Club
Western Suburbs
Key players
It will be interesting to see the impact of the Balmain trio who have crossed to the Magpies this season. Leigh Conway, Kristian Ericson and Matthew Round have all had experience in second-tier competitions and at their best, can win a game off their own bat. Hopefully for the Magpies’ faithful, they can still produce that level of magic. Matthew Lemme was in great form at Full-Back last season and will be pivotal to their finals aspirations again. Levi Sands was an absolute shining light last year claiming the Rising Star award and his physical presence back or forward is a must.
Star on the Rise
Ben and Jarryd Polley are the top under-age players coming through, continuing the strong Polley presence at the club. Josh Zoppo has had a couple of injury-plagued season and will be a part of the Magpies’ forward line for years to come.
Yanni Milligan-Saville is one the club have high hopes for also.
Strengths
You won’t find too many more dedicated coaches than Kevin Eynaud. He will leave no stone unturned in taking the Magpies to the finals. Their second tier of talent is coming along nicely but will need to take more than two steps forward this year if they are to challenge for the flag. Plenty of experience in the team this year after having an extremely young squad last year is a big tick.
Weaknesses
Who is going to kick their goals? Stan Milton Medalist, Rory Miller has departed the full-forward post meaning a lot will fall on Zoppo. It will be dangerous if you rely on Conway and Round to kick the main share of goals from the midfield. There is plenty of younger talent coming through however they are only fresh to senior football so there will be a heavy reliance on new players in their mid-20s and older who just have to fire.
Season defining month
It is easy to say the first or last month in the season, so let’s buck the system and see how Western Suburbs will play away from home this year.
From Round 5 to 8 they will play only one game at home, that being against UNSW/ES at Henson Park- where they won the corresponding fixture last year. The bus will first stop in at North Shore who are highly fancied, before games the Magpies need to win if they are to play finals this year- against Sydney University, then UNSW/ES as mentioned, before a trip to Waverley Oval against UTS (their last match in 2013 was a draw).
Notable Transfers
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INS
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Name
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Surname
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Association From
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Club From
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Tim
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Underwood
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AFL Sydney
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Balmain
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Matthew
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Round
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AFL Sydney
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Balmain
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Kristian
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Ericson
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AFL Sydney
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Balmain
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Leigh
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Conway
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AFL Sydney
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Balmain
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Tom
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Mabon
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AFL Sydney
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Balmain
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Wayd
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Blackburne
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AFL Sydney
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Balmain
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Lindsay
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Scown
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Essendon District Football League (EDFL)
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Airport West
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Joshua
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Jenkins
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Farrer Football League
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EAST WAGGA KOORINGAL
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Daniel
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Reid
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Farrer Football League
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Temora Kangaroos
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Stuart
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Williams
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Southern Football League (Vic)
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Cerberus Football Club
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Taylor
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Williamson
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Tasmanian State League (TSL)
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Clarence
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Notable Outs Include: Rory Miller (Karratha Kats - North Pilbara Football League), Jack Codd-Miller (Donvale – Eastern Football League), Chris Bolt (Balmain – AFL Sydney)
Predicted finish
6th- The Magpies are gunning for their first finals appearance in Premier Division since 2010. They have recruited well and definitely possess a better list this season. With this said, their depth will see them struggle to threaten the top sides and they are only a injury or two to their top half-dozen players away from falling out of finals reckoning. Could well slip into the finals but only just.
Last Modified on 14/03/2014 16:49
