The half forward role for developing midfielders

[Drugs Are Bad Mackay?]

This has been our preferred method for introducing our young midfielders to AFL level.

Pedlar, Draper, Taylor, Rachele.

Is it the way to go?

Some teams run their young mids off half back as an introduction to AFL level instead.

They need to be able to play somewhere else - even Nick Daicos wasn't a full time centre square mid from Day 1 - but is the half forward flank the best introduction?

I feel like it's quite a difficult role. High percentage of possessions need to be contested, can be quite an opportunistic role rather than having attacks steered your way, need to have natural forward instincts in terms of reading the play, need to stay out of our other forward's space.

They need to learn how to play the half forward flank role, how to coordinate with the other forwards. Takes time. Becoming a midfielder is somewhere off in the distance.

I'm wondering if this particular role stalls their development as midfielders. It also means those still in the SANFL can't play midfield there because they will be playing half forward if they get picked at AFL level. Seems like we create an extra hoop for our young mids to jump through.

 

[SellarStardom]

We introduce midfields to the AFL via a HF role and then instruct them not to play to theor natural instincts but to defend against theor man getting the ball.

HB is the most logical position but we don't do it

 

[Scorpus]

Half back is where we put senior players struggling for form

There's no room for development there

 

[pjcrows]

Our coaching department sucks and needs to change.

 

[1970crow]

Pretty sure some of our best mids ever played at least some early footy behind the ball. Has it happened since Roo, Macca, Goody, Edwards though? Why is it totally off the table now? Playing waste of spaces like Laird and Milera aren’t the reason because if we dropped them they’d be replaced by a dedicated half back anyway.

 

[Cromulant]

Half forward or half back can work, particularly the latter.

Playing half forward works for youngsters who have played a bit of junior footy there, half back is a bit easier because the game comes to you more.

Looks like weve made those switches with Charlie Edwards, even Dowling in the senior side. Im not against it but once they show a bit like Edwards has done, its time to move Milera or Laird aside and bring them into the fold

 

[Burtonsgottago]

Half back is where we put senior players struggling for form

There's no room for development there

If we put our youngsters at HB, how are Milera and Laird going to get their cheap touches?

 

[Cromulant]

If we put our youngsters at HB, how are Milera and Laird going to get their cheap touches?

In the SANFL

 

[cmndstab]

The thing I don't understand is that we did put Draper in the midfield to begin with. I even remember commenting on how nice it was to finally have a young midfielder that we didn't mess around by playing him out of position. And yet somehow, he seems to have been bumped from the midfield spot in the last few weeks.

I agree, it's a dead role. The only midfielders that have done well in that role in recent years have been Rachele and Keays, both of which have proved to be more useful forwards than midfielders anyway. And the list of midfielders taken in the first two rounds that we've saddled with that position and who have turned into busts is damning - McHenry, Pedlar, Cook, Schoenberg... I think even Jones was given the role at one point. Fingers crossed Taylor can avoid the curse. You could even argue we're doing it with Curtin at the moment.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the one midfielder we didn't do it with is now thriving: Soligo.

I don't mind young midfielders being played primarily at half forward, but they should receive some serious midfield time as well. Not just 1 or 2 CBAs for the whole match. Maybe they get in there for 30% of the match, and spend 45% of the time at half forward + 25% on the bench. There is absolutely no reason why our current established midfielders can't rotate to half forward and open up a space for the young mids to get through there more often.

 

[spenze]

What can I say?

LOL Nicks

 

[Samcro24]

What can I say?

LOL Nicks

Don’t forget Nafen

 

[spenze]

Don’t forget Nafen

Don’t have a go at Nafen, he’s a christian

 

[Samcro24]

Don’t have a go at Nafen, he’s a christian

And a hooman

 

[spenze]

And a hooman

Yes let us not forget he is only Hooman

 

[hugecannon]

We’d be better off drafting some small forwards/HF and getting them to develop some midfield craft than drafting small midfielders and shunting them to the flanks or pocket.

 

[Jarman3]

HB would be ideal, but HF is better than leaving them languishing in the SANFL. At least playing HF means they're in the side and they can at least get SOME midfield time at AFL level.

While I'm not a huge fan of Laird or Milera these days (although Milera, in particular, has had his moments this year), look on the bright side - at least they're keeping Brodie Smith

33

Brodie Smith

Age

33

Ht

194cm

Wt

88kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

19.5

5star

K

12.3

5star

HB

7.2

4star

M

4.2

4star

T

2.1

4star

MG

500.1

5star

D

17.1

4star

K

12.6

5star

HB

4.5

3star

M

3.5

3star

T

2.3

3star

MG

438.9

5star

D

17.2

5star

K

10.8

4star

HB

6.4

4star

M

3.8

4star

T

3.6

5star

out of the team.

 

[Southerntakeover]

This has been our preferred method for introducing our young midfielders to AFL level.

Pedlar, Draper, Taylor, Rachele.

Is it the way to go?

Some teams run their young mids off half back as an introduction to AFL level instead.

They need to be able to play somewhere else - even Nick Daicos wasn't a full time centre square mid from Day 1 - but is the half forward flank the best introduction?

I feel like it's quite a difficult role. High percentage of possessions need to be contested, can be quite an opportunistic role rather than having attacks steered your way, need to have natural forward instincts in terms of reading the play, need to stay out of our other forward's space.

They need to learn how to play the half forward flank role, how to coordinate with the other forwards. Takes time. Becoming a midfielder is somewhere off in the distance.

I'm wondering if this particular role stalls their development as midfielders. It also means those still in the SANFL can't play midfield there because they will be playing half forward if they get picked at AFL level. Seems like we create an extra hoop for our young mids to jump through.

Given that we've developed precisely zero elite midfielders in the last 10 or so years, it's a fair bet that what we're doing isn't best practice.

 

[dylan123]

Said it last year or the year before but would have loved to have seen Rachele across half back. Nice loose role to read the play, rack it up and attack forward from there, think he would have excelled.

 

[FR0GGY]

Given that we've developed precisely zero elite midfielders in the last 10 or so years, it's a fair bet that what we're doing isn't best practice.

Have we picked any though?
It’s probably not unreasonable to expect maybe one later pick to develop into an elite mid but we haven’t spent the capital on a top mid other than maybe Rachele who we don’t even play in the middle.
Do the problems start earlier than development?

 

[maxlilly]

Some of our early midfield picks
Pedlar, Jones, McHenry, Berry and Shoenberg
Some showed potential early on and then wither on the vine
Is it recruiting or development ?
Lets hope Draper lives up to the hype

 

[Samcro24]

Have we picked any though?
It’s probably not unreasonable to expect maybe one later pick to develop into an elite mid but we haven’t spent the capital on a top mid other than maybe Rachele who we don’t even play in the middle.
Do the problems start earlier than development?

We seem allergic to the most important part of the ground. Top picks used in mids:

Brad Crouch 2011
Sid Draper 2024

 

[Jarman3]

Have we picked any though?
It’s probably not unreasonable to expect maybe one later pick to develop into an elite mid but we haven’t spent the capital on a top mid other than maybe Rachele who we don’t even play in the middle.
Do the problems start earlier than development?

Would we consider Dawson and/or Rankine to be elite mids? I mean we didn't draft them, but we brought them in as a defender and forward, respectively, and have since turned them into mids. Well, Dawson turned himself into a mid because Nicks didn't have the vision to do it otherwise, but still.

 

[Samcro24]

Would we consider Dawson and/or Rankine to be elite mids? I mean we didn't draft them, but we brought them in as a defender and forward, respectively, and have since turned them into mids. Well, Dawson turned himself into a mid because Nicks didn't have the vision to do it otherwise, but still.

It’s more of the patch up mentality imo.
Though they probably saw midfield potential with Rankine.

We’d be better off with some more pure elite mids. Allow Rankine to pinch hit in there, Dawson as a utility playing where needed between the arcs.

 

[Syd Crow]

It's funny you mention that as I had also thought the same thing. From memory it used to be the case in the early days of the crows that midfielders would start their career mainly playing at halfback. Half forward is always mentioned as the hardest position to play yet that's where we put our new, young future midfielders? Does not make a lot of sense if you want to ease them into a successful AFL career.

 

[Syd Crow]

HB would be ideal, but HF is better than leaving them languishing in the SANFL. At least playing HF means they're in the side and they can at least get SOME midfield time at AFL level.

While I'm not a huge fan of Laird or Milera these days (although Milera, in particular, has had his moments this year), look on the bright side - at least they're keeping Brodie Smith out of the team.

As the saying goes, "The game doesn't know how old or experienced you are". Unfortunately the coach does.