Analysis Assessing the Midfield

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We are flush with guys who can play KPF.

I am really bullish on Williams. He's like a KPF slanted version of Slyce.

Post JJK :)'( ):

Jack and Oallen to share FF/CHF duties. Williams chopping out Nic (hopefully) or Vardy/Hickey (probably).

Leaves us in a conundrum of what to do with Snake and Brander. We possibly have space for one link-up 3rd tall playing higher up the ground but hrmm...we are going to have an AFL quality tall or two cooling their heels in the WAFL it seems.
 
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Getting some good analyses from you guys. Im on the Brander to defence mainly because Jetta and Hurn are both getting on.We rely on their elite kicking for a lot of our attacks from defence.Who do we have coming through to replace them esp from the kicking point of view.As K.Al says the guy can pick the ball up at speed.Compare his ground control with Cole and Rotham who both go to ground.Running back in defence you must hold your feet.Brander and F.Watson both can do that.
P.S. Rookie who did you kick to the bleachers to get Kelly as your pinup??
 
Getting some good analyses from you guys. Im on the Brander to defence mainly because Jetta and Hurn are both getting on.We rely on their elite kicking for a lot of our attacks from defence.Who do we have coming through to replace them esp from the kicking point of view.As K.Al says the guy can pick the ball up at speed.Compare his ground control with Cole and Rotham who both go to ground.Running back in defence you must hold your feet.Brander and F.Watson both can do that.
P.S. Rookie who did you kick to the bleachers to get Kelly as your pinup??

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Yeoy marking the premiership cup in a crowd of Magpies.
 

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Winky

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Go knock out a quick half marathon, have a nice kip and keep us posted when you are feeling refreshed :cool:

Not knowing and seeing much of Brander I have a question for you guys. Hearing this talk of him on the wing alludes that he has a fairly big aerobic engine. In a absolute best case scenario can he play a similar role to a Nick Riewoldt type player. A player who can cover all areas of the ground including up forward and dropping back when the heat is on. I'm not saying will he become a Nick Reiwoldt but if he can read the play well, take contested marks and put it through the sticks then I am excited to what he could become
Wasn't the draft talk comparing him to a Reiwoldt type?
 

donpyke92

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Yeh, that's an interesting one.
Wonder what our recruiters had in mind for him when they jumped on that draft pick.
Hopefully Edwards comes on to play kpb & we've got a JK replacement in Brander...understand that's not how some scribes see it,
but maybe the mobility development thing is why they've been playing him wing WAFL, with forward still in mind, but running/tackling like JK previous Would love to know where they're projecting him to play
 
2019 Post Trading Update
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How the player trading period affected midfields across the competition:

2019-Player-Trade-Mids.jpg


As can be seen 2019 was a very quiet exchange period, with just a single player (T.Kelly) within the top 75 ranked midfielders changing clubs. For comparison, in the 2018 period this figure was six.

With so few moves being made it is clear the club that has benefited the most in regard to midfield supremacy is West Coast.
Not only have they retained the highest rank in the competition for midfield quality, the acquisition of T.Kelly has dramatically improved their midfield depth, moving up from 14th to 3rd.

Some other points of note include:
  • Geelong, with the loss of T.Kelly, make the largest fall in terms of quality. If J.Steven is unable to replicate previous form (8th, 18th and 19th during 2016-18) the Cats will be going into 2020 with Dangerfield as a one-man-midfield. They also now have the oldest midfield in the league.
  • The losses of B.Deledio, A.Tomlinson and A.Bonar means GWS lose the greatest amount of positions in terms of depth. With a ready-to-go bull in T.Green headed to them in the draft however, I doubt they will be too worried.
  • Fremantle made the biggest change in age profile to their midfield, moving from 2nd to 8th oldest - much of this is due to the retirement of Sandilands though.
  • The exodus from the Crows has left them with very little depth, particularly in regard to inside midfielders.
  • In picking up Ellis-Yolmen, Brisbane improved their midfield depth to 2nd in the competition and addressed a deficiency they had in terms of inside midfield numbers. For a team that is always considered so young, the age profile of Brisbane's midfield is now the 4th oldest of all clubs.
  • Sydney are looming for a dark 2020. The worst midfield ranking of all clubs in terms of both quality and depth and almost entirely reliant upon two players who will be respectively 28 and 32 years old next year. T.Papley wants to leave and C.Sinclair is turning 31. Yet the play they made during the trade period was for a full forward with a terrible history of injuries. It really does make one question what they are doing in regard to the management of their list. Fortunately for them, they didn't part with their 1st pick next year - it will probably be #2. They will be in need of it and some.
  • St Kilda, despite featuring in more exchanges than any other club, failed to improve their midfield ranking. They still have the highest rating for midfield depth in the competition however, and combined with the 4th youngest age profile, improvements in quality will soon follow organically.
  • Western Bulldogs have the youngest midfield age profile in the competition, yet also have the 2nd ranked midfield in terms of quality. It is only a matter of time before they present as a serious challenger to the premiership.
  • Richmond rankings are impacted by the number of injuries their players had during the first half of the season. At the start of the 2019 season they were ranked inside the top five clubs for both midfield quality and depth. For the period from the mid-season bye onwards, they are inside the top three for both rankings.

The Eagles now have without question the highest quality midfield at their disposal:

Mids-2019-Post-Trade-Quality.jpg


And have improved their midfield depth by a greater margin than any other club:

Mids-2019-Post-Trade-Depth.jpg



Indeed, under this ranking system, the club now has one of the strongest midfield groups it has ever assembled:

WCE-Mid-Rankings-2005-2020.jpg



Which is also the continuance of a trend which has been in place since 2016:

WCE-Mid-Quality-Depth-2005-2020.jpg



The club is in a very enviable position. One could argue that anything less than a Grand Final appearance in 2020 would be a disappointment considering the arsenal of talent it now has at its disposal.

With the midfield, so long an area of contention and weakness, now one of great strength.
 

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kerr87

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Even without Kelly our midfield + Naitanui couldnt get it done in the middle in the last third of the year. Our structures, no. of talls, gameplan and intensity at the contest was crap.

Kelly will help significantly, but a lot of other changes are needed.

We really should have gone back to back this year. Shot ourselves in the foot.
 
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Even without Kelly our midfield + Naitanui couldnt get it done in the middle in the last third of the year. Our structures, no. of talls, gameplan and intensity at the contest was crap.

Kelly will help significantly, but a lot of other changes are needed.

We really should have gone back to back this year. Shot ourselves in the foot.

I think the problem was we were too defensive in the middle last year and got bogged down. There were a number of games last year where we were running both Yeo and Hutchings defensively leaving Shuey our only dynamic mid that went forward. Gaff and Sheed tend to be more outside so if no one is feeding the ball out to them in space their impact is greatly reduced.

Hopefully with Kelly and a fit Nic Nat back we can be a little bit more proactive in the middle. Have Yeo be more offensively minded. Maybe even replace Hutchings with a more aggressive mid. Make the opposition team try to match us rather then us chasing after them.

A numbers of games this year was just watching us trying to save the game and slowly losing rather then taking the game on and trying to win it.

Hopefully Kelly's arrival with bring a change in mentality from both the players and the coaches.
 

kerr87

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I think the problem was we were too defensive in the middle last year and got bogged down. There were a number of games last year where we were running both Yeo and Hutchings defensively leaving Shuey our only dynamic mid that went forward. Gaff and Sheed tend to be more outside so if no one is feeding the ball out to them in space their impact is greatly reduced.

Hopefully with Kelly and a fit Nic Nat back we can be a little bit more proactive in the middle. Have Yeo be more offensively minded. Maybe even replace Hutchings with a more aggressive mid. Make the opposition team try to match us rather then us chasing after them.

A numbers of games this year was just watching us trying to save the game and slowly losing rather then taking the game on and trying to win it.

Hopefully Kelly's arrival with bring a change in mentality from both the players and the coaches.

Really hated Yeo playing defensively. Thought his impact in 2018 was better for the success of our team overall.

Need Yeo Shuey Kelly Naitanui just going all out attack... could take us back to 2004-2007...
 

LittleGreekGod

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Really hated Yeo playing defensively. Thought his impact in 2018 was better for the success of our team overall.

Need Yeo Shuey Kelly Naitanui just going all out attack... could take us back to 2004-2007...
Not sure where Hutchings fits into this new midfield combination.
I would imagine if Nic can stay fit we will go all out attack.
Redden can play that defensive role when needed.
 

FKASC

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Not sure where Hutchings fits into this new midfield combination.
I would imagine if Nic can stay fit we will go all out attack.
Redden can play that defensive role when needed.
Hutchings can go play WAFL. Apart from two or three good tagging jobs, he really hasn’t done much of note. He’s got his premiership medal, now it’s time to be phased out.

I would hope that we offer games to a younger midfielder instead of Hutchings, even if their output isn’t quite as high. Really don’t want role players like Hutchings holding back the development of kids
 

kerr87

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Hutchings can go play WAFL. Apart from two or three good tagging jobs, he really hasn’t done much of note. He’s got his premiership medal, now it’s time to be phased out.

I would hope that we offer games to a younger midfielder instead of Hutchings, even if their output isn’t quite as high. Really don’t want role players like Hutchings holding back the development of kids

Wasnt even tagging during the finals. Added no defensive pressure. Wasted spot.
 
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Hutchings can go play WAFL. Apart from two or three good tagging jobs, he really hasn’t done much of note. He’s got his premiership medal, now it’s time to be phased out.

I would hope that we offer games to a younger midfielder instead of Hutchings, even if their output isn’t quite as high. Really don’t want role players like Hutchings holding back the development of kids
Yep and if we need a tagger for a game or 2 we can get Redden to do it
 

frenchconnection

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has Gaff gone past Embley as a wingmen?


Yes Embers is a normie but his other accolades aren't that flashy.

Gaff is a club champ and 2 time AA.
Oh I don't know - Embley could take a good mark and knew how to kick a goal and can remember at times taking a saving mark in the backline and saving our bacon from time to time. Embley had a bit more to his game than Gaff IMO and that's not knocking Gaff in any way. Embley at his peak was a very valuable player. Unfortunately there may be some who remember Embley towards the end of his career when he was on the decline. Can remember that game at KP when we were 54 points down half way through the third quarter and we got up and took the points and the two players who stood out from memory were Kerr and Embley who got us going.
 

Astro7

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Oh I don't know - Embley could take a good mark and knew how to kick a goal and can remember at times taking a saving mark in the backline and saving our bacon from time to time. Embley had a bit more to his game than Gaff IMO and that's not knocking Gaff in any way. Embley at his peak was a very valuable player. Unfortunately there may be some who remember Embley towards the end of his career when he was on the decline. Can remember that game at KP when we were 54 points down half way through the third quarter and we got up and took the points and the two players who stood out from memory were Kerr and Embley who got us going.
I recall Embley's trademark running down the wing or into the Arc and slotting quite a few goals..not something Gaff does often.
 

The wily weagle

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The only role I can see for Ainsworth, going forward, is that of a tagger

They should be giving him that role in the WAFL because otherwise, I can't really see him making it
 

Astro7

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I think the problem was we were too defensive in the middle last year and got bogged down. There were a number of games last year where we were running both Yeo and Hutchings defensively leaving Shuey our only dynamic mid that went forward. Gaff and Sheed tend to be more outside so if no one is feeding the ball out to them in space their impact is greatly reduced.

Hopefully with Kelly and a fit Nic Nat back we can be a little bit more proactive in the middle. Have Yeo be more offensively minded. Maybe even replace Hutchings with a more aggressive mid. Make the opposition team try to match us rather then us chasing after them.

A numbers of games this year was just watching us trying to save the game and slowly losing rather then taking the game on and trying to win it.

Hopefully Kelly's arrival with bring a change in mentality from both the players and the coaches.
you put into words all my frustrations with this team last season, and my inability to explain it! Thanks!
For all the supposed coaching chops in 2018, seemed to lack some in 2019...?
Attack, Attack, Attack..Tora, Tora, Tora!
 

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