Fev could possibly only have 3 seasons left at Carlton and as an AFL footballer considering he is 28 now and has aspirations to be an NFL punter. Is an appropriate succession plan in place with this on the horizon?
I suppose Kreuzer can play as a tall forward but he is primarily a ruckman and I believe will be of most benefit on the ball. Besides, I doubt he will ever be used solely as a forward at any time. We have not been successful in finding a proper tall forward to support Fev for years and ideally you would like to unearth two key forwards ala Roughead and Franklin or even Reiwoldt and Kosi, but even moreso just trying to find one that can replace the Shag when his time comes.

At this stage, I do not think there is anyone that will be able to slot into that role on our list and with the compromised drafts on the horizon it will be tough going. List management is absolutely crucial and I hope we have enough foresight to strategise about this eventually. It is of vital importance

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C'mon Blueboys!

Yes...this is a worry. In the short term, we can only really rely on Cloke who is a good kick for goal and good overhead. However, slow as hell.

It is something we will need to really plan for.

Why has Fev only got 3 seasons left? I would suggest he could go five or six at a pinch, assuming no serious injuries.

Our forward line has been an issue for years. Thankfully this season has seen a more consistent spread of goal kickers, something which has been seriously lacking. We seem to be getting more from midfield players in the goal tally, Murphy being a prime improver so far. I expect that to continue. With Houlihan finally playing in the role he should always have played and the intensity and desire which Robinson shows, I would suggest our HFF posiitons are pretty good.

Maybe we can utilise the upcoming "compromised drafts" to our advantage and somehow trade into a lower draft pick to gain a forward to develop over the next few years. O'Keefe and Tiller were selected with the long term in mind, but if Fev plays for another 5 or so seasons perhaps thats enough time for them to be ready.

When we lost JK to Wet Toast in the deal to land Judd, we killed off the succession planning a bit. But I don't regret that at all. Last years draft there was not a great deal of "good" forward options, but we landed Garlett and Yarran who along with Eddie will form the nucleus of our "smaller" forwards for some years to come. Perhaps Cloke could be given sometime as a Full Forward? Maybe that position would hide his lack of pace more than the CHF role he currently holds. I'm not sure how old Cloke is so again the timing factor for Fevs succession planning is again an issue.

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Cripps is the man

I think Fev has intimated that he will probably only stay in the AFL for 3, maybe 4 years max
If we don't have a proper replacement now, then it could potentially take 2-3 years to pick and develop a recruit to slot in at FF.

Cloke is a trier, I like him in the side but doesn't have the burst speed to play at FF.

I just don't want a lull period when Fev leaves and we have no replacement for that position and we're forced to play players not suited there

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C'mon Blueboys!

Kroooooooooooozer!!!!!!!

Tiller will be groomed as a replacement IMO.

<Keiran Perkins voice> Kick it to me! Kick it to me! </Keiran Perkins voice>

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Gaga and The Hoff party hard in London

Tiller has time on his side; a good height, decent pace and a decent pair of hands. He is very much a speculation, something we haven't had a lot of success with in recent times. But at this point he has enough to work with to make a decent forward.
Edwards was a spec pick, and could still come good. However, he needs to develop the attitude, the never say die thing that set guys like Silvagni apart. If he gets some of that in his game, he could be really good. Otherwise he will continue to stagnate and could make way for someone soon.
Hartlett is probably on borrowed time. The injuries he has gathered in recent years and the kicking yips have put him back much farther then we could afford. He needs to perform soon. I don't know if he's going to.

Whilst i think planning for it has already started it will be ramped up at this years draft. Unless there's an absolute monty that you just cannot pass over we should, and i believe will, be going for KPP or players of similar height and marking ability.

Fev will hang around for as long as it takes to win a premiership. If we do win one in the next three years then i can see him at least trying out as a punter.

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"I will rejoice in their anguish, delight in their failure and revel in our success"

We are Carlton, @#$%&! the rest !!!!!!

Definitely Kreuzer and hopefully Hampson can develop into a quality forward.....ditto Tiller.

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In the Truth there is no news, and in the News there is no truth.

You can't replace Fev, he is a once in a generation player. We won't be replacing Judd either another once in a generation player. We all have to accept that when they go it will have an impact. How much of an impact well who knows? The coach at the time will have to deal with it and tweak things to minimise the impact.

I'm not worried. To be honest, i reckon we're better off NOT having a Fevola.............

I LOVE FEVOLA and think he's gonna go down as one of the all-time Carlton greats and overtake Sticks goal-kicking record. The way he's going, he could well end up going over the 800+goal mark if he plays for another 4 years or so.

BUT.........................

I can't remember the last time a team one a premiership with just the one dominate Forward.

Fevola has been the best and most consistant forward of the past 5 years in my mind. A coleman medal, plus another season of 99 goals (and if you add in the Victorian State Game he would have had a second medal to his name).

Yet he's never played finals.

We ARE to reliant on Fevola. Because he is THAT good. He's a freak........... no doubt about it.

But, if Sydney ONLY had Barry Hall, and if Hawthorn ONLY had Buddy, and if Geelong ONLY had Joshnson.............. bet your ass they wouldn't have won the premiership......... hell, the might not have even made the Grand Final.

What we should be doing, instead of finding a replacement for Fevola, is finding a replacement game-plan so that WE DON'T END UP WITH ANOTHER FEVOLA RELIANCE!

And............... for now, most importantly............we should be figuring out how we can get into the finals so that we can watch Fevola put on a show - cause i reckon he'd turn it on in the Finals.

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"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit"
- Aristotle

- I can't see Tiller as anything outside of a HFF, winger or attacking HBF. I rate his talent but he just doesn't have a KP frame or pack-busting mentallity.

- Kruezer will be great wherever he plays, but I don't think we'd be harnessing his strengths if he plays long periods coming out of the square. Switching between positions will stretch teams.

- Hartlett & Edwards have neither the talent or durability to play KP at AFL.

- Only players famed for their preparation and professionalism play AFL into their 30's. Fevvy would be doing very well to play to 32 I believe. NFL looms as well.

- Cloke has more scope for improvement than people give him credit for. He's very rarely been able to string periods of football and development together. Not the answer at this stage, but I don't think he's shown all of his cards just yet, and the fundamentals read well - courage, excellent overhead, pack mark, long accurate kick.

- Waite is a rebounding defender, best position hands down.

- Setanta lock down defender if anything.

- If Yarran makes it, he can play as a lead up forward, big body, can mark shoulder to shoulder.

- I still think Russell has scope to play Wiggins' role as a lead up HFF, worse set shot than Wiggins cruels him.

- Hampson is an interesting one, has the physical package that allows him to try other positions if he can't make it in the middle.

- Hard to see us using a first rounder on anything but a key forward this year.

My solution to this problem is to trade Hampson to the Gold Coast for a early first round pick and use that to secure a tall forward in the draft

With Krooze, Warnock and the Sauce i think there is room to trade away Hammo....... so i'd say you'll be seeing Hammo getting a few games towards the end of the year to drive his price up

It is one of the obvious concerns moving forwards, however I think one needs to keep an open mind about these sorts of things.

We have 4 genuine rucks prospects at the moment...

Kruezer
Jacobs
Warnock
Hampson

And throw in Cloke and Setanta too.

What happens if all of Kruezer, Jacobs, Warnock and Hampson make it as good rucks in 2-3 years time? Warnock remember is a giant. IF he comes on, then he should dominate games.

So I think you then have the luxury of sending Kruezer forward, and maybe Hammer too, whom the club seem to be developing just as much as a forward as a ruckman.

Hammer looks pretty unco a fair bit of the time, but his athleticism and pace are exceptional. In 2-3 years if he can start catching a few more balls, he could suddenly become a very dangerous forward option given his pace would suit the modern game (see defensive pressure inside F50m).

In 2012 it might be...

Rucks : Warnock, Jacobs

Forwards : Kruezer, Hampson, Cloke, Yarran, Betts, Garlett

I'm not too worried, and I also think Fevola could give us 4 years rather than 3. He has a pretty good track record with injuries (touch wood), and is quick on the lead and also strong one-on-one, so unlike a Rocca who was always poor in terms of fitness, I think fevola could go well into his early 30s.

He is 28 this year, so has the rest of this year, then 29, 30, 31, and maybe 32, so that's 5 years inc 2009. That takes him to 2013. By then Warnock, Jacobs, Hammer and Kreuzer will be very much senior talls.

The other option of course is to trade one of the rucks for a forward. Rucks have good currency in trade week, usually getting you above the odds.

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It's a small world, but I wouldn't want to paint it

Fev will be almost impossible to immediately replace.
It looks as though the medium sized mobile/leading into space type forward is the order of the day so Yarran Garlett Eddie might be our scorers with Krooz.
But while Hartlett and Edwards are still on the list I'll hold out hope for them.

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There's so much I could say...

I wish people would stop saying Brendan will become an NFL punter. He has as much chance of this happening as Melbourne do making the finals this year. He's never mastered the torpedo punt and despite being one of the greatest kicks the game has seen - you can't become an NFL punter with a massive drop kick and nothing else.

Brendan will go down the Shane Warne Poker path after football. Being on good terms with Joe Hachem will only increase this happening. It's 3 years away - I agree.



I very much doubt Shaun Hampson is going anywhere. Posters on this forum should get used to this and instead become excited at this kids' enthusiasm, potential and development. He's gonna make it.



I've no doubt Caleb Tiller will, in time, become a forward. However he won't become a key forward or spearhead like Fevola.

I still have a little faith left in Jake Edwards...and Matthew Kreuzer...and Chris Yarran...and Eddie Betts. And maybe John Butcher will do a knee and fall to us in the draft....but it's all good people - don't worry about things you can't control...focus on the now!

If Warnock went for a 2nd round pick, Hammer would go for a 3rd round pick

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Delulio is a member of TISM

Especially if he is not getting games!

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C'mon Blueboys!

Another potential FF is Stanton.

He is a big unit and talented and has played the position but at this stage a looong way away but in 3-5 years who knows?