Analysis will our midfield continue to be underrated?

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Big Cox 88

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Week after week our workhouse mids keep getting the job done against all sides with supposed gun mids.

Media, opposition and analysers continually criminally underate our mids class, ability and hard nosed edge to win 50/50 contests.

Nicnat going down has forced our mids to stand up and get down and dirty. Redden, Yeo, Sheed and Shuey are all now A grade mids and if Gaff stays I believe we have one of the best inside outside midfields in the competition.

The rotations we get from Cripps and Riolo in particular add pace and X factor at the end of quarters.

Let's see if any opinions change after our pounding of the Melbourne and Collingwood midfield "juggernauts" as we move into next season.
 

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KERRPOW

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If the pies 4 vs our top 4 head to head.

Shuey v sidebottom - many would pick sidearse

Yeo v Trealor - many would pick the ginger

Redden v Pendles - many would pick pendles

Sheed v Adams - many would pick Adams

But it doesnt work like that in the real world
As a collective midfield group we just get the job done.

Sometimes having a team of champion individual mids (like geelong) is actually a hinderance.

Individually out midfielders arnt stars of the comp but with their powers combined they get the job done.

Gaff and shuey are genuine A graders. Shuey cops the tag week in week out because he is damaging.

If Redden and Yeo keep improving they have potential to be A graders.
 
Oct 9, 2009
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Definitely.
We need more midfield depth that's for sure.
After Gaff was suspended, if we had lost another mid, the only replacements available would have been Ainsworth, Ah Chee, Partington, Brayshaw and Matt Allen. All inexperienced players (or underperforming in the case of Ah Chee).
 

Bacchus

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If the pies 4 vs our top 4 head to head.

Shuey v sidebottom - many would pick sidearse

Yeo v Trealor - many would pick the ginger

Redden v Pendles - many would pick pendles

Sheed v Adams - many would pick Adams

But it doesnt work like that in the real world
As a collective midfield group we just get the job done.

Sometimes having a team of champion individual mids (like geelong) is actually a hinderance.

Individually out midfielders arnt stars of the comp but with their powers combined they get the job done.

Gaff and shuey are genuine A graders. Shuey cops the tag week in week out because he is damaging.

If Redden and Yeo keep improving they have potential to be A graders.
Yeo is already an A grader who is a long way ahead of Treloar
 

PK WCE

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Definitely.
We need more midfield depth that's for sure.
After Gaff was suspended, if we had lost another mid, the only replacements available would have been Ainsworth, Ah Chee, Partington, Brayshaw and Matt Allen. All inexperienced players (or underperforming in the case of Ah Chee).
I'd like to see Venables, Rioli, Cripps & possibly Duggan spend more time in the midfield if/when needed next season before pretty much all of the guys you mentioned. Especially Venables - Don't be surprised if he becomes a midfield regular.

I don't think our mid depth is as bad as you think..
 

Bacchus

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Treloar is a deadset gun. You don't need to undersell him to praise Yeoy.
I do not wish to undersell Treloar. I think he is a good player. I used to think he was a gun and then began to observe that his disposal was not on the same level as other parts of his game. If I had a choice between Yeo and Treloar I would take Yeo every day of the week without hesitation. That is not underselling Treloar, it's saying that I think Yeo is the better player which I do and I won't be backing down from that.
 

Shmiddy15

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How about the faith shown in Rioli. Up by 4 points with less than 2 minutes to go in a grand final, and simmo sends him to the center bounce. He didn't let us down in those last few minutes either. Chased desperately to help us get the ball back into our forward 50, not to mention his block to set sheed up, as well as his bone crunching tackle on the goal line when collingwood were looking to clear after the darling drop.

Edit: Just watched that last center bounce again and Willie applies pressure to 3 consecutive pies players before the ball eventually spills our way. Magnificent coaching to get our best pressure player in the center at the death.
 
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How about the faith showed in Rioli. Up by 4 points with less than 2 minutes to go in a grand final, and simmo sends him to the center bounce. He didn't let us down in those last few minutes either. Chased desperately to help us get the ball back into our forward 50, not to mention his block to set sheed up, as well as his bone crunching tackle on the goal line when collingwood were looking to clear after the darling drop.

Edit: Just watched that last center bounce again and Willie applies pressure to 3 consecutive pies players before the ball eventually spills our way. Magnificent coaching to get our best pressure player in the center at the death.
Rioli is manboarpig confirmed

He sets out to hurt with his tackles - masten could do wellto take note
 

dodgie

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I'm happy to jump on the hype train as much as the next person, but I think calling Sheed an A grade mid is a heavy stretch of the imagination. He has the ability to get 30 possessions plus, but he still isn't tackling at all whoch isn't ideal with the inside minutes he gets and he still does make some dumb mistakes and decisions. I will admit he's improved though, but not to be an A grade mid.
 
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I have no doubt that DV in particular will become a full time mid in the near future but it might take some time.
I have a bit of hope for Petch as well, but he'll take even longer.
Willie already pretty effective with some stints in the middle.
We definitely need to recruit more pure mids though.
 

WCE1698

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I'm happy to jump on the hype train as much as the next person, but I think calling Sheed an A grade mid is a heavy stretch of the imagination. He has the ability to get 30 possessions plus, but he still isn't tackling at all whoch isn't ideal with the inside minutes he gets and he still does make some dumb mistakes and decisions. I will admit he's improved though, but not to be an A grade mid.
Tackling is what he needs to focus on pre-season.
 
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After seeing shuey basically unaffected by the tag and yeo really struggling you can bet oppo coaches saw that too

Yeos going to have his work cut out for him next year

Which will make him a better player for it. Next stage of his midfield development (remember, this is his first season as a FT midfielder, despite the CHB cameo against Adelaide).

Venables is one I'm gonna be most excited about. He's gonna be a gun.
 
Jun 5, 2004
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I'm happy to jump on the hype train as much as the next person, but I think calling Sheed an A grade mid is a heavy stretch of the imagination. He has the ability to get 30 possessions plus, but he still isn't tackling at all whoch isn't ideal with the inside minutes he gets and he still does make some dumb mistakes and decisions. I will admit he's improved though, but not to be an A grade mid.

Which is likely why he was dropped a few times. His defensive game is poor. But he can work on that and the confidence he'll have from his last month and especially from Saturday you would expect to be a huge drive for him to continue to get better. Exciting times ahead for the lad.
 
Apr 30, 2015
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Individually out midfielders arnt stars of the comp but with their powers combined they get the job done.
We are the Voltron of the comp.
images
 

PK WCE

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After seeing shuey basically unaffected by the tag and yeo really struggling you can bet oppo coaches saw that too

Yeos going to have his work cut out for him next year
I bet Hutchings will be standing next to him all preseason, hopefully he will be better for it next year.
 

Eagleboy68

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Well just watched on the couch and it was the closest thing I've seen Gary Lyon come to an apology I've seen telling simmo he got it wrong most of all.
That he discounted the Eagles and he was wondering how he got it so wrong.

Simmo in usual cool fashion said it's hard to get things right but our record is up up there with everyone's in the last 3 years

We are first in finals played, finals won and winning percentages.
 

southcoast

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Rioli is manboarpig confirmed

He sets out to hurt with his tackles - masten could do well to take note

On Masten -

IIRC last year he went down the 'get bigger' to spend more time in the kitchen. Didn't work. This year 'running is my strength' - trim down, regain endurance and be the link up player. What we lost in tackling ability (in fairness he was never a really good tackler) we gained in running and linking.

Having said that for an endurance runner his possession count could still be higher. Maybe that is next years focus.

PS - like many others I used to be very harsh on the guy largely based on his inability to things others could. This year he is the classic example of one of Simmos role players.
 

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