Preview 2021 Best 22 Discussion

Feb 11, 2011
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Andrew Embley might be the better analogy. A midifelder with the height to ostensibly play KP. But you don't start them there. You start them between the arcs and let them drag a smaller opponent in the F50.
Actually.

Hunter seem to randomly moved forward from the backline. Teams never knew when it was coming.
 
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Jul 1, 2013
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Martin still plays primarily as a midfielder. He's good for a bit more than a goal a game, on average.

Even if we assume Fyfe could be that effective, which I'm not sure is locked in, is that incentive enough to move Fyfe out of the engine room more than usual? I don't see it, to be honest.

Surely you pick your best player where he plays his best football and then sort out the rest around him? Of course, give him a spell forward when required but I've been reading speculation about him becoming a semi-permanent forward, which seems nuts to me.

60/40 is still playing him primarily as a midfielder.
And also using his rest time to benefit the team rather than on the bench. Don’t forget the reduced interchange.
 
Dec 6, 2020
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Makes sense to play him forward in an intra-club game. But when it comes to R1, surely he lines up in the midfield.

Brayshaw, Cerra and Serong are super talented and very promising but they're still kids. I don't think any team in the comp has sufficient midfield quality/depth to decide they don't want to play Nat Fyfe primarily as a midfielder anymore.
This is all about the reduced rotations, with our younger midfield we’ll need to use the bench for those guys and Fyfe and Mundy will have to rest on the ground, the best place to do that is the forward line. With less than 20 rotations per qtr, the time on the bench will have to be longer as well, the days of a 2 minutes stint to catch your breath are over and we don’t want our best player and captain sitting on the bench for 25% of each Qtr, you want them impacting the game as much as possible.
 
Jul 1, 2013
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Barely. That a fair chunk playing forward for one of the top 3-4 mids in the competition.

Okay?
Our non-Fyfe midfield is likely to be considerably better starting 2021 than the last few years. The bloke takes an enormous burden of the contested ball, tags, pressure and tackling in the middle. I want him there when we need him there.
 

_007_

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FB: Ryan Hamling Chapman
HB: Logue Pearce Wilson
C: Brayshaw Fyfe Young
HF: Sturt Treacy Mundy
FF: Walters Tabs Henry

R: Darcy Serong Cerra

I: Aish Tucker Acres Lobb
 

88mph

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Our problems last year were from the midfield and forward, so they are looking for solutions. Long term solutions. Part of that problem has been a dependence on Fyfe in the midfield as well as a below average forward set up. Having a midfield that does not rely on Fyfe, and also that releases Walters back to the forward line, is massive.
Park both Fyfe and Walters deep in the 50. Keep everyone else out of the way.

Impossible to match up for any team.
 

Jezzitizle

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Best way to use Fyfe is drifting forward to get a mismatch but spending most time in the middle.

Puts all sorts of pressure on the defence to adjust, especially since Tabs and Lobb are such sting marks.

I actually think Fyfe’s field kicking and decision making really was a strength of his last year too so apart from his ability to win the ball he has become more damaging with it.

Sturt May struggle to break in off no preseason and a glut of players in his position.
 

theGav56

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Best way to use Fyfe is drifting forward to get a mismatch but spending most time in the middle.

Puts all sorts of pressure on the defence to adjust, especially since Tabs and Lobb are such sting marks.

I actually think Fyfe’s field kicking and decision making really was a strength of his last year too so apart from his ability to win the ball he has become more damaging with it.

Sturt May struggle to break in off no preseason and a glut of players in his position.
Not sure I see a glut of players in the third tall/medium forward position. We have some mids who can roll through there, but that’s it.
 

Heart Of Purple

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Barely. That a fair chunk playing forward for one of the top 3-4 mids in the competition.
Your not wrong ... although top 3/4 is a bit rough on the man :sweatsmile:

The reason a lot on here disagree with you is simply the 'next best' player. In the midfield, the difference between Fyfe and the guy who'd replace him (Mundy) is far less than the difference between him and our next best KPF.
I'd suggest that only one of Fyfe and Mundy can spend major minutes through the midfield if we're to give our young guns a chance to really blossom and help us push for a flag in the next 2-3 years.Whilst Fyfe is certainly a better inside-mid than Mundy, he's also far more threatening forward.

At another club he'd definitely be better suited to more midfield minutes but with the nature of our list (plenty of talented young mids who need time on ball and very limited KPF's) it becomes a much more interesting case. If we had a forward line firing on all cylinders that posed more threats to an opposition defense, he'd definitely play more midfield - for your mob, he'd be the perfect midfielder ... but for us, its definitely more up for debate.
 

Heart Of Purple

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Park both Fyfe and Walters deep in the 50. Keep everyone else out of the way.

Impossible to match up for any team.
I think Walters is a bit more valuable slightly higher up the ground. To me (and it might be that I hate the dives) he's actually not that great one-on-one (Lacks the size/speed/physical attributes to win/half contests he's not got best position for and thus 1-on-1 is only really 'great' on the lead). To me he thrives on being smarter than his opponent and losing them around the contest or reading the ball better off hands, which makes him a really dangerous crumber around Lobb/Tabs but probably means he gets in the way of Nat.
 

Joose

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I am going to assume that Pearce, Hill, Logue and Sturt wont be ready for Rnd1

Ryan-Hamling-Hughes
Young-Cox-Wilson
Aish-Tucker-Acres
Fyfe-Taberner-Walters
Schultz-Lobb-Henry

Darcy-Brayshaw-Cerra

Mundy-Conca-Chapman-Serong

Unlucky - Crowden, Valente, Dumin, Freddy, Blakely, Bewley

If we have anything like a good injury list then the match committee has some hard decisions to make. I feel more confident with our depth right now than at any other time in the past.
 
Dec 20, 2014
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Your not wrong ... although top 3/4 is a bit rough on the man :sweatsmile:

The reason a lot on here disagree with you is simply the 'next best' player. In the midfield, the difference between Fyfe and the guy who'd replace him (Mundy) is far less than the difference between him and our next best KPF.

I'd suggest that only one of Fyfe and Mundy can spend major minutes through the midfield if we're to give our young guns a chance to really blossom and help us push for a flag in the next 2-3 years.Whilst Fyfe is certainly a better inside-mid than Mundy, he's also far more threatening forward.

At another club he'd definitely be better suited to more midfield minutes but with the nature of our list (plenty of talented young mids who need time on ball and very limited KPF's) it becomes a much more interesting case. If we had a forward line firing on all cylinders that posed more threats to an opposition defense, he'd definitely play more midfield - for your mob, he'd be the perfect midfielder ... but for us, its definitely more up for debate.
Surely the solution is to get more out of Lobb and Taberner rather than trying to get Fyfe to be a key forward?

I accept your next best midfielder may be better than your next best tall forward but Fyfe's output in the midfield is also likely to be greater than if he plays forward more than pinch-hitting.

Not sure robbing Peter to pay Paul would work in this instance.
 

Bring back Drum

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Jul 8, 2019
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Surely the solution is to get more out of Lobb and Taberner rather than trying to get Fyfe to be a key forward?

I accept your next best midfielder may be better than your next best tall forward but Fyfe's output in the midfield is also likely to be greater than if he plays forward more than pinch-hitting.

Not sure robbing Peter to pay Paul would work in this instance.
What’s the point of winning the midfield battle if you can’t kick enough goals to win the game?

I’d be very surprised if Fyfe starts forward as this is the easiest situation for opposition coaches to plan for. He will start mid in most matches this season, but no doubt will spend more time forward with a lot of discussion at team meetings being about how he is utilised & structures adjusted for him to be a weapon.

When Martin & Dangerfield go forward the original playbook goes out the window & the structures are changed. This is how I see it developing with us, but with greater planning for the move than we’ve seen in the past.
 
Dec 20, 2014
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What’s the point of winning the midfield battle if you can’t kick enough goals to win the game?
Weird logic. How about playing to your strengths and playing your best players in their most effective positions? Do you honestly think Fyfe is going to become your #1 key forward?

How many goals are you counting on him kicking to make it worthwhile moving him out of the midfield?
 

theGav56

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Weird logic. How about playing to your strengths and playing your best players in their most effective positions? Do you honestly think Fyfe is going to become your #1 key forward?

How many goals are you counting on him kicking to make it worthwhile moving him out of the midfield?
It is a leap to go from Fyfe playing forward more to him being the #1 key forward. Taberner is already established in his role as our key forward, Lobb as a forward/ruck. After that there is less certainty in terms of talls and several options. Best to keep them open, and Fyfe forward is certainly one of them.
 
Dec 20, 2014
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It is a leap to go from Fyfe playing forward more to him being the #1 key forward. Taberner is already established in his role as our key forward, Lobb as a forward/ruck. After that there is less certainty in terms of talls and several options. Best to keep them open, and Fyfe forward is certainly one of them.
Seems like an argument to keep him in the midfield.
 

CapitalA

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Weird logic. How about playing to your strengths and playing your best players in their most effective positions? Do you honestly think Fyfe is going to become your #1 key forward?

How many goals are you counting on him kicking to make it worthwhile moving him out of the midfield?
You'll probably find that it is more of a matter of trying to get more midfield time for our young mids and prolong Fyfes career by not getting battered every week as he ages.
 
Dec 20, 2014
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You'll probably find that it is more of a matter of trying to get more midfield time for our young mids and prolong Fyfes career by not getting battered every week as he ages.
Are your younger mids really going to be short of opportunity? Like most teams, you'll have a 5-6 man rotation?

I agree that Fyfe's body should be managed carefully but that would be the only reason to rotate him out of the middle IMO.
 

Heart Of Purple

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Weird logic. How about playing to your strengths and playing your best players in their most effective positions? Do you honestly think Fyfe is going to become your #1 key forward?

How many goals are you counting on him kicking to make it worthwhile moving him out of the midfield?
Nobody's really suggesting a permanent move, just how much time he spends there. Even those that you've said have him at CHF would still be expecting plenty of time on ball.
Surely the solution is to get more out of Lobb and Taberner rather than trying to get Fyfe to be a key forward?
Its not as simple as just getting more out of Lobb and Taberner. Tabs was in the all Australian squad last year and expecting significant performance boosts is essentially expecting a coleman. Lobbs always been inconsistent but will also be spending plenty of time in the ruck - ideally we get more out of him yes, but the easiest way to do that is actually get Fyfe forward.
Fyfe demands a good defender and Lobb would put most 3rd string KPD's to the sword.
 

Heart Of Purple

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Are your younger mids really going to be short of opportunity? Like most teams, you'll have a 5-6 man rotation?

I agree that Fyfe's body should be managed carefully but that would be the only reason to rotate him out of the middle IMO.
Theres having a rotation, and then theres getting a good opportunity around the center bounce. Yes they'd still be in the team, but they wouldn't develop nearly as quickly as if they're playing in critical positions.
 
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