Josh Dunkley: One of the best inside mids in the comp tbh

[100action]

Inb4 bulldogs board

He never gets a mention by neutrals but I genuinely think he is one of the best inside mids in the comp.

After Round 6 when Beveridge discovered he should actually be played in the guts and not forward, he has played some absolute MONSTROUS games where he was BOG by a long margin or tied for BOG:

Round 7: 35 touches (15 contested), 8 tackles, 5 clearances, 134 SC points
Round 8: 36 touches (22 contested), 8 tackles, 10 clearances, 136 SC points
Round 10: 41 touches (20 contested), 10 tackles, 6 clearances, 173 SC points
Round 17: 39 touches (24 contested), 15 tackles, 9 clearances, 202 SC points
Round 18: 38 touches (20 contested), 5 tackles, 9 clearances, 127 SC points
Round 21: 39 touches (20 contested), 3 tackles, 6 clearances, 153 SC points
Round 22: 31 touches (13 contested), 10 tackles, 8 clearances, 169 SC points

AND Its not like he was bad in other games either, where he was getting around 26-32 touches, heaps of contested footy and scoring about 100-110 SC points (yes, yes I know SC is not everything, but it has become a somewhat reliable indicator of performances most of the time).

Right now, on form throughout the second half of the year, he has slightly eclipsed the Bont who are both ahead of a pretty stacked midfield (Macrae, Hunter, Mclean, Lipinski, Duryea, Smith who are all in ripping form).

Very good, punishing tackler as well:

 

[Substance]

From the AA thread, credit to Damon_3388


And Sydney DID let him go. According to Andrew Dunkley, there was no deal to let him stay in Victoria. When the Dogs chose him with pick 25, Sydney only had the leftover points of about pick 31. They would have needed to go into points deficit of around 150 for the 2016 draft, the equivalent of pick 59. So instead of matching the bid, they ended up with 2 players, Tyrone Leonardis & Jordan Dawson, and the 150 points saved, which didn't make a difference.

 

[WWSD]

I actually think he’s a smokey for the Brownlow. Very good chance of finishing top 5 in the voting. I reckon he will poll more votes than Bontempelli.

 

[Big Sauce 21]

Not even the best at the club.

 

[Juddernaut08]

Wont happen but be cool if their big 3 all make AA

 

[AlwaysHawks15]

Worpel goes alright too. Is a big chance to win our bnf as a 20 year old. An amazing year. A clearance machine.

 

[Kwality]

Dont worry he'll be ranked ahead of any of the Eagles mids.

 

[Golden_6]

We have the best midfield in the comp. Dunkley is unreal but he won’t make it this year. Macrae and Bont deserve the team 100%.

 

[Dom PC]

Bulldogs are a high possession team so it's not that surprising to see a few doggies players with high disposal numbers. Dunkley has become a good player for sure. But he's just that, a good player. Being a bit overrated atm if the OP is being really genuine here.

 

[MagicGnome97]

We have the best midfield in the comp. Dunkley is unreal but he won’t make it this year. Macrae and Bont deserve the team 100%.

just about. its your ruck that lets you down compared to some other clubs. eg. grundy has absolutely murdered Tim English both times we have played you guys this year. Total domination. that being said, your midfield for the most part got the better of ours. Adams is our most important midfielder however, we look soooo bloody much better when he is playing in the middle. no coincidence that our midfield has actually looked good for the first time in a while this week.

 

[conrad_437]

Bulldogs are a high possession team so it's not that surprising to see a few doggies players with high disposal numbers. Dunkley has become a good player for sure. But he's just that, a good player. Being a bit overrated atm if the OP is being really genuine here.

Is standing out in a midfield that includes Bontempelli and Macrae at the moment. That's no mean feat and I wouldn't put it down to the bulldogs being a "high possession team", which is the case anyway because our midfield is so dominant.

 

[kaiserchief13]

He is a gun, but if the Dogs mids are so good why have they lost so many games?

 

[MagicGnome97]

He is a gun, but if the Dogs mids are so good why have they lost so many games?

no forward line. toothless and very wasteful. IIRC against collingwood they were very poor in terms of accuracy in front of goal. and they have been like that for other games as well.

 

[Dom PC]

Is standing out in a midfield that includes Bontempelli and Macrae at the moment. That's no mean feat and I wouldn't put it down to the bulldogs being a "high possession team", which is the case anyway because our midfield is so dominant.

You can call it a dominant midfield if you like... it just translates to a high disposal team. Against Brisbane 3 weeks ago you guys had around 80 more disposals and yet lost by 3 goals. You might call that a dominant midfield game, yet you lost the contested possession count by more than 10 in that game...

As I was saying, he has turned into a good midfielder, but I feel his stats are inflated a bit due to the Bulldogs style of play. He is being a bit overrated by the OP IMO. He's got a way to go before he's considered one of the best inside mids in the comp.

 

[Scary_Foot_9]

He is a gun, but if the Dogs mids are so good why have they lost so many games?

Cause we suck against the bottom of the ladder and all the teams that play us like to sack their coach causing us to lose.

If not for those two things we might be looking at a double chance.

 

[Checkered]

He is a gun, but if the Dogs mids are so good why have they lost so many games?

You're full blown nuff hey

Take a look at their back and forward lines and the answer is pretty obvious isn't it

 

[Stan Van Gundy]

Haven't watched a lot of him this year but from memory he was a pretty average kick, shocking at times really. Has he improved that part of his game? Those are some impressive stats though, no doubt.

 

[Dogs_r_barking]

He is a gun, but if the Dogs mids are so good why have they lost so many games?

We are still one of the three youngest sides every week, mainly in KPP. However we have beaten Geelong, Richmond, Brisbane, GWS, Essendon and Port all teams in the top eight throughout the year.

 

[Dogs_r_barking]

You can call it a dominant midfield if you like... it just translates to a high disposal team. Against Brisbane 3 weeks ago you guys had around 80 more disposals and yet lost by 3 goals. You might call that a dominant midfield game, yet you lost the contested possession count by more than 10 in that game...

As I was saying, he has turned into a good midfielder, but I feel his stats are inflated a bit due to the Bulldogs style of play. He is being a bit overrated by the OP IMO. He's got a way to go before he's considered one of the best inside mids in the comp.

If we had of kicked straighter....and we did beat you earlier in the year.

 

[Crashy]

Haven't watched a lot of him this year but from memory he was a pretty average kick, shocking at times really. Has he improved that part of his game? Those are some impressive stats though, no doubt.

Turnover machine that’s why he gets zero attention from the opposition

A good player that’s about it

 

[Judd2Sewell]

Absolute beast

 

[the dog's kennel]

He has improved a lot this year. But imo he needs to take one more step up to be in the elite. Right now he is just a very good player (elite in applying pressure, no doubt) let down by ordinary disposal.

His disposal has definitely improved this year as well. But not enough.

 

[Furn2]

Best player 22 and under in the comp this year according afl player ratings.

 

[Bulldog1954]

Turnover machine that’s why he gets zero attention from the opposition

A good player that’s about it

39th in the league for turnovers.

 

[Substance]

Turnover machine that’s why he gets zero attention from the opposition

A good player that’s about it

Stats don't support that. If you compare his numbers to your own inside mid he's averaging an extra 1.0 turnover per game, but more than makes up for it with an extra 1.4 intercepts per game.

He is a good player. Very very good. That's why he's averaging 4.8 AFLCA votes per game since round 7. #1 in the AFL.