List Mgmt. Future Midfield Thread

Which of our young mids has the highest ceiling?


  • Total voters
    125

Psicosis

Brownlow Medallist
May 7, 2012
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Obviously been a key area that's been addressed in recent drafts & is really starting to take shape. Over the last 20 years, I've personally questioned our lack of balance in the midfield group. Noble & Clayton have been on record claiming that this rebuild is going to be built from the midfield & things are starting to take shape. I am confident that this young midfield group that is coming through together now, is the most balanced that we have seen at the club for some time. An excellent mix of inside/outside with ability to not only win the contested ball, but also attack.

We've invested heavily in this area - Pick 12, Pick 4, Pick 6, Pick 8, Pick 3 & Pick 13. This is the biggest investment in early pick midfielders in the league bar the expansion clubs. Fully expecting us to add to this group at the end of the year with Pick 1.

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We are beginning to see improvement in Simpkin, Davies-Uniacke, Stephenson & Thomas' numbers with multiple years in the system.

Simpkin:
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Davies-Uniacke:
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Stephenson:
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Thomas:
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*Disclaimer - Those who hate the "Youth" narrative, look away!
 

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Nov 14, 2012
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Just out of curiosity, how many of this current crop of midfielders coming through can kick 50m plus? J Stephenson yes.

And on JS, where's his burst of pace gone? At Collingwood, he absolutely SCORCHED the opposition with his pace.
 
Just out of curiosity, how many of this current crop of midfielders coming through can kick 50m plus? J Stephenson yes.

And on JS, where's his burst of pace gone? At Collingwood, he absolutely SCORCHED the opposition with his pace.
Jy is the only one you might have a question mark over. The other three do it regularly.
 

Mjs94

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Apr 24, 2016
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Phillips is crucial in that he runs both ways and is a prolific tackler (then throw on top his ball-winning ability). Hopefully Horne can bring that too. Simpkin and Powell show an appetite for the defensive side of things but I would say not to the extent that I have seen Phillips show. We would also need a defensive winger such as Bailey to develop.

All in all I am very bullish on our future midfield.
 

Moti

Brownlow Medallist
Mar 4, 2001
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Getting a decent ruckman, I am not expecting Xerri to be a star, and adding an explosive inside player is what we are still lacking. Also assuming that with Polec a little hit and miss we will need two wingers, even with Scott. Still a little work to do but it is not looking bad. With the backline coming a long well, it is the forwardline that needs the attention.
 

Sphynx

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Jul 10, 2011
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Getting a decent ruckman, I am not expecting Xerri to be a star, and adding an explosive inside player is what we are still lacking. Also assuming that with Polec a little hit and miss we will need two wingers, even with Scott. Still a little work to do but it is not looking bad. With the backline coming a long well, it is the forwardline that needs the attention.

Edwards may not be a frontline ruckman but certainly looms as an extremely dangerous second ruck option. People seem to have forgotten about him already.

Depending on what we do at our second pick, I think we will invest first rounders or early seconds the following positions in the next few years.

KPF
Small forward.
HBF.

I think we will take a reasonably high ruck also at some stage.
 
Apr 17, 2007
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Edwards may not be a frontline ruckman but certainly looms as an extremely dangerous second ruck option. People seem to have forgotten about him already.

Depending on what we do at our second pick, I think we will invest first rounders or early seconds the following positions in the next few years.

KPF
Small forward.
HBF.

I think we will take a reasonably high ruck also at some stage.

Don’t waste high picks on rucks - can get a ruck from another club if needed. Obviously won’t be up to the Gold(y) class but with the midfield we’re building just need a contest in there.
 

Shinboner1

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Aug 13, 2020
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Don’t waste high picks on rucks - can get a ruck from another club if needed. Obviously won’t be up to the Gold(y) class but with the midfield we’re building just need a contest in there.
Don't have to spend a lot on half decent ones either.
Plenty of 'big men' wanting a change of team if they're 2-4 down the pecking order.
 

Nutjob

Premiership Player
Oct 23, 2014
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The most important player in any midfield is the ruckman so Xeri is a really important player in our future midfield.

I couldn’t disagree more with this. You need a competent ruckman, but not a world beater.

If you look at recent history the premiership ruckman has mostly been an average ruckman at best compared to others in the competition. Yet the better ruck’s in the past decade in Gawn, Natanui, Grundy, Goldy for example have zero flags next to their names.

It starts with the midfield engine room and runners.


Sent from my iPhone using BigFooty.com
 
Last edited:

Psicosis

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May 7, 2012
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Looking at what we currently have... Hypothetically if we do miss Horne, what type do we need the most in terms of midfielder?

Sonsie - goal kicking smallish mid, quality user
Callaghan - quick tall mid, quality user
Roberts - Bull, accumulator

Given we already appear to have coverage from an inside bull perspective & the fact we only have a couple taller mids (TT & LDU), Callaghan May be the “press for emergency” button if we end up 17th. In the words of Scotty Clayton, I don’t think we can have enough inside outside mids. Flexibility to play on a wing/flank should help our rotations.

Disclaimer* Horne is what we need the most. Goal kicking inside outside that can play forward.

Re Rucks - It’s a lot easier to fill then the mids IMO. We have X and Edwards to develop in Goldys remaining years. If we don’t see them as the answer long term, we can draft a highly rated one or trade/FA for one.
 

Shagga is all Class

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One of the good things we have seen this year due to the injury run is TT and JS get midfield minutes.

These are impact players who not only kick goals but are great users. A regular 20 possession game could be huge from these 2.

We have seen LDU have huge quarters but not games.

Simpkin had a couple of monster games when Shaw took over.

It is coming along.

IMHO, Geelong back in the day were so successful and Chapman and Stevie J were big parts. You really didn't know if they were going to kick a bag or play further from goal as a pseudo extra mid.

North have JS and TT that could do the same.
 
Looking at what we currently have... Hypothetically if we do miss Horne, what type do we need the most in terms of midfielder?

Sonsie - goal kicking smallish mid, quality user
Callaghan - quick tall mid, quality user
Roberts - Bull, accumulator

Given we already appear to have coverage from an inside bull perspective & the fact we only have a couple taller mids (TT & LDU), Callaghan May be the “press for emergency” button if we end up 17th. In the words of Scotty Clayton, I don’t think we can have enough inside outside mids. Flexibility to play on a wing/flank should help our rotations.

Disclaimer* Horne is what we need the most. Goal kicking inside outside that can play forward.

Re Rucks - It’s a lot easier to fill then the mids IMO. We have X and Edwards to develop in Goldys remaining years. If we don’t see them as the answer long term, we can draft a highly rated one or trade/FA for one.
The Edwards choice has solved one relatively pressing list gap.

Still need to invest in a power mid, multiple pacey small forwards and KPP's at both ends.

Next year, probably another KPD and wing depth.
 
Be worth comparing their midfield time if anyone has it. I imagine Jy was playing a lot more midfield time last year then Luke is this year.

Any idea where to find centre square attendance? I have only really noticed that stuff being posted this year TBH.
 

AnEmptyChair

Premiership Player
Nov 12, 2020
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I always knew our future midfield group had talent but outside of Jy Simpkin (who I genuinely think has the ability to be our best mid of the modern era) I was never absolutely convinced that we had a potentially elite group or just a very good group.

But the last two weeks have convinced me. Well, it's actually more than the last two weeks and a heap of little things from this year. But now I'm absolutely sold. Tarryn Thomas the mid looks special, LDU has had his moments, his quarters, his halves. He just needs to put it together and I think he will. And Phillips and Powell both look special. Led by Cunnington -- who I think could well still be here when we're challenging -- and with the possible additions of Horne and (say it quietly) Kelly, it's a ******* tantalising group of players. Obviously we still need to see them actually put it all together and do it, but they're still all so young. It's gonna take time. But when they do it's going to be so fun to watch.
 
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