Midfield options

[worsfold]

last year we experimented with Lynch, Staker in the Middle but i read on the eagles site under player profiles there are a couple of other options we may use and would like to here your thoughts.

Hurn - who I believe if his fitness is up should certainly be in the middle and will take the game on, in his 4th year now so should get the oportunity before the younguns.

Schofield - a little left field but the Eagles believe this would be his best position, he certainly has the running capacity and from what we have seen of him has great poise a bit of a surprise for me as hes 195cm but hey if staker and lynch can so can he.

 

[greatwhiteshark]

I want class players in the guts, players who can get the ball and hit a target 9 times out of 10.
I would remove Selwood as a tagger and get him in the midfield somewhere. But as the actual position of a centremen if there is that position anymore I would go with Butler if he is fit and ready.

Any player that can't hit a target then they would not be in my midfield group going forward. (Priddis, Fletcher)

 

[MaxHunt]

Maybe swap Selwood's and Priddis' roles then, greatwhiteshark?

 

[bodazoka]

I dont see too much deviation from the pure midfield options. Adding Ebert and Masten as well as getting games into McNamara, Houlihan and Rosa should give us enough depth to cover gaps as well as Shuey and Swift who could come in if we get desperate.

Pure Midfielders:
Butler (5)
Ebert (15)
Fletcher (17)
Hurn (6)
Kerr (11)
Masten (9)
McNamara (11)
Priddis (18)
Staker (14)
Stenglien (22)
Rosa (8)
Houlihan (8)

Midfielders and Forwards/Defenders:
Embley (21)
Lynch (22)
A.Selwood (22)
S.Selwood (9)

Kids:
Shuey
Stevenson
Swift
Arrowsmith
Davis
McGinnity

IMO Hurn is a midfielder and wasent schofield named in defence in 08? I know that the AFL website says otherwise but Im sure it is just not updated to reflect his new position.

I dont see players normally named in the forward line and/or defence playing many games if any through the midfield, Lynch being the only exception.

 

[bodazoka]

Priddis is a gun.. enough of the negativity.

 

[fryzie]

Hurn has a strong body capable of breaking tackles (as I saw first hand at training a few weeks ago when he shook about 3 or 4 other Eagles off his shoulders and burst through a pack in a training drill) a penetrating, accurate kick which should be used offensively rather than defensively, has been noted for his great leadership qualities and played junior footy in the midfield. Free of injury he should be in the guts of it this year leading the kids.

 

[Art OF war]

Hurn has a strong body capable of breaking tackles (as I saw first hand at training a few weeks ago when he shook about 3 or 4 other Eagles off his shoulders and burst through a pack in a training drill) a penetrating, accurate kick which should be used offensively rather than defensively, has been noted for his great leadership qualities and played junior footy in the midfield. Free of injury he should be in the guts of it this year leading the kids.

His breakout year?

 

[greatwhiteshark]

Priddis is a gun.. enough of the negativity.

Its not being negative.

Simon Black is a gun, Cousins is a gun, Judd is a gun, Kerr is a gun................. Priddis is not a gun. Lets not try and think he is something he is not.
He is a work horse that spills his guts for us every week but the reality is he just can't dispose. Looking to the future and I am not talking about round 1 this coming year but longer term, we must inject class players. If Priddis can't hit a target now he bnever will be able to. He would make an ideal tagger a bit like Ling from Geelong. Release Selwood to be a midfielder and give the blokes you mentioned like Rosa, butler, Masten etc etc the responsability moving forward

 

[Eagle Ant]

I want class players in the guts, players who can get the ball and hit a target 9 times out of 10.
I would remove Selwood as a tagger and get him in the midfield somewhere. But as the actual position of a centremen if there is that position anymore I would go with Butler if he is fit and ready.

Any player that can't hit a target then they would not be in my midfield group going forward. (Priddis, Fletcher)

First of all GWS Why are you still calling yourself a eagles supporter when you openly stated on the Tigers page that you are defecting to tiger land???
Secondly Priddis is there for the pressure he applys inside the pack, he creates turnovers and is a quick thinker, most of his turnovers are due to the fact he is inside a pack of 6 players trying to get the ball out to our players to break free. Not a bad thing.

I dont see too much deviation from the pure midfield options. Adding Ebert and Masten as well as getting games into McNamara, Houlihan and Rosa should give us enough depth to cover gaps as well as Shuey and Swift who could come in if we get desperate.

Pure Midfielders:
Butler (5)
Ebert (15)
Fletcher (17)
Hurn (6)
Kerr (11)
Masten (9)
McNamara (11)
Priddis (18)
Staker (14)
Stenglien (22)
Rosa (8)
Houlihan (8)

Midfielders and Forwards/Defenders:
Embley (21)
Lynch (22)
A.Selwood (22)
S.Selwood (9)

Kids:
Shuey
Stevenson
Swift
Arrowsmith
Davis
McGinnity

Staker has Never been a pure midfielder.
He is either a Half Forward Flaker or a Rebounding Defender but Not a midfielder, he just want more midfield time.
I would put him in the same compacity Lynch.
Embley is and always has been a wingman.
A.Selwood is a Tagger
S.Selwood is a Midfielder

Weve adapted these players to fit into the team as we lack specific positions, eg another small defender ergo we play players like Hurn, Selwoods, Davis and Embley in these roles.
Alot of the kids that we saw last year we wont see again this year (hopefully) as they played because we had inexess of 15 injuries last year at 1 time.
Its highly unlikely that will happen again.
The players that we are likely to see in small doses are:
B.Ebert
C.Masten
McNamara
McGinnity
Houlihan

these will only play when 1 player has been dropped or gets injuried.
These are the players that will be infront of them to get picked.
A.Selwood
S.Butler
M.Priddis
D.Kerr
T.Stenglein
S.Hurn
C.Fletcher
M.Rosa
A.Embley
Then we have the part time mids in:
Waters
Staker
Lynch
Nicoski
B.Jones
LeCras
Not including
Brown
Kennedy
McKinley
Hunter
Wilkes
Glass
Cox
Seaby
a Total of 23 players there.
WCE have always shown faith in the older players and have bleed the rookies slowly, I dont think they see this as a rebuilding year but more as a rebounding year.
we wont see too many 1st year players unless we have another spate of injuries.

 

[bodazoka]

Secondly Priddis is there for the pressure he applys inside the pack, he creates turnovers and is a quick thinker, most of his turnovers are due to the fact he is inside a pack of 6 players trying to get the ball out to our players to break free. Not a bad thing.

Exactly true, and he is one of the only guys who consistantly gets in and gets the ball out wether its a quick kick or a handball when he has the ball its on its way to getting out of the pack.

Staker has Never been a pure midfielder.
He is either a Half Forward Flaker or a Rebounding Defender but Not a midfielder, he just want more midfield time.
I would put him in the same compacity Lynch.

I know I was projecting towards 2009 when by all accounts he will specifically be a midfielder first and a forward/defender second. Probably should of put him in the Lynch group, but I like him in the midfield so any chance I get to stick him in there I will

Embley is and always has been a wingman.
A.Selwood is a Tagger
S.Selwood is a Midfielder.

Ive seen more than a few games where both selwoods have played back, you even mention it later in the post... S.Selwood spent the whole game there vs Geelong R22 I believe. Embley has also added another string by playing in multiple positions well throughout 2008, hence he is in the Lynch category.

Actually.. reading the rest of your post im not sure why you tried to correct me as you agree with the positions ive placed these players in anyway...

 

[greatwhiteshark]

First of all GWS Why are you still calling yourself a eagles supporter when you openly stated on the Tigers page that you are defecting to tiger land???
Secondly Priddis is there for the pressure he applys inside the pack, he creates turnovers and is a quick thinker, most of his turnovers are due to the fact he is inside a pack of 6 players trying to get the ball out to our players to break free. Not a bad thing.

Eagle Ant I did not openly state I was defecting, what I said and what I have done is Purchase a one off Interstate Tigers membership as my own little personel stance against our club for turning their back on their greatest player. I know our club does not give two hoots about my personel stance as you or anyone else probably doesn't. But it made myself feel better and I openly wrote a letter to the club about my feelings on the matter. And to be honest I could not give a toss what you or anyone else feels about that anyway. I am a fully paid up member of the Eagles and have been since day dot. The Eagles are who I support and follow.

I also was rewarding the Tigers for being the only AFL club that made football a priority and drafted the best available talent instead of the best available Alter boy.

Why do we always have to make excuses for players who do not produce? But you know as well as I do he can't dispose of the ball efficiently to be a midfielder. Why make the excuse that he always has 6 blokes around him? He is a ball magnet and a tireless worker, he cannot kick. That seems a pretty big problem in my view for an AFL midfielder.

 

[worsfold]

Its not being negative.

Simon Black is a gun, Cousins is a gun, Judd is a gun, Kerr is a gun................. Priddis is not a gun. Lets not try and think he is something he is not.
He is a work horse that spills his guts for us every week but the reality is he just can't dispose. Looking to the future and I am not talking about round 1 this coming year but longer term, we must inject class players. If Priddis can't hit a target now he bnever will be able to. He would make an ideal tagger a bit like Ling from Geelong. Release Selwood to be a midfielder and give the blokes you mentioned like Rosa, butler, Masten etc etc the responsability moving forward

I would have to agree in the case of selwood he is too good just to be a tagger we (WCE) could benefit greatly if he was released from that role.

 

[fryzie]

His breakout year?

Without a doubt.

In his player summary Wiseby compared Hurn to Michael Voss, who only averaged 9, 10 and 14 disposals in his first three years of footy. He then averaged 23 in his fourth season and breakout year.

 

[PRANKSTER666]

Its not being negative.

Simon Black is a gun, Cousins is a gun, Judd is a gun, Kerr is a gun................. Priddis is not a gun. Lets not try and think he is something he is not.
He is a work horse that spills his guts for us every week but the reality is he just can't dispose. Looking to the future and I am not talking about round 1 this coming year but longer term, we must inject class players. If Priddis can't hit a target now he bnever will be able to. He would make an ideal tagger a bit like Ling from Geelong. Release Selwood to be a midfielder and give the blokes you mentioned like Rosa, butler, Masten etc etc the responsability moving forward

So players like West and Harvey wouldn't get a game for your team, GWS?

Because they weren't great users of the ball by foot or goal kickers, but they were extractors of the ball which is what Priddis is. You need an in and under player like Priddis who will feed out to the other midfielders who can use the ball better by foot.

Priddis is quality and will be named in the centre.

NFI.

 

[PRANKSTER666]

Without a doubt.

In his player summary Wiseby compared Hurn to Michael Voss, who only averaged 9, 10 and 14 disposals in his first three years of footy. He then averaged 23 in his fourth season and breakout year.

Interesting stats Fryzie.

I think somebody like Hurn just needs some confidence. If the coaches put some faith in him and tell him to do as he pleases through the midfield I reckon he would improve considerably and become a very damaging player.

 

[bodazoka]

Why do we always have to make excuses for players who do not produce? But you know as well as I do he can't dispose of the ball efficiently to be a midfielder. Why make the excuse that he always has 6 blokes around him? He is a ball magnet and a tireless worker, he cannot kick. That seems a pretty big problem in my view for an AFL midfielder.

I think you have seen Hawthorn win a flag with midfielders who are above average kicks and now you think its the only way to win a premiership.

I guess my problem with the Priddis bashing is that he was a player in his second year, after a stellar first year in 07 expected to lead the entire eagles midfield in a very poor team.

It was not even such a bad year for Priddis, lead the club in tackles 14 more than stenglien, 56 more than A.Selwood, third in disposals, 11 shots on goal. And from what Ive seen Masten has had more clangers kicking than Priddis.

He is a Kid, off the rookie list who has only played 44 games yet he gets as much critisism as players like Fletcher. To say Priddis cant kick is a complete joke, and to think that we aernt allowed to give the guy a break (make excuses as you put it) is worse. If it was not for players like Priddis we would have a nice shiny wooden spoon in the cupboard.

 

[Eagle Ant]

Ive seen more than a few games where both selwoods have played back, you even mention it later in the post... S.Selwood spent the whole game there vs Geelong R22 I believe. Embley has also added another string by playing in multiple positions well throughout 2008, hence he is in the Lynch category.

Actually.. reading the rest of your post im not sure why you tried to correct me as you agree with the positions ive placed these players in anyway...

I never tried to correct you Bod I just pointed out that Both Selwoods were drafted as Midfielders and are only playing defence due to our Clubs lack of small defenders.
Embley is in the same Boat.
All the players on our list can play a veriety of positions but its the position they feel is their strongest which is were we should be looking at.
Example:
Lynch was drafted as a CHB and was under 18 CHB AA yet he plays Forward so to say is NOT a defender is wrong because he still is but plays Forward more cause thats where we need him.
Hunter Was drafted as a Forward yet plays as our CHB that is all I was pointing out.

 

[jako27]

Eagle Ant I did not openly state I was defecting, what I said and what I have done is Purchase a one off Interstate Tigers membership as my own little personel stance against our club for turning their back on their greatest player. I know our club does not give two hoots.

if you bought a membership to make a stance, it was money down the drain, they wouldn't even know you exist.

 

[Eagle87]

So players like West and Harvey wouldn't get a game for your team, GWS?

Because they weren't great users of the ball by foot or goal kickers, but they were extractors of the ball which is what Priddis is. You need an in and under player like Priddis who will feed out to the other midfielders who can use the ball better by foot.

Priddis is quality and will be named in the centre.

NFI.

Ok, too many insane Priddis posts for me to stay out. This one topped the list.

Priddis is not even in the same ball park of the same league of the same sport as West ... and Harvey????? WTF????? Which Harvey??? The Robert Harvey of St Kilda fame? made famous by his non-stop running, his brilliant evasive skills and his ability to break lines???

Priddis is closer to West in style, slowish, doesnt kick much but West could kick when required and had one trait in spades that Priddis lacks - vision. Priddis has rarely done a creative thing in his career. He is just a good ordinary footballer and, as I have stated 100 times before he will not be in the starting rotation of our next top line side (i.e. Premier/GF's etc).

Priddis lacks pace, lacks vision, lacks creativity, has average disposal skills. Priddis has heart, he is a ball magnet and he works his guts out. He is a good tackler but most of his tackles arent the game changing, run someone down inspirational stuff - they are just good solid, 4 guys around the ball, lock it in tackles..... He is a slightly wealthier mans Steven Armstrong.

Happy to debate who has NFI.

 

[youarewrong]

Ok, too many insane Priddis posts for me to stay out. This one topped the list.

Priddis is not even in the same ball park of the same league of the same sport as West ... and Harvey????? WTF????? Which Harvey??? The Robert Harvey of St Kilda fame? made famous by his non-stop running, his brilliant evasive skills and his ability to break lines???

Priddis is closer to West in style, slowish, doesnt kick much but West could kick when required and had one trait in spades that Priddis lacks - vision. Priddis has rarely done a creative thing in his career. He is just a good ordinary footballer and, as I have stated 100 times before he will not be in the starting rotation of our next top line side (i.e. Premier/GF's etc).

Priddis lacks pace, lacks vision, lacks creativity, has average disposal skills. Priddis has heart, he is a ball magnet and he works his guts out. He is a good tackler but most of his tackles arent the game changing, run someone down inspirational stuff - they are just good solid, 4 guys around the ball, lock it in tackles..... He is a slightly wealthier mans Steven Armstrong.

Happy to debate who has NFI.

Selling a little short arent you?

Steven Armstrong was a ****ing crab, how about a slightly wealthier mans Kane Munro?

 

[bodazoka]

Ok, too many insane Priddis posts for me to stay out. This one topped the list.

Priddis is not even in the same ball park of the same league of the same sport as West ... and Harvey????? WTF????? Which Harvey??? The Robert Harvey of St Kilda fame? made famous by his non-stop running, his brilliant evasive skills and his ability to break lines???

Priddis is closer to West in style, slowish, doesnt kick much but West could kick when required and had one trait in spades that Priddis lacks - vision. Priddis has rarely done a creative thing in his career. He is just a good ordinary footballer and, as I have stated 100 times before he will not be in the starting rotation of our next top line side (i.e. Premier/GF's etc).

Priddis lacks pace, lacks vision, lacks creativity, has average disposal skills. Priddis has heart, he is a ball magnet and he works his guts out. He is a good tackler but most of his tackles arent the game changing, run someone down inspirational stuff - they are just good solid, 4 guys around the ball, lock it in tackles..... He is a slightly wealthier mans Steven Armstrong.

Happy to debate who has NFI.

And has at least the next 2 years of development time on our list to sort those issues out before we should be hanging him out to dry with statements like "he will not be in the starting rotation of our next top line side " Especially when players like Fletcher can get a gig with a midfield of Judd, Cousins and Kerr not to mention your man armstrong. And dont even try tell me that Fletcher 06/07 was a better player than Priddis is now.

FWIW prankster was refering to the comment made about GWS not wanting any midfielders who could not kick more so than he was sticking up for Priddis.

 

[greatwhiteshark]

So players like West and Harvey wouldn't get a game for your team, GWS?

Because they weren't great users of the ball by foot or goal kickers, but they were extractors of the ball which is what Priddis is. You need an in and under player like Priddis who will feed out to the other midfielders who can use the ball better by foot.

Priddis is quality and will be named in the centre.

NFI.

NFI??? With your statement re West and Harvey mate one would have to ask have you ever seen a game played in your life. the mind boggles.

We have that many ****en superstars playing for us only God knows how we could ever lose a game. Some of you guys need to stop reading ****en stats and watch the actual game.
I never said Priddis would not play, I said we should be looking elsewhere for our future midfield. 1st year, 4th year player means shit. If he could not kick when he was 15 he won't get a hell of a lot better now, you either can or you can't. Tagger for me.

Get your money of Staker and Priddis for the quinella in the Brownlow, according to the Eagles forum on BF they will be odds on to run 1st and 2nd.

NFI indeed...........................................

 

[Art OF war]

Without a doubt.

In his player summary Wiseby compared Hurn to Michael Voss, who only averaged 9, 10 and 14 disposals in his first three years of footy. He then averaged 23 in his fourth season and breakout year.

So Wiseby compares Hurns playing style to be similar to Michael Voss and all of a sudden they will have identical breakout years? And this is "without a doubt?"

Hurn and Voss are two totally different people, in two totally different teams and in two totally different states. Your stats while very nice, mean as much as your very subjective opinion.

 

[Eagle87]

And has at least the next 2 years of development time on our list to sort those issues out before we should be hanging him out to dry with statements like "he will not be in the starting rotation of our next top line side " Especially when players like Fletcher can get a gig with a midfield of Judd, Cousins and Kerr not to mention your man armstrong. And dont even try tell me that Fletcher 06/07 was a better player than Priddis is now.

FWIW prankster was refering to the comment made about GWS not wanting any midfielders who could not kick more so than he was sticking up for Priddis.

Priddis is older than 31 players on our list, he will be 24 when the season starts, in 2 years he will be older than Kerr is now and he is only a year younger than Judd..... why does he need 2 more years to develop? He will be 26 by then?

Of mids on our list, the following are younger (some 5 full years younger) and have, in my opinion more talent:

Butler
Hurn
Masten
Ebert
Swift
Shuey
Selwood

I have left out other younger guys who may be better but arent necessarily so or may not be mids: Cockie, LeCras, Waters, Rosa, McNamara, Houlihan, Davis, Smith....

Add in guys like Kerr & Selwood and, as I said, Priddis isnt good enough to start in our enxt top line midfield....

Hard work, integrity and effort will only take you so far. He can get the ball at AFL level, everything after that scream WAFL player.

Fletcher played in the 2006 GF at a level that Priddis will never achieve. He was very good that day, arguably his best game since 2005.

 

[PRANKSTER666]

Ok, too many insane Priddis posts for me to stay out. This one topped the list.

Priddis is not even in the same ball park of the same league of the same sport as West ... and Harvey????? WTF????? Which Harvey??? The Robert Harvey of St Kilda fame? made famous by his non-stop running, his brilliant evasive skills and his ability to break lines???

Priddis is closer to West in style, slowish, doesnt kick much but West could kick when required and had one trait in spades that Priddis lacks - vision. Priddis has rarely done a creative thing in his career. He is just a good ordinary footballer and, as I have stated 100 times before he will not be in the starting rotation of our next top line side (i.e. Premier/GF's etc).

Priddis lacks pace, lacks vision, lacks creativity, has average disposal skills. Priddis has heart, he is a ball magnet and he works his guts out. He is a good tackler but most of his tackles arent the game changing, run someone down inspirational stuff - they are just good solid, 4 guys around the ball, lock it in tackles..... He is a slightly wealthier mans Steven Armstrong.

Happy to debate who has NFI.

Obviously I wasn't comparing Priddis to West and Harvey, rather their game styles. Players like Harvey and West probably wouldn't get drafted these days because they would have been considered too slow.

Priddis is a quality player, he is our no2 midfielder atm behind Kerr and was our number one midfielder last year in Kerr's absence...a pretty big ask.

I reckon he will have a great year in 09, whether you agree doesn't concern me in the least.

I'm willing to put my left nut I have been to more West Coast games than you GWS...you're a pretender.