With Patch it was always going to be about getting his body right and getting a bit of continuity. When he was able to do that, his form in the VFL was strong enough that he actually came in, got an opportunity and we were really pleased with how he went. In the times we actually put him in the midfield, he was able to have an impact. It was an important year for him.
Liam Anthony
When Liam came into the system, it was about learning what was required from an AFL conditioning perspective. To his credit, he worked extremely hard and because he was coming from a fair way back. When he went back to Perth over Christmas he probably over-trained. He continued to train hard when he returned to Melbourne and came down with a stress fracture in his foot. He would have played a lot earlier but he was a revelation when he came in. Liam knows he's got a few areas of his game he needs to work on but he's come in with a really strong belief.
Warren Benjamin
He played WAFL colts last year. He was a pick down the back end of the draft anyway so we always knew he was going to take a little bit of time to come on. At times he's shown glimpses of the attributes he's got. He's got really good speed and explosiveness but has lacked a little bit of consistency. He's playing in the VFL reserves finals at the moment and he just needs another pre-season under his belt. He's got a tremendous build and a good leap but needs to work on his disposal and decision-making.
Matt Campbell
He couldn't really get going and ended up having three hamstring injuries throughout the year, which knocked him around a bit. In the last couple of games, he was starting to get back to where Matty Campbell needs to be with his football: chasing guys down, pouncing on loose balls. He'll obviously be looking forward to having a good pre-season so he can get back on track. He's pretty important to us.
Aaron Edwards
Aaron went out of the side when I took over because I just felt his form had been inconsistent in that first half of the year. We weren't setting the world on fire with only four wins in 12 games. I spoke to Aaron about going back and working on becoming a modern day forward with ability to use space in front and behind him. He went back and did, had some really good games in the VFL but struggled to put two or three good ones together. That's why it took until the last two or three games for him to force his way back into the seniors. He was serviceable in those wins.
Michael Firrito
It was an interesting year for Spud. He'd have a good three- or four-week patch, then his form would tail off and then he'd have another couple of good games. By his own admission, it probably wasn't one of his better years. I also thought it was a big learning curve year for him, especially getting thrown back into the midfield and playing a few roles through there. It was very experimental with him and I don't know whether that hurt his year. Two years ago he was in line for All-Australian. He should be pretty motivated.
Josh Gibson
Gibbo's really strong down back but we always knew he could play there. When I took over, I experimented with playing him through the midfield. He learnt a hell of a lot about himself and his football in a few of those games, having to play on the better midfielders for the opposition. Eventually, he'll just settle back into a defensive role. It's nice to know you've got the flexibility that he can actually go onball with a (Matthew) Pavlich or (Adam) Goodes-type player if they start forward and try to shake him by going into the midfield. He's got a good engine and at no stage does Josh look like he's labouring.
Todd Goldstein
He showed glimpses early in the year and we persisted with him in the back half of the season. He obviously had a real breakout game against Melbourne where he played ruck, had almost 20 touches, pushed forward, kicked five goals and took marks. He's growing in confidence and belief all the time. He's got a nice, soft hand around stoppages and if he continues to work on his spread and getting himself in the right positions, there's no reason why a year or two down the track he couldn't be in line to be considered just as good as Hamish (McIntosh).
Levi Greenwood
When he first came in we were playing him down back and he took a while to adjust to playing on the slippery forwards. Levi's got a tank, an aggressive approach and a strong body and tackles well. When we brought him back in, we thought we'd give him a crack playing on the better opposition midfielders. There was only one occasion that we felt he couldn't get the job and that was on (Matt) Priddis. He did some terrific jobs on Daniel Rich, on Chris Judd for three quarters, Nick Dal Santo, Shaun Burgoyne and Cameron Bruce. He's one who seems to thrive on that role and realises there's an AFL career there for him if he wants to concentrate and commit himself to playing that type of role.
Nathan Grima
What a lot of people don't understand is that Narni came off a knee reconstruction only having been in the place for five minutes before he did it. To get a pre-season under his belt and come in, play the way he did and adjust to AFL tempo was fantastic for us. He and Scott Thompson were real finds when for so long our defence has been considered a bit of an achilles heel. All of a sudden we had two guys willing to jump up this year to play those roles. Narni has a lot of composure.
David Hale
With the retirement of Nathan Thompson, it was a perfect fit for Haley to come in and take on the responsibility of our key forward. But he had an indifferent year. His five-goal performance against Fremantle was his best haul. There was a period there when I took over where he was starting to mark the footy again. Against Sydney he took 10 marks but unfortunately kicked four points. Against Hawthorn he took nine marks in the wet down at Launceston. There were glimpses he was actually starting to get back into a little bit of form. Like his whole year, it was just really spasmodic and he couldn't have the consistent impact on games we were hoping for. We're really keen to make sure he can get back to where he was a year or so ago. He's a quality person so I can't see any reason why he can't get back to being a pretty important player for us.
Lachie Hansen
He really developed down back and we really thought he was coming on. He did his hamstring, came back from that and then we threw him around and thought, 'let's play him as a forward'. He's got an enormous tank and he's obviously strong overhead so we gave him a strong go at centre half-forward. At times he showed he could actually play that role. He averaged three shots on goal per game throughout that time but he obviously has areas of his game he needs to continue to work on. At the end of the season, we put him down back on Nick Riewoldt against St Kilda and thought, 'what better education is there then to play on one of the best key forwards in the competition?'
Leigh Harding
He probably re-invented himself as a half-back but there were some really good signs with him going through the midfield this year. We were really happy with his spread from stoppages and [opposition] turnovers. He can really find some space working forward of the ball. As a midfielder, he was averaging a couple of goals a game which was really valuable. Time will tell whether he cements a spot in the midfield or whether he's going to be floating between the two roles.
Daniel Harris
He was overtaken by Andrew Swallow and we were trying to get a different balance through the midfield. He obviously struggled in the first half of the year but got an opportunity in the second half. However, he was inconsistent.
Brent Harvey
It's disappointing when you lose elite players to injury and Boomer is highly regarded as one. It affected our speed and our class when he was out. The way he worked to get himself back was a credit to him and I thought he finished the year off pretty strongly. He played some really disciplined roles which a lot of people wouldn't have realised. He grew as a captain as well. His first year was one of the most eventful years of all time with Chickengate, the coach leaving halfway through and Adam Simpson obviously retiring as well. He'll find all that was an enormous learning curve for him.
Corey Jones
He obviously struggled in the first half of the year. When I came in as coach I basically wiped the slate clean and gave everyone an opportunity. Jonesy was one who took his, played some reasonable games and in a couple of them was our most productive forward. You never question his effort. He was probably a little bit inconsistent, especially towards the end of the year. He found himself go out of the side, but he didn't do his future any harm.
Ed Lower
Ed started the year OK but he got an injury which set him back and needed an arthroscope. After a three or four-week layoff, he struggled to find his way back into the side. His form was up and down in the VFL. It was good for him to get an opportunity in the last couple of games. I'm not too sure where he should be playing, but he should be setting himself for the midfield.
Hamish McIntosh
He got back to some of his best form of a couple of years ago. The key to Hamish is getting good pre-seasons under his belt. Last year he didn't have a great one and he just stumbled and bumbled for the year and hurt his knee. He got back to where we need him to be playing for us to be any hope of being a good developing team again. He needs to build up his strength; he gets around the ground alright but at times he gets pushed out of the way a bit too easily.
Scott McMahon
It was good because Scott had been one we'd thrown around all over the place. We settled him into a position down back this year and he would have come away pretty pleased with it. He's improving all the time and I thought his last few games were really strong. He's pretty unflappable. It's good to get the ball in his hands because he is a good decision maker and generally a good kick. He can play taller than his height suggests but can also play on smaller guys.
Nathan O'Keefe
He was coming from a fair way back. He didn't actually play a lot of TAC Cup footy – maybe six or seven games. Getting a few games of senior VFL footy into him was always going to be beneficial. He spent a lot of time in the VFL reserves but he got an opportunity towards the end of the year to come up and play VFL seniors and has shown signs that there's something there. There really is. He realises he's got to work hard and get stronger because he's only a lightly built kid.
Drew Petrie
The flexibility, heart and work-rate Drewy gives is phenomenal. He can go everywhere but it's been to Drewy's detriment that we've actually tried to play him mobile ruck, centre half-back, wing rollback and half-forward. We really saw Drew play his best footy at the end of the year when we just settled him into a key forward position. He was just tremendous in the last month and will be extremely important to us and the young players around him with how he goes about his football.
Sam Power
He played his role at times. At stages we could throw him onto different players who might have been getting off the leash and Sam could negate their influence. He was also able to have an impact on games.
Daniel Pratt
He had a stop-start pre-season and it continued on. He hurt his ribs in the first NAB Cup game and then had an arthroscope on his knee and missed another month with that. He really didn't get himself going. Daniel's now at the age where he realises he's got to be ticking all the boxes to make sure he has longevity in the game. It's going to be really important for him to get a really strong pre-season under his belt and show us he's really hungry to get that spot back. At this stage, I still see him playing down back.
Brady Rawlings
It's been really good for Brady to go down back and play on those smaller forward types. Brady's always shown us he can play on the better midfielders in the competition but playing in defence has allowed him to penetrate the game a little bit more. There have been games where he's had 20-plus possessions and been able to negate players like Eddie Betts and Aaron Davey. Like Boomer and Drew, Brady's leadership will flourish yet again now that Simmo's retired.
Matt Riggio
He got a stress fracture in his shin throughout the pre-season and was basically chasing his tail from there. Riggs will be pretty disappointed with his year. At times he showed glimpses but he could never really string it together.
Ben Ross
We've got a few small types on our list and it did become quite competitive towards the end of the year with Leigh Adams, Cruize Garlett, Matty Campbell and Lindsay Thomas. We probably can't fit them all in at the one time. Ben suffered the consequence of a little bit of inconsistent form. He had a good game in my first game as senior coach but in my second game, his form fell away and he went out of the side and struggled to get himself back. He had a couple of injuries towards the end of the year. He needs to get himself stronger and really challenge for one of those roles.
Adam Simpson
He had an impact on games for a guy who was in the last year of his career. The way he handled his retirement and exit from the club was class and he's now looking to get into coaching. He'll make a really good fist of that.
Jesse Smith
It's disappointing for Jesse and us that he's had another disastrous year from an injury perspective. It's just a matter of making sure we get his body right. We know what he can do when he's up and about but his body's not allowing that to happen at this stage. We need to get a good pre-season into him and hopefully that's going to hold him in good stead so we can get him back to playing the type of footy that we've seen at stages when he hasn't been injured.
Josh Smith
He's had a really consistent year in the VFL again. He's a little bit like Alan Obst where we just felt that, based on consistency, he deserved an opportunity towards the end of the year. When he came in – against St Kilda and Port Adelaide – he really played a role. He continues to get better with his body. He came in as a big lumbering type but he's getting more powerful, more streamlined and starting to play the type of role that a modern day forward needs to play.
Andrew Swallow
He had a great year. From a stoppage and ball-winning perspective, we just felt he got better and better and really developed aspects of his game he needed to work on. As a midfielder, he's able to push forward and kick goals as well.
Robbie Tarrant
Like Jesse Smith, we just need to get his body right. He's a first-round draft pick and we haven't been able to see him at all. Hopefully that can all be behind him now. He's signed up for another two years so the club has put a lot faith in Robbie.
Lindsay Thomas
He probably struggled with his consistency because he was getting more attention with Matty Campbell out of the side. Last year, we had Brent Harvey, Daniel Wells, Matty Campbell and Shannon Grant all running around in that forward line at times so Lindsay might have only been getting the fifth-best defender. That hasn't been the case this year but I reckon it's been good for Lindsay to actually have to cope with that. He would have learnt a hell of a lot out of this year and should be a better player for it.
Scott Thompson
There's no doubt he's our most improved player. On the back of a really good pre-season, he went away and worked on the aspects of his game he needed to. He got stronger and more powerful, he worked on his kicking and has grown in confidence being able to play on some pretty important forwards for the opposition. On most occasions he was able to get the job done. He was a real revelation this year, a real find for the footy club.
Gavin Urquhart
Early in the year he was actually going OK but then his form tailed off. He'd go missing and wouldn't show much in games and obviously the consequence was he got dropped. Gav's been re-signed and he needs to make sure he gets himself back playing the type of footy we know he's capable of. At his best, he can run, penetrate and use the ball well. It's been a good learning year for him. You can sometimes come in, things click and you can take it for granted a little bit. It's not until you're challenged that you realise it is a lot of hard work and you do need to be fairly passionate about your footy to allow yourself to play the best you can.
Ben Warren
He worked his backside off to get where he got to. He was a player who we had a big question mark on at the end of last year. He came in and played his role. It was interesting because a lot of our backs, whenever we played match simulation, always talked about how hard Ben Warren worked. He was able to translate that into the season proper and showed us there's a bit of a future there for him if he continues to work hard.
Shannon Watt
He played a couple of games early but what didn't help his cause this year was the steep improvement of Scott Thompson, Nathan Grima and Lachie Hansen. A few blokes went past him. To his credit, he has never dropped his bundle, has been fantastic working with those young kids and it's a testament to his character he has hung in there and got life membership of this great club.
Daniel Wells
It was really disappointing for Wellsy because based on his pre-season he was going great guns. Then it just unravelled for him. He got the groin issues which really pulled his season apart. We tried to get him up and going a few times – trying to rest him and bring him back – but it was to no avail. He's just gone and had the operation and hopefully he can look forward from here now he's got that fixed. It's disappointing we only got seven games out of a class player like Daniel.
Sam Wright
He's still got quite an immature body but shows he's got some real class. He came in and got a few games in the seniors before he hurt his knee against St Kilda. Potentially, there's a real player there for us. He just needs to work on getting himself bigger and stronger so he can cope with the rigours of AFL footy. He's an exciting prospect.
Michael Wundke
Like a few guys, Wundks could never probably string enough games and get enough consistency at VFL level to get rewarded with an AFL game. They're pretty hard to come by and he just wasn't able to have enough impact over a long enough period of time to be rewarded with an AFL game. But he's got a nice pair of hands and he's got a nice kick.
Jack Ziebell
He's got a real hard factor about him with his attack on the ball and his tackling, as well as a bit of class with the way he uses the footy and sees the game unfold. He's going to be a real talent for us in years to come. On the back of missing the second half of the year, he needs a good pre-season so he can really develop in a midfield role.
Rookie list
Luke Delaney
We were developing him as a key back at VFL level with Werribee and it was an education process and he got hit with injury. He had a shoulder reconstruction. Luke's a big, strong body and hopefully we can develop him to play a support role if anything happens.
Cruize Garlett
He's one bloke who has just grown and grown. Once he got elevated onto the senior list and played some senior footy towards the end of the year, he showed he could actually play at the level. His standout game was going onto Leigh Montagna against St Kilda; playing on him and still finding a fair bit of the footy. Even in the last game we put him on Danyle Pearce at times and a few other different opponents and he was still able to get 23 touches in that game. It was really pleasing for him.
Conor Meredith
He's coming from a fair way back. He's got pace, he's picked the game up pretty well and kicks the ball well for a guy who didn't get brought up on kicking an Aussie rules ball. It's an important pre-season and it's going to be an important year for him, because he needs to fast-track his development next year so he can impact at VFL level. He needs to show us his development has a steep increase so he's worthwhile going on with as a project.
Alan Obst
Obber had been super consistent at VFL level and we just felt he should be rewarded for that and get an opportunity in the last couple of games to show us what he had at senior level. We had the opportunity to elevate him because of the long-term injuries to Jack Ziebell, Ben Warren and Robbie Tarrant. I thought he stood up really well. We believe he's improved yet again.
Benjamin Speight
He had a very good finish to the year. He spent a lot of the first half of the year in the VFL reserves. When he got an opportunity, he started to pick up the tempo and really grew in confidence. Ben's a terrific young kid who works extremely hard at his football. He's got pace and uses the ball well so he's got some exciting attributes that should hold him in good stead.
Marcus White
He predominantly played a run-with role at VFL level and has been able to look after the oppositions' better midfielders and dangerous small-medium forwards. He's got a bit of grunt about him, generally kicks the ball well and is pretty disciplined. He's shown some good signs this year.
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.
