Sturt 2018 Season

The outs so far are Kory Beard (back to the Eyre Peninsula) and Scott McMahon (coaching in the River Murray league).
Marty Mattner has signed on for a third tilt at a flag, trying for 3 from 3.

No signings as yet.

Probably some hope that a few double blue ex-pats might return. Monfries, Gore, Trengove. But they may prove hard to entice.

What do the Blues need?
Well the midfield is pretty solid if injuries are kind. That took a long time to smile upon the side in 2017 with early injuries to Battersby, then Riley the prime inside mids.

I reckon a key forward to cover Beard is essential.
Sutcliffe is gathering momentum but may still take another year to fully find his feet up forward as a prime mover.
If Eddy doesn't like heading further down South next year, maybe a stop half way would fit!

Gilfoy is developing as a key defensive stopper, but could develop a rebound game a bit more.
Evans and Stephens are the rock solid defensive generals.

And if Read can get a wriggle on in his development that would help out Ozzie Osborne a fair bit.
Osborne going forward at times this season presented major match-up problems for opposition sides, so if that can continue with Read's influence increasing, that is a win.

You could say if it ain't broke it don't need fixing, but a couple of tweaks here and there will be necessary.

Of those that were on the fringe in 2017;
Crowden - I would say he is gone to the AFL draft. 2 premierships under his belt (U18 and Reserves).
D Wilson - Needs to take the next step to being a regular contributor. Showed some spark early in the season.
Veale - Played a few but also needs to cement his spot.
Voight - Will he or won't he. 2018 will tell.

Player Prediction;
Paddy Wilson to become the next big thing. Has a thumping kick, has a good pair of hands and is pretty versatile in where he can play.

Team Prediction:
Sturt finished the home and away season in third in 2016 and 2017. No reason a regular season top 3 finish can't happen again. It gets ever harder to maintain that standard, but once the expectation gets ingrained it is infectious. As long as the 2 or 3 key players can be recruited to cover the losses, or a few of the 2s emerge as league players, I reckon the Blues will still be right up there.

Kory Beard will be a BIG loss

But so will the general of the Sturt defence of the last 2 seasons, Scott McMahon

Beard maybe in fact is a big loss, that’s the reason he was offered a farm to play on the West Coast

Chambo, would you expect one or two Port Magpies players to join the Double Blues.

I've heard some rumours, but not very reliable, just hearsay really.
I'd think a number of clubs could potentially pick up some Port Magpie players.
I have heard more reliably that several of them are not happy with getting demoted quite regularly.

I think it is dawning on those players and those in the Magpies academy side that their opportunities are slim, tenuous and probably not long term prospects.

Lee wrote:Chambo, would you expect one or two Port Magpies players to join the Double Blues.

It seems to be a favourite destination for ex-Magpies at the moment.

And rightly so!

Summerton is more than welcome to join us.

SANFL EXACTAS
Winning Premierships or being runner up

Sturt
15 flags
11 runner up

Norwood
30 flags
22 runner up

Sturt winning the last 2 Premierships means they have the same strike rate of 73.33% as Norwood in Exactas


The only other 'existing' SANFL club that has more flags than runner up is Central Districts

Centrals
9 flags
5 runner up

It is going to break my heart seeing Jack in prison bars next year.
Oh well like Eddy, maybe he will just be fodder to the machine and hopefully we will have him in 2019.

However, for Jack's sake I hop he makes the afl side and does well.

OUTS

C.BALLARD
BEARD
CAMPBELL
COLEMAN-JONES
CROWDEN
HADDEN
HOULAHAN
MCMAHON
PARELLA
WILSON
ZERC-THATCHER

RECRUITS

W BALLARD
DUNN
GOSSE
MCADAM
SHEPPARD
TAGGERT
WATT
WILLS

If I have overlooked any other players, or the above listings are incorrect , please post

Little activity at Unley for this season
Beard Mcmahon and Wilson will be missed , Sturts depth should cover them ?
A very accomplished club, with a super coach

Prediction
1st-4th

I watched McAdam (from WA) in the trial against Westies.

He looked very impressive.

He will need to be to cover the 6 match suspension of Byron Sumner for 3 separate striking charges from the Westies trial.

What is he thinking going berserk in a trial?

Was he sipping the same happy juice as Steve Smith & Co?

3-1 after 4 rounds
A lot better than the woeful start in 2017
Have lost 2 game against the brilliant NA team, ST scored a point deep in the game from a set shot
A goal would have just about clinched the win
Shane McAdam looks a very good forward and he impressed that good judge Lee in a trial game

Predicted Minor round finish
1st-3rd

3-2 after 6 rounds [1 bye]
Thats a passmark
The current problem is the lack of goalscoring
So far this season they have scored for :
NW 9-15
AC 19-4
NA 7-9
PA 12-11
WT 9-7

Shane Mcadam and Hugo Munn look to be very promising players and may be the answers
Bayman in the ST V WWT thread has posted that Jack Osborn might have to play Centre Half Forward
Maybe so in the short term
However there is the forgotten man,  Jake Sutcliffe , currently out with a knee injury
Would Jake be played CHF when he comes back from injury ?
Jake Sutcliffe, the man known as Swaggy, is a brilliant forward and a great kick
Looking 'forward' to seeing Swaggy play again
Swaggy might be his preferred nickname ....

Predicted minor round finish
2nd-4th

Aidan Riley out for about 8 weeks
He broke his wrist in the state game against Western Australia
When Sturt have Riley, Battersby, Kirkwood all playing they can beat any team any where
Without Riley they might struggle a bit
A further injury to either Battersby or Kirkwood would make Sturt vulnerable

10 games
6 wins
4 losses

Lost their last 2 games narrowly
ST 9-12
SA 11-8

PA 10-7
ST 9-8

They are now 5th, but no need to panic as yet , but need to start winning again
Perhaps they need another forward to make an impact

That man could well be the very talented footballer and restaurant entreprenuer Jake Swaggy Sutcliffe
Jake has recently resumed in Sturts seconds , when he is fit , I believe he is the answer

The top 5 after 10 rounds
NA 8-2......56.61
EG 7.5-2...56.13
SA 7-3......56.40
NW 7-3......55.23
ST 6-4.......54.55

Expected finish 2nd-5th

Whilst it's wide open still, if pressed to pick the flag winner from here I'd still be on the Blues

Haven't covered the holes left by some real quality. Might depend on the AFL teams but could scrape in and finish 5th.

ST 7-4

ST next 3 games , all hard games to win will be pivotal to their season
I think ST will be pleased if they win 2 of the next 3 games
Next 3 games
V NA Prospect
V NW Unley
V EG Woodville

The last 4 rounds, all games are very winnable for ST
CD Unley
SA Carlunga
WA Unley
GL Glenelg

I had thought scoring would be Sturts problem this season
However they now have some potency up forward
EVANS
MCADAM
MUNN
SUTCLIFFE
TAGGART

Predicted Minor round finish
2nd-5th

Another good season by the blues
Have got the double chance, have a great game plan and style that wins finals
In Marty Mattner and Ben Warren they have 2 excellent coaches
Some last quarter fade outs in the back end of the season the main concern

I posted about the abundance of forwards at Unley in previous posts
I had not mentioned Mark Evans who leads the comp with 38 goals
He is 5 in front, and with one game left , should be the leading goalscorer in the comp
Leaving NW has been a bloody brilliant career move for Mark

I think they will make the grand final

A lot of ifs yet about the Blues.

Evans is a great kick for goal but it just shows the change in the game if 40 goals is going to win a Ken Farmer.

Marty's game plan has been on display for 3 years now and revolves around a rock solid back 6. There have been few changes back there in that time.

How deep Sturt goes is going to depend on;
- stoppage clearances which have been down of late
- all forwards (or at least most of them) contributing consistently
- 4 quarter efforts. Too many recent last quarter fadeouts.

I reckon Shane McAdam is the forward x-factor. Has had an excellent season and I would half expect he will get drafted to the AFL at season end.

Just been announced that Marty has resigned to accept an Assistant Coaching role at Adelaide Crows.

The club knew he wasn't continuing next year, so no surprise I guess.

With Osborn retiring and possibly a few others,some key recruiting is going to be crucial to the Blues remaining a finals contender.

Chambo, do you think knowing about Marty going affected the on-field results?

Chambo Off To Work We Go wrote:A lot of ifs yet about the Blues.

Evans is a great kick for goal but it just shows the change in the game if 40 goals is going to win a Ken Farmer.

Marty's game plan has been on display for 3 years now and revolves around a rock solid back 6. There have been few changes back there in that time.

How deep Sturt goes is going to depend on;
- stoppage clearances which have been down of late
- all forwards (or at least most of them) contributing consistently
- 4 quarter efforts. Too many recent last quarter fadeouts.

I reckon Shane McAdam is the forward x-factor. Has had an excellent season and I would half expect he will get drafted to the AFL at season end.

All very good and valid points. I think Sturt's ultimate downfall came about because:

1. They had injuries at the wrong time of year to key players
2. They couldn't replace Beard

Im not sure how they were placed for depth this season, but last year they appeared to bat really deep? Replacing someone as good as Beard is a BIG job. Had top end experience, ability and commitment, and KPP's like him (Ferguson, McGuiness etc) are pretty much irreplaceable. McMahon and Wilson departures didn't help either, but ultimately their injuries killed any chance of a 3-Peat. Been a great side and if they can improve their personnel again in the off-season, they'll be around the mark again.