The 2024 AFL pre-season is well and truly underway – get the latest from training in Track Watch!
MELBOURNE is set to send veteran key forward Tom McDonald back into defence in 2024, as part of the team’s attempts to solve their forward conversion woes.
But bargain recruit Jack Billings, who came across from St Kilda for a future third-round pick, looks set to take a spot in the forward line after a very impressive start to the pre-season.
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McDonald has been training with the defenders leaving Harry Petty – who was sorely missed late in the season after an impressive move from the backline, and was held during the trade period despite serious interest from Adelaide – plus Jacob van Rooyen, Ben Brown and Josh Schache as the tall forward brigade.
Ex-Crow Shane McAdam is also pushing for a Round 1 debut while draftees Koltyn Tholstrup (half forward) and Caleb Windsor (wing) were targeted selections meaning they should play quickly.
But it’s Billings, 28, who has impressed observers after just 11 games over his final two seasons at St Kilda.
His precise kicking is expected to earn him a role in Simon Goodwin’s side as they attempt to avoid a repeat of the forward entry and conversion issues which saw them lose thrillers to Collingwood and Carlton in the 2023 finals.
At CARLTON, captain Patrick Cripps believes Jack Silvagni is likely to feature in the same role next season as he did in 2023, meaning the father-son favourite looks set to remain on the fringes of Michael Voss’ 2024 side.
Silvagni passed a fitness test before last season’s semi-final win over Melbourne but was not selected, nor in the preliminary final loss to Brisbane, after playing 16 games across the campaign.
His future was cloudy after going into the 2023 off-season out of contract but Silvagni penned a two-year extension in September to keep him at Princes Park.
The question remains as to how Silvagni is best used. Tom de Koning and Marc Pittonet are both contracted as the club’s ruck duo for at least two more years and played together during the finals, while up forward the Blues opted for more speed and less size alongside talismanic duo Charlie Curnow and Harry McKay.
Still Cripps backed Silvagni to find a home in the Blues’ side as they push for a repeat finals appearance.
“I think his role’s really important,” Cripps told reporters on Monday.
“He plays that hybrid forward; he can play tall and play small with his pressure. His biggest one-wood is the competitive energy he has.
“That second ruck role that he can play as well as an undersized player with a bit more mobility around the ground.
“It’s all up to the coaching staff in terms of if we play two rucks or go the hybrid role, but you know what you’re going to get when SOS plays.
“The boys love playing with him.”
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