Roast How diabolical is our midfield?

[Go the Guts]

Until we get in 2 A grade midfield guns we are going nowhere near being competitive.
All of our forward talent will go to waste unless we make this priority #1 for the next 2 years.
Our midfield has been shite since Ricciuto Goodwin McLeod Edwards.

Also, Butts just doesn't look up to it. Doedee is 100% gone. Our defence is a long way off.

 

[Crow till I die]

With the same midfield we have thumped carlton, beat port, thumped st kilda and beat brisbane at home with, we have lost to the dogs, cats, GC and GWS away with.

To me its a mental application issue. Why we can be a vastly more confident and stronger side on our home deck but be flakey and reactive away is a detriment to the coaching staff and player attitudes when the going gets tough.

We expect inconsistency with youth...you can live with that early BUT elite standards have to dictate that soon enough the effort level and mental application has to be consistent no matter where the side plays.

Of course getting in more A grade talent helps...but as a collective they need to learn fast what is unacceptable and rip it out of their play

 

[Southerntakeover]

Why do people keep pretending that beating Carlton is still impressive?

 

[Jeffcrowe]

Make no mistake Laird is still our best stoppage player. He is an A grader. He's clearly been carrying something and when he goes missing, we fall apart. He'll be 30 next year though, he wont keep this up for much longer.

We're not getting top 5 picks anymore, and this years draft is full for defenders and forwards at the top end. Hindsight now but we were better off trying to trade our future first for Rankine and take a mid this draft (Humphrey/Phillipou).

Shoenberg is in the discard pile but Soligo and Berry are still very young and have shown enough to suggest they can become good future pieces, need to back them in. Stop playing Keays and and Sloane in there and back the kids as see what they can do.

keays has been taking oppo best mids which helps others

schoenberg needs games and to be backed in, too early to discard , play him midfield next week, perfect time to do it

berry looks a shadow of his self at moment , not sure whats wrong

soligo is our laird long time replacement, not worried on that front , needs to get plenty of mid minutes now too

 

[The Perfect Stranger]

With the same midfield we have thumped carlton, beat port, thumped st kilda and beat brisbane at home with, we have lost to the dogs, cats, GC and GWS away with.

To me its a mental application issue. Why we can be a vastly more confident and stronger side on our home deck but be flakey and reactive away is a detriment to the coaching staff and player attitudes when the going gets tough.

We expect inconsistency with youth...you can live with that early BUT elite standards have to dictate that soon enough the effort level and mental application has to be consistent no matter where the side plays.

Of course getting in more A grade talent helps...but as a collective they need to learn fast what is unacceptable and rip it out of their play

With this group we may get a 1-year spike but there is not enough talent or depth to get the desired 3-to-5-year premiership window.

 

[Drummond]

I can’t believe we’re losing this game with our STACKED midfield. Why aren’t A graders like Laird stepping up?

 

[DJ75]

Midfield is awful. An absolute failure of a rebuild when you can't add a single gun mid through the draft when you are rebuilding.

 

[cleanhands]

Redman will sign during the week

 

[Geoffa32]

Midfield is awful. An absolute failure of a rebuild when you can't add a single gun mid through the draft when you are rebuilding.

Rachele and Pedlar will be A grade/close to elite.


Just need to give them Sloane's CBA time.


If we get Redmond I would put in the midfield too. Could be the carrot to get him here.

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[NTRabbit]

Redman will sign during the week

One more step towards the elusive 100% small forward-back flanker squad

 

[Geoffa32]

Redman will sign during the week

Bugger

On SM-A325F using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[ABAB]

I can’t believe we’re losing this game with our STACKED midfield. Why aren’t A graders like Laird stepping up?

Who said Laird is an A grader? Had potential to develop into one but now is a solid B+ grader.

 

[Cap]

I know we won't do it.

But the club needs to make a call for next year.

Get Sloane his 250 , but then he has to be selected on merit and not as a mid.

The last few weeks have to be focused on next year's midfield setup. We can't waste the rest of the year confirming Sloane, Keays and Laird as a trio are not the answer.

We need that decent pick too

 

[Scorpus]

I know we won't do it.

But the club needs to make a call for next year.

Get Sloane his 250 , but then he has to be selected on merit and not as a mid.

The last few weeks have to be focused on next year's midfield setup. We can't waste the rest of the year confirming Sloane, Keays and Laird as a trio are not the answer.

We need that decent pick too

Sloane can have his 250th against West Coast in the final round

 

[1970crow]

Sloane can have his 250th against West Coast in the final round

Playing with 17 on the field is the fair thing to do though.

 

[The Perfect Stranger]

Still to recruit our future midfield.

 

[Cap]

Sloane can have his 250th against West Coast in the final round

We aren't making finals, I say the sooner the better so we can move on.

I wouldn't want him playing in that game.

 

[DJ75]

I know we won't do it.

But the club needs to make a call for next year.

Get Sloane his 250 , but then he has to be selected on merit and not as a mid.

The last few weeks have to be focused on next year's midfield setup. We can't waste the rest of the year confirming Sloane, Keays and Laird as a trio are not the answer.

We need that decent pick too

We should, but we won't.
We are playing for finals now. Any thought about development has gone.

 

[Cap]

We should, but we won't.
We are playing for finals now. Any thought about development has gone.

I'm for re signing Nick's

But I fear you are right. We are yet , as far as I can tell, to become ruthless

 

[Rory Walkerfield]

Our midfield has to be in the worst few midfields in the comp. And has been for years. The fact we haven’t rectified this is a blight on the club.

 

[1990crow]

Midfield is nowhere near it.

And without that rolled gold prospect yet on the list (and no experience) we are currently in no man's land.

 

[spenze]

In Vietnam for the next few weeks, didn’t watch the game but I can guess how it went. Seen that story too many times before

 

[Jcpdragonx]

How can people blame Laird. 18 contested today. Dawson ok. The 3rd person has been a complete liability. The best option right now as the 3rd is Keays and hes been taken out of centre bounces.

 

[Crow till I die]

I think its coaching at the centre bounce and how they set up at general stoppages in play. Essendon were fast and always on the move at stoppages and always handballed to running players rather than stationary players.

Until we work a more dynamic system, we are conceding easy ball to the opposition and its hurting. Unless we have another absolute A grader or 2 in there that can turn the tide ourway in spite of the coaching, we need to put the blowtorch onto the midfield coaching group

 

[MsTopG]

I think its coaching at the centre bounce and how they set up at general stoppages in play. Essendon were fast and always on the move at stoppages and always handballed to running players rather than stationary players.

Until we work a more dynamic system, we are conceding easy ball to the opposition and its hurting. Unless we have another absolute A grader or 2 in there that can turn the tide ourway in spite of the coaching, we need to put the blowtorch onto the midfield coaching group

We need a new midfield coach. Also need a better tap ruck and another decent mid. Hopefully we pick one up at the trade or draft.