Re: Eagles recruiting for season 2023

by wimpy Tue Mar 21, 2023 10:48 am

Riley Knight and Dan Menzel should be OK for round one.
Should have plenty of good flankers this season, might be a bit light on for talls.

by Titan2 Tue Mar 21, 2023 3:35 pm

wimpy wrote:I think quite a few were rested. Lukac appeared to get severe cramp and came off for awhile, went back on and appeared to get a minor leg knock.
Goldy and Ballenden appeared to be rested for a fair bit of the second half.
With the hot weather and some of the players in their third trial and the EAGLES well ahead, resting some was a good option.
Goldy and Ballenden were sensational in the first half, Williams was excellent in the second half. Lukac did a very good job in ruck and has to be in the 22 for the first game. Ballenden only took a couple of ball ups in the forward area and we were better for his constant presence up forward.
Thompson played his best trial by far.
Bruce really struggled in the back lines but with Lehmann out we have nobody else to play there. I think Williams needs to play on the wing. At this stage our wingmen, Pudney and McFarlane are poor. With Rowe, Goldy, Beattie and Pearce being able to play as small forwards a wing position for Williams should be a possibility. In the second half Williams had plenty of run, and went long and direct. When Lukac went off, Weckert and Firns rucked and competed quite well in the ruck but Boyd for Norward was off injured.
We out ran Norwood and also out muscled them, our style of game looked excellent.
In the last quarter the coach played some of the boys from the reserves, Hansen, Angove, Mawson Norman and Arthur, they acquitted themselves well and gave us some very nice run which was needed in the draining hot conditions.
A great team effort last night.
David B-R should be OK for first round. D. Menzel looking at a 1st or 2nd round appearance, Riley C-D about round 2, Studham round 2, Clay Cameron round 3 and Lehmann unsure.

Thanks for this comprehensive assessment of the trial match.

Based on the three trials played so far and the write ups provided by contributors in this forum I feel like the following comments can be made.

1. Our older, experienced players are showing they are hungry and are fit.
2. Beattie seems to be be the pick of the recruits so far and a certain starter from Round 1.
3. Our ruck and key forward continues to be our achilles heel and will be a worry all year notwithstanding some promising signs from Lukac and Weckett
4. We appear to have an enormous amount of depth at our club for players capable of playing flanks (forward and bank) and wing.
5. Pearce might be the player to make the biggest strides forward this season in terms of improvement.

by The Barton Tue Mar 21, 2023 4:26 pm

Josh Mawson has struggled to get used to the pace of SANFL so far, must be a bit slower up in Port Douglas. Give him time though, saw a couple of plays in the trials that gives me hope that he will develop into a good SANFL footballer. I recall Luke Jarrad and Leigh Treeby taking time to adjust as well and both are premiership players. Time will tell.

by wimpy Wed Mar 22, 2023 8:50 am

The Barton wrote:Josh Mawson has struggled to get used to the pace of SANFL so far, must be a bit slower up in Port Douglas. Give him time though, saw a couple of plays in the trials that gives me hope that he will develop into a good SANFL footballer. I recall Luke Jarrad and Leigh Treeby taking time to adjust as well and both are premiership players. Time will tell.

Totally agree with you "The Barton". Josh appears to have some good skills and moves well. I thought exactly the same, just not used to the pace of SANFL football. Would like to see him developed in the reserves as a wingman, he runs well and we appear to be light on for good wingmen.

A few of our players might be slightly underdone eg: Knights, Collier-Dawkins, D. Menzel, Brinker-Ritchie, Lehmann, Cameron and Studham due to injuries and illness. Our Tasmanian recruit Sam Tilley is getting a lot closer to playing as he recovers from a back injury.
Some positives so far from the preseason, Goldie's form, improvement from Will Pearce, Hardie"s hot form, Beattie's skills and composure, Litster's excellent trial form after a foot operation and Lukac's encouraging improvement as a ruckman.

by Goddsy11 Thu Mar 23, 2023 10:46 am

The kids start this week. Hope the digital works better than last weekend,

Round 1 Torrens University SANFL U18s
Saturday March 25

West v Eagles at Hisense Stadium – 4.30pm

Round 1 Torrens University SANFL U16s

Saturday March 25

West v Eagles at Hisense Stadium – 2pm

by Goddsy11 Thu Mar 23, 2023 5:27 pm

No Welsh in U18's? Another Phillipou coming on cheers

SANFL U16s
EAGLES
F: Schulz, Wilson, Ah Chee
HF: Humphrys, Jamieson, Tokic
C: Russell-Swanson, Sands, Farrugia
HB: Willmott, Hughes, Phillipou
B: Hartley-Brown, Scholes, Fiegert
R: Rayner, Cook, Peucker
INT: Ashby, Chalubek, Kovacic, Marshall-Bates, McGorman, McKay, Moffatt, Wheare, White

SANFL U18s
EAGLES
F: Capogreco, Niemann, Herbert
HF: Edwards, Menta, McKay
C: Toole, Mair, Fairall
HB: Burgoyne, Pearce, Hudson
B: Dodd, Delmenico, Andrews
R: Luck, Davey, Hasting
INT: Charles, G. Hansen, K. Hansen, Harris, Sumner, Thomson

by hawke Thu Mar 23, 2023 8:40 pm

Some good players in the U18s that have shown good form in the Seconds trials - and that's also without some of our State Squad players like Tyler Welsh and Charlie West. I am expecting last year's U16 success will be translated into this year's U18s

by wimpy Fri Mar 24, 2023 3:00 pm

hawke wrote:Some good players in the U18s that have shown good form in the Seconds trials - and that's also without some of our State Squad players like Tyler Welsh and Charlie West. I am expecting last year's U16 success will be translated into this year's U18s

Do we know why Tyler Welsh and Charlie West haven't been named.

by hawke Fri Mar 24, 2023 4:05 pm

Unsure. If it was State U18 Development Squad obligations then Tom Luck would also be unavailable (and others). Charlie West (strongly built 195cm key forward) was recovering from a knee meniscal op. pre Christmas so ? slow recovery or Yr 12 school commitments.
Don't know situation with Tyler Welsh either.

by Goddsy11 Fri Mar 24, 2023 4:09 pm

Looking forward to seeing any of these kids before the AFL pinches them.

by hawke Fri Mar 24, 2023 4:16 pm

You will see them in 2024 - they're too young to be eligible for this year's AFL draft.

by The Barton Fri Mar 24, 2023 4:23 pm

Welsh was having a few niggling injuries in the pre season. Possibly caused through over work as he was training with the league/reserves squads as well. Nothing major that I've heard.

by wimpy Tue Mar 28, 2023 9:14 am

Tyler Welsh has a slight back problem, Charlie West has had a minor knee op. but is not far off.
Oscar Pearce's ankle injury from Saturday is wait and see, but he will most probably miss a few games.

by Sponsored content