Player Watch #14 Callum Mills (c)

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Callum Mills

Callum Mills is one of the best young players in the AFL. The QBE Sydney Swans Academy graduate won the 2016 AFL Rising Star award and was selected in the AFL Players’ Association’s 22Under22 team in three of his four eligible years. Mills is a small defender with uncompromising courage who’s also capable of shifting through the midfield. The New South Welshman was elevated to Sydney’s leadership group during the 2018 pre-season at the age of just 21, and he’s now a member of a five-man leadership panel alongside co-captains Josh Kennedy, Luke Parker and Dane Rampe, as well as Lance Franklin.

Callum Mills
DOB: 02 April 1997
DEBUT: 2016
DRAFT: #3, 2015 National Draft
RECRUITED FROM: North Shore (NSW)

 

connolly

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Really hope mills plays mids all year but i get the feeling at some point, longmire will move him back because we are missing his intercept play
We have a centre half back who is ranked in the top ten intercepting defenders in the competition. Why is Mills needed as an intercepting defender? He is a midfielder. Its time he was played in his position.
 
If you were betting you would still bet round 1 Mills wanders down to start at Half Back
Trained all preseason with the midfield, bulked up last year when he was off his leg for a reason, this indicates he's finally a midfielder. Cameo's only down back.
 
Stats are saying Mills is worsening not improving in his current role according to Champion Data.

huh?

By "current role" are you referring to his new introduction to the midfield, or his existing role as a half-back intercepter? If it's the former, how the hell would that Bernie Madoff-run Champion Data know how Mills is doing when he hasn't played a match yet? If it's the latter, what recent form would they have to go off given he hasn't even played since round 9 last year?
 

Kiama Chris

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I get it is important to not burn out young blokes in the mids. However if we recruit a bloke because he is a mid, then does it not make sense to give him an early run there? I am not saying full time.

Conversely, giving blokes roles to round out their weaknesses is an odd strategy. Isn't that what the NEAFL and training is for?

Arguably our more established players should show greater flexibility in undertaking a variety of roles. Yet it has been the younger or borderline players who have to perform multiple roles. Reg, Smithy, Rampe, Kennedy, Hanners, McVeigh, Jack have not been required to plug holes, play different roles. Using Hanners and George as examples, I would say it was folly to play the former as wing
/mid and the latter as tagger/mid based on their respective form.

If Hanners was to play, why not get him to perform a role that he may have been capable of - tagger. This would have released George to play a more attacking mid role.
He did play a couple of tagging games. Failed.
 

Kiama Chris

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huh?

By "current role" are you referring to his new introduction to the midfield, or his existing role as a half-back intercepter? If it's the former, how the hell would that Bernie Madoff-run Champion Data know how Mills is doing when he hasn't played a match yet? If it's the latter, what recent form would they have to go off given he hasn't even played since round 9 last year?
Latter and compares it to data over his entire career in that position.
 
Latter and compares it to data over his entire career in that position.

By "entire career" surely they're not referring to his two-and-a-third seasons? That's hardly a big enough sample size to start saying whether he's improved or not. This is why Champion Data are worthless, they just sprout numbers and figures without any context or justification.
 
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By "entire career" surely they're not referring to his two-and-a-third seasons? That's hardly a big enough sample size to start saying whether he's improved or not. This is why Champion Data are worthless, they just sprout numbers and figures without any context or justification.
I dont know, the numbers were higher than they are now, maybe its a coincidence.
 
As we prepare to see what Mills can do in the midfield this JLT series, this was a pretty fair and reasonable insight into Mills. Tilted towards fantasy/DT talk but goes into his juniors and what he can bring to the midfield without being hyperbolic.


They may as well have been talking Latin in that video!
I mean I understood what they were saying re Mills, our midfield etc, but boy all that Keeper League, D2, D1 stuff - absolutely no idea what they were on about.
 
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