List Mgmt. Our Midfield

[BlueHulk]

Lets hope the AFL extend the bench to 8 players that way everyone gets a go.

 

[HARKER]

Sewell was dropped because they were playing too many slow players. Smith and Hill were two of their most important players because they really helped cover the slower players deficiencies. Plus having Poppy, Cyril and Breust pushing up adding speed was vital for them.
The problem is Cripps and Kennedy are both very slow and will get killed on the spread like we continually did this season. You can only play so many.
You can pick and choose arguments and I think this is overstated but West Coast retired two former Brownlow medalist mainly because they were seen as being too slow and improved.
Also talk about playing one forward for large chunks of the game is ridiculous imo. Recruit a forward if that's what you want because they aren't going to provide the pressure we need to surround our three talls with

Smith & Hill weren't centre square mids, though.

The trick for us will be to have the ability to get more centre square clearances than others and we have a good chance of that with Cripps involved.
Once we have the ball in hand, the runners may come into play.

I look forward to how this new 6/6/6 starting set-up will work and as with others, can see a situation where second hands onto the ball will be crucial and this where the guys stationed on the wings may come into their own. Speedy, and quality ball users could be very handy. I don't know.....What do others see?

 

[Malifice]

The midfield is fine fellas. Cripps, Dow, SPS, Walsh, Setterfield, Fisher, Stocker, Kennedy. Thats 8 x quality young mids right there (more than enough for midfield rotations with a few on the bench and allocating one or two to the HFF) without counting Murphy and Curnow.

Our midfield just needs time (and quality development in that time).

When you look across the AFL it takes players till their 4th season (and around 80-100 games) before they develop into the player they're going to be. Before that mark 99 percent of players are contributors at best.

Look at the first 3 years for Danger, Ablett, Watson, Dusty etc. No-where near the sort of numbers they're racking up at the 4 year mark onwards. All three averaged around 15 touches a game in their first three seasons, before shooting up to the mid to high 20's from season 4 onwards.

What this means is blokes like Kennedy, Fisher, Dow and SPS are going to need at least another 1-2 years or so before they're racking up decent numbers in the midfield, and blokes like Walsh, Setterfield and Stocker need at least 2-3 more years of development, growth and time in the system.

One or two might come on early (Fisher is well advanced of the others taken in his year) and progression wont be linear for each player, nor will it be at the same pace as their peers.

As supporters we just need to be patient. As a club, we need to ensure we develop those blokes right both individually, and as a unit.

 

[Nori]

The problem is Cripps and Kennedy are both very slow and will get killed on the spread like we continually did this season. You can only play so many.
You can pick and choose arguments and I think this is overstated but West Coast retired two former Brownlow medalist mainly because they were seen as being too slow and improved.

Kennedy isn't that slow. Admittedly he looked slow at times during 2018 but he was running on one leg. Earlier in the season, before he did his ankle, no one was calling him slow.

... and with Cripps, good luck putting a greyhound on him to expose his lack of pace. He'll end up getting 40 contested possessions.

You know it's not necessary to be the biggest, fastest or most prolific midfield in the competition in order to be the best midfield.

 

[Soapy V]

Kennedy isn't that slow. Admittedly he looked slow at times during 2018 but he was running on one leg. Earlier in the season, before he did his ankle, no one was calling him slow.

... and with Cripps, good luck putting a greyhound on him to expose his lack of pace. He'll end up getting 40 contested possessions.

You know it's not necessary to be the biggest, fastest or most prolific midfield in the competition in order to be the best midfield.

Speed is good but winning the ball and controlling it is king. We now have a strong midfield with some pace. We also have good run and ball use around the outside. I don't see it as an issue especially if names like Cuningham Pickett step up

 

[Doro]

Kennedy isn't that slow. Admittedly he looked slow at times during 2018 but he was running on one leg. Earlier in the season, before he did his ankle, no one was calling him slow.

... and with Cripps, good luck putting a greyhound on him to expose his lack of pace. He'll end up getting 40 contested possessions.

You know it's not necessary to be the biggest, fastest or most prolific midfield in the competition in order to be the best midfield.

Kennedy is on the slow side even at 100% fit. Has a big engine, tough and can jump and catch it which outshines the leg speed thing. Think he'll be an important goal kicking mid for us moving forward.

 

[HavUEvaSeenTheRain]

Kennedy isn't that slow. Admittedly he looked slow at times during 2018 but he was running on one leg. Earlier in the season, before he did his ankle, no one was calling him slow.

... and with Cripps, good luck putting a greyhound on him to expose his lack of pace. He'll end up getting 40 contested possessions.

You know it's not necessary to be the biggest, fastest or most prolific midfield in the competition in order to be the best midfield.

Both are very slow imo. You don't have to be the fastest but you also don't won't to be exposed, which is a possibility. Time and time again we were smashed this season because we didn't have the running ability to spread from the contest. Sometimes there is just no answer to speed and endurance.
Walsh will help a lot with this and this I why LOB and Dow are extremely important for us.

 

[BlueHulk]

I believe Stocker suppose to have a nice burst of speed coming out of stoppages. The knock was his endurance and getting form one stoppage to another.

 

[Macca43]

I believe Stocker suppose to have a nice burst of speed coming out of stoppages. The knock was his endurance and getting form one stoppage to another.

It is a lot easier to build endurance than burst speed or how to find the footy.

 

[BlueHulk]

It is a lot easier to build endurance than burst speed or how to find the footy.

Exactly what i was thinking. If he wants it bad enough he'll build his motor to the required levels.

 

[windows1]

I'll give you bulls, but how many of those can you play at the one time?

Dow is the only burst player, I see. Fisher is a little different but not to say he can't be just as effective. Cuningham has no idea when playing in the midfield.

We have got some good runners, in as you say O'Brien, ECurnow and Walsh, along with Williamson.
Some genuine soutside peed to go along with that wouldn't hurt, which is why we really have to get the likes of Cuningham and Pickett up and running.

Where do you think Cuningham is best suited Harks? I’m keen on him as a tagger.

 

[windows1]

Smith & Hill weren't centre square mids, though.

The trick for us will be to have the ability to get more centre square clearances than others and we have a good chance of that with Cripps involved.
Once we have the ball in hand, the runners may come into play.

I look forward to how this new 6/6/6 starting set-up will work and as with others, can see a situation where second hands onto the ball will be crucial and this where the guys stationed on the wings may come into their own. Speedy, and quality ball users could be very handy. I don't know.....What do others see?

I would be surprised if the 6/6/6 does much except when teams have a run on its harder to throw a man back.

I think we are lacking a WHE/Stevo type with true pace and endurance. LOB is the closest we have (more than matches their endurance) but doesn’t quite have the first 10m they do to clear away. Obviously (given he can break 50 seconds for 400) once duly wound up he can truly fly. But footy needs that explosive that WHE and Stevo have in spades. We have no one with that combination on the list.

 

[Blues90]

why? you wouldn't waste cripps there........

It's like saying c.curnow will play as a mid

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[SurreyBlue]

I would be surprised if the 6/6/6 does much except when teams have a run on its harder to throw a man back.

I think we are lacking a WHE/Stevo type with true pace and endurance. LOB is the closest we have (more than matches their endurance) but doesn’t quite have the first 10m they do to clear away. Obviously (given he can break 50 seconds for 400) once duly wound up he can truly fly. But footy needs that explosive that WHE and Stevo have in spades. We have no one with that combination on the list.

Don’t agree. I think at the very least Fisher, Petrovski-Seton, Dow and Cunningham can provide this type of run and carry.

 

[therubbernub]

That may seem a little harsh on face value, but again we seem to be obsessed about adding talent without considering what that right talent may be.
Which of our mids currently have positions they can take up when not required in the midfield? I think we'll just have to find that out, now.

Subjective analysis of our younger mids:
Cripps is one out of the box and doesn't have to be able to play anywhere else should it not be required.
Fisher is also one that has the ability to be able to play in a variety of roles. (mid, wing, forward)
Dow is a gun and something we just don't have in any other mid - genuine acceleration and burst-power. Likely to become a centre square starter.
Walsh is all class and can make time stand still. Having a strong endurance base and work ethic will hold him in very good stead.
Setterfield is to us at least, a little bit of an unknown but his height, power and clean hands make him a strong point of difference.

Petrevski-Seton. If he doesn't become an important part of centre square engagement, what do we do with him?
Kennedy: Midfield or bust to me.
Stocker may be competing for the one spot along with Kennedy.

You always need depth in the midfield but the question is and will be, have we the right types to be able to mix and match to suit and how many of these younger guys, can we genuinely carry in the one team at any one time?
I won't include all those other guys we like to mention as I don't see them as genuine stoppage players. (Lang, O'Brien, Wiliamson, Pickett etc)
Remember also, that ECurnow and Murphy will be around for a couple of years yet and once the NB's becomes a staple diet for one....one can easily get lost.

For every time we take one player for this spot, we're denying another for what may possibly be a more required hole to fill......even if that individual isn't as gifted or talented.
It's a sum of the parts game and I just don't see all those parts being in place yet. That may not matter, but if we're still kicking 60 - 80 points a game next year, we may wish that we approached our intake just a little differently. I'm not saying that it's wrong but just seems to me that we may be doubling up just a little here and there and ignored (forced to ignore) other areas of the ground that may yet come back to bite. We'll see.

Its going to be a very interesting few years. There is just so much young talent in the midfield. Initially at least , young mids are more one dimensional due to factors related to fitness and experience. But once they have the strength fitness and confidence, these players start adding other strings to their bow and become more rounded players. it is not usual for so many young midfielders to have to hone their craft, all at the same time. Usually there is a brace of mature mids ahead of them so that they can edge their way into full time midfield duties. But in our case we have had Murphy's injuries, Gibbs departure from an already thin midfield mix. With some luck Murph will have a great season. Cripps will continue with his stellar trajectory, and some of the 3-4 year mids become firmly established. Fisher and SPS are crucial in this regard IMO. But having said that, I am more than enthusiastic at the prospects of Dow and Walsh and LOB to contribute very meaningfully to our midfield. Have I missed anyone out? Oh yes Setterfield, Kennedy

 

[therubbernub]

That is correct, but that may have also been forced upon him, given the lack of depth we had this year.
No Kennedy really, Fisher not developed yet and now we have the arrival of Walsh, Setterfield & Stocker.....but I think all that wouldn't have mattered had have they all been there this year, as Dow is exactly what we needed.

This is part of what I'm getting at. Another Dow-type (Shiel would have been ideal) looks a better proposition than another say another Kennedy-type.
Our midfield looks mostly solid without exactly being dynamic. Reckon we could do with another strong dynamic type, just to round things off.

Yes , but i think you are discounting the natural progression from one dimensional to rounded midfielders that happens after 3-4 years. they all will find there secondary rolein the next 12-24 months

 

[therubbernub]

I don't see him anywhere sorry.

lets give him a solid run at it this year without injury. Then if he still struggles , I am sure sos will be moving him on

 

[therubbernub]

How many teams have three talls that could stop McKay, Curnow and McGovern in the air?

Plenty- if it comes in like a frisby covered in treacle

 

[thylacine60]

heading to my sister's place in ftg for xmas dinner where my midfield is expected to be given quite a bolstering.......

 

[Jeremias]

heading to my sister's place in ftg for xmas dinner where my midfield is expected to be given quite a bolstering.......

Wonder if it'll be the ham or pudding that explodes out of the middle.

 

[Metalcrusher]

Wonder if it'll be the ham or pudding that explodes out of the middle.

Dunno but I reckon its all gunna explode outta Half Back at some stage …..

 

[HereComesJuddy]

Pretty chuffed about our midfield currently. Young, quality kids, oozing skills. We are in a damn good position going forward.

Add a Coniglio and another decent mid come the end of 2019 and we probably go into 2020 with the best midfield group. Salivating stuff right there

 

[BluStreak]

For me, Murph starts on the half forward line, doing spells in the midfield.
I would have him marshalling/ leading the forwards.

 

[thylacine60]

imagine if you will - sitting in the stands - and after each goal, the ball is bounced in the traditional manner - and then....wait for it - and then, the ball moves towards OUR forward line, ie. the ball is cleared from the centre bounce TOWARDS OUR FORWARD LINE.......


as you were.....

 

[Soapy V]

For me, Murph starts on the half forward line, doing spells in the midfield.
I would have him marshalling/ leading the forwards.

I've been told from a very good source that he will be playing wing/fwd in 2019. Keen to keep him out of the heavy stuff and let him run and use his pace and smarts. Could be a real weapon in that role