Banfield should go into the guts with Fyfe and Mundy out.
Opinion our midfield is thin and may take 2 years to solve
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At peel maybe
Nathan O Driscoll
I have to say I agree. As has been stated here before, we lost Neale, Cerra, Hill, Langdon from our midfield, all players in the prime of their careers at the 80-150 game mark, early/mid to late 20's. We replaced them with draft picks, and now have some A grade players in their early 30's to mid/late 30's (left over from the Ross era) heading to the twilight of their careers, and a bunch of kids that are around the 19/20 year old mark and not quite there yet. The players we have on the list that should be providing the thrust required in their mid 20's, with 80+ odd games to their name, unfortunately are not AFL quality. They either a) have very poor skills or b) don't apply enough physical defensive pressure, tbh, often both, which is inexcusable. One thing Ross and even Mark Harvey managed to instil, were pressure acts and effort, which any player can do, regardless of skill level. That is an attitude thing.
Why did all those quality players in their prime leave? That is linked of course to Ross, and you might even argue the culture of the club, there is something not right with that many players of that quality departing. Fyfe, as good as he is, is not the warmest, most empathetic character going around, and do guys want to play with him and run through walls for him? It seems likely Ross was the primary reason, and he has now departed. But we need to move on.
JL needs time for generation next to come through, the players are there in the new crop, but they will need time, and unfortunately for supporters, patience. Is it still there after years of mediocrity? We cannot afford to lose these young players once we develop them. The major disappointment are those players on our list between 23-29. If they cannot make it to even C level AFL players, then there needs to be a clean out come season end, as there is definitely that talent out there in the SANFL, VFL, WAFL. And effort and defensive pressure has to become a non-negotiable, regardless of skill level. There's no excuse for not having a crack.
Players (particular non-key position) at 23-29 with 80+ games are not going to make a sudden sizeable leap in quality. We know what they are by now. Hard decisions need to be made if we get served up more of what we have seen so far this year.
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27 posts in 20 years...good average
I'm a quality over quantity guy. Not sure the same can be said about our list, unfortunately.
I think we might be overreacting a bit based on one game. We got smashed in the centre on the weekend 14 to 4 CCs. But we won the centre battle the week before 16 to 9. Is the loss of Mundy the reason we went from winning centre clearances one week to losing the next? Mundy is great but that seems an unlikely reason alone.
Brayshaw and Brodie had 5 CCs each v Adelaide. Mundy 3, Serong 2.
Against StK Brodie 2, Switta 1, Brayshaw 0, Serong 0.
Meek's ruck work was a heap better in Rd 1 compared to Rd 2. Did bringing Darcy in and having to share the load unsettle his performance? We looked a shambles when Darcy went off injured as well but he looked a bit underdone even prior to that.
It seems every game our ruck or a key mid comes in underdone or gets injured mid game we play like rubbish. One of the worst games I have ever been to was against Brisbane in 2018 when Sandi was pulled out of the game less than a minute from the bounce and Apeness was thrown into the ruck. It just threw our whole team off, and ended up with Fyfe injured in the 2nd quarter and from there it was a look away now game.
There is no magic bullet with our midfield.
You look at a midfield like Melbourne's and it has a Petracca 26yo, Oliver 24yo, Viney 27yo, Gawn 30yo.
Meanwhile on the weekend we played Brayshaw 22yo, Serong 21yo, Brodie 23yo, Darcy/Meek 23yo.
No other team is playing a midfield as young as ours and the ones winning consistently are a lot older. We've pumped games into these guys (except Brodie) and it will pay off if we stick with it imo. Parachuting in a short term option isn't the answer. I am bullish on Erasmus, Johnson and O'Driscoll as midfielders (rotating from the wing/half forward). I'm hopeful both Ras and Noddy will be in the 22 this weekend despite Mundy likely returning. Although there are disposal question marks on both they bring a hardness and ball winning ability we need to add to our mix.
The selection committee probably could have made us more competitive in the middle (sans Fyfe and Mundy) by bringing in Blakely but didn't. What would people have preferred? Although Brodie was awful, he's still only 23yo so at least has a slim chance of being part of our future. Tucker was the most disappointing for me, always looks close to worst on for a few weeks after returning from yet another hammy (but in fairness so do most players).
Expecting a much improved midfield performance in the derby. Not sure we can fix our forward line problems just yet but am confident we can turn around things with the midfield from last week.
Brayshaw and Brodie had 5 CCs each v Adelaide. Mundy 3, Serong 2.
Against StK Brodie 2, Switta 1, Brayshaw 0, Serong 0.
Meek's ruck work was a heap better in Rd 1 compared to Rd 2. Did bringing Darcy in and having to share the load unsettle his performance? We looked a shambles when Darcy went off injured as well but he looked a bit underdone even prior to that.
It seems every game our ruck or a key mid comes in underdone or gets injured mid game we play like rubbish. One of the worst games I have ever been to was against Brisbane in 2018 when Sandi was pulled out of the game less than a minute from the bounce and Apeness was thrown into the ruck. It just threw our whole team off, and ended up with Fyfe injured in the 2nd quarter and from there it was a look away now game.
There is no magic bullet with our midfield.
You look at a midfield like Melbourne's and it has a Petracca 26yo, Oliver 24yo, Viney 27yo, Gawn 30yo.
Meanwhile on the weekend we played Brayshaw 22yo, Serong 21yo, Brodie 23yo, Darcy/Meek 23yo.
No other team is playing a midfield as young as ours and the ones winning consistently are a lot older. We've pumped games into these guys (except Brodie) and it will pay off if we stick with it imo. Parachuting in a short term option isn't the answer. I am bullish on Erasmus, Johnson and O'Driscoll as midfielders (rotating from the wing/half forward). I'm hopeful both Ras and Noddy will be in the 22 this weekend despite Mundy likely returning. Although there are disposal question marks on both they bring a hardness and ball winning ability we need to add to our mix.
The selection committee probably could have made us more competitive in the middle (sans Fyfe and Mundy) by bringing in Blakely but didn't. What would people have preferred? Although Brodie was awful, he's still only 23yo so at least has a slim chance of being part of our future. Tucker was the most disappointing for me, always looks close to worst on for a few weeks after returning from yet another hammy (but in fairness so do most players).
Expecting a much improved midfield performance in the derby. Not sure we can fix our forward line problems just yet but am confident we can turn around things with the midfield from last week.
Freo have been one of the most disappointing teams since around 2016, but very disappointing so far this season.
Club run by muppets, for muppets who just play for a pay cheque.
The biggest group of muppets is us, as we keep buttering up for the same s**t, just different depth
Club run by muppets, for muppets who just play for a pay cheque.
The biggest group of muppets is us, as we keep buttering up for the same s**t, just different depth
Probably about 2 percent of my actual comments, but sure be as reductive as you like. You know what they say about empty vessels and noise.
Chad Warner looks like an absolute midfield bull. Went pick 39 in 2019, we really need to nail these types of picks to go with our high end talent.
wakojako
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Yeah maybe not attending the centre bounces but starting on the wing will be fine. I've always said one winger should be experienced and the other a developing player to maintain balance.
Then we have to balance out which one is the s**t one
I reckon after seeing our midfield get battered with Fyfe and Mundy out Bailey Rogers firmed as our pick 2022 mid season draft.
This is the age demographic we need to assist Brayshaw and Serong as long as the quality is there of course
Ha! You could try to actually engage with the content. As opposed to just belittle the poster based on a tiny fraction of the post. I could take the time to explain to you the difference between that and actual discussion, but I assume you've been told numerous times over the years with little to no improvement.
Perhaps you could try to engage with the discussion instead of going for the man.
As to it being a tiny fraction of your post. Your post was 4 paragraphs long. Lyon was introduced in the first and the subject of the second. Given you claim he was the primary reason for players leaving, how could you be surprised when people engage with that claim?
But go ahead - play the man instead of the post. Then please make vast generalisations about someones character, because that is always helpful.
Cerra was a flight risk from the moment he was selected. He played under JL for two seasons. Long enough for him to stay if the Lyon was his reason for leaving. I think he was always going back, his family wanted him back, they are wealthy and wanted him home. He went. we will all rejoice if Jackson makes that decision, yet look for a fall guy if a Victorian kid makes that decision the other way.
B Hill - was on a front loaded contract. Got the bulk of his deal paid out and was on his budget years. His move was masterful from a financial standpoint. Get paid 80% (could be less but it was a large portion)of your contract, leave before the budget years hit and get another massive payout. He essentially would have gotten paid a years worth of contract without having to pay it. Dumb on our behalf, smart on his. There is also the factor around his partner and having a baby over there. Personally I moved from a home in Wembley, four minutes from the beach, to guildford area because my wife wanted to have our baby near her mum. Her mum has been a life saver and helped more than I could imagine. So despite the fact I don't like the area anywhere near as much, it is better for us to live here due to that support. Don't underestimate the power of a mother/daughter bond when it comes to having a child.
Neale - I don't know why he left aside from the dollars. He seemed to have a very close relationship with Lyon. Lyon still speaks highly of him now. He went from a pick ~50 to an AA level player while with us. I thought it was a money issue and that we were dumb not to offer him the $$ if that is what was needed. I could be missing a heap of info here so happy to be corrected.
Langdon - he is the one I am the least clear on why he left. Insight is welcome.
It’s possible that Fyfes career is done, even if he makes it back on the field before September how many games before a bad back goes wrong again?
Mundy will be done after this year. All of a sudden we look small and leaderless in the middle. We need to get a gun West Aussie with 150 games u der their belt back and into the fold. Do they exist?
Mundy will be done after this year. All of a sudden we look small and leaderless in the middle. We need to get a gun West Aussie with 150 games u der their belt back and into the fold. Do they exist?
The always drafting midfielders isn't true.
The KPF's I agree that until amiss it has been way too long since we spent high picks on KPF's.
It is possible our best option will be someone performing very well at the level below, who is tough and just needs an opportunity. It doesn't always work out, but they are definitely there to be found.
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