Analysis The midfield conundrum

[schmuttt]

Figured I'd make a thread for what I see as the most pressing issue that we had in 2019, and absolutely the biggest area of improvement required in 2020.

Every MFC supporter knows that we've got a surplus of inside mids, and reading between the lines on training reports and how players are tracking, this could become the elephant in the room very quickly. How is it going to get worse you say? Well, apparently they've got Harmes training with defenders (I think he is a good all round player but I don't like it) and Petracca doing a lot of midfield work. This playing players out of position thing was pretty apparent in 2019 when Brayshaw was awful on a wing and Fritsch floundering in defence. It took the match committee over half a season to start playing Fritsch forward and guess what? He ended with 20 goals playing about 10 games up forward!

We've now (Touch wood) got a pretty clean bill of health with all the mids which ends with the question, who is our starting 3 on the ball? I've done a small breakdown of each players strengths and weaknesses below.

Oliver
Pros:
- best hands in the side if not the comp
- superb at reading the ball off the ruck and in a stoppage
- genuine speed away from the stoppage

Cons:
- doesn't have the confidence to use said speed nor the ball by foot
- doesn't hit the scoreboard enough
- when he does actually kick he just bombs it (Not a problem exclusive to him)

Viney
Pros:
- very good offensively and defensively around the stoppage
- can set the tone in big games with his physicality

Cons:
- crap kick
- extremely one dimensional, if he isn't in the center square where does he start?
- wouldn't say he is great at tracking back and helping the defence

Brayshaw
Pros:
- of all our mids except maybe Langdon he is the best at finding the ball in space
- genuine dual sided player, isn't a gun kick but probably a 6-7/10 on both sides

Cons:
- defensive efforts were horrid in 2019, sometimes he didn't even look like he wanted to be out there
- makes some very bad decisions by foot, loves to just whack it on the boot

Harmes:
Pros:
- clearly our best two way runner in midfield, can play on a man and beat him whilst hurting the oppo the other way
- kicking has improved a lot
- excellent overhead mark
- isn't afraid to take on a man and open up the play

Cons:
- is a bit of jack of all trades master of none which leads coaching staff to throw him around a lot
- still don't trust his goalkicking

Petracca
Pros:
- our most creative player in close, naturally takes players on and draws tacklers to open up the play
- marking and 1on1 ability obviously very handy up forward
- only needs 20 disposals to have a big impact on the game

Cons:
- fitness, has this improved enough to play 60-70% of games on the ball?
- his goalkicking improved in 2019 but still lacks confidence in front of the sticks, has a bad technique for set shots
- is our best player around the contest in terms of winning the ball but is one of our worst at getting the 'easy' touches out in space


I've left out guys like Langdon, Salem, Tomlinson and Jones because I don't see them spending much time in the square (Even though Salem has played some good footy there in the past). Players like Sparrow I have NFI how they'll break into our best 22 in the next 2-3 years, either he becomes a very good player out of nowhere and push someone out or he plays another position.

The biggest worry I have is they're trying to move Harmes out when he is probably the best all-round player there, which could make our 2019 problems of poor delivery inside 50 and bad ball movement + awful defensive coverage from midfield EVEN WORSE. Our clearance and contested ball numbers weren't actually that bad in 2019 (Although I think we inflate our own contested possession count unintentionally with overuse of the ball in close and poor disposal in general), we got figured out by the rest of the comp and now its up to the coaches to fix it. I wanted to trade Brayshaw at the end of 2019 for this reason, obviously we didn't and now the coaches have what I see as a very difficult job to make our midfield work again.

 

[Fork n Hell]

I think moving Harmes to the HBF can be a valuable move for us. he's pretty good one on one and overhead, carries the ball, and importantly doesn't panic with ball in hand and lowers his eyes to hit up targets. teams have woken up to Salem being our best distributor off half back and pay him extra attention, so he needs some help back there. after Jones, Lewis and Vince all had a shot at it in the last 3 years, at least now we'll have someone who's not half retired and got some run left in their legs playing the role.
Harmes's best form was as a run with player in the centre square, and no disrespect to him, but that's really a job for the kids with training wheels. Sparrow and Jordon should be tried out in that role this year imo, to show what they can do. Harmes was good in there but that doesn't mean we shouldn't still be looking for other/better options, and he will still rotate through the middle at times anyway, as will Petracca off the forward flank.

 

[ponsdale]

I'm really keen for Harmes in the high half back role. I see him as a half back that won't be afraid to hunt up the ground, get into the middle, and also be prepared to work back hard.

Harmes pushing back, opens up a rotation for Tracc. I get that he hasn't had the tank for this in prior years, but all reports have him significantly fitter so I'm holding out for the preseason games to get a better gauge on that.

Clarry, Viney and Brayshaw are my starting three in the square with Gawn. I think its the most effective combo we had in 2018, and I believe we can get back to that in 2020 given they're all fit and having enough of a preseason to focus on that, rather than just getting out of rehab before round 1.

I think Viney takes the more defensive role in the middle, Clarry the attacking role, and Brayshaw a little wider for the spread.

 

[nacnud]

The reason we got Langdon and Tomlinson was for this very reason, to balance out our midfield. It should free up Brayshaw to play more on the inside. You don’t trade core drafted players as it could disrupt the long term cohesion of the team.

Fritsch played defence because of a lack of options arising from injuries to blokes like lever, may, hore, McDonald. The club even stated they want fritta to play forward every week this season.

I feel the traits from the midfielders you saw last year you assume will be displayed this year as well which I think is false, as they clearly weren’t fit due to a shithouse preseason. This year we should see more of the mids showing much more of their strengths and less of their weaknesses with proper preseasons.

Harmes to half back would free up Petracca to play more midfield minutes

I reckon our surplus of inside mids is a good thing as it means we have great depth in the area.

In conclusion, she’ll be right mate.

 

[schmuttt]

The reason we got Langdon and Tomlinson was for this very reason, to balance out our midfield. It should free up Brayshaw to play more on the inside. You don’t trade core drafted players as it could disrupt the long term cohesion of the team.

Fritsch played defence because of a lack of options arising from injuries to blokes like lever, may, hore, McDonald. The club even stated they want fritta to play forward every week this season.

I feel the traits from the midfielders you saw last year you assume will be displayed this year as well which I think is false, as they clearly weren’t fit due to a shithouse preseason. This year we should see more of the mids showing much more of their strengths and less of their weaknesses with proper preseasons.

Harmes to half back would free up Petracca to play more midfield minutes

I reckon our surplus of inside mids is a good thing as it means we have great depth in the area.

In conclusion, she’ll be right mate.

Langdon and Tomlinson aren't starting in the center square often though, nor will they have a lot of games where they're right in the middle of the stoppages. Yes I'm willing to accept injury was part of the problem in 2019, but the midfield problems we had were already there in 17-18.

 

[Proper Gander]

None of this seems our most pressing issue.

Oliver will be an exceptional footballer. He was made to look silly on occasion last year. I’m comfortable putting that down to his reduced prep plus the plunge in standards across the whole team. AFL is a team game - you can’t weave magic with the handball if your flat footed mates aren’t ready and on the move. He can and will improve.

Viney it’s all about his management of what appear to be injuries that he will have to deal with for his career, if not life. If they can be managed then he is an absolute weapon. His skills by foot are questionable but we’ve always known that. If he can manage his body great. If he can’t then I totally agree we have some sensitive manoeuvres required (which we will balls up, so let’s hope not).

Brayshaw. Interesting footballer. I love him but don’t know what to make of him. But so much of what he did second half of 2018 was exceptional. 2 sided as you say. Slow as a wet Sunday but in form it doesn’t hurt him. He has a Sam Mitchellesque side step that seems to give him space. You can’t teach that and he’s got it. It’s a wait and see really, but I think people have forgotten that he is still very young - the 3rd in the Brownlow probably did that. On the whole I think were more likely to get a good news result from this guy.

Harmes I love. I kind of like the idea of where he has been sent in this offseason to develop. Don’t know really how it will go, but he’s a natural footy player so I’m probably optimistic.

Trac - danger with him is a move more than anything. He will have to continue to play a fair bit forward for now given we have some strong contenders for mid spots. If he gets his tank up and is desperate to be a full time mid right now than I guess it’s possible he might consider offers? I can’t really see it but things do happen.

I don’t know squat about Tomlinson but I’m pleased about the recruitment of Langdon. By chasing him, it seems to indicate that our coaching group want to improve our forward movement with a fast winger. I’m waiting and hoping that we will improve on the spread hugely from last year. With good wing options, and good drilling, each of you candidates should look a million times better in the midfield. It’s easier to do a job getting the ball out with an actual plan about who to dispose to.

 

[KickLongTackleHard]

Are Viney and Brayshaw going to be good, consistent players that can complement Gawn and Oliver or are they inconsistent B graders? Not sure we really know yet.

 

[schmuttt]

None of this seems our most pressing issue.

Oliver will be an exceptional footballer. He was made to look silly on occasion last year. I’m comfortable putting that down to his reduced prep plus the plunge in standards across the whole team. AFL is a team game - you can’t weave magic with the handball if your flat footed mates aren’t ready and on the move. He can and will improve.

Viney it’s all about his management of what appear to be injuries that he will have to deal with for his career, if not life. If they can be managed then he is an absolute weapon. His skills by foot are questionable but we’ve always known that. If he can manage his body great. If he can’t then I totally agree we have some sensitive manoeuvres required (which we will balls up, so let’s hope not).

Brayshaw. Interesting footballer. I love him but don’t know what to make of him. But so much of what he did second half of 2018 was exceptional. 2 sided as you say. Slow as a wet Sunday but in form it doesn’t hurt him. He has a Sam Mitchellesque side step that seems to give him space. You can’t teach that and he’s got it. It’s a wait and see really, but I think people have forgotten that he is still very young - the 3rd in the Brownlow probably did that. On the whole I think were more likely to get a good news result from this guy.

Harmes I love. I kind of like the idea of where he has been sent in this offseason to develop. Don’t know really how it will go, but he’s a natural footy player so I’m probably optimistic.

Trac - danger with him is a move more than anything. He will have to continue to play a fair bit forward for now given we have some strong contenders for mid spots. If he gets his tank up and is desperate to be a full time mid right now than I guess it’s possible he might consider offers? I can’t really see it but things do happen.

I don’t know squat about Tomlinson but I’m pleased about the recruitment of Langdon. By chasing him, it seems to indicate that our coaching group want to improve our forward movement with a fast winger. I’m waiting and hoping that we will improve on the spread hugely from last year. With good wing options, and good drilling, each of you candidates should look a million times better in the midfield. It’s easier to do a job getting the ball out with an actual plan about who to dispose to.

What do you see as a bigger on field issue than the midfield balance?

 

[Topkent]

I think it's naive to think Langdon will fix everything that was wrong in 18 and 19 by himself. It's forgotten we got absoloutely spanked by the best teams in 18 aswell due to our poor midfield balance. Not really that important beating the dogs by 100 if you lose to Collingwood by 70 playing the same style.

Oliver Viney and Brayshaw shouldn't line up at the centre square together, that's 3 blokes who's first instinct is to go for the ball and lose touch with their opponents.

Each of them is good enough to be the designated ball hunter on their own. One should be protecting the back of the square and the other should be ready to fold off for the handball. Those 3 encapsulated the problems the rest of the team had in not trusting their teammates to win the ball.

It's like having 3 full forwards all inside the 50. Looks great on paper but only one can actually take the mark and then you have 2 blokes not that great at crumbing and creating pressure.

 

[Proper Gander]

What do you see as a bigger on field issue than the midfield balance?

Oh I think midfield balance is hugely important. I just don’t think our personnel are problematic in that regard. Not that you would know it from watching our 2019 games.

I still have some trepidation about our forward craft. We scored okay in 2018 and all, but I found our persistent high press and ugly use pretty hard watching at times

 

[Fork n Hell]

I think Langdon and Tomlinson being elite runners in the team means we now don't have to worry about rotating guys through the wings and instead can run more blokes through the guts from off of the flanks more often, helping to keep our main ball winners fresher. blokes like Harmes, Trac, Vanders, Salem and maybe a Sparrow or Jordon from off of the bench, can all go help out in there in bursts, helping to keep the mix constantly changing.
I reckon it was one of our biggest problems last year. spread too thin, the main 4 guys in Viney, Oliver, Brayshaw and Harmes just did too much work on ball all year. no wonder they looked flat most weeks. injuries forward and back and no decent wingers limited how much help they could get in the centre square, i expect that will change a fair bit this year.

 

[Daemon]

What do you see as a bigger on field issue than the midfield balance?

Forward line. Need people in form abd uninjured top kick goals. Have we got the right mix up there?

 

[Crusty Demon]

Forward line. Need people in form abd uninjured top kick goals. Have we got the right mix up there?

I do think midfield issues are more important as that's the most important part of the ground to get right. But agree that our forward line is sh#t. I'm jealous of Carlton's forwardline, that's how sh#t ours is. Fritsch is the only one that looks like being dangerous in front of goal. The rest are either backs turned forwards, perennially injured or mostly out of form or not good enough. Kozzie and Harley have the potential to transform our F50, but it's a big if, as Kozzie is in his 1st year and Harley is always injured. So this is why getting our mids right is crucial. No coincidence that last year our poor forwardline was exposed because our mids were horrible. In 2018 our forwardline looked way better than it should have with fantastic contributions from a rampaging midfield.

 

[saj_21]

Great work by Schmuttt

Just a small input from my end, yes our contested possession were almost off the chart in 2018, but we were also the best team at defending turnovers.

2019, we have an unfit and injured team with no cohesion. Also for memory our CP numbers were still good but our CP numbers post stoppage were the just about the worst in the league and we couldn’t defend the turnover.

Essentially our spread was horrible, and it meant we couldn’t win the footy in space or defend the footy in space.

Whether this was from the clubs obsession with CP Numbers or just gravitated that way as the season slip further and further away.

I think Richmond CP numbers are nothing to boast about and there kicking efficiency in 2017 was the worst in the AFL. The hawks dominant area they barely won the CP count. But the dogs set a season high CP differential in 2016.

You can’t follow the leader in the AFL, you have to embrace what you have at your disposal and play to your strengths, we can’t copy west coast or Richmond because we aren’t them.

 

[djpaulydemon]

If we abandon the stupid forward press and extras at the contest I think we could keep that core of primarily inside mids.

There should be some minor improvements in fitness due to full preseasons and seemingly more emphasis on aerobic fitness, but the advantage i reckon is overblown. If anything the difference will be mostly psychological due to the change up.

But really we amplify the weakness of our slow midfield by pressing high and not spreading our players out to cover more space. We do the reverse of cheating on the spread in defense and offense. We try and commit extras to the contest in the forawd half and execute a zone. We wonder why teams stroll through an undermaned zone with slow inside mids camped in the forward line chasing after them.

We tried having extras at the contest and swarming and gang tackling in a makeshift zone in 2018 and it worked on bad teams. We had insane CP numbers and defended turnovers well with our pressure, but once we played skilled, well drilled teams they could pick us apart.

We have a midfield that are all very good contested ball winners but we have extras at the contest? It makes zero sense. We need to generate more 1v1's ( play to our strength) and cheat on the spread (mask our weakness) while holding our backline back and opening up the forward line. It can be achieved with the mix we have.

TL; DR
Change the game plan.

 

[HANDSOLO]

If we abandon the stupid forward press and extras at the contest I think we could keep that core of primarily inside mids.

There should be some minor improvements in fitness due to full preseasons and seemingly more emphasis on aerobic fitness, but the advantage i reckon is overblown. If anything the difference will be mostly psychological due to the change up.

But really we amplify the weakness of our slow midfield by pressing high and not spreading our players out to cover more space. We do the reverse of cheating on the spread in defense and offense. We try and commit extras to the contest in the forawd half and execute a zone. We wonder why teams stroll through an undermaned zone with slow inside mids camped in the forward line chasing after them.

We tried having extras at the contest and swarming and gang tackling in a makeshift zone in 2018 and it worked on bad teams. We had insane CP numbers and defended turnovers well with our pressure, but once we played skilled, well drilled teams they could pick us apart.

We have a midfield that are all very good contested ball winners but we have extras at the contest? It makes zero sense. We need to generate more 1v1's ( play to our strength) and cheat on the spread (mask our weakness) while holding our backline back and opening up the forward line. It can be achieved with the mix we have.

TL; DR
Change the game plan.

excellent post. In fact the ability of our coaching staff to change and develop the game plan, or as Saj puts it make a game plan for what we’ve got, is my biggest concern. We have shown we cannot adjust in season so let’s hope they are cooking up something excellent right now

 

[saj_21]

excellent post. In fact the ability of our coaching staff to change and develop the game plan, or as Saj puts it make a game plan for what we’ve got, is my biggest concern. We have shown we cannot adjust in season so let’s hope they are cooking up something excellent right now

I think of the modern area (say 2000 onwards) its one of the biggest mistakes coaches make, copying last year premiers. Look at the sides that for some reason where able to start a trend (clarko's cluster) or indeed build a game plan around their strengths (doggies 16). The next key is "timing" this in a year you have a fit list, confidence, good draw and around a time when other sides are trying to establish their brand.

For mine in 2018 we built a game plan that suited our list and we got the best out of it, we had a good run of injuries and were relatively confident for a melbourne side but ultimately we weren't good enough. 2019 we all know what happened. 2020 with a fitter last list than 2019 it will be interesting to see what changes the coaches make, double down and tweak 2018 or strip it back and start again.....

 

[Xhoquelin]

I think by finals(hehe) Trac will be our 3rd inside mid.

Oliver/Gus/Trac just seems like it'll have much more chemistry. They've had really nice interplay before already, and I think that's key. Clarry and Gussy will get outside more when Trac gets it at the coalface because he knows Trac can find him.

Perhaps pessimistic but I think Jack is gonna have to develop into a more defensive styled mid; maybe even a tagger. I just don't see any improvement in his chemistry with Gussy and Clarry. I love Jack but his vision in close quarters just doesn't seem good; and whilst crash and bash is awesome(and Vines as our fourth mid is a luxury) and required; when the game is on the line I think more often than not he's not in the centre square.

Love the idea of Harmes at HB if the talks of him communicating well are true, and he should theoretically be strong 1 on 1 with his athleticism and tenacity. **** we need Lever and May fit though. Those two are seemingly the only guys in the current setup who communicate and ensure we have a proper setup at inside 50 stoppages. Harmes could have a rough start in terms of his positioning as natural a footy player as he is.

I could see Salem/Harmes not working though; Salo's accountability was questioned by David King on film(although this isn't my biggest issue given how bad we were in that game vs Sydney), and in the first place he's quite slow and small(this is my bigger issue, he can't actually match up on smalls or talls. We might have to pick between Marty, Salo, Joel Smith, Tomlinson for a spot next to Nev Lever May. I think Harmes, if he gets positioning down, would be invaluable for communication purposes.

 

[Karp3_dm]

Hey guys, is angus Brayshaw in your starting midfield?
And how’s he’s preseason gone?
sorry to intrude

 

[Dory_77]

Hey guys, is angus Brayshaw in your starting midfield?
And how’s he’s preseason gone?
sorry to intrude

Maybe starting in midfield, but will be rotating through a lot. Bit of conjecture on what the best mix is but he should get regular minutes.
Was injured earlier this year (elbow) so a bit restricted in the types of training he's done. Should be right for rd 1