In a nutshell:
* mids do a lot more than contest clearances- yes i agree we have no problems winning the ball.
Winning clearances doesnt tell you anything about what your midfield DID with the ball... just that they GOT the ball.
Our midfield group is one of (if not THE) weakest midfield group of any team outside the bottom 4.
* yes we have plenty of upside, but so does every other team.
For every "steeles only had stuff all preseasons" type story we have... practically every other club has one too.
Net result generally is they cancel eachother out!
* perhaps we missed so many shots because our fwds were so stuffed from running more distance to cover our mids up the ground... resulting in jelly legs fwds spraying shots everywhere?
Of course the midfield is about more than just clearances, but how do you explain the fact that we had the 4th equal-most scoring shots (from the 2nd easiest spots on the ground) and took the 5th most marks inside 50?
Someone up the ground must have been doing something right for all that to happen, so was it mostly the backline giving the foreardline all those rolled gold opportunities? Surely between getting all those clearances and all those shots for goal from great spots our midfield must have done a bit of alright.
As for suggesting that every other midfield has the same scope for improvement as every other team, I would say that is not even close to true and is a ridiculous thing to say.
We for instance have 5 on our list who were either drafted or bid on with first round picks, who will this year be in either their 3rd, 4th or 5th seasons, and who could all be past the 50 game mark by the end of the season, putting them all in that range where huge steps forward/breakout years can take place.
All 5 can or will play in the midfield/wing, then we also have Sincs, who will likewise be in his 4th year and hopefully crossing the 50 game mark, and is already rated "elite" by CD.
All 6 of them are tracking better than say Seb was at the equivalent stage of his career, IMO, and we know how much he improved once he got to that 5th year- where he likewise crossed 50 games.
Then we have 3 more that were drafted with top 10 picks, who haven't played a game yet but were all drafted to play midfield and who could come in and make some sort of impact this year, bringing something different to the table- in particular speed.
On top of potentially getting our best player back to his best or better, after a big drop-off last season.
Not every other club has all that potential for serious improvement in their midfield this year at all. Some will have more (perhaps) and some will have less. North for instance would not come even remotely close to that IMO, as just one immediate example off the top of my head, while Carlton lose Gibbs from their midfield, Brisbane lose Rockliff from theirs, etc.