I agree, it will be hard to get to 11 wins - as each year our recruiting isn't keeping up with the teams around us.samuraisaint wrote: ↑Sat 15 Dec 2018 1:14pmNo way can we win 11 matches in 2019 Samoht. However, there is a lot of truth in what you are saying about us needing a lot of luck with injuries, and you are spot on that King is a longer-term prospect, as is Battle. I also 100% agree with you on that our mature age recruits will turn out to be a mixed bag, with some making it and some not.samoht wrote: ↑Sat 15 Dec 2018 11:23am I think we can return to a 50% w/l ratio in 2019 if we have some luck with injuries ... but a lot will depend on our top couple of midfielders remaining healthy.
We don't have depth and we don't have elite users of the ball in our midfield - and our recruiting is not addressing this area.
(Our recruiting is the area that's holding us back - we need to nail our recruiting/drafting from now on. There's a lot of catching up to do vs the teams that are nailing theirs.I mean we could've got our no.1 pick right, at least. We don't have the luxury to make these mistakes.
What do we expect - a coach that can wave his magic wand (no innuendo intended)?? No such coach exists - but good recruiters do, at other clubs).
The other thing is ...
Max King is obviously a longer-term prospect, and some of the mature players we have recruited may or may not make it - but other teams have drafted and recruited players that will have an immediate impact.
We might win 8 or 9 games or around that figure, but guys like Phillips, Rice, Austin, Coffield, Clark, Battle, and Pierce must be played at the expense of the experienced guys who are not going to take us to the next level, and this will surely equate to fewer wins. If they don't develop these guys we are going to be very mediocre for a decade. And we've been mediocre for going on six or seven seasons already.
So, each year we are falling back, relative to other teams - but hopefully we will have a lot better luck with injuries next year.
They also need to recruit the "guys" that we need -- a lot of our recruiting has not addressed our needs, and when it has (addressed them) it's been speculative - e.g., picking mature recruits who are playing at lower levels, who might or may not make it vs picking proven players, like a Dangerfield, a Dayne Beams, etc.. or a Hannebery, Freeman, Bytel hoping to get their bodies right.