Who are the top 10 midfielders in the league?

[Gysberts2Bate]

Im no particular order the best 10 from the top of my head and keeping in mind I haven’t watched much footy this year.
1. Dusty
2. Fyfe
3. Dangerfield
4.Pendles
5. Shiel
6. Ward
7. JPK
8. Grey
9. Sloane
10. N Jones (huge homerism)

Yeah I love Nathan jones but he’s well off it for quality - and also he’s barely a midfielder these days

 

[Turboman1994]

Yeah I love Nathan jones but he’s well off it for quality - and also he’s barely a midfielder these days

Hence the huge homerism tag always admired his courage and guts his efforts when you guys where rabble week in week out demand respect and shows quality espically if you are the on cog in the wheel working when all else is broken

 

[power09]

Joel Selwood 17th at best? Naaaahhhh.

Probably in the 20s somewhere, probably the most overrated player I have seen in my life (maybe Cyril excluded)
His consistency is glorious I'll admit but the guy has only once been the best midfielder in his team and that year he was routinely tagged out of games and Geelong didn't make the finals.

His accolades stack up with some of the greatest players to play the game but this mostly because of the poor standard of the AFL commentariat. Last years AA team was a perfect example, many Geelong fans would admit that Mitch Duncan deserved a spot more than Selwood. Despite this Mitch missed out completely and Joel was AA captain.

All the good things he does seems to get highlighted endlessly to the point when even the simple plays are accompanied by gushes and pointless praise ("how good is he ey", "no one is tougher than Joel", "absolute star") from whatever hack is colour commentating for channel seven. Conversely when he stuffs up there's crickets, anybody else see him bomb the ball away without looking under no direct pressure in red time against the eagles a couple of weeks ago? Nearly anybody else would of been criticized for helping to throw the game away in crunch time but not Selwood, never.

Why doesn't Nathan Jones or Jack Stevens get praise for every hard ball and clearance they get? Players like that also have to deal tags because they are the actual engine of their teams and when they dont rise above it and perform they lose, they dont have better teammates to lean on.

Awesome player, Id love him at Port but to have him in the top 10 let alone top 5 like most pundits is wrong, and that's been the case his whole career.

To all those very sensitive Richmond fans I would take Cotchin over Selwood.

 

[ApplecrossWC]

Im no particular order the best 10 from the top of my head and keeping in mind I haven’t watched much footy this year.
1. Dusty
2. Fyfe
3. Dangerfield
4.Pendles
5. Shiel
6. Ward
7. JPK
8. Gray
9. Sloane
10. N Jones (huge homerism)

Lol Nathan Jones

 

[hawkman]

Conversely when he stuffs up there's crickets, anybody else see he bomb the ball away without looking under no direct pressure in red time against the eagles a couple of weeks ago? Nearly anybody else would of been criticized for helping to throw the game away in crunch time but not Selwood, never.

Think you may be talking about the game against Hawthorn. Led to the game winning point.

 

[Jedi Tiger]

Last years AA team was a perfect example, many Geelong fans would admit that Mitch Duncan deserved a spot more than Selwood. Despite this Mitch missed out completely and Joel was AA captain.

Agree with most of the post, however -was named on the bench (arguably undeservedly included at all), and definitely wasn’t captain.

 

[power09]

Agree with most of the post, however -was named on the bench (arguably undeservedly included at all), and definitely wasn’t captain.

lol really? s**t shocking error but I stand by the rest of it

 

[blaisee]

Interesting!!!



Wait a minute, similarities

You almost got me

You are a very sad individual .

Why look ok for a reason to disagree when there is none .

 

[Hoops]

Joel Selwood 17th at best? Naaaahhhh.

Top 10 easily

 

[Jcpdragonx]

This year only

1. D. Martin
2. T. Mitchell
3. N. Fyfe
4. R. Gray
5. S. Coniglio
6. B. Gibbs
7. S. Sidebottom
8. L. Parker
9. J. Selwood
10. J. Macrae

No Oliver or Cripps because I think they need to improve defensively

 

[The Joker]

You are a very sad individual .

Why look ok for a reason to disagree when there is none .

When you make a statement like "as good as Voss", you better have something to back it up. In this case, you do not!!!

Very sad, indeed!!!

 

[Frank Bunn]

Probably in the 20s somewhere, probably the most overrated player I have seen in my life (maybe Cyril excluded)
His consistency is glorious I'll admit but the guy has only once been the best midfielder in his team and that year he was routinely tagged out of games and Geelong didn't make the finals.

His accolades stack up with some of the greatest players to play the game but this mostly because of the poor standard of the AFL commentariat. Last years AA team was a perfect example, many Geelong fans would admit that Mitch Duncan deserved a spot more than Selwood. Despite this Mitch missed out completely and Joel was AA captain.

Your argument doesn't really stack up. His fellow players and the umpires have also rated him very highly.

He was the AFLPA Most Courageous Player in 2009, 2012, 2013, 2014. The best captain in 2013. 2nd in the AFLPA most valuable player in 2013 behind Gary Ablett Jnr. Imagine the impact of the best captain, who was also the most courageous player, and in the top two players in the comp. There has been many a time where it felt like he picked the whole team up on his shoulders and got us over the line.

He's the only current player in the top 10 career Brownlow votes, and played less games than anyone above him in the list.

Is he still the player he was? The season is still young.

 

[Danger!Selwood]

Probably in the 20s somewhere, probably the most overrated player I have seen in my life (maybe Cyril excluded)
His consistency is glorious I'll admit but the guy has only once been the best midfielder in his team and that year he was routinely tagged out of games and Geelong didn't make the finals.

His accolades stack up with some of the greatest players to play the game but this mostly because of the poor standard of the AFL commentariat. Last years AA team was a perfect example, many Geelong fans would admit that Mitch Duncan deserved a spot more than Selwood. Despite this Mitch missed out completely and Joel was AA captain.

All the good things he does seems to get highlighted endlessly to the point when even the simple plays are accompanied by gushes and pointless praise ("how good is he ey", "no one is tougher than Joel", "absolute star") from whatever hack is colour commentating for channel seven. Conversely when he stuffs up there's crickets, anybody else see he bomb the ball away without looking under no direct pressure in red time against the eagles a couple of weeks ago? Nearly anybody else would of been criticized for helping to throw the game away in crunch time but not Selwood, never.

Why doesn't Nathan Jones or Jack Stevens get praise for every hard ball and clearance they get? Players like that also have to deal tags because they are the actual engine of their teams and when they dont rise above it and perform they lose, they dont have a better teammates to lean on.

Awesome player, Id love him at Port but to have him in the top 10 let alone top 5 like most pundits is wrong, and that's been the case his whole career.

To all those very sensitive Richmond fans I would take Cotchin over Selwood.

You’d be one of a very small percentage to take Cotchin over Selwood.

You state he is an awesome player who is gloriously consistent and then mention Nathan Jones and Jack a Steven in the same breath. If you believe this you’re deluded.

If the knocks you have on Selwood actually hold up, then why don’t they apply to Cotchin? The only times Cotchin has been his teams best midfielder, his team never won a final (if they even qualified).

And did you see the way he chose to kick into a 7 goal breeze that time...

 

[Jcpdragonx]

Your argument doesn't really stack up. His fellow players and the umpires have also rated him very highly.

He was the AFLPA Most Courageous Player in 2009, 2012, 2013, 2014. The best captain in 2013. 2nd in the AFLPA most valuable player in 2013 behind Gary Ablett Jnr. Imagine the impact of the best captain, who was also the most courageous player, and in the top two players in the comp. There has been many a time where it felt like he picked the whole team up on his shoulders and got us over the line.

He's the only current player in the top 10 career Brownlow votes, and played less games than anyone above him in the list.

Is he still the player he was? The season is still young.

Most courageous player counts for nothing and the best captain award is a bogus award, hence why Walker has won it the past two years but managed the all time worst first half from a captain in a grand final.

Selwood is around a top 10 this year but his reputation got him the past two AAs. Luke Darcy said "you gotta have Selwood in" last year despite missing 5 games and a poor back half of the year by All Australian standards.

 

[Jcpdragonx]

Probably in the 20s somewhere, probably the most overrated player I have seen in my life (maybe Cyril excluded)
His consistency is glorious I'll admit but the guy has only once been the best midfielder in his team and that year he was routinely tagged out of games and Geelong didn't make the finals.

His accolades stack up with some of the greatest players to play the game but this mostly because of the poor standard of the AFL commentariat. Last years AA team was a perfect example, many Geelong fans would admit that Mitch Duncan deserved a spot more than Selwood. Despite this Mitch missed out completely and Joel was AA captain.

All the good things he does seems to get highlighted endlessly to the point when even the simple plays are accompanied by gushes and pointless praise ("how good is he ey", "no one is tougher than Joel", "absolute star") from whatever hack is colour commentating for channel seven. Conversely when he stuffs up there's crickets, anybody else see he bomb the ball away without looking under no direct pressure in red time against the eagles a couple of weeks ago? Nearly anybody else would of been criticized for helping to throw the game away in crunch time but not Selwood, never.

Why doesn't Nathan Jones or Jack Stevens get praise for every hard ball and clearance they get? Players like that also have to deal tags because they are the actual engine of their teams and when they dont rise above it and perform they lose, they dont have a better teammates to lean on.

Awesome player, Id love him at Port but to have him in the top 10 let alone top 5 like most pundits is wrong, and that's been the case his whole career.

To all those very sensitive Richmond fans I would take Cotchin over Selwood.

Good post

Cotchin 3 wins 3 losses in finals (1 Flag), Joel Selwood 3 wins and a shocking 8 losses in finals.

 

[power09]

You’d be one of a very small percentage to take Cotchin over Selwood.

You state he is an awesome player who is gloriously consistent and then mention Nathan Jones and Jack a Steven in the same breath. If you believe this you’re deluded.

If the knocks you have on Selwood actually hold up, then why don’t they apply to Cotchin? The only times Cotchin has been his teams best midfielder, his team never won a final (if they even qualified).

And did you see the way he chose to kick into a 7 goal breeze that time...

Nathan Jones is just as good, if only he started his career in a midfield with Bartel, Ablett, Corey, Kelly, Chapman then as they started to trail off he had Steve Johnson peak as a midfielder along side him, then when things finally start to get tough Duncan comes on and he gets Dangerfield as a teammate.
If all that fell in Jones' lap instead of the never-ending s**t-sandwich that seems to be his career at Melbourne then yes he may well be considered by many as one of the best mids in the game.

He is a consistent performer with decent skills, good tank and a ferocious endevour and tenacity at the contest, and that also is how I would describe Selwood.

To the second point, those knocks absolutely apply to Cotchin. Cotchin and Richmond's more consistent recent success correlates very strongly with the almost overnight transformation of Martin from very good player to best player in the game. When both players were the number one midfielder in their respective teams they failed. That is why neither are in my top 15 midfielders.

 

[Frank Bunn]

Most courageous player counts for nothing and the best captain award is a bogus award, hence why Walker has won it the past two years but managed the all time worst first half from a captain in a grand final.

Selwood is around a top 10 this year but his reputation got him the past two AAs. Luke Darcy said "you gotta have Selwood in" last year despite missing 5 games and a poor back half of the year by All Australian standards.

Selwood's fellow players and also the umpires form the best objective view on his merits. They have consistently ranked him highly.

As for Walker, one bad game doesn't make him a bad captain. Your coaches and leadership team made him captain again this season.

 

[Ricky Vaughn]

Most courageous player counts for nothing and the best captain award is a bogus award, hence why Walker has won it the past two years but managed the all time worst first half from a captain in a grand final.

Selwood is around a top 10 this year but his reputation got him the past two AAs. Luke Darcy said "you gotta have Selwood in" last year despite missing 5 games and a poor back half of the year by All Australian standards.

Not the past 2.

This site has collectively has a goldfish memory and a genuine dislike of Joel Selwood, but he was excellent in 2016. Clearly All Australian.

Last year has been well covered, but "incredibly lucky bordering on absolute bullshit" sums up his selection.

 

[Jcpdragonx]

Selwood's fellow players and also the umpires form the best objective view on his merits. They have consistently ranked him highly.

As for Walker, one bad game doesn't make him a bad captain. Your coaches and leadership team made him captain again this season.

Collingwood won't be the last team to give us a royal flogging this year. Our coaches also aren't good, most of them got the job being in the boys club.

I don't think there is a way to measure best captain, its more of an internal thing. Umpires and other players don't hear them motivate the team.

 

[Jcpdragonx]

Not the past 2.

This site has collectively has a goldfish memory and a genuine dislike of Joel Selwood, but he was excellent in 2016. Clearly All Australian.

Last year has been well covered, but "incredibly lucky bordering on absolute bullshit" sums up his selection.

Pendlebury was better that year, but Selwood's brand got him over the line, ala Hodge's norm smith vs Sydney. Gee Joel is so brave.

Virtually the same stats (free kicks aside of course) except Pendlebury had a lazy 9% better efficiency and 33% less clangers.

 

[power09]

Your argument doesn't really stack up. His fellow players and the umpires have also rated him very highly.

He was the AFLPA Most Courageous Player in 2009, 2012, 2013, 2014. The best captain in 2013. 2nd in the AFLPA most valuable player in 2013 behind Gary Ablett Jnr. Imagine the impact of the best captain, who was also the most courageous player, and in the top two players in the comp. There has been many a time where it felt like he picked the whole team up on his shoulders and got us over the line.

He's the only current player in the top 10 career Brownlow votes, and played less games than anyone above him in the list.

Is he still the player he was? The season is still young.

I honestly don't rate the opinion of his fellow players very highly.
When you listen to Cameron Ling, Luke Hodge, Jorden Lewis, Bartel and Luke Darcy analyze the game are you taken aback by their stunning incite?
So no, I couldn't give a crap about the AFLPA MVP much less the "most courageous player award"
Brownlow is the same deal, ask a Port fan to explain how Boak got 21 votes in the 2014 BM where Gray only got 14.
How many AFLCA MVPs has Selwood won? That's an award that carries a lot more weight in my eyes.

Many players(not all) are just like the people who sit behind the goals, they form most their opinions from general football group-think, not what they actually see.
Every time Selwood bleeds they (commentators/footy journalists) have to cram down everybody's neck how courageous he is for the millionth time, its easier to talk about that than to actually break down the game, analyze player positioning, strategy, tendencies etc.
One of the bravest things iv seen on the footy field is Hayden Ballentyne going back with the flight of the ball and getting smashed by Steven May, awesome play for his team but the caller just joked that some players might congratulate Steven during the week (lel)
Lots of AFL experts cannot separate preconceived opinions from what is actually happening right in front of them, they influence other media , they influence players, fans & umpires.

 

[Frank Bunn]

I honestly don't rate the opinion of his fellow players very highly.
When you listen to Cameron Ling, Luke Hodge, Jorden Lewis, Bartel and Luke Darcy analyze the game are you taken aback by their stunning incite?
So no, I couldn't give a crap about the AFLPA MVP much less the "most courageous player award"
Brownlow is the same deal, ask a Port fan to explain how Boak got 21 votes in the 2014 where Gray only got 14.
How many AFLCA MVPs has Selwood won? That's an award the carries a lot more weight in my eyes.

Many players(not all) are just like the people who sit behind the goals they form most their opinions from general football group-think not what they actually see.
Every time Selwood bleeds they (commentators/footy journalists) have to crammed down everybody's neck how courageous he is or the millionth time, its easier to talk about that than to actually break down the game, analyze player positioning, strategy, tendencies etc.
One of the bravest things iv seen on the footy field is Hayden Ballentyne going back with the flight of the ball and getting smashed by Steven May, awesome play for his team but the caller just joked that some players might congratulate Steven during the week (lel)
Lots of AFL experts cannot separate preconceived opinions from what is actually happening right in front of them, they influence other media , the influence players, fans & umpires.

It's all subjective opinion. But when commentators', players' and also umpires' opinions coincide then it's about as objective as you can get.

 

[PhatBoy]

Probably in the 20s somewhere, probably the most overrated player I have seen in my life (maybe Cyril excluded)
His consistency is glorious I'll admit but the guy has only once been the best midfielder in his team and that year he was routinely tagged out of games and Geelong didn't make the finals.

His accolades stack up with some of the greatest players to play the game but this mostly because of the poor standard of the AFL commentariat. Last years AA team was a perfect example, many Geelong fans would admit that Mitch Duncan deserved a spot more than Selwood. Despite this Mitch missed out completely and Joel was AA captain.

All the good things he does seems to get highlighted endlessly to the point when even the simple plays are accompanied by gushes and pointless praise ("how good is he ey", "no one is tougher than Joel", "absolute star") from whatever hack is colour commentating for channel seven. Conversely when he stuffs up there's crickets, anybody else see he bomb the ball away without looking under no direct pressure in red time against the eagles a couple of weeks ago? Nearly anybody else would of been criticized for helping to throw the game away in crunch time but not Selwood, never.

Why doesn't Nathan Jones or Jack Stevens get praise for every hard ball and clearance they get? Players like that also have to deal tags because they are the actual engine of their teams and when they dont rise above it and perform they lose, they dont have a better teammates to lean on.

Awesome player, Id love him at Port but to have him in the top 10 let alone top 5 like most pundits is wrong, and that's been the case his whole career.

To all those very sensitive Richmond fans I would take Cotchin over Selwood.

You could have saved yourself about 7 paragraphs by just saying ‘I equate ball accumulation with quality.’

Pray tell, who was a better midfielder at Geelong from 2012 until Dangerfield’s arrival?

Even if you did just judge players on numbers, he topped everyone in the side during that period anyway for touches, come tested possies, tackles etc.

It’s not the be all and end all but he’d posted 16+ Brownlow votes in 7 of his 9 seasons since his debut year. Laughable to suggest that in some way he’s spent the majority of that period as an overrated commodity

 

[PhatBoy]

Good post

Cotchin 3 wins 3 losses in finals (1 Flag), Joel Selwood 3 wins and a shocking 8 losses in finals.

And well established that all 8 defeats were a direct result of Selwood’s pre-game address.

 

[Ricky Vaughn]

Pendlebury was better that year, but Selwood's brand got him over the line, ala Hodge's norm smith vs Sydney. Gee Joel is so brave.

Virtually the same stats (free kicks aside of course) except Pendlebury had a lazy 9% better efficiency and 33% less clangers.

Coaches, Brownlow, and media awards disagreed. Even if he was, he outperformed Bontempelli, Parker and Hannerbery that year. On par with Martin and Kennedy. A touch below Sloane and even further below Dangerfield.

Don't get too bogged down in stats.