List Mgmt. Our Midfield

[Mr_Plow]

Maximum we can fit in is 10 mids. 3 in the middle, 2 on a wing, 2 forward and 3 on the bench. Other option is to have one off HB which some clubs do. SPS for example could be a weapon off there.

IMO our best mids are Cripps Kennedy Dow Curnow in the guts. Murphy & O’Brien on the wings, Fisher & SPS up forward and Walsh Setterfield & Gibbons on then bench. They can all rotate through any position.

Haven’t even included Stocker Lang Cuningham Pickett Cottrell or Polson [emoji15] and Thomas could easily play small forward swapping with Murphy. Charlie can go in for bursts.

If we had Docherty & Williamson along with Garlett running out of defence it’s a very dangerous group

I see it very similarly.

For 2019, at least, Cripps, Kennedy and Dow should get the majority of centre square starts, with E. Curnow, Fisher and SPS providing some relief in there and rotating between half-forward and the midfield.

The likes of Murphy, O'Brien and Walsh are elite 2-way runners and will play predominantly on the outside.

Setterfield will be gradually built up into another centre square midfielder as the season progresses, but I suspect early on he'll be playing off the wing or half-forward in less intense roles.

That's 10 AFL-calibre midfielders.
I also rate the likes of Stocker, Cuningham and Williamson very highly.

6 days until the Hawthorn match.

 

[Soapy V]

I see it very similarly.

For 2019, at least, Cripps, Kennedy and Dow should get the majority of centre square starts, with E. Curnow, Fisher and SPS providing some relief in there and rotating between half-forward and the midfield.

The likes of Murphy, O'Brien and Walsh are elite 2-way runners and will play predominantly on the outside.

Setterfield will be gradually built up into another centre square midfielder as the season progresses, but I suspect early on he'll be playing off the wing or half-forward in less intense roles.

That's 10 AFL-calibre midfielders.
I also rate the likes of Stocker, Cuningham and Williamson very highly.

6 days until the Hawthorn match.

Agree. I think Gibbons will be a great addition to this group as well and I reckon Polson will surprise many.

Just think a few of them will play reserves alongside Fisher Wilson Cottrell Penrith Keppell Hill Palmer Collins & O’Rourke. So important we have a strong Northern Blues side and at the moment it looks good

 

[TooBlue14]

I see it very similarly.

For 2019, at least, Cripps, Kennedy and Dow should get the majority of centre square starts, with E. Curnow, Fisher and SPS providing some relief in there and rotating between half-forward and the midfield.

The likes of Murphy, O'Brien and Walsh are elite 2-way runners and will play predominantly on the outside.

Setterfield will be gradually built up into another centre square midfielder as the season progresses, but I suspect early on he'll be playing off the wing or half-forward in less intense roles.

That's 10 AFL-calibre midfielders.
I also rate the likes of Stocker, Cuningham and Williamson very highly.

6 days until the Hawthorn match.

What kind of coverage will we get for Thursday’s match. Anyone going along that can give lots of info live on the day. Will the club do a live feed or a radio coverage.

 

[Mr_Plow]

What kind of coverage will we get for Thursday’s match. Anyone going along that can give lots of info live on the day. Will the club do a live feed or a radio coverage.

Not sure what kind of coverage the club will provide.

I suspect quite a few here will go along (myself hopefully included). Not sure about live updates but notes will certainly be taken and particular players will be closely watched.

 

[BlueRenaissance]

Our midfield looks awesome (in 2020). We just have to see what we get this year.

Crossing everything.

 

[katmanblue]

Don't think he has the leg speed. If he makes the 22 (should be a lot harder this year) he's a bench utility player for mine; HHF/inside mid/3rd tall fwd/3rd tall defender.

I just can't see him being a first choice forward ahead of Charlie, Harry, Mitch and I'm not sure we'd want to name 4 taller guys starting up front considering we've got Cripps, Kennedy & Setterfield who'll be rotating through as well.

I also don't think he's a starting defender, realistically we're not naming him ahead of a fit Plowman or Marchbank and he certainly ain't taking the spot of one of the big boys like Weiters, Jones or even a Goddard or Macreadie (if named and fit). McGovern's ability to swing back might not help Jack either.

What might play out is that if we've got 3 taller guys starting at each end of the ground - lets say for now Charlie, Harry, Mitch & Weiters, Plow & Jones - then Jack might be a good bench option to give us some coverage across the ground as well as having a few rotations through the middle when one of Cripps or Kennedy have moved forward or having a rest on the pine.

It's also about getting that balance right in the middle, we don't want too many of the heavy hitters in there at once. Thinking about the starting 5 mids (3 in the square plus wings) I'd say a good structure might at any given moment might be 1 or 2 big guys (Cripps, Kennedy, Setterfield, Jack and lets count Ed for arguments sake), 1 or 2 runners (Ed, O'Brien, Walsh) and no less than 2 'more dynamic' players (Murph, Fish, SPS, Dow, Cuningham, Stocker, etc). The last thing you'd want is those 5 mids to be Cripps, Kennedy, Setters, Jack and Ed.... they're going to seriously bully opposition in close but get murdered on the spread.

Might be perfect off the bench being able to plug holes in any of those spots you mentioned.

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[katmanblue]

What kind of coverage will we get for Thursday’s match. Anyone going along that can give lots of info live on the day. Will the club do a live feed or a radio coverage.

I'm leaving work early to get there. Not sure about reports.. maybe at the breaks.

On [device_name] using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[Aphrodite]

 

[mjonc43]

If you had of asked me what i thought of Polson anywhere up until round 22, I would have said probably delist or keep developing in the two's, but by Golly did he put in a massive game in round 23.
If he can get to that level as a base over the next couple of years we will certainly have a player on our hands.

I am a big fan. His season was good, although most games he was just slightly off pace, where the good could’ve been brilliant. Lots of little moments that showed his talents.

Hopefully a full season sees him adapt to the AFL pace as he will be a gem IMO.


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[TooBlue14]

Hogan missed 5 games, including our finals series, and we won 4 of the 5 games he missed. Weideman is now entering his 4th year with a best on ground performance in a final behind him. He's one of the reasons the club weren't desperate to keep Hogan.

May is a significant addition to the backline and hopefully Lever is back by rounds 7 or 8. We're structurally a better list with May in defence and Kolodjashnij on a wing than with Hogan, who's replaced by Weideman.

Importantly, in our best 22 the following players have played between 50 and 100 games: Gawn, Viney, Kolodjashnij, Salem, Harmes, Lever, Petracca, O. McDonald, Oliver, Neal-Bullen and Brayshaw. That's 11 players - half the team. While a couple of them have probably matured to just about their peak most will have improvement in them.

And when I look at our sub 50 game players in the best 22 there are 5, namely: vandenBerg, Fritsch, Hannan, Weideman and Spargo. Three of those 5 are mature recruits. There are really only two youngsters, i.e. Weideman (4th season) and Spargo about to play his second.

So yes, I definitely believe we'll be a better side in 2019 sans Hogan.

Not sure what kind of coverage the club will provide.

I suspect quite a few here will go along (myself hopefully included). Not sure about live updates but notes will certainly be taken and particular players will be closely watched.

I'm leaving work early to get there. Not sure about reports.. maybe at the breaks.

On [device_name] using BigFooty.com mobile app

Thanks guys. Greatly appreciated here in tas.

 

[Sharks On A Plane]

I am a big fan. His season was good, although most games he was just slightly off pace, where the good could’ve been brilliant. Lots of little moments that showed his talents.

Hopefully a full season sees him adapt to the AFL pace as he will be a gem IMO.

Seriously? His season was not good at all, other than actually managing to play a number of consecutive games. He was a liability in a lot of those games and ran around like a headless chook in most of the others.

There's some potential there but if you consider that a good season pretty much every player on our list had a good year.

 

[CFC18]

Being nitpicky but a few of those were odd choice.

 

[AceAndy]

Being nitpicky but a few of those were odd choice.

Like who ??

 

[CFC18]

Like who ??

I thought it was same video as IG, this longer version isn't so bad I guess. I just thought a regulation goal from SPS, Murph etc. didn't exactly stand out.

 

[bigm386]

It's well balanced now with depth for the next decade. Has real potential elite talent as well.

Cripps is the leader and an established star
Kennedy will become his partner in crime and an inside bull
Dow will be elite. Something special and could be the best of the lot. Inside and outside
Walsh is similar to Dow. Another gun who will do a great job each week
Setterfield has it all. Big, inside and outside, great skills and can go forward. Incredible talent
Fisher is quick and an accumulator. Good skills and won't shirk a contest.
O'Brien is the outside run and class. Ability to break the lines is a weapon
Stocker amazingly could be the best mid in the draft. If played Champs could have been Top 5. Inside bull with great foot skills on both sides.
SPS is the class and I would now be happy to see him deliver off HB. Would be a weapon off there.
Curnow is still a leader and can tag or accumulate. Great example to others.
Charlie. The absolute X factor and AFL star. Something special. Looking forward to seeing him have bursts on ball when needed
Murphy. With the Captaincy released and with depth he can now play wing/fwd and be a very very good player and goal kicker
Cuningham. Hard to fit him in but ability is there. Quick and good skills. HB/HF may be his go now
Lang. Will need to step up. More an accumulator
Polson. Very smart accumulator and ball user. Creator but can he fit in there? Future may be forward
Pickett. Could be the absolute icing on the cake. Quick, skilful and a game breaker. If we switches on watch out

They are ALL quality kids with good skills and importantly will push each other to be better. There is a decade of quality there. WOW

Going to be very interesting to see how Bolts uses them and rotates them. Looking forward to seeing Cripps up forward and others carrying the load. They will need to kick goals as well. Defensive work will be just as important. In 2-3 years this group should be dominant

I believe we have assembled this group in just a couple of years. Well done Blues

It's funny when you think how quickly the wheel can turn. Not long ago we were trying to justify more games for Brock McLean, Kane Lucas and co

 

[bigm386]

It's no longer about numbers in our midfield, it's about quality. I still expect us to have a bit of a dabble at some of the best AFL midfield talent next year in terms of trades and free agency. You would suspect the Kelly, Taranto or Coniglio could be options if we have a strong season and that would improve our midfield. We want to see good midfielders missing out on selection, we want to see the Northern Blues strong and have players to trade to improve our needs.

It does shift our needs priority a bit though. Perhaps our interest will be more in elite attacking half backs and/or small forwards.

I think we will see some of our midfielders who can play in other positions become change mids. I think Fisher will become a small forward who changes between midfield and forward pocket. All the best sides have one of these. Perhaps Murphy or Ed Curnow will line up in defence or the forward line and change on the ball occasionally.

It's been a long time since we have had our best midfield out there and genuine quality waiting on the bench so rotations should be right up there.

I would expect Stocker and Walsh if they play seniors to start on the bench and play a utility role. Change with whoever is coming off and go on and play where needed. I don't doubt they could play forward, back flank or wing even though their future is probably in the center.

Dow might find himself on more of a wing position or high half forward. SPS and Setterfield probably have some ability to play multiple positions. I would expect Setterfield to be in the side round 1 but not playing huge numbers on the ball so perhaps as a bit more of a utility mid.

I still think that we can raise the quality of our midfield group but those numbers are fine.

Still not sure about out midfield mix, I think we can tend to be a bit big and slow in the midfield but that's something we have to work through. We need to be able to out run sides and apply pressure as well as win contested footy.

We have good midfielders with deficiencies and perhaps they start to miss out a bit if we build that quality. Murphy is getting older and is not a great tackler, Curnow is around 30 and not the greatest kick, Kennedy lacks speed and agility and may not be real clean below his knees, Still question marks over Dow's kicking, Setterfield has been chronically injured for years and is unproven, O'Brien looks really good but is a smaller mid, SPS hasn't quite found his consistency, Walsh and Stocker are brand new. So there are a few challenges and if we add more elite talent to that group it's going to come down to who's weaknesses are more costly. We could still be mediocre in the midfield or players might step up and improve on both their strengths and weaknesses so as much as I expect the best we really don't know what we are going to get until we see some footy.

Our aim still needs to be to build the best midfield in the league and there are some really good midfields out there to take on. At this stage our future and potential look really good but having it all come together is our next step.

If I could have anyone from GWS would be Coniglio. Firstly because his name means rabbit which is cool. But honestly the way he goes about it when fit is amazing. He is their number 1 mid for mine.

 

[therubbernub]

No highlights for Setterfield, Kennedy?

 

[gbatman]

If I could have anyone from GWS would be Coniglio. Firstly because his name means rabbit which is cool. But honestly the way he goes about it when fit is amazing. He is their number 1 mid for mine.

Absolutely, he would really top off our midfield and also allow us to play midfielders who are strong forward there more permanently. I think we're going to have a crack at a big name like that and offer up two first rounders. We seem to have midfield numbers, now it's a matter of making sure we have the best midfield quality wise.

 

[barass70]

If I could have anyone from GWS would be Coniglio. Firstly because his name means rabbit which is cool. But honestly the way he goes about it when fit is amazing. He is their number 1 mid for mine.

Yes

 

[The Bighouse]

Yes

Target, cool, their #1 mid, or all of the above?

 

[skadoosh]

http://www.carltonfc.com.au/video/2019-02-17/phase-two-midfielders

 

[Mr_Plow]

http://www.carltonfc.com.au/video/2019-02-17/phase-two-midfielders

Key takeaways:

- Why the **** are we gang-tackling players into the turf at training? There's an easy way to **** up Samo's AC joint for a couple of months

- Walsh's constant movement to provide an option for Fisher and then the burst speed to get away from Cottrell

- The power in Samo's legs is back

- Cuningham's acceleration

 

[Mr_Plow]

Also I had a dream about R1 overnight, don't know the final result but suffice to say Richmond had no answer for Dow, he was unstoppable.

 

[SkyhorseTamer]

Also I had a dream about R1 overnight, don't know the final result but suffice to say Richmond had no answer for Dow, he was unstoppable.

Down't you dare raise my hopes too high.

 

[bigm386]

Saw Kruzer at a cafe in Jan Juc. No tape on the knees. Lock him in for the Brownlow

All jokes aside looked fit.