Analysis Assessing the Midfield

[Godfather32]

Definitely. We have good depth at the moment though with the kids.

Think we're short on young mids of good quality actually. I'm hoping Aisnworth and Brayshaw turn into good options but in all honesty they're both long shots. Partington is no chance, will be off the list soon enough. Venables looks like a decent player, but he doesn't find anywhere near enough of the ball.

 

[WCE1698]

Think we're short on young mids of good quality actually. I'm hoping Aisnworth and Brayshaw turn into good options but in all honesty they're both long shots. Partington is no chance, will be off the list soon enough. Venables looks like a decent player, but he doesn't find anywhere near enough of the ball.

You named a few already, which is a good start. Add Willie and Mallen to the list. Petch is a chance to be a winger.

 

[Godfather32]

You named a few already, which is a good start. Add Willie and Mallen to the list. Petch is a chance to be a winger.

They're all outside shots at being AFL caliber midfielders besides Willie imo. I'm not saying dump them or anything but I don't think we should just rest on our laurels and assume we have our future midfield already on the list so we don't need to keep drafting any.

 

[Candiru]

Definitely. We have good depth at the moment though with the kids.

Do we have midfield depth? How do we know?

 

[WCE1698]

Do we have midfield depth? How do we know?

Well through assessing the players on our list we can make an assumption on whether we do or don't.

 

[Candiru]

Well through assessing the players on our list we can make an assumption on whether we do or don't.

I don't think we have much midfield depth. The kids are more or less untried.

 

[WCE1698]

I don't think we have much midfield depth. The kids are more or less untried.

We will get some this trade/draft period and we will be sweet.

 

[Candiru]

We will get some this trade/draft period and we will be sweet.

Maybe. But look at the list at the moment. There's not much depth.

 

[WCE1698]

Maybe. But look at the list at the moment. There's not much depth.

This is the most depth we've had in ages. The forward line is packed. Defence is solid. Rucks decent. Mids not bad. Overall quite good.
Plus a lot of our half forwards can play midfield. Cripps, Venables, Rioli are all capable.

 

[Candiru]

This is the most depth we've had in ages. The forward line is packed. Defence is solid. Rucks decent. Mids not bad. Overall quite good.
Plus a lot of our half forwards can play midfield. Cripps, Venables, Rioli are all capable.

Yeah but midfield specifically. I don't think we have much depth there at all.

If you were to build an U25 midfield from our current list, how would it look?

Yeo leads it, having just turned 25. Sheed is there. Then what? It's not a big deal in the short term. All our flag midfielders are still in their 20s. But I reckon we need to keep drafting midfielders.

 

[The Falcon Strike]

^ agree

If nothing else - it creates pressure from underneath

I’m not sure you can trust rioli’s hamstrings to play midfield full time

We’ve played a fairly old skool 7 man midfield all season - not sure how long that can be successful - particularly if you have multiple injuries

Sheed was able to cover gaff heroically - but who else comes in if someone else goes down - the cupboard is pretty bare especially if the role is a 100% midfield role as was our style

 

[ziad]

You can never have enough midfield depth and quality - we just need to keep improving.

 

[FKASC]

The list assessment at the end of last year by our club was spot on. Adding to the forward line and backing in our current batch of midfielders had me melting after our last draft. Such a great move by all involved at the club.

It was pretty risky given it’s where we fell down so many times in the past... but I wonder whether they wanted to give it one last crack with NN back and a slightly different mix following Priddis’s departure.

 

[Godfather32]

It was pretty risky given it’s where we fell down so many times in the past... but I wonder whether they wanted to give it one last crack with NN back and a slightly different mix following Priddis’s departure.

Glad they did

 

[avishka5]

Anyone else see Sheed languishing in the two's if we land Kelly and the team is fit?

One of Simmo's best moves this year was not filling the forward line with mids and I can't see him going away from it.

 

[Yippy Yi Yeo]

Anyone else see Sheed languishing in the two's if we land Kelly and the team is fit?

One of Simmo's best moves this year was not filling the forward line with mids and I can't see him going away from it.

Not sure how sheed ends up in the 2's if he gets close to even remotely continuing his end of season form. From the port game onwards he averaged 28 touches, 0.7 goals, 6 marks, 5 clearances and 11 contested possessions. Those are genuinely elite stats, if he can bring up his one weakness, tackling, from 1 to 3 or 4 a game and maintain everything else he will be a star.

 

[Biggie]

Anyone else see Sheed languishing in the two's if we land Kelly and the team is fit?

You can languish on the Freo board if you keep posting tripe son

 

[Astro7]

Anyone else see Sheed languishing in the two's if we land Kelly and the team is fit?

One of Simmo's best moves this year was not filling the forward line with mids and I can't see him going away from it.

hard to see that happening tbh, if not named onfield then a rotating benchwarmer surely?
but raises an interesting situation...Masten? clearly someone gets pushed down the line, to the outer..

 

[KERRPOW]

Anyone else see Sheed languishing in the two's if we land Kelly and the team is fit?

One of Simmo's best moves this year was not filling the forward line with mids and I can't see him going away from it.

Masto more like it. Kelly can play inside/outside.

Shuey, Yeo, Redden, Kelly, Gaff, Sheed and Hutchings as your starting mids with 1 on the bench.

Rioli, Ryan, Venables, Lecca and Cripps are forwards who could spend a few minutes in there aswell.

Masten, Mallen, Petch, Ainsworth and Brayshaw are depth. Parto too if he ia still around.

Midfield depth is easier to cover IMO. we saw how we struggled when darling and kennedy were both out of the team at the same time.

 

[eaglesnutcase]

The most telling thing the Eagles have done [ other than moving on Mitchell and Priddis ] is concentrating on players who can mark! We saw Port years ago try a frenetic paced ,play on at all costs style and they burned out. Bullies went the same way and got a premiership but it took its toll.Richmond play the same but ultimately their little "run,run,run" ferrets got monstered by Big Cox. They chased Lynch for his size and marking but he will ultimately change their style of football as they will become more direct.WCE have Barass,Hurn,Gov,Yo,Reddan,JK,JD, Ryan,Rioli,Lecca and more who are all strong marks.I was hoping to play Richmond in the GF as i was more confident of beating them than Colliewobble.We changed the face of football;Throw in two ruckmen who can mark and it showed that kicking and marking can overwhelm running and handballing.Players like Sheed came to the fore because he didnt need to twist or turn or look for option two or three; he just got boot to ball as fast as possible because all players knew we had awesome marking power everywhere.Where to next year? Not sure! I doubt Hickey gives us the mobility/physicality that Lycett gave us.As previously stated Sheed has to start tackling,Lecca probably phased out,Masten will be looking over his shoulder,Venners has huge improvement,Yo will go to another level and has the game to win a Brownlow.Ainsworth and Brayshaw will push hard along with Petrol,Watson,OAllen,Mallen and Brander.Brander is interesting;Hes a terrific mark but in a WAFL game he charged through and picked the ball up one handed without breaking stride and shot out a left hand handball.Hes got the class and size to be a rather decent midfielder let alone KPP.Change is inevitable and a must.God help us its only October!

 

[Candiru]

I reckon the biggest difference has been committing to Yeo in the midfield and finally getting the best out of Redden. That has rebuilt the core of the engine room very quickly, around two guys who are 6'2 and play a contested style. From there, Sheed plays a supporting role, Gaff has gone to another level and Shuey doesn't have to should that burden on the inside.

 

[Astro7]

Since no Kelly, what do people think of AhChee's chances of improving/becoming that solid midfielder in another shot at finals 2019. Good mark and kick. Didn't appear to have the tank yet or get enough regular gametime to find his mojo...? But another preseason could see him reinvented...?

 

[The wily weagle]

Venables looks like a decent player, but he doesn't find anywhere near enough of the ball.

Completely agree. The kid has a lot of potential, but he needs to be getting his hands on the ball a bit more in 2019

 

[Candiru]

Since no Kelly, what do people think of AhChee's chances of improving/becoming that solid midfielder in another shot at finals 2019. Good mark and kick. Didn't appear to have the tank yet or get enough regular gametime to find his mojo...? But another preseason could see him reinvented...?

It really depends how many midfielders we pick.

Is he going to leapfrog any of Yeo, Gaff, Shuey, Redden or Sheed? Can he do a job the way Hutchings does? Even then, Masten and Venables have him covered at this stage and I reckon we'll want to have another look at Ainsworth and give Brayshaw a run next year.

I still reckon Ah Chee's most likely niche is as a mid-sized forward option who brings a defensive edge in our front half.

 

[Yippy Yi Yeo]

Since no Kelly, what do people think of AhChee's chances of improving/becoming that solid midfielder in another shot at finals 2019. Good mark and kick. Didn't appear to have the tank yet or get enough regular gametime to find his mojo...? But another preseason could see him reinvented...?

Liked what I saw of him this year, if he can get a full pre season this time and really build up his tank I think at worst case he is good cheap depth. Definitely has the tools to take it up a level though, relatively tidy kick, great handpass and mark, the key will be staying healthy and being fit enough to find more of the ball. Don't think he'll ever be an A grader but I can see him being a solid contributer given the chance. Don't mind him on the list at all.

Completely agree. The kid has a lot of potential, but he needs to be getting his hands on the ball a bit more in 2019

Have to remember he is a bottom ager who IIRC played less than half a season of WAFL in his first season due to injury, only turns 20 tomorrow. Second full pre season coming up, he should be able to build on his fitness substantially, especially after playing most of a season this year. The Melbourne game showed he is capable of collecting more of the ball, the challenge for him will be to bridge the gap between his worst and best, eliminating the sub 10 disposal games.

Given that Lecras has retired now, I'd like to see Venables spend 80/20 forward/midfield time, and to aim for 15 disposals, 1 goal and 4-5 tackles a game for the 2019 season, which I think is realistic and more than likely.