Young midfield

[matt decat]

just wondering what your thoughts on our young midfielders are.

Firstly, i think, as well as many others, we are lacking an inside midfielder ala selwood or mitchell. hadley did improve in the second half of the season however i dont think he is the answer. bentick is the backup but was missing this year due to injury, and i think he could have played a role on the weekend in the absence of hadley. i am a huge fan AB and have been calling for him to get a call up once he returned and his vfl form probably warranted it. i love his tackling pressure and his clearance work, however i think that his deficiencies are too great and will be lucky to get another year (maybe his injury could save him)

anyway back to what i wanted to get to....

IMO AJ is probably the best young midfielder we have at the moment (i know they are all young but excluding murph and gibbs and the others that have been around for a while). he can tag the best, and is starting to find a bit of the ball when going the other way. are we better off setting him free and letting him use his explosive pace to break away from packs with the ball or should we let him continue tagging and eventually let him go head to head with the a grade mids needing them to be accountable?

browne imo is more of a defensive type player rather than an attacking player. has showed a couple of glimpses however hasn't been very consistent. does anyone think that browne has the ability to become good tagger, enabling us to free up AJ? he seems willing to lay a few tackles and isnt the flashy type. or on the other hand, could he become another in and under midfielder after he puts on some bulk. he has sound disposal, my biggest concern would be his 180cm height. although you dont need to be tall to play in the middle, i think that little extra height may help.

grigg is another AJ type player (very versatile). not sure how to best utilize him. i think he is better used as an attacking midfielder, however i think his biggest issue is that he can just kick and hope. if he does whatever murph did over the preseason, i think that he could loom to be a big key next season. this year was a bit of a step back from last, however if he get that form back and improves his disposal like murph did over the off season, then we can can have another a grade mid.

robinson IMO is the one most likely to take over hadleys role. week after week he runs right through opponents and get back up in a flash. if he hits the centre contest like that, i think he could evolve into a selwood type player. he has no fear and with another year or so on the list his fitness will improve and so will his disposal. if he can step up into this role, he could free judd and murph up a little more allowing them to hurt the opposition on the score board.

ellard is an interesting one. has played very well the last few weeks in the twos but is rookie listed so was never really gonna get called up. has a bit of dash and bulked right up over the summer. would be good to see him get elevated and can be another AJ type player. has some dash and can be utilized when going forward, however he could be groomed as a defensive mid.

what are your views on our younger brigade and how do you think that they can better utilized and what do they have to do to help the team become a top four side?

(haven't mentioned o'keeffe, stanton etc. coz i dont know much about them, feel free to talk about a few others)

 

[Ytoojae]

just wondering what your thoughts on our young midfielders are.

Firstly, i think, as well as many others, we are lacking an inside midfielder ala selwood or mitchell.

I believe we have that young man in Mitch Robinson, but he's clearly 2 years away from being at the level that is required. I believe Hadley is solid in the short term until Mitch is ready.

AJ-- are we better off setting him free and letting him use his explosive pace to break away from packs with the ball or should we let him continue tagging and eventually let him go head to head with the a grade mids needing them to be accountable?

He's going to be the best tagger in the AFL, in my opinion. He has all of the physical tools required for the job and has already proven that he can be dangerous. I do not believe that he should be allowed to go free and use his pace to break away from packs with the ball unless he has the opportunity to do so in his tagging role. He is a tagger and every premiership team needs a good one. Glad we got ours.

browne imo is more of a defensive type player rather than an attacking player. has showed a couple of glimpses however hasn't been very consistent. does anyone think that browne has the ability to become good tagger, enabling us to free up AJ? he seems willing to lay a few tackles and isnt the flashy type. or on the other hand, could he become another in and under midfielder after he puts on some bulk. he has sound disposal, my biggest concern would be his 180cm height. although you dont need to be tall to play in the middle, i think that little extra height may help.

Browne is a backpocket player in waiting. Army has the role stitched up at least until somebody claims it from him. I question Browne's ability to attack as much as would be required from a second tagger as he will not unseat AJ as the #1 tag and I really don't want them to use AJ in any other role. Leave him where he is best at.

grigg is another AJ type player (very versatile). not sure how to best utilize him. i think he is better used as an attacking midfielder, however i think his biggest issue is that he can just kick and hope. if he does whatever murph did over the preseason, i think that he could loom to be a big key next season. this year was a bit of a step back from last, however if he get that form back and improves his disposal like murph did over the off season, then we can can have another a grade mid.

Grigg may be versatile but he isn't an AJ type at all. I believe Grigg is best utilized between a wing and half forward flank. He is someone who really hasn't got a natural best suited position but I would place him there. Really needs to improve on his disposal. Until that happens he really is

robinson IMO is the one most likely to take over hadleys role. week after week he runs right through opponents and get back up in a flash. if he hits the centre contest like that, i think he could evolve into a selwood type player. he has no fear and with another year or so on the list his fitness will improve and so will his disposal. if he can step up into this role, he could free judd and murph up a little more allowing them to hurt the opposition on the score board.

I agree. I love Robbo. Going to be a very important player going forward. I can't understand the problem with him being drafted last year. I really believe he is going to be an important member of our premiership calibre teams going forward. I love him. One of my favorite players at the club simply because the last player that I saw enter the AFL with as much courage as him was Glenn Archer. My Dad played for the Roos years ago and while I acknowledge they're going to be two different types of players I can appreciate that it isn't every day that you get kids with as much courage as what Robbo has. Going to be a champ!

what are your views on our younger brigade and how do you think that they can better utilized and what do they have to do to help the team become a top for side?

AJ - leading tagger in the AFL (in a couple of years)

Mitch Robinson - on a flank (forward or back) crashing through the packs providing the toughness that we need.

Grigg - on the wing, half forward flank, if not traded. If his disposal can be improved over the summer then he could be a damaging wing / half forward. Could be one of those 15-25 goal a year type wingers.

Excellent post.

 

[wavefall21]

As good as our young midfield is talked up to be, I agree, we are one key quality inside midfielder short of being a top line midfield, we need to land a big name in trade week, maybe a guy in the mould of a luke ball or shaun burgoynecomes to mind, we aren't going to have judd for the first 3 weeks next year and we need some1 else who can handle a tag to free up murphy and gibbs, who I don't believe have learnt how to handle a tag, esp murphy

 

[blue gunslinger]

I cannot believe finally there is so much love for D Ellard
It is great not to be the lone voice!
He has shown many already and will prove to the rest of you soon I hope!
Great post!

 

[Jezza U Beauty]

Guns, you just have to think that they've done with Ellard this year what they did with AJ last year.

He would seem to be clearly too good for the VFL given that it seems to me that every time i've read the Bullants' best players list D Ellard is the first name there.

Could the little dynamo do an AJ and play all 22 in the Navy Blue next year ?

 

[Blue Girl 4 life]

Great post : )

I hope the club give David Ellard the chance to do an AJ and play heaps of games next year in the Navy Blue.
Really impressed with his season in the Bullants,
Good Luck to him

 

[Sin City]

Love the comparison between Robbo and Archer

He has a long way to go but he gives himself every opportunity to succeed by giving everything 100%

 

[Ytoojae]

Love the comparison between Robbo and Archer

He has a long way to go but he gives himself every opportunity to succeed by giving everything 100%

Exactly why I see the Archer in him. Mitch has the potential to be an impact player of that sort, albeit in a different role. There is no way in hell that the Roos would have won the way that they did without Arch being there. Never the most brilliant footballer on his team, but the heart and soul nobody can deny - the reason why EVERY true footy fan gave him an ovation at the end of his career.

 

[thylacine60]

Back it in next season each of our young guns will be older - bookmark it.

 

[mediumsizered]

Back it in next season each of our young guns will be older - bookmark it.

Unlike Bradles, who got younger & younger each year (except for the thinning of the hair).

 

[thylacine60]

Rookie possibility?

 

[Ytoojae]

Rookie possibility?

Yes, definitely. Might be a chance to get a game, even at his young age.

 

[blue gunslinger]

Back it in next season each of our young guns will be older - bookmark it.

You know thy if Yarran keeps getting homesick and flies to Perth, only to return by circumnavigating the world he could chase the international date line. He runs home so often that he might actually not age, such is the frequency of his jaunts!

 

[thylacine60]

Just hope he doesn't collide with himself coming the other way. Be weeks for sure. Head high, reckless, in-flight...

 

[bbolt1]

i was just thinking yes ellard might be a gun mid in the vfl
The one question / statement how quick is he i hear he is not overly fast like bentick

 

[blue gunslinger]

i was just thinking yes ellard might be a gun mid in the vfl
The one question / statement how quick is he i hear he is not overly fast like bentick

he has fast reaction times and his decision making and execution skills make up for lack of straight line speed. We were talking a player that can jump into a pack, extract the ball and get it out to the runners. There are different types of players in the AFL. Instead of looking at what a player lacks look at what they can add!

 

[ryzket]

Think theres a big chance of Ellard breaking into the Blues side next year. Has been excellent in the vfl from all reports, and an in and under player like him is just what we need. Could fit into the side very easily.

 

[Ytoojae]

I am shocked that when Robbo and Hadley went down that he didn't get into the side. It would have been a gutsy move and would have been criticized by the media but it was the right selection.

They clearly lacked the grunt that Robbo and Hadley provided. Although neither are the best of players (Robbo will be in time, I believe) I believe that what they both provided was instrumental to our good form. Without them we lacked the aggression required to win at this level.

If Ellard is of the same mould and from reports he is, he could be an underrated and crucial part of a Carlton team in 2010.

 

[Bluebear]

who I don't believe have learnt how to handle a tag, esp murphy

Oh yes......because he just struggled with it so much when Stevo did his neck.

Since then his running has approached "elite".

Murph will handle the tags no probs.

Robbo will be the best of the group in the OP IMO.

Give him 2-3 pre-season for his body to do what his brain thinks it can, and you have a "mini-Archer" busting packs open and scragging for the inside pill feeding Judd and Co.

 

[CUG81]

Pace is important but looking at the likes of jobe watson, he has learnt to play a style of game that best suits his attributes and has been very successful this year.

That aside, i think a lot has to do with stevens, scotland and even houlihan...players who have been around for a while and obviously struggled at various times this season. They have a lot of experience but i think if younger players like grigg and ellard are going to come in, these are the ones who will have to be sacrificed.

One thing is for sure, if we are going tobe playing finals again next season, would be nice to have some experienced players...that is what got brissy over the line.