Do the Lions have the best midfield in the comp?

[94_Eagles]

Ummm....Hi Wce 05/06

Lynch and Hansen jump and chest bump each other

 

[lmach]

Hawthorn's, Sydney's, Port's, Gold Coast's and GWS's are/will be better.

 

[kranky al]

Lynch and Hansen jump and chest bump each other

Except lynch misses and knees Hansen in the arm causing a hamstring injury

 

[Mofra's son]

Does a legless man need socks?

 

[Brown n Gold]

Its become a Big footy myth of the ill informed that Mooney was rubbish. In 2007 game plan revolved around him

Was key to the teams success

Yep, It wasn't Ablett Jnr, Bartel, SJ, Chap, Scarlett etc

 

[ZingerB]

Looks good on paper, but almost no chance of fielding that side next year. Christensen and Beams have struggled with injuries, and Rich is coming off a knee recon. Would expect them to climb into that 7-10 range next year. I think you should always be careful with making predictions though. You can't just say Rockliff had 3 or 4 40+ possession games this year, imagine how much better he is going to get. He had 40+ possessions because no one else was commanding the ball. He won't do that when other people are getting the ball. Ablett didn't have 50+ possession games at Geelong. Even really good midfields don't generate that many more possessions, they just use it better. Hawthorn are a pretty good example of that this year. It is not surprising that Jordan Lewis had his best year to date, with Mitchell, Hodge and Rioli out for such long periods. Same with Bruest and Gunston stepping out from Buddy's shadow. I also have reservations about paying Beams 800k a year and keeping that group together. At the very least it will restrict your ability to get gun forwards. I would personally like to reignite the Port v Brisbane rivalry of old, but I don't see it just yet. Kind of reminds me of Adelaide in the early-Mid 2000's having a star midfield, but no one to kick it to.

 

[TazHawk15]

Can you guys kindly lend us roughy for a few years.

Don't be greedy dude.

After all we gave you Jason Dunstall.

Oh wait.

 

[Milux]

Don't be greedy dude.

After all we gave you Jason Dunstall.

Oh wait.

Lol.

 

[The Brabazone]

I'm probably biased, but I think they now boast the best and deepest midfield of any team in the comp.
Would like to know what opposition supporters think of the Lions midfield and how it stacks up against Geelong/Freo/Hawthorn/Sydney etc.

D.Beams (24), Rockliff (24), Rich (24), Christensen (23), Hanley (25), Zorko (25), Redden (23), Aish (18)
C. Beams (23), Mayes (20), Taylor (19)

I think this midfield will be a powerhouse for a long time if it stays together.

Kennedy (26), Parker (21), Jack (27), Hannebery (23), Mitchell (21), McVeigh (29), McGlynn (29), Jetta (25), Jones (19), Lloyd (21), Cunningham (21)
Add Isaac Heeney to the mix and if he's a top 5 pick as we're led to believe he's probably going to be a midfielder for years to come.

Lions is younger, and building around that midfield the Lions are on the way up, but if we're playing a game tomorrow I know who I'm picking.

 

[Damon_3388]

Its become a Big footy myth of the ill informed that Mooney was rubbish. In 2007 game plan revolved around him

Was key to the teams success

Diverting the thread a bit, but I'm also a bit sick of this myth that Cameron Mooney was an "average forward". He took 570 marks and kicked 165 goals between 2007-2009 (average of 190 marks/55 goals per year). Not too many other forwards were putting up those numbers during that time. And before anyone comes back with the inevitable "anyone could have done that in that forward line with that delivery", well, anyone didn't. Mooney did. Mooney had to actually take the marks and kick the goals when receiving the delivery, which still takes talent and skill.

 

[Dom PC]

Diverting the thread a bit, but I'm also a bit sick of this myth that Cameron Mooney was an "average forward". He took 570 marks and kicked 165 goals between 2007-2009 (average of 190 marks/55 goals per year). Not too many other forwards were putting up those numbers during that time. And before anyone comes back with the inevitable "anyone could have done that in that forward line with that delivery", well, anyone didn't. Mooney did. Mooney had to actually take the marks and kick the goals when receiving the delivery, which still takes talent and skill.

He wouldn't have been a first 22 player at the Lions in the 01-04 period. Excusing the injuries and suspensions we carried through the season. Certainly not close to anyone of Lynch, Bradshaw or Brown. He is on par with Quinten Lynch IMO. In other words he was good at times, but that's about it.

 

[Damon_3388]

He wouldn't have been a first 22 player at the Lions in the 01-04 period. Excusing the injuries and suspensions we carried through the season. Certainly not close to anyone of Lynch, Bradshaw or Brown. He is on par with Quinten Lynch IMO. In other words he was good at times, but that's about it.

Mooney wasn't on the level of those Lions, but he was clearly better for longer than Quinten Lynch.

 

[Dom PC]

Mooney wasn't on the level of those Lions, but he was clearly better for longer than Quinten Lynch.

You will find both their career statistics are identical (including two 50 goal seasons each). I am with you that most would take Mooney (including me), but C.Mooney was certainly given a better midfield than Q.Lynch was and that fact likely skews peoples perspective a bit.

Kennedy (26), Parker (21), Jack (27), Hannebery (23), Mitchell (21), McVeigh (29), McGlynn (29), Jetta (25), Jones (19), Lloyd (21), Cunningham (21)
Add Isaac Heeney to the mix and if he's a top 5 pick as we're led to believe he's probably going to be a midfielder for years to come.

Lions is younger, and building around that midfield the Lions are on the way up, but if we're playing a game tomorrow I know who I'm picking.

Let me start off by saying Sydney's midfield is better than Brisbane's at the moment. But comparing the midfield you list and ours;

Kennedy (26) - Rockliff (24)
Parker (22) - Beams (24)
Jack (27) - Redden (24)
Hannebery (23) - Hanley (26)
McVeigh (29) - Rich (24)
McGlynn (29) - Christensen (23)
Jetta (25) - Zorko (25)
Mitchell (21) - Mayes (20)
Lloyd (21) - Lester (22)
Cunninghan (21) - Taylor (19)
Jones (19) - Aish (19)

It stacks up pretty nicely against yours

Even our defence stacks up ok against yours.

Shaw (33) - Harwood (23)
Richards (31) - Maguire (30)
Grundy (28) - Merrett (30)
Smith (26) - Adcock (29)
Rohan (23) - Gardiner (19)
Rampe (24) - Clarke (21)

Our biggest problem is forward Not even going to bother there, you beat everyone with your KPF's, not so much small forwards though.

 

[The Brabazone]

Let me start off by saying Sydney's midfield is better than Brisbane's at the moment. But comparing the midfield you list and ours;

Kennedy (26) - Rockliff (24)
Parker (22) - Beams (24)
Jack (27) - Redden (24)
Hannebery (23) - Hanley (26)
McVeigh (29) - Rich (24)
McGlynn (29) - Christensen (23)
Jetta (25) - Zorko (25)
Mitchell (21) - Mayes (20)
Lloyd (21) - Lester (22)
Cunninghan (21) - Taylor (19)
Jones (19) - Aish (19)

It stacks up pretty nicely against yours

Even our defence stacks up ok against yours.

Shaw (33) - Harwood (23)
Richards (31) - Maguire (30)
Grundy (28) - Merrett (30)
Smith (26) - Adcock (29)
Rohan (23) - Gardiner (19)
Rampe (24) - Clarke (21)

Our biggest problem is forward Not even going to bother there, you beat everyone with your KPF's, not so much small forwards though.

Due to the deep midfields in the modern game (we both posted 11 midfielders which is half the side) and the need to have a settled back 6 (or 7 for teams that play +1 in defense) as well as 1-2 ruckmen and 2-3 tall forwards, not as many teams play a genuine stay at home small forward these days, preferring to rest midfielders up forward. Betts, Ballantyne, Walters and Breust have all shown there is still value in a stay at home small forward, but the worry is if they don't kick goals and can't rotate through the midfield (breust regularly does now, what a freak) then they're really just a passenger. In this way small forwards are seen as a risk, and many teams don't opt for one at all. Would love to find a genuine gun small in the Walters/Breust/Balla/Betts mould, but they're hard to come by.

 

[tenderwarrior]

I am sure that I am missing a few players for each team, but I would say top 3 mid fields (with a focus on the medium/ long term future) are (in know particular order):

Brisbane:
ruck: Luenberger, Martin (West, Smith)
on ball: Beams, Rockcliffe, Redden, Christensen, Zorko, (Robertson)
run off half back/wings: Hanley, Rich, Aish, Harwood (Golby, Lester)
high half forwards/ switching mids: Taylor, Mayes (Bewick)

Gold Coast:
ruck: Nicholls, (Smith, Gorringe)
on ball: Ablett, Swallow, O'Meara, Prestia (Lonergan, Hallahan)
run off half back/wings: Harbrow, Kolojdashji (Lemmens)
high half forwards/ switching mids: Bennell, Martin, Stanley (Boston)

GWS:
ruck: Mumford (Phillips, Downie, Lobb)
on ball: Griffen, Ward, Treloar, Greene, Shiel
run off half back/wings: Whitfield, Kelly, Hampton (Williams)
high half forwards/ switching mids: Smith, Coniglio, Hoskin-Elliot

Western Bulldogs have some very promising talent, and would have been there, but losing Griffen and Cooney hurts their depth.

 

[Flags_In_The_Bag]

Brisbane fans are very Richmond at the moment

Great way of putting it..lol

 

[Flags_In_The_Bag]

Not now but will be up there.

Mitchell, Hodge, Burgoyne, Lewis, Smith, Shiels, Hill, Langford, Simpkin with Hartung, Woodward, Hallahan coming through.

Hope you re side has some young back ups because looking at that its good based on the players with say 2 years at the top left in them. bolded are very untried and Hallahan is gonski

 

[Shinboner '07]

Surely collingwood is the best midfield they got greenwood now lol

 

[seysearles]

Do the Lions have the best midfield in the comp?

It's a very very very good midfield. The only issue i see is that it has made you lopsided in your structure. This has been compounded by the fact that 2 very good mids (Beams and Christensen) requested to be traded to you this off-season. You lack the KPP to make the most of such a good midfield. I think you are a CHB, FF and CHF away from being a premiership contender. The problem is that those positions are probably the hardest positions to fill. The fact that Merrett is close to 30 now and has requested to be traded doesnt help either as players like that are exactly what you need. If I was you I would have considered moving on one or even 2 of your mids to fill those spots.

 

[Janus]

I am sure that I am missing a few players for each team, but I would say top 3 mid fields (with a focus on the medium/ long term future) are (in know particular order):

Brisbane:
ruck: Luenberger, Martin (West, Smith)
on ball: Beams, Rockcliffe, Redden, Christensen, Zorko, (Robertson)
run off half back/wings: Hanley, Rich, Aish, Harwood (Golby, Lester)
high half forwards/ switching mids: Taylor, Mayes (Bewick)

Gold Coast:
ruck: Nicholls, (Smith, Gorringe)
on ball: Ablett, Swallow, O'Meara, Prestia (Lonergan, Hallahan)
run off half back/wings: Harbrow, Kolojdashji (Lemmens)
high half forwards/ switching mids: Bennell, Martin, Stanley (Boston)

GWS:
ruck: Mumford (Phillips, Downie, Lobb)
on ball: Griffen, Ward, Treloar, Greene, Shiel
run off half back/wings: Whitfield, Kelly, Hampton (Williams)
high half forwards/ switching mids: Smith, Coniglio, Hoskin-Elliot

Western Bulldogs have some very promising talent, and would have been there, but losing Griffen and Cooney hurts their depth.

Based on that summation, I'll do Port Adelaide for you and see how it compares:

Ruck: Lobbe (25), Ryder (26) (Redden (23))
On Ball: Boak (26), Wines (20), Gray (26), Hartlett (24), Ebert (24), Moore (23) (Young (20))
Run Off Half Back/Wings: Polec (22), Broadbent (24), Pittard (23), White (27), Impey (19) (O'Shea (22))
High Half Forwards/Switching Mids: Wingard (21), Monfries (28), Neade (20)

 

[tenderwarrior]

Based on that summation, I'll do Port Adelaide for you and see how it compares:

Ruck: Lobbe (25), Ryder (26) (Redden (23))
On Ball: Boak (26), Wines (20), Gray (26), Hartlett (24), Ebert (24), Moore (23) (Young (20))
Run Off Half Back/Wings: Polec (22), Broadbent (24), Pittard (23), White (27), Impey (19) (O'Shea (22))
High Half Forwards/Switching Mids: Wingard (21), Monfries (28), Neade (20)

Yeah, that is pretty handy too

 

[Schraderbrau]

Kennedy (26), Parker (21), Jack (27), Hannebery (23), Mitchell (21), McVeigh (29), McGlynn (29), Jetta (25), Jones (19), Lloyd (21), Cunningham (21)
Add Isaac Heeney to the mix and if he's a top 5 pick as we're led to believe he's probably going to be a midfielder for years to come.

Lions is younger, and building around that midfield the Lions are on the way up, but if we're playing a game tomorrow I know who I'm picking.

Don't know how you can claim this is the best midfield in the comp after the performance it put up against Hawthorn in the GF.

 

[Schraderbrau]

He wouldn't have been a first 22 player at the Lions in the 01-04 period. Excusing the injuries and suspensions we carried through the season. Certainly not close to anyone of Lynch, Bradshaw or Brown. He is on par with Quinten Lynch IMO. In other words he was good at times, but that's about it.

That's rubbish and a very embarrassing opinion. Even if he couldn't get a game as a forward (although I think he was better than Bradshaw) he'd at least offer value as the other ruck or a utility. Comparing him to Q shows a poor of understanding of AFL imo

 

[The Brabazone]

Don't know how you can claim this is the best midfield in the comp after the performance it put up against Hawthorn in the GF.

Actually I was just comparing Sydney's midfield to Brisbane's midfield, as the OP suggested. Where did I claim it was the best midfield in the comp? If you want my opinion on the best midfield in the comp I believe it actually belongs to the Power.

 

[MightyPies1]

Lions only have one A Grade mid and he has proven at Colingwood to partake in petty behaviour, bad-boy behaviour, which will disunite the team.

Other than that, Rockliff is a good B Grade midfielder. Redden about the same. Rich about C Grade. Aish and Mayes potential but Aish Will leave at seasons end. Hanley has a great season but can he back it up? Zorko is good when he's on song but he goes missing far to much and anyone that plays supercoach would know this.

And how will they perform under Leppa? For the best midfield in the league they sure did have a pretty poor season last year. I have serious, serious question about Leppa's ability to even bring out the best in these guys, after all, his lack of maturity he displayed by tweeting, I believe this is NOT the sort of behaviour you would want from anybody at the club, let alone the coach.

I factor all these things in, and hmmm. Lets wait and see if they can match it with the best first. In any case, they have the worst KPP's in the league, worse than Carltons.