Strategy The tall big bodied midfielder

Remove this Banner Ad

76woodenspooners

76woodenspooners

Brownlow Medallist
Veteran 10k Posts Collingwood Magpies AFLW - Steph Chiocci 2017 Collingwood Board Poster of the Year Ex-Moderator Collingwood - Ben Kennedy Player Sponsor 2014 Podcaster
Jun 4, 2011
23,570
37,237
Sydney
AFL Club
Collingwood
Perhaps the biggest subplot of the 2021 Grand Final was the Cristian Petracca show versus the Marcus Bontempelli show.

One of those two was always destined to wear the Norm Smith around their neck.

Petracca 186cm, 97kg, 25 yo
Bontempelli 192cm, 85kg, 25 yo

The modern ‘it’ player seems to be the tall, strong, big bodied midfielder who oozes onfield leadership, and who can rip a game apart by themselves.

Nick ‘The messiah’ Daicos as amazingly amazing as he is, has much the same body type as John Noble. Yes I’m serious. So Saint Nickolas doesn’t project as that player.

Candidates on our list today …

Jordan DeGoey 188cm, 92kg, 25 yo
Brayden Sier 191, 88kg, 23 yo
Tyler Brown 188, 77kg, 21 yo
Reef McInnis 192, 84kg, 19 yo

(Scott Pendlebury 191, 91kg, 33 yo)

Pendlebury is obviously a different kind of player and he’s in his autumn years. He’s not really that inside type player who uses his strength to beat his enemies into submission.

DeGoey is the same generation as Petracca and Bontempelli, but clearly hasn’t reached anything like their consistency. Would require some maturity to catch up.

Sier has the height, has the body, has the strength, but projects zero leadership. Would require some serious redemption to justify staying on the list, let alone fulfilling his physical potential and becoming a dominant player of the competition.

Tyler Brown, dunno if he has the frame to put on that much bulk?

Reef - dunno much about him, except that he won’t reach Petracca / Bontempelli / DeGoey’s current level of age and experience until the year 2027.

Do we need one of these players to step up? Do we need to recruit another? Do competitive teams need this kind of player?
 
76woodenspooners said:
Perhaps the biggest subplot of the 2021 Grand Final was the Cristian Petracca show versus the Marcus Bontempelli show.

One of those two was always destined to wear the Norm Smith around their neck.

Petracca 186cm, 97kg, 25 yo
Bontempelli 192cm, 85kg, 25 yo

The modern ‘it’ player seems to be the tall, strong, big bodied midfielder who oozes onfield leadership, and who can rip a game apart by themselves.

Nick ‘The messiah’ Daicos as amazingly amazing as he is, has much the same body type as John Noble. Yes I’m serious. So Saint Nickolas doesn’t project as that player.

Candidates on our list today …

Jordan DeGoey 188cm, 92kg, 25 yo
Brayden Sier 191, 88kg, 23 yo
Tyler Brown 188, 77kg, 21 yo
Reef McInnis 192, 84kg, 19 yo

(Scott Pendlebury 191, 91kg, 33 yo)

Pendlebury is obviously a different kind of player and he’s in his autumn years. He’s not really that inside type player who uses his strength to beat his enemies into submission.

DeGoey is the same generation as Petracca and Bontempelli, but clearly hasn’t reached anything like their consistency. Would require some maturity to catch up.

Sier has the height, has the body, has the strength, but projects zero leadership. Would require some serious redemption to justify staying on the list, let alone fulfilling his physical potential and becoming a dominant player of the competition.

Tyler Brown, dunno if he has the frame to put on that much bulk?

Reef - dunno much about him, except that he won’t reach Petracca / Bontempelli / DeGoey’s current level of age and experience until the year 2027.

Do we need one of these players to step up? Do we need to recruit another? Do competitive teams need this kind of player?
Click to expand...
Sier glacial speed also different to the others mentioned.
 
Sea fog said:
Sier glacial speed also different to the others mentioned.
Click to expand...

+ no endurance.

IIRC he finishing last (by a long way) in the pre-season 2km until he did that jiujitsu ‘holiday’ camp in his break with his girlfriend at the time (2017).
 

Log in to remove this ad.

what i was thinking about yesterday was if treloar warranted 2 high draft picks, petracca is worth about 5 of em.

interesting how he used to dominate the smaller bodies at schoolboy level but it has taken him 5 or 6 years to do the same to men...but its mindset that not many players have at his level.
 
76woodenspooners said:
Perhaps the biggest subplot of the 2021 Grand Final was the Cristian Petracca show versus the Marcus Bontempelli show.

One of those two was always destined to wear the Norm Smith around their neck.

Petracca 186cm, 97kg, 25 yo
Bontempelli 192cm, 85kg, 25 yo

The modern ‘it’ player seems to be the tall, strong, big bodied midfielder who oozes onfield leadership, and who can rip a game apart by themselves.

Nick ‘The messiah’ Daicos as amazingly amazing as he is, has much the same body type as John Noble. Yes I’m serious. So Saint Nickolas doesn’t project as that player.

Candidates on our list today …

Jordan DeGoey 188cm, 92kg, 25 yo
Brayden Sier 191, 88kg, 23 yo
Tyler Brown 188, 77kg, 21 yo
Reef McInnis 192, 84kg, 19 yo

(Scott Pendlebury 191, 91kg, 33 yo)

Pendlebury is obviously a different kind of player and he’s in his autumn years. He’s not really that inside type player who uses his strength to beat his enemies into submission.

DeGoey is the same generation as Petracca and Bontempelli, but clearly hasn’t reached anything like their consistency. Would require some maturity to catch up.

Sier has the height, has the body, has the strength, but projects zero leadership. Would require some serious redemption to justify staying on the list, let alone fulfilling his physical potential and becoming a dominant player of the competition.

Tyler Brown, dunno if he has the frame to put on that much bulk?

Reef - dunno much about him, except that he won’t reach Petracca / Bontempelli / DeGoey’s current level of age and experience until the year 2027.

Do we need one of these players to step up? Do we need to recruit another? Do competitive teams need this kind of player?
Click to expand...

I think it's about power not height, but taller blokes can often carry more muscle and weight, more power, that's the bit that makes height a bit relevant.

I think mids with awesome core strength and burst speed have been the dominant player type for a fair while now: from Judd and Swan to Ablett to Dusty, Danger and Fyfe to this latest batch. It is pretty hard to match a team around stoppage when you can't physically match them.

JDG needs a lot of coaching around his stoppage work, but definitely has the power. Sounds like McInnes has the power. Sier has the power, but not the game sense or endurance.

Smoky in terms of having the power is Mcreery. I wonder if they'll ever look at him in a different role.
 
Last edited:
sr36 said:
I think it's about power not height, but taller blokes can often carry more muscle and weight, more power, that's the bit that makes height a bit relevant.

I think mids with awesome core strength and burst speed have been the dominant player type for a fair while now: from Judd and Swan to Dusty, Danger and Fyfe to this latest batch. It is pretty hard to match a team around stoppage when you can't physically match them.

JDG needs a lot of coaching around his stoppage work, but definitely has the power. Sounds like McInnes has the power. Sier has the power, but not the game sense or endurance.

Smoky in terms of having the power is Mcreery. I wonder if they'll ever look at him in a different role.
Click to expand...
Sier definitely has the power but footy is just a game to him - he is extremely unlikely to be willing to sacrifice enough to rise from mediocrity.
 
Isn't Nick 6 foot tall, similar height to Jason Horne - Francis and Sam Walsh from memory...

Edit:
Screenshot_20210926-163334.png
 
Last edited:

(Log in to remove this ad.)

Harry O said:
I think you might be confusing Nick and Josh Daicos. Nick is a few inches taller than Josh
Click to expand...
I don't think Noble is a good physical comparison either, but Daicos isn't likely to become a brute, so the point is still the same. However he's got dancing feet and a super sharp mind, so he may be able to avoid tackles as effectively as these brutishly strong players break them, but he's still going to be at a disadvantage in the push and shove. Not suggesting he won't be a star, but I am questioning if hell be elite in terms of stoppage.
 
Last edited:
Harry O said:
I think you might be confusing Nick and Josh Daicos. Nick is a few inches taller than Josh
Click to expand...

My random internet source lists Josh at 179 and Nick at 180cm.

Obviously an 18 yo (Nick) has much more scope to add a few cm and a stack of kg’s compared with a 24 yo (Noble)

But as far as picking a player from our list who has the closest size to Nick today, I couldn’t find a closer one than Noble. Happy to be corrected.
 
He will never be that 6 foot 4 mid like Bont or Cripps but at 184 he is hardly small and looking at his body shape I think at 21 he will bear little resemblance to Noble ( he is already bigger than him)
 
sr36 said:
I think it's about power not height, but taller blokes can often carry more muscle and weight, more power, that's the bit that makes height a bit relevant.

I think mids with awesome core strength and burst speed have been the dominant player type for a fair while now: from Judd and Swan to Ablett to Dusty, Danger and Fyfe to this latest batch. It is pretty hard to match a team around stoppage when you can't physically match them.

JDG needs a lot of coaching around his stoppage work, but definitely has the power. Sounds like McInnes has the power. Sier has the power, but not the game sense or endurance.

Smoky in terms of having the power is Mcreery. I wonder if they'll ever look at him in a different role.
Click to expand...




Sent from my iPad using BigFooty.com
 
Of our list I'd say and comparing to the Grand Final sides

Inside dynamic, goal-scoring mid
De Goey is clearly the most like Petracca/Martin/Bontempelli.
I thought the signs were very good for DeGoey in 2H21. He tried his arse off and got also offered more defensively.
He can also stick a tackle and is on the move at stoppages.
Nothing wrong with his clearance capacity. But he doesn't have a ruckman who is as good at palming as Gawn nor does he have an inside mid with good hands as Oliver to feed it out and create space.

Inside mid with burst pace
I'd think Reef could be a bit more like Clayton Oliver, being the quickest at his draft camp.
Clarry is very quick to burst away from the stoppage and has elite hands.
Not sure what Reef's work in close is like.
He'll need to get stronger in the core to bullock like Oliver does, despite not having the biggest/bulkiest frame.

Treloar a bit like this for the Bulldogs at his best but his vision is not as good as Oliver, nor his defensive work.

More Outside than inside, good user
Scott Pendlebury is possibly more like Jack Macrae?
Good user of the ball and best on the outside of the contest.
Macrae's height gives him the added string to his bow of being able to hold the ball above his opponent and release by hand to the outside like Pendlebury.

For mine, Nick Daicos presents more like this, but without the size of Jack Macrae or Pendles.
Knows how to find the ball and uses it well.
Knightmare likens him to being like Zach Merrett.

Inside pure grunt, but sketchy disposal
Adams is more like Viney and Liberatore. Hard as a cats head, but disposal by foot lets him down.
Dogs also have Dunkley to add to the mix here.

Wings - one of our biggest deficiencies versus the Grand Finalists.
Our wingers are not anywhere near as good as Melbourne's or Bulldogs.
Langdon's endurance running and pace is elite. Bailey Smith is very good too in that respect.
Brayshaw is very good around the contest and adds hardness and attack on the ball.
Hunter is also a very good compliment to the Bulldogs midfield.

Rucks
Gawn is a better tap ruckman and mark around the ground than Grundy.
Jackson is a very capable and mobile back up. He changed the game a bit for them yesterday.
Gawn actually told Goodwin to let Jackson continue in the middle as he was winning clearances.

Bulldogs are weak in this area.

Grundy is better than anything the Bulldogs can throw up.
 
Last edited:
76woodenspooners said:
Perhaps the biggest subplot of the 2021 Grand Final was the Cristian Petracca show versus the Marcus Bontempelli show.

One of those two was always destined to wear the Norm Smith around their neck.

Petracca 186cm, 97kg, 25 yo
Bontempelli 192cm, 85kg, 25 yo

The modern ‘it’ player seems to be the tall, strong, big bodied midfielder who oozes onfield leadership, and who can rip a game apart by themselves.

Nick ‘The messiah’ Daicos as amazingly amazing as he is, has much the same body type as John Noble. Yes I’m serious. So Saint Nickolas doesn’t project as that player.

Candidates on our list today …

Jordan DeGoey 188cm, 92kg, 25 yo
Brayden Sier 191, 88kg, 23 yo
Tyler Brown 188, 77kg, 21 yo
Reef McInnis 192, 84kg, 19 yo

(Scott Pendlebury 191, 91kg, 33 yo)

Pendlebury is obviously a different kind of player and he’s in his autumn years. He’s not really that inside type player who uses his strength to beat his enemies into submission.

DeGoey is the same generation as Petracca and Bontempelli, but clearly hasn’t reached anything like their consistency. Would require some maturity to catch up.

Sier has the height, has the body, has the strength, but projects zero leadership. Would require some serious redemption to justify staying on the list, let alone fulfilling his physical potential and becoming a dominant player of the competition.

Tyler Brown, dunno if he has the frame to put on that much bulk?

Reef - dunno much about him, except that he won’t reach Petracca / Bontempelli / DeGoey’s current level of age and experience until the year 2027.

Do we need one of these players to step up? Do we need to recruit another? Do competitive teams need this kind of player?
Click to expand...

Clearly the Goey is that player with that potential, very high ceiling, very unlikely to recruit one with similar attributes, don't grow on trees.

For all the criticism Goey has, he does have that potential, can be a match winner, can be a Dusty or Trac.

Hopefully under the wing of a fresh coaching panel, he'll become that.

And yes we need ALL of these players to step up.

Rumor is the bear is going.
 
Albert Parker said:
Wings - one of our biggest deficiencies versus the Grand Finalists.
Our wingers are not anywhere near as good as Melbourne's or Bulldogs.
Langdon's endurance running and pace is elite. Bailey Smith is very good too in that respect.
Brayshaw is very good around the contest and adds hardness and attack on the ball.
Hunter is also a very good compliment to the Bulldogs midfield.
Click to expand...

Great post Albert! Particularly this bit.

We gave away tank with Phillips and Sides is in sharp decline, but is still a two way runner, doesn't have pace like Langdon either.

I see Josh as the fill gap here, he could be a very good wingman, potential to be as good a user as Bailey Smith and as much two way running. In fact I hope the coaching staff groom him here, doesn't have the leg speed but can be useful with ball speed.

And as much as the Hyphen cops it on these boards he also has potential to be a very good wingman, and has shown it in the past (like Josh has too).

Ok he doesn't have a tank like Phillips, Langdon or Sides used to have but he can be a great link up wingman, instead of a two way running wingman, and can be a good ball user.

All of that is potential unrealized or inconsistent at best, but if we can have a 2020 Josh on the wing and 2018 hyphen on the other, coupled with a suitable game for the list as a whole - it's not a bad as it seems.

And as half forwards / backs are somewhat considered mids these days you can see why they bat so deep at the kennel, dees not far behind there either. I'd like Sides to regain his good ball use as a pinch hitting half forward (more a scoreboard forward than a mid).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

swoop42
Analysis How tall is too tall? Charting our pathway to September.
2
Replies
39
Views
2K
magpiemaniac44
magpiemaniac44
pablo disco bar
Universal Love 10 years of big footy
Replies
5
Views
515
Rooosterboy
R
nahnah
Analysis Is our club too big?
2
Replies
29
Views
1K
Penski
P
domus
Big Name Players Who Came to The Pies Late in Their Careers.
2 3 4
Replies
84
Views
2K
manicpie
manicpie
TradeDraft
Roast Why No Blame for the Midfield?
2
Replies
42
Views
1K
TradeDraft
TradeDraft
unplugged
  • Locked
Strategy Changes & Pre-match Discussion - Round 13 vs. Melbourne, MCG Mon 12/06, 3:20pm BIG FREEZE
22 23 24 25 26
Replies
639
Views
21K
Anzacday
Anzacday
magpielicious
Toast Settles the argument about who is the biggest once and for all, you're welcome!
Replies
9
Views
609
domus
domus

Remove this Banner Ad

Back
Top