Opinion Premiership Midfield

[1990crow]

It's apparent our midfield doesn't quite stack up against the top 4, and is unlikely to win us a flag.

How do we improve it?
Do we have the personnel on the list already? Or do we need to aggressively target someone.
We need to develop mids that can rival a Butters, JHF, Cripps, Daicos etc who opposition need to stop.
Otherwise we waste having Thilthorpe and Fogarty.

Oliver can't be the answer.

I would like us to look at progressing with a Rachele, Peatling, Soligo, Draper combo supported by Rankine, Dawson and maybe Curtin.

 

[cmndstab]

I think there are two possible routes to fixing our midfield issues.

One is to invest heavily in the midfield for the next few years. If Curtin can end up as a useful third-tall forward then our forward line is essentially complete for the next five years (Thilthorpe, Fogarty, Curtin, Keays, ANB, Rachele/Rankine), and our backline is doing alright. Focus entirely on the midfield, develop Draper, see if we can get any value out of Edwards, Ryan, Berry, Pedlar and Schoenberg, and then put all our chips in to trade in a couple of genuine top-shelf midfielders, as well as maybe a top-shelf ruck. The new ruck plus two new midfielders and Soligo/Draper becomes our new front-line midfield, Dawson goes wherever needed, Peatling comes off the bench, Rankine becomes primarily a forward, Taylor and ROB become depth, Crouch delisted.

The other is to make a complete structural change to how we line up in the midfield. Instead of having essentially a set starting midfield of Dawson, Soligo, Peatling and ROB, have a rotating midfield of around 10 players that looks different almost every stoppage. Every midfield player should have an alternate position, and it should be some coach's full-time gameday job to keep them shuffling around. Run Dawson, Keays, Rachele, Soligo, Taylor, Peatling, Draper, Rankine, Crouch, Berry and Dowling all through there, swapping in and out, keeping things unpredictable. It's risky, but could be effective. As we bring in new midfielders via trades or the draft, the weakest one drops out.

 

[OldCrowBloke]

I think there are two possible routes to fixing our midfield issues.

One is to invest heavily in the midfield for the next few years. If Curtin can end up as a useful third-tall forward then our forward line is essentially complete for the next five years (Thilthorpe, Fogarty, Curtin, Keays, ANB, Rachele/Rankine), and our backline is doing alright. Focus entirely on the midfield, develop Draper, see if we can get any value out of Edwards, Ryan, Berry, Pedlar and Schoenberg, and then put all our chips in to trade in a couple of genuine top-shelf midfielders, as well as maybe a top-shelf ruck. The new ruck plus two new midfielders and Soligo/Draper becomes our new front-line midfield, Dawson goes wherever needed, Peatling comes off the bench, Rankine becomes primarily a forward, Taylor and ROB become depth, Crouch delisted.

The other is to make a complete structural change to how we line up in the midfield. Instead of having essentially a set starting midfield of Dawson, Soligo, Peatling and ROB, have a rotating midfield of around 10 players that looks different almost every stoppage. Every midfield player should have an alternate position, and it should be some coach's full-time gameday job to keep them shuffling around. Run Dawson, Keays, Rachele, Soligo, Taylor, Peatling, Draper, Rankine, Crouch, Berry and Dowling all through there, swapping in and out, keeping things unpredictable. It's risky, but could be effective. As we bring in new midfielders via trades or the draft, the weakest one drops out.

I think your first option is the way to go. Our mids go “OK” some of the time, but we need to keep developing/building/improving that area.

You acknowledge your second option is risky. I would argue way TOO risky. One of our complaints on this board is not letting players settle into a role. While we might get the oppo on the back foot occasionally, we are also messing with our setup in multiple other positions.

 

[GreyCrow]

Im in the Peatling, Soligo and Draper setup with Rachele as the alternate

I am also in the rotate or stagnate thinking - maybe not as high volume as above but its a template on what thinking we must employ

Soligo looking tired - throw Dawson in for 5

Draper getting torched - run Rachele

Dawson is experienced enough to be able to switch roles and Rachele would be bursting

I just think we have a lot of assets that continue to plod along when a clever coach would switch it up

 

[hugecannon]

We’re definitely lacking at least one real elite midfielder to build around we’ve got IMO great complementary pieces - Peatling, Soligo, Dawson rotating through, Rankine/Rachele as well.

Hopefully Draper will develop in time as well as Curtin and maybe Edwards.

Add someone like a Butters to our mix and we’re right up with the best in comp

 

[John Who]

I don’t think a premiership midfield needs to show winning stats in every game. I tend to look at the score percentages as a measure of our progress, which we currently rank the 3rd highest. This reflects both an efficient forward line, but also the midfield doing their part to allow more forward entries overall.

I feel we have definitely improved since 2023 season, and we’re playing a legit brand of footy. The next month with playing the top 3 teams will give us a better indication of how our midfield is truly going. The other issue is that our midfield is still young as a playing group combination, and still learning each other’s patterns, and I feel they still have much more room for improvement.

Rankine/Crouch/Dawson/Soligo is a reasonable core. Rachele/Peatling/Draper/Berry rotating through and likely to get better. Rankine and Soligo also still more room for improvement.

 

[steve9798]

Looking at the current top 8 we have the worst midfield in the 8, probably just behind Geelong. We desperately need an elite midfielder or 2 so we must develop Draper for the remainder of the year. We also need to develop a tagger (Bond) to reduce the impact of the oppositions elite midfielder.

Peatling, Dawson, Soligo, Bond (Tagger), Draper with cameos from Rachele, Rankine and Berry. It's not bad but it won't win a flag. We have to be super aggressive in this years trade period.

 

[crows dude]

We’re definitely lacking at least one real elite midfielder to build around we’ve got IMO great complementary pieces - Peatling, Soligo, Dawson rotating through, Rankine/Rachele as well.

Hopefully Draper will develop in time as well as Curtin and maybe Edwards.

Add someone like a Butters to our mix and we’re right up with the best in comp

Don't mention that please. It kills me when i hear that. We should have had Butters in our side already. If not for Ogilvies love of Tassie boys(Jones)

 

[StonesThrow]

Dawson, Soligo, Peatling and Draper should be our majority midfielders going forward. Not sure if it's premiership quality or not.

I still think we should be pursuing Rankine as a 50/50 mid forward. It hasn't clicked for him yet, but it would be great for us if it did.

Keep trying Rachele as a pinch hitter.

Curtin I'm not sure. He might end up being a tall forward. Hard to see where he'll end up, but not sure it's a midfielder.

 

[Mattrox]

I would really like to draft or trade a younger player big bodied with slick skills.

But realistically they are hen's teeth and an unrealistic expectation. I feel as though over 5 years Dawson, Soligo, Berry, Draper with Rachele and Rankine rotating. I think Peatling's performance will probably improve as he plays games.

Berry I have a question mark over. But in previous season he seems to have attributes. Sometimes tries too hard and starts writing cheques his skills can't cash. Maybe he playes the Crouch role if he can find consistency... and no I don't mean consistently meh.

Crouch realistically only has 1 or 2 seasons left. At the moment I feel like we need him fully fit for our short term best chance. If he's not fully fit, better to find out about some of the low game count younger players.

Maybe a B+ midfielder is a decent target? Someone reliable with a tank, that can tag? Good decision maker. We do now have players with slick skills. I can't help feeling our depth isn't up to deep finals yet. There will be organic growth, but to entirely rely on that will be a fools errand.

 

[Golumless]

I don't know how much I'd read into the Port game at this point, seeing the midfield has matched up well against every top-8 match up we've had this year, and that the area we got smoked in was stoppage clearances - historically an area this group has been ok in. The only thing that is probably worth worrying about is how well Dawson got shut down by a hard tag.

Hell will freeze over before the idea of 8-10 midfielders rotating through an inside unit will regularly happen, seeing successful football sides have long prioritized some form of small (3-5 midfielders) inside units taking up the lionshare of minutes with 1-2 additional players taking up 15-20% of center clearances (though this number rarely exceeds 6 without injuries). Which makes sense, every one you add to your midfield unit takes away time from your best players (and ultimately, this is a sport about skill execution) and unpredictability hurts you as much as it hurts the opposition. So we'll keep to an optimal set up for this.

So lets take stock of where we sit in round 9 in midfield important stats (ignoring rucks, I'm talking to the converted that we need an upgrade on ROB).

In the trenches:

5th highest contested disposal rate.
14th for first disposal rate from stoppage
3rd for first disposal resulting in clearance.
11th for scores from stoppage
4th in scores from center bounces.
17th in opposition first possession rate.
8th in opposition first possession to clearance.
10th in opposition scores from stoppage.
6th in ground ball gets.
5th in loose ball gets
1st in post-clearance ground ball gets
9th in center clearance differential (we are 0.1)
14th at stoppage clearance differential (note: it's likely we undertook a substantial decrease from Port shellacking us in this aspect of the game)

On transition:

AFL average at kicking efficiency, however, we have the 4th best at ball retention by foot (which is retention rate/difficulty of kick).
6th for disposals per opposition tackle
5th for meters gained
12th for disposals per turnover
1st in scores from defensive 50.
1st for scores from turnovers.
6th for chains that result in scores
7th for chains from defensive half that end up in scores (our defensive 50 scoring comes from weight of numbers more than efficiency)
11th for D50 to F50 chains.
5th in average disposal difference.
4th in turnover difference.
2nd for opposition disposal efficiency (3rd for opposition kicking efficiency).
4th for opposition disposal/tackle and disposal/clanger.
1st for opposition kick retention rating
6th in opposition scores from turnovers.
2nd in opposition scores from defensive half

Other

12th for clangers
6th for scores from forward half (could be in both trenches and transition)
13th in opposition scores from forward half

Mostly, this seems like a team in the 5-8th slots of the table. The ball movement game screams a genuine contender, seeing we're able to move the ball freely and stop the opposition from doing so. The inside game a work in progress, but likely just a case of 1-2 tweaks will kick it into gear instead of any systematic changes, or alternatively, lack of personnel. That said, it may be worth looking at an upgrade on Van Berlo to try to clean up the stoppage game.

So, what we have typically ran is we use Dawson as our primary midfielder with our 2nd-4th midfielders varying between some combination of Soligo, Rankine, Draper (in round 4), Crouch (when healthy) and Peatling (post-Crouch hip surgery). We've really been in love with the idea of the sub coming in and picking up CBA's in the fourth quarter with both Draper and Berry benefiting from this. What I think the next major tweak is for Adelaide's midfield is moving away from Dawson being the primary midfielder. There are three main reasons why I think this, 1) he's not a great ball winner, i.e. he's 69th for mids in ground ball gets, 72nd in hard ball gets, 67th loose ball gets, 65th in stoppage clearances, 58th for 1st possession (54th to clearance). 2) it's impacting his kicking skills, after all Dawson right now is 120th (out of 134 players) for kicking retention and it's coming from Dawson taking on 14th most difficult kicks out of midfielders (and even in years prior, Dawson hasn't been exceptional in this regard as a inside midfielder). 3) Adelaide really is crying out for a star half back to allievate the scores from forward half pressure that teams are able to put on us, the numbers are saying our transitional scoring is a weight of numbers more so than sheer skill thing.

Who should take over the primary midfield role, I hear you ask? Well, Izak Rankine

23

Izak Rankine

Age

25

Ht

179cm

Wt

82kg

Pos.

M/F

Career

Season

Last 5

D

13.0

3star

K

9.0

3star

HB

4.0

3star

M

2.7

3star

T

2.7

4star

CL

1.7

4star

D

13.0

3star

K

9.0

4star

HB

4.0

3star

M

2.7

3star

T

2.7

4star

CL

1.7

4star

D

13.0

4star

K

9.0

4star

HB

4.0

3star

M

2.7

3star

T

2.7

5star

CL

1.7

4star

should be given it. He's a much better ball winner as he's currently 16th ground ball gets, 45th in hard ball gets, 8th for loose ball gets, 8th stoppage clearances, 27th for first possesion (78th for first to clearance), despite a small reduction in centre clearances skill. Football is a numbers game, and Rankine is producing them, though I think it'll take an adjustment to our midfield unit structures to make the most of it. We're also still getting the destructivness from Rankine, being 27th at score launches, 11th for score involvements and 4th for goals scored, and I don't think these numbers will alter losing the forward time. Equally, our list suits Rankine being our primary midfielder better, as we have Rachele who, with Rankine departing the forward line for large stretches of time, is in the middle of a breakout campaign.

So from herein, I reckon we'd be best off with a unit of:

1st (60-80%): Rankine
2nd-4th(~40-80%): a combination of Soligo, Peatling, Berry/Crouch (I'd prefer Berry for additional defensive power, but dpeends on how much you value Crouch ball winning).
5th (~10-20%): Dawson
6th (Sub): Draper

With 2026-2027 seeing Draper push Berry/Crouch out of that 4th midfield slot (seeing I just reckon an uninjured Draper is a starting mid next year) and Curtin starting to get introduced in 2027. If you can get another midfield recruit in, that'd be golden, but it's probably good enough in a year or so to win it all with some structural tweaks.

 

[Go the Guts]

We're DEFINITELY 1 (or 2) midfield bulls short - in the Bont, Cripps, JHF mould. Burst from packs and genuine speed is a huge factor that we don't possess.
Until we trade one in or draft one and fast track one, we aint winning no flag.

 

[ABAB]

We're DEFINITELY 1 (or 2) midfield bulls short - in the Bont, Cripps, JHF mould. Burst from packs and genuine speed is a huge factor that we don't possess.
Until we trade one in or draft one and fast track one, we aint winning no flag.

Sound a lot like Draper who we just drafted last year with pick 4......

 

[AFC979810]

For me I think our best midfield mix right now is as follows:

Top 3 - Dawson, Peatling, Rankine.

Next 3 in - Draper, Soligo, Rachele.

I am starting to have doubts on Soligo. Feels a bit like a Rory Laird

29

Rory Laird

Age

31

Ht

178cm

Wt

85kg

Pos.

D/M

Career

Season

Last 5

D

25.4

5star

K

12.9

5star

HB

12.5

5star

M

5.4

5star

T

2.3

4star

MG

367.5

5star

D

19.6

5star

K

10.9

4star

HB

8.7

4star

M

3.4

3star

T

2.4

3star

MG

255.3

4star

D

14.6

4star

K

7.4

3star

HB

7.2

5star

M

3.2

4star

T

4.0

5star

clone. Taylor seems very similar to Soligo.

 

[weekend at bernies]

I'd like to see Curtin fast-tracked as a big bodied bont type mid. He looks lost up forward, but looks good when he pushed higher up the ground.

 

[Mutineer]

Don't mention that please. It kills me when i hear that. We should have had Butters in our side already. If not for Ogilvies love of Tassie boys(Jones)

And all the other club recruiters that could have had Butters? He was pick 12.

 

[Mutineer]

We're DEFINITELY 1 (or 2) midfield bulls short - in the Bont, Cripps, JHF mould. Burst from packs and genuine speed is a huge factor that we don't possess.
Until we trade one in or draft one and fast track one, we aint winning no flag.

Huh?

Cripps and Bont don't possess genuine speed, JHF sure.

 

[Ian Dunross]

Peatling and Rankine are Premiership quality starting mids IMO.

Dawson is a funny one because he has shown he can be an elite mid but his best consistent footy does seem to be when he's rotating from a flank or wing with some mid minutes.

I think the list is only one A grade mid away from being a top 4 list.

I would keep drafting best available talent in the draft and target more Peatling types from GWS/Lions/Suns, knowing that Curtin has the potential to pop as a mid and Draper should become a starting midfielder second half of next season.

 

[Golumless]

For me I think our best midfield mix right now is as follows:

Top 3 - Dawson, Peatling, Rankine.

Next 3 in - Draper, Soligo, Rachele.

I am starting to have doubts on Soligo. Feels a bit like a Rory Laird clone. Taylor seems very similar to Soligo.

How on earth are you getting Rory Laird vibes from Soligo? Don't get me wrong, both are very good ball winners (Soligo still has a bit to go to catch up to prime Laird) but Soligo ball use skills are leagues above Rory Laird. Now some of that is how we are and were organised (seeing we've transitioned in the last two years to a very kick-friendly structure*), but Soligo has always been an above average at kick retention which is rather impressive for a player who generates 43-47% contested disposal (and depending on how things go in 2026-2027, it might get to the point you can make a strong case for Soligo being an elite field kick). Laird on the other hand was a pretty typical inside midfielder, with typically low kick retention and a lot of butchery.

Hopefully Taylor is very similar to Soligo, though I have my doubts Zac will ever progress past being a half forward flanker. Seems like he's left his run too late alongside being a relatively poor runner makes it hard to see any real path for progression.

* Honestly, how shit the 2024 campaign was might be worth it for that transition and Sid Draper, because we didn't abandon what we were doing that year. We just got better at it.

I'd like to see Curtin fast-tracked as a big bodied bont type mid. He looks lost up forward, but looks good when he pushed higher up the ground.

If you want to rush Curtin, lock him in the gym and a running track for the next 12-24 months. He's a couple of preseasons off, body wise.

That said, he's doing alright in what is a difficult role (especially in a lineup that's stacked ahead of the ball) and is having a few moments here and there where you can tell the class is there. However, this year is just a pump games into him kind of campaign.

 

[hippyhippy]

Are there any decent mids available in the market next trade period? Draper could have a breakout year next year with a bit more experience and another pre season under his belt.

 

[Ian Dunross]

Are there any decent mids available in the market next trade period? Draper could have a breakout year next year with a bit more experience and another pre season under his belt.

I'd throw a big contract at a Lachie Ash - Vic Country boy

 

[Mutineer]

I'd throw a big contract at a Lachie Ash - Vic Country boy

If we're throwing big contracts around it has to be for an A grade mid and Lachie Ash is not that,

Fine footballer but not as big a need as a genuine A grade mid.

 

[Golumless]

I'd throw a big contract at a Lachie Ash - Vic Country boy

I don't hate that call at all. Adelaide needs a big time half back flanker, especially if we're unwilling to put Dawson back.

 

[Mutineer]

Are there any decent mids available in the market next trade period? Draper could have a breakout year next year with a bit more experience and another pre season under his belt.

Pretty slim pickings...unless a contracted player can be lured away..

2025 AFL Restricted and Unrestricted Free Agent list

The list of Restricted and Unrestricted Free Agents for 2025 has been confirmed

www.afl.com.au

 

[Crow till I die]

I think we are still a year or 2 away from really challenging.

The guys I would have as our primary mids if they can all come along and develop would be

Draper - will be burst and class. A player we need (and can't do without) to have a crack at a flag
Rankine - most highly skilled player we have and probably top 3 most skilled players in the comp - pure class
Peatling - has real speed and can find the ball, he is the Crouch replacement we need in there.
Curtin* - qualifier being he starts to get midfield time and can increase his possession count. he could be anything and a massive X factor if he works out there. The size of him if he can bring it all together as a midfielder would make him just about our most exciting player