Zoom with a view: Footy experts debate the biggest footy talking points of 2022

The free agency class of 2022 is headlined by stars. Will they re-sign, or will these big names be on the move?

After surviving a unique season of AFL footy, the attention is already shifting to what 2022 may hold.

Nick Smart and Marc McGowan are the latest News Corp Australia journos to go head-to-head over their laptops to thrash out footy’s hottest topics.

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Nick Smart: Happy Freedom Day, Marc. Question without notice, how do you think Round 1 looks next year? Do we stick with the now traditional Richmond and Carlton to kick off the season? I personally would love to see the grand final replay between Melbourne and the Dogs, particularly given the granny was in Perth this year.

Marc McGowan: I’m comfortable with the Tigers and Blues keeping the Thursday night opener, because it’s a guaranteed crowd-puller and the games have been pretty competitive. But the Friday night clash *must* be the grand final rematch. That should become a tradition as well. Other sports do a great job of starting their seasons with a bang. One for you, Smarty – which injured star is primed for a big comeback in 2022? I’m going with Charlie Curnow. Can’t wait to see him back in full flight.

NS: Would love to see big Charlie get a clean run at it next year. It’s long overdue. Zac Fisher is another at Carlton who is in the same boat. He could be anything and he has all the attributes, but just needs a bit of luck to get to the next level. Away from Carlton, it has to be Hawk Will Day for mine. His year was all but ruined by a nasty ankle injury, but he should be primed for a massive 2022. He should continue to develop into one of the best half-back flankers in the league. Speaking of the Hawks, they finished just above the bottom four this year. Which clubs do you think will fill those bottom rungs in 2022?

MM: We shouldn’t forget Jack Gunston and James Sicily either. Hawthorn is one of the most intriguing clubs to watch next year, with Sam Mitchell taking over as coach as well. I could see West Coast tumbling into the bottom four. I’m not quite ready to put Richmond in this basket. It may well be the Roos, Suns, Crows, Pies and Hawks filling the lower rungs again. I’m sitting on the fence here a bit, aren’t I? Have you got a shock club falling badly?

Could the Eagles fall into the bottom four next season? Picture: Getty Images

NS: The Cats intrigue me and I feel like the cliff is nearing for them. It is coming, but they’re not there yet. Next year looms as their last real crack at a flag before an inevitable falling off. The Pies are another club that intrigues me. They’ve still got quite a bit of top-end talent, but they’re now under a new coach in Craig McRae and very much a work in progress. Speaking of the Pies, I know you’ve been all over Nick Daicos of late. Place your bet, how high a price will the Maggies have to pay for the son of my childhood hero? Are the Roos all in on Jason Horne-Francis?

MM: I think it depends whether the Giants trade pick two, which is a reasonable scenario. If they slide down the order then I think whichever club moves to No.2 will bid on Daicos. If GWS stays where it is, there’s a decent chance Sam Darcy rather than Daicos is bid on with the second selection. Collingwood list boss Graham Wright would be dancing on the rooftop if Daicos falls outside the top two. What’s your take on this? Do you pump up your man and make Jason Horne-Francis the dux of the draft class, or make your rivals pay up, knowing you’ll get Horne-Francis, anyway?

NS: It’s a tough call, and I think it could also partly come down to Horne-Francis and his personality type. History is littered with players who struggle with the burden of the No.1 pick tag and sometimes struggle because of it. Does Horne-Francis want the label of the best player in the draft, or would he prefer for that to fall to someone else while still ending up at the Roos? Only he can answer that. It’s the time of year where the draft is getting a lot of airtime, as well as free agents. Who to you is the most attractive free agent next year? Jordan De Goey, Darcy Moore, Touk Miller or someone else?

MM: It’s Darcy Moore. There are cases to be made for others, because of their importance to their club, but I can’t see the likes of James Sicily or Jack Macrae going elsewhere. Moore is a genuine star and the modern prototype as an intercepting defender. There’s been lots of interest in him previously, too. The worry for the Pies is that De Goey, Moore and Brayden Maynard are all free agents and will have suitors willing to pay good-to-big money. Retaining all three might arguably be Graham Wright’s greatest list management achievement.

NS: In Wright, the Pies fans trust. Enjoy Freedom Day, Marc.

Clark v Gullan: Daicos destined to emulate Walsh’s rise to stardom

Jay Clark and Scott Gullan go head-to-head over their laptops to thrash out footy’s hottest topics.

Jay Clark: Scotty, what is happening in the Cats’ coaches box?

Scott Gullan: This is yet another outstanding question from you. I think there are a couple of additions to come, former Cat Matthew Egan would make sense as one of them. And you broke the exclusive about Ross Lyon being sounded out, what are the chances?

Is Ross Lyon done with coaching or could the Cats entice him?

JC: He’d be a great get, Matty Egan. I suspect Ross the Boss is done with coaching. Smart from the Cats to try and reach out but they would have to really twist his arm. Think we’ll be listening to him on Triple M again next year instead of seeing him in the coaches box. Is the dream over for the Cats and what happens with the game plan?

SG: Too much top-end talent to say it’s over. Danger, Duncan and Cameron all missed big chunks. But, and I stress BUT, the Cats have to ditch the game plan and channel 2007 when they made drastic changes to the way they played and won the flag with a leg in the air. Obviously the same level of talent isn’t there now but Chris Scott has to embrace the ideas of his new assistants and get on the chaos style football (ie Richmond, Melbourne, Western Bulldogs) which wins finals. Being a former Geelong Advertiser cadet of the year, are you abandoning your hometown team?

Already a star, could Blue best and fairest Sam Walsh be a Brownlow medallist at the end of 2022? Picture: AFL Photos/Getty Images

JC: Shorthand training certainly wasn’t a strong suit, Scotty, back in those days. I’ve got Cats top-four. Win lots of games at home. Plan B gamestyle may need some work, though. How do you stop the brilliance and power of the Melbourne midfield? Going to be hard going without some youthful exuberance in the middle. Will Carlton make finals or not?

SG: I’m all chips in with the Blues. Have been thinking they would surge significantly over the past two years but have continually let me down. Vossy will sort the culture out and I’m tipping Zac Williams won’t be turning up after having enjoyed a few too many .....ahhh I won’t go there. Charlie Curnow is the obvious unknown but if he can contribute something then the backbone to a top eight team is there. Does Sam Walsh win next year’s Brownlow?

JC: We all know you can spot a good punt a mile away. Walsh is going to poll a truckload of votes. Good thing the club didn’t give away the No. 1 pick, the year they jetted Dylan Shiel up to Noosa. Can’t remember whether the use of a luxury jet was included in the salary cap or not but the back page splash (written by our own Michael Warner) certainly got some recruiters’ attention. Walsh has become a better player, whereas I wonder where Shiel fits in the Bombers’ engine room anymore. Which pub are you going to on Friday? Under or over four pints? I’ll take the overs. And who starts in the ruck for the Dogs next year?

SG: You are a smart betting man, take the overs. Tim English will be a gun so I’m not jumping off yet but Stef Martin needs to somehow find his injury good luck charm again as the whole back-up issue reared its ugly head in the GF. I would have liked another option bought in but I snoozed through the trade period clearly like everyone else.

Has the penny finally dropped for Collingwood gun Jordan De Goey? Picture: Instagram

SG: Jordan De Goey had the right idea, getting out of town to the States where it sounds like the penny has finally dropped. What are your Magpie sources telling you about this new-found attitude from the bad boy?

JC: It’s a contract year for him, Scott, you know what that means. If he gets properly fit he’ll have a blinder. He has Petracca-style power. And Nick Daicos will play 20 games next season and in a few years we’ll be talking about him in the same vein as your boy Walsh. Absolute pleasure chatting to you, Scotty, hopefully soon we’ll be able to do it in person again some day.

SG: Pints on me

Macca and Ralphy go head-to-head on footy's big issues.

Ralphy v Macca: Clarko, Covid and the Tigers’ next captain

Jon Ralph: OK Macca. What the hell is Clarko doing overseas and what are his odds of coaching Gold Coast in 2023?

Glenn McFarlane: He is on a study mission tour that will see him picking Steve Kerr’s brain at the Golden State Warriors and spending time with the Green Bay Packers. He is $1.01 to coach in 2023 and he’s probably $1.75 to coach Gold Coast if they struggle. I think Dewy needs 10 wins to guarantee his job. They have shown in the past they will pull the trigger on coaches, and if you have a coach who is the best of the modern era you are derelict in your duty not to look at him.

JR: If I got $900,000 out of Hawthorn I would be straight to Vegas. And I wouldn’t be staying at the New York New York Hotel. Or I’d be off to the 2022 Super Bowl in Los Angeles. But Clarko’s always been a different cat. It could be Ratten and Malthouse all over again. If Clarko’s in, then it would be Dew out even if they did make finals. It’s the AFL’s marketing dream and it would help player retention. Which young kids don’t want to be tutored by the SuperCoach! Now Bucks at Fox Footy. He’s going to brain them, isn’t he?

GM: He will be a star. No man knows the media quite as intimately as Nathan Buckley and he’s kept them at arm’s length at times but still given heaps at others. He will be a superstar. It is just a question of whether that will satisfy him in the future. I suspect he will coach again. He loves it and loves working with young players. Whether it’s 2023 or 2024 he’s too young to not have another crack at coaching. Where would he end up?

Premiership Demon Tom McDonald has been critical of vaccine mandates.

JR: He might just play the Ross Lyon and Paul Roos game. Not interested in coaching early in the season to rebuff the questions he knows are coming. Then he drops the bombshell late and admits what we all know — that the coaching bug has bit him hard. Now Macca, Tom McDonald’s comments about being uneasy about a vaccine mandate. What do you think?

GM: Tommy clearly hasn’t read the room. He was a star in 2021 and played a key role in helping Melbourne win a premiership, but has he forgotten how many advantages this game got by dealing with health authorities and doing the right thing? Yes, he is vaccinated, but if fans are going to have to be vaccinated, what makes footballers any different?

Controversial Crow Deni Varnhagen at training on Monday October 18. Picture: Dean Martin

JR: Yep. I didn’t hear players complaining while being ferried around on private jets while people couldn’t see dying relatives. They kept the show going on and bravo to the players for that. But, entering 2022, the only way the show goes on is by vaccinations. If Tom or Adelaide’s Deni Varnhagen don’t want to sign up to vaccine mandates, they should feel free to tear up their contracts. Now Macca, plenty of captaincy discussions.

Who is the captain next year of Collingwood, Richmond and GWS?

GM: What more can Scott Pendlebury give with his leadership? He has two years on a new contract. Hand it over to Taylor Adams or Darcy Moore and help them develop in the role. At Richmond, maybe Jack Graham but it’s a tough one because their leadership profile is so even. And while Toby Greene is the spiritual captain of Greater Western Sydney, he doesn’t deserve to be captain while doing stupid things. I would back in Stephen Coniglio for another year while he sorts himself out.

Tough Magpies midfielder Taylor Adams shapes as the next captain of Collingwood.

JR: Taylor Adams, for me, who plays in the manner Craig McRae would want at the Pies. He might have that combative edge but that’s OK. Dylan Grimes for two years at Richmond before the new breed come through, and what is wrong with Coniglio, Josh Kelly and Greene as co-captains at GWS? This single captaincy format is totally overrated. One might be a better fire-and-brimstone leader and one of the other captains might be better at the media and shmoozing sponsors. Macca, has the penny dropped three years too late for Jordan De Goey or just in time?

GM: I would say just in time but we want to see actions follow words. Outstanding second half of the year. He is clearly fit and I love that he’s in America working his butt off. But, like he, said let’s stop making Dusty comparisons and just allow him to be the best he can be. Collingwood bloody need it. And he probably owes them something, too.

Norm Smith medallist Christian Petracca came to the party when re-signing for Melbourne.

JR:Christian Petracca was signed up by May on a massive contract year and while he is very well paid, probably left $250,000 a year on the table if he had wanted to screw Melbourne to the wall. De Goey has always been well paid, and on $750,000-$800,000 for the last two contracts. Don’t shop yourself around, back in the club that stuck with you and get the deal done early to sacrifice like Petracca did. Now Macca, if you had $800k in the back pocket where would you be in Vegas? You would be a pool party at the Marquee Dayclub kind of man? In your Speedos with a big Cuban cigar?

GM: I have only been to Vegas once and it was with my wife. But Oakland’s new NFL home Allegiant Stadium looks off-the-charts good. Are you ready to come to the Super Bowl with me, Ralphy?

JR: Yep. And we can watch Buffalo’s drought-breaking Super Bowl win after four consecutive losses between 1990-1993. We are on.

Originally published as Zoom with a view: Footy experts debate the biggest footy talking points of 2022