating three point bankshot
Aus were a bit disappointing I thought, had a few players out but struggled on the boards vs the Kiwi bigs and it needed the Hawks Davo Hickey to manufacture a couple of big three's in each game to secure the win. Keanu Pinder had a good second game and hopefully he returns to Aus and my team the Cairns Taipans next NBL season. Aus will need their NBA players available to progress vs the better countries as NZ are rated at 25 and Aus at 6 with the USA and Germany the favourites.
We certainly come back to the field without our NBA players!
The World Cup Qualifying series between Australia and New Zealand may not have both countries' best lineups but the results are much closer than I expected. After a five point win in game 1, Australia won game 2 with a buzzer-beating three point bankshot
While that's a significant improvement, we still have to find at least another six goals per game. That should come from our midfield, improved delivery and not relying on a key forward who was terribly out of form.
There was talk on some forums earlier in the night that our targets were Dean, Ison, Byrne and Emmett Three out of four ain't bad...but he would probably have been a good pick-up.
Some might remember me saying before night 2 that we should trade up with the kangas to get the 1st pick of the night to.... a) Guarantee us a pick before Ison was bid on. b) Get whichever player we wanted from what was left without having to worry about another team taking him
Lucky for us Ison wasn't bid on anyway. Unlucky (or poor planning??) that 'our guy' was taken right before we had the chance to take him.
All these things are easy in hindsight, sure, but let the record show i called it at the time. I just was unaware that we were targetting Emmett over my preference of Ludowycke,
Do you really think that Austin and co hadn’t considered that scenario and rejected it in favour of better options?
All list managers, ours included, are formulating their strategies and making decisions based on a hell of lot more information than the most well-informed supporter has access to.
Yes, it would have been good to have been able to draft another Harry McKay, but all that were available were more Harry Lemmeys … and we scored the best KPP by a considerable margin.
Our NGA is part of our list management strategy. The fact that we drafted Ison is evidence that our NGA is finally working.
Harry Dean’s development is also a product of our NGA and he’s ready to go as a result. The downside is that we were forced to use more points than if he’d had no connection to the club. Cody Walker is going through a similar experience that should make for a seamless transition from under 18s to AFL.
We were fortunate that Ison drifted and we were able to draft Byrne as well as shoring up our points for the 2026 draft … but you make your own luck by exhaustive scenario planning.
Our list management moved out of the dark ages with SOS’s appointment. Austin and Agresta have pushed its evolution forward and we’re at least the equal of the best in the business now. Of course, that doesn’t mean an instant improvement in our on field fortunes as sustainable list development takes time. The better performing teams have developing players waiting in the wings and can maintain their ladder positions through seamless replacement of departing players. We’re finally getting to that point.
In previous years we’ve tended to bring in a couple of players in the twilight of their careers as insurance or to plug gaps. With the exception of Nick Haynes, a recruitment masterstroke, all of our incoming players are now at the beginning or the peak of their careers.
While I do think that size matters, it’s not something worth obsessing over.
I can't see it transferring to the men's teams Baggers. I think the dominance of North's women's side is purely that they have a jump on other sides in a relatively new competition. They will eventually come back to the pack, but for the next year or two they'll be hard to beat, and that dominance isn't necessarily good for the growth of the game in the short term.
I agree Lods. Despite being late to the party, North has put together a list that is simply bigger, stronger and faster than everyone else.
We have focused on fast, skilful players and they’re good enough to beat most teams. Brisbane just brushed aside in the prelim, as they were brushed aside in the granny.
North may well come back to the field in time, but we need to bring in some big, tough bodies to be close to matching them.
To paraphrase Bill Hayden, a driver’s dog could coach North to a premiership. It’s their list management team that deserves recognition.
