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Top 6: Midfielders

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theone5

theone5

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Mar 16, 2006
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The point of this thread is to work as a team at forecasting who the best midfielders will be by the end of the year.

It will be hard to predict but it will create some great discussion, especially choosing the 4th, 5th and 6th best.

I want everyone who reads this to post what they personally believe the Top 6 midfielders will be this year come seasons end based on "averages", not "overall points".

It should be your own opinion and i would love to see a short description next to each name explaining why you believe he will be at the top end of the table come seasons end.

I will post my Top 6 once this gets up and running.
 
1. Jimmy Bartel:
Been down on a form a bit lately, doesnt seem to be getting into the game as much as last year, rumour is that he's just broken up with his gf and this may be playing on his mind. Scary thing is that he's still the 3rd ranked player this year. Just coasting atm, once Jimmy hits his strap there is no peer, huge possesion winner, tackles hard, and strong overhead.

2. Gary Ablett:
Has been in tremendous form this year, breaking tags at will and capable of putting up huge scores. His teamates look for him at every opportunity so will rarely have a quiet one.

3. Joel Corey:
Big bodied midfielder who tackles and takes marks. 3rd string behind Jimmy and Gaz at Geelong, so will rarely get a tag. Ultra consitent.

4. Kane Cornes:
The top scoring midfielder over the past few years, Kane's numbers have been slightly dissaspointing this year. However, I expect him to come home like a train, the two Sydney games are out of the way, and Chad being back should help a lot.

5. Daniel Cross:
Contrary to popular opinions Cross is more than just an in and under player, actualy plays on the wing mostly and is often used as the link man, this is his most effective role dt wise. His scores have not been great the last few weeks due to West being out and hence needing to do a lot more of the clearance work, hopefully West will be back soon and we'll Crossy explode.

6. Matt Pridis:
Just has a knack of getting the ball, he just loves getting possession. His disposals aren't great which is a blessing in disguise dt wise as opponents do not mind the ball in his hand, very rarely get tagged.
 
The top 3 I think are fairly straight forward and you could arrange them in either way because it is really hard to split the three of them IMO.

Ablett
Gone with Ablett at number one due to his ability to kick double the amount of goals that Corey and Bartel do. Yes he does get the number one tag week in week out but he has showed it doesn’t affect him much, still has the ability to get 100’s and when he isn’t, can get 120+.

Bartel
Now I’m sure some people won’t have him this low but reading the Geelong board, he seems to be hampered by an injury at the moment and doesn’t seem to be at his best. The break is in 4 weeks and if this is true I think his score won’t be as great as they should be when he is 100% fit until then. Again, I don’t see much between the top three but these next four weeks I think might separate him from Ablett very slightly if true, if not i’d have him at number one.

Corey
Won’t be effected by a tag and is mighty consistent. Has proven he can get big score and not just for one week but two or three weeks in a row.

Priddis
Priddis is an absolute ball magnet and a tackle machine. Will never get tagged as Kerr is first in line by a fair way and it even though Kerr isn’t playing this week, they are playing Collingwood. Has shown he can score massively last year and without Cousins and Judd, getting much more game time and is a main target for Cox’s hit-outs, his big score will come much more regularly than last year. Might be a little biased as he is in my team but he is my roughie and he definitely has the potential to be the number 4 midfielder.

Kornes
I chose Priddis over Kornes pretty much because I’m still worried about the tagging jobs he gets week in week out. He has shown that he can still rack up the hundred and big ones at that while doing this but I still have concerns that he could get a few 60’s here and there because of this.

S.Thompson
This might be a surprise but I think Scotty has it. This spot was between him, Swan and Cross but I’m still concerned with Swan having to face Sydney 2 more times this year and will no doubt get Rawlings when they play the Roos. Cross just doesn’t kick enough to get the big scores of the others do and that's why i gave the edge to Thompson. Thompson does everything, quadrupole double last week, I think the first ever recorded. The tag, if he does get it, doesn’t worry him much because he would just push forward which he proved he could do last year kicking a few bags of three. He also was the five highest midfield scorer last year.

I think the other that you could make a case for other than Swan and Cross is Hayes.
 
1 Jimmy Bartel/Joel Corey --> This is a tie in my opinion. Whether or not Bartel takes the mantle again depends on how his opposition pays attention to him. Corey has had the odd poor quarter lately, but still racks them up and gets hardly any attention from the opposition. Another factor here is how Geelong go for the rest of the season. If they win every game from here on in, they will have the top 3 DTers. If their form drops off, their scores will do the same as they did on Friday night.

3 Gary Ablett Jr --> Super start to the season for the superstar. He is now consistently breaking the tag better than any other player in the game. No doubt in my mind though that he will have the odd shocker here or there and is prone to the odd niggly injury, which sees him leave the field for periods of the game.

4 Kane Cornes --> The modern day DT gun, he tags and racks them up at the same time, and as such, will never get tagged. Good for 30 possies a game week in week out, has the odd massive game and has already played Sydney - twice. From here on in he will average the same as Corey/Bartel, but his "poor" start (Sydney twice, Adelaide and Brisbane, his 3 worst teams) means he has no chance of catching up to them average-wise.

5 Chad Cornes --> Unbelievable DTer, in his last year in the backs :(. Anyone that doesnt have him needs a big kick up the backside. Racks up the marks, even with a broken finger. A score of 91 against Sydney in his comeback typifies Chads tenacity as a footballer and DTer. Averaging just a click under 100 atm, he, like his brother, will have a huge second half to the season.

6 Matthew Richardson --> Often the whipping boy down at Tigerland, he is now the favorite son of the whole league. Gone are the dummy spits (Matthew Knights is now at another club :p) and the errant kicking at goal. Big Ricky is in the form of his life, a brownlow contender, and a dead set ____ing superstar. He roams the wings getting 13-14 marks a game, gets 20+ possies a game and to top it off with a cherry on top, he gets a solid goal kicking return. Could even be higher on this list if he started the season on the wing.
 

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1) Ablett Jnr - By far IMO. All other Geelong players go out their way to protect/sheperd for him which allows him to find so much free space.

2) Kornes - Just racks them up week in and week out. Has been probably the most consistent DTer over the past 2-3years.

3) Cross - Has reached a new level this year and will never cop the tag while Cooney/Griffen are in the Doggies side.

4) Swan - Kind of like Cross in that he will never cop a tag but this is because he isn't as damaging with the footy like a Didak/Thomas/Pendlebury. Racks them up consistently.

5) Corey - Like Cross/Swan will not cop a tag while Ablett/Bartel/Chapman are playing so will always get plenty of the ball. This is of course when Richmond don't tag him ;)

6) Hayes - Has scored very well so far this year with his lowest score coming against the Swans in Round 1 which was 79. Has scored over 100 4 times this year. Consistent as they come. Average is 99.1 at the moment.

Left out Bartel but he could easily take Hayes/Corey's spot.
 
seen as everyone has done this from a dream team point of view i will give my opinion on the supercoach side of things.

1) Ablett - Easily the best supercoacher going around, averaging 139 which is over 20 more than anyone else. Ablett has to be in your team if you are a chance at winning in my opinion. If you can rely on a captain to average 140 then your are alot of points up on everyone who doesn't have him.

2) Bartel - Proved he was an absolute fantasy stud last year and has just kept it going this year. Bartel is at a very reasonable price right now so now could be the time to jump on.

3) Judd - Despite all of his injuries last year he managed to keep up a very high average. This year Judd has been a bit below his brilliant best and is still averaging 107!! If Judd can hit his straps in the second half of the year he could once again be pulling out the massive scores.

4) Cooney - Cracked the ton all bar two occasions this year with a low of 85. Extremely consistent and reliable. Cooney is the type of player you can build a team around with that kind of consistency you know you will get a good score every week. Cooney gets alot of hard ball and this is the reason behind the massive step up this season.

5) Dal Santo - Despite a below par start to the year from Dal Santo he is still an extremely valuable supercoacher. He has the ability to turn 15 touch games into hundreds which is exactly what you want. Dal Santo is an extremely good user of the ball and will hopefully improve his form back to what he was doing last year.

6) Chad Cornes - So many players could have been here but i have chosen but i went with Chad because of his ability to score well in any role. No matter how the coach decides to use him he will rack up a big score. Ideally you would select Chad as a backman but because he can also be selected as a Midfielder he is in my opinion in the best 6.
 
**** I haven't included the chad in my analysis because he should be picked as a backman. However, he is listed as a md as in the top 3 mids IMO. ****

Ablett - Can't go past him. As my missus says, Flowy (because of his flowy hair) just looks so good whenever he has the ball and he has it so often! He is a goal kicking midifielder who has a great work ethic. He also seems to be the cats marquette player so they protect him wherever possible with sheppards/screens/blocks and they stick up for gazza in every instance!

Kornes - I'm not just saying it cos I've got him. Kornes has an uncanny ability to tag a player out of them game whilst still racking them up. I've watched him closely lately and especially last week aginst goodes. There were times where he had his chin against goodes shoulder just to let him know that he was all over him, however, as soon as the pwer had the ball he peeled off for a quick get. He always calls for the ball regardless of where he is, if he could pick up gazza's ability to kick goals he would be unstoppable.

Corey - As people have talked about before, he does go under the radar a fair bit but he just racks them up. He plays large portions in the middle and is one of the cornerstones of Geelong's game plan.

Swan - Dane was all over my radar at the start of the year because he is young, doesnt have much hype around him and still racks the points up. Only this year have I realised just how hard he works. He has a great game sense as he moves to space whenever possible.

Cross - As stated earlier Crossy won't cop a tag with the likes of Cooney, West, Griffen around. He loves to tackle and has a great aerobic capacity and this can be seen by his long stints in the middle. Also he racks them up in the last quarter, I may see if i can find the data somewhere later but he would probably average 30-40 points in the last quarter of a match. If only we could chop his hands off to stop him handballing as his handball to kick ratio is terrible for DT

Hayes - My last spot was a contentious decision. I think hayes is a gun for DT though and is still working his way back to his prime. He has a strong body, moves well and loves to tackle. Watching Hayes tackle - he loves to bring his opponents to the ground. So many players tackle and tacklee (player tackled) still gets the ball away (no DT points), however, Hayes brings the player to the ground and gets credited with the tackle. He has Dal Santo who takes the tag off him more often than not also. Hayes has the ability to be a number 1 DT'er at some stage.

Acknowledgments: Bartel, Thompson, Priddis
 
I’m going to let the numbers speak for themselves here, with a bit of supporting text where required. This is based on stats from last year and this YTD.

Bartel – very few games at less than 80, historically hits spikes above 120+ more often than the others. Plays well in all conditions.

Ablett – looks to have upped the bulk of his games from the 80-89 ppg bracket to the 90-99 ppg bracket. Scoring frequently at 120+

Corey – looks to have moved the bulk of his games from the 100-109 ppg bracket to the 110-119 ppg bracket, and has really upped games at 130+

Swan – more big games at 120+ than previous year, bulk of games in the 90-129 range this year.

Kornes – even though not quite in gear, 55% of games in the 100-119 bracket. Expect the big 120+ games to follow.

Carazzo – already has 78% of games in the 90-109 bracket, and known to score 120+ games with some regularity. Ultra-consistent above 90 ppg.


*EDIT* see post 26 for revised graphs
 

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Crows88 said:
Great analysis Baxter, just one question, do you have a job? These sort of graphs would take me all day to pump out!!
Click to expand...
Yeah, sadly I still have a job to take away from my DT and other obsessions. Collected the stats over lunch, 15 minutes tonight to generate and upload the graphs. Excel does it all for you...
 
Here are my Top 6 midfielders in a predictive order:

G.Ablett
The best footballer in our game who rightfully deserves to be the best Dream Team player in our game as well.
His average has increased from 77 to 113.6 in two seasons which is quite remarkable.
I have only just been convinced that his scores will not drop either, despite his heavy attention week-in, week-out.

J.Bartel
The former Brownlow medallist is the "ideal" player to have in your squad.
He is durable.
He is consistent.
He rarely cops a heavy tag.
He plays well in all conditions.
He can get the hard ball and the cheap ball.
I think he will have a big second half of the season which may even see his average climb past 110 points.

J.Corey
Another durable cat who finds himself at the top due to his consistency.
He is probably the most consistent midfielder on the market.
J.Corey finds himself below his two partners in crime, G.Ablett and J.Bartel because he handballs more, kicks less goals and also tackles slightly less.
With that being said, he finds just as much of the ball, if not more, and has to be considered a captain option every week due to his consistency.

K.Cornes
A given.
The Kane is usually the benchmark in the midfield and usually sets the standards for the others.
The Geelong Trio are starting to steal his thunder but for a guy who has tagged a lot this year and who has played Sydney twice, yet still has an average just shy of 100 points is quite impressive.
He is a Dream Team god who will comfortably finish near the top.

M.Priddis
The stats are hard to find but i do not think any player has ever averaged over 100 points a season in their 3rd year of football.
If this is true, M.Priddis is going to make history this year if he can keep up his form.
He has become a captain choice and a name on the 'Wish List' for most yet he still seems to go under the radar a little, only having 11,536 selections.
Besides D.Cross, the other midfielders have been selected by at least 30,000 teams, which is three times more than the selections of M.Priddis.
A fitness freak, a natural ball winner and a tackling machine.
Respect.

D.Cross
He is arguably the fittest player in the competition and this has been shown by his massive last quarter efforts this year.
I have said it before and i will say it again, i love selecting the workhorses in Dream Team and D.Cross is the perfect example.
Similar to J.Bartel:
He is durable.
He is consistent.
He rarely cops a heavy tag.
He plays well in all conditions.
He can get the hard ball and the cheap ball.
He is the player who feeds the ball out to the runners in A.Cooney and R.Griffen yet he is also the link-up man through the middle when they have possession.
He would move even higher up on the list if only he kicked more.

The three cats fill out the top positions in the midfield and every team should have at least 1 of them in their team.
I say this, yet i still have none of them. :eek:

Just like the analysis of the backs, there are some unlucky ommisions.
D.Swan and S.Thompson were very close to sneaking in but i have my reasons for leaving them out.
 
thebaxters said:
I’m going to let the numbers speak for themselves here, with a bit of supporting text where required. This is based on stats from last year and this YTD.

Bartel – very few games at less than 80, historically hits spikes above 120+ more often than the others. Plays well in all conditions.
Bartel.jpg


Ablett – looks to have upped the bulk of his games from the 80-89 ppg bracket to the 90-99 ppg bracket. Scoring frequently at 120+
Ablett.jpg


Corey – looks to have moved the bulk of his games from the 100-109 ppg bracket to the 110-119 ppg bracket, and has really upped games at 130+
Corey.jpg


Swan – more big games at 120+ than previous year, bulk of games in the 90-129 range this year.
Swan.jpg


Kornes – even though not quite in gear, 55% of games in the 100-119 bracket. Expect the big 120+ games to follow.
Kornes.jpg


Carazzo – already has 78% of games in the 90-109 bracket, and known to score 120+ games with some regularity. Ultra-consistent above 90 ppg.
Carrazzo.jpg
Click to expand...

Great post Baxters...

I agree with your order, except Priddis takes Carazzo's spot. The other onus lies on Dane Swan's TOG. If he can average over 80%, he could really climb that ladder

Bartel will end up back to the top IMO

Ablett, Corey & Cornes speak for themselves.

Cross, Thompson & Hayes very unlucky to miss out...

Surprised at the lack of love for Dane...
 
Jimmy will be very good after the break. Carrying a slight niggle atm, which won't get worse but is hindering him somewhat in the contested situations. No confirmation of what it is, but from watching him I think its his ribs, was rubbing them a couple of times against Carlton.
With all that, still averaging 100 easily, with a week off, we'll see the true Jimmy back. I suggest getting him in before that if you can.
 

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Cat for Life said:
Jimmy will be very good after the break. Carrying a slight niggle atm, which won't get worse but is hindering him somewhat in the contested situations. No confirmation of what it is, but from watching him I think its his ribs, was rubbing them a couple of times against Carlton.
With all that, still averaging 100 easily, with a week off, we'll see the true Jimmy back. I suggest getting him in before that if you can.
Click to expand...

He is in my plans for this week at Palmer's expense. Yes I do have greater problems than Palmer...

With Jimmy originally at $496,800 and Palmer at $98,000 = 400k variance. To be able to make the trade for just over 100k means you sometimes need to neglect your other deficiencies for a later stage. This is very debatable for some, but I stand by it as it has worked effectively for me in the past.

I guess it is like having a succession plan at work. You generally start at an entry stage and progressively work your way until you get to the highest level. If an opportunity presents itself in the meantime, you naturally need to capitalize on it.
 
Nebula1971 said:
He is in my plans for this week at Palmer's expense. Yes I do have greater problems than Palmer...

With Jimmy originally at $496,800 and Palmer at $98,000 = 400k variance. To be able to make the trade for just over 100k means you sometimes need to neglect your other deficiencies for a later stage. This is very debatable for some, but I stand by it as it has worked effectively for me in the past.

I guess it is like having a succession plan at work. You generally start at an entry stage and progressively work your way until you get to the highest level. If an opportunity presents itself in the meantime, you naturally need to capitalize on it.
Click to expand...

Agree with this completely. Value requires action as it arises. With Harvey publicly stating Palmer and Ibbo will be "managed" through the back half of the season the time to strike is now. There is potentially a 40-45 improvement Palmer > Bartell for 100K. Cannot be overlooked.
 
thebaxters said:
I’m going to let the numbers speak for themselves here, with a bit of supporting text where required. This is based on stats from last year and this YTD.

Bartel – very few games at less than 80, historically hits spikes above 120+ more often than the others. Plays well in all conditions.
Bartel.jpg
Click to expand...

I knew it!

Bartel IS Batman!!

And yeah, if I could work out some way to free up the cash to turn Jack into Bartel, I would be. (He's gunna be my last upgrade)

Sadly, I'm fresh out of matured cows at the moment... (seems I mis-calculated along the way...)
 

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Top 6: Midfielders

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