Our Midfield

[SouthernStripes]

I feel like he has the potential to get there, but geez this is definitely the year RCD would want to step up. I reckon we’ll be lucky to get half a year out of Prestia, and I’d be very suprised if Cotch gets through the year unscathed too. Cupboard isn’t completely bare, but there seems to be a very big gap between our top shelf payers and the next group below them. This big body of RCD could go a long way in nullifing oppo dominance at centre bounces. Also doesn’t matter how good our forward and backline is, if we’re getting murdered in the middle each week it means **** all

 

[cairo tiger]

If Cotchin did the right thing and retired we would have got cerra. If Jack did the right thing and retired we would have Chol and money. Club didn’t have a long term strategy. Cotchin Edwards and quite possibly lambert done at the end of the year midfield gone. Persisting in aarts is an indictment on our list good vfl player. We must get games into sonsie rcd and Dow. Prestia is good for 10 games our midfield is decimated. Where’s our big bodied mids? This draft had them and I am not just talking about kids. Conceivably by the end of the year our whole midfield about 7 players have to be new. We missed the boat and we are out to sea drifting.

 

[JAKLAUGHING]

Oh yeah, I am singing the midfield song now. Losing Dion was huge. And Graham being played unfit was stupid.
I haven't lost the plot yet. But unless we do something about inside mids we are toast. If Cotch can pick his game up, and we have a fit Dion and Graham we're competitive. But we need more than that IMHO. Play RCD/Dow and try to build them into AFL quality mids this year.
Basically, last night we lost the core of our midfield through injury, fitness and form. If they all stay fit and play well we're fine. I hope that Dimma et al learn to stick to at least nullifying the contested battle. We were way to cute and lost to a team that payed with heart and to their strengths.

MC has a habit of pulling these strange selections out of their collective rear ends...Samson Ryan says hold my beer...first game in the wet!
Aarts's ongoing selection says hold my beer...Rance picked for the mid field says hold my beer...Soldo played first up in the AFL rather than running into form in the VFL says hold my beer! Even Nank returning from Covid first game rather than finding form/fitness in the VFL says hold my beer!

 

[caddyshack]

MC has a habit of pulling these strange selections out of their collective rear ends...Samson Ryan says hold my beer...first game in the wet!
Aarts's ongoing selection says hold my beer...Rance picked for the mid field says hold my beer...Soldo played first up in the AFL rather than running into form in the VFL says hold my beer! Even Nank returning from Covid first game rather than finding form/fitness in the VFL says hold my beer!

 

[SplintWhisky]

We should of picked up Dunstan. Yeah his kicking is shit but we wouldn't need him to hit Jack/Lynch/Balta on the **** with a laser 35m bullet. What we would have needed him for was to shovel the ball out to our players that could do that. What we would need is hard attack on the inside and get the ball out to Dusty/Bolton/Edwards/Baker

I feel for Tucky, he would look a Brownlow medalist in this team.

 

[beema limapep]

Our inability to lure an inside mid or two in the off-season, or at least jag a single inside mid who can play round 1 despite having 5 picks in the top 30 is a catastrophic failure in list management.

An arrogant and catastrophic failure.

 

[beema limapep]

If Cotchin did the right thing and retired we would have got cerra. If Jack did the right thing and retired we would have Chol and money. Club didn’t have a long term strategy. Cotchin Edwards and quite possibly lambert done at the end of the year midfield gone. Persisting in aarts is an indictment on our list good vfl player. We must get games into sonsie rcd and Dow. Prestia is good for 10 games our midfield is decimated. Where’s our big bodied mids? This draft had them and I am not just talking about kids. Conceivably by the end of the year our whole midfield about 7 players have to be new. We missed the boat and we are out to sea drifting.

100%. Nailed it.

 

[fargothegreat]

My plan to fix our midfield would be:

• Cotch, Jack, Lambert and Sheds to retire + Caddy delisted to free up as much cap space as possible.
• We attempt the very difficult task of bringing in two ready to go big-bodied mids to have another crack while Grimes, Prestia, Lynch and Dusty are still there (2 more years). These players MUST be under 26 and we can't mortgage our future to bring them in (for example, we could try to trade in Tom Green
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  for our first and a future 2nd and bring in Matt Kennedy as a FA).
• If we can't make this happen (due to lack of cap space or being unable to attract the players), then we do a complete 180 and immediately begin a rebuild using Sydney's recent rebuild as the model to replicate.

 

[NZ_Tiger]

All we have since 2018 is draft inside midfielder.

Our morons in charge of development have decided to develop them on the outside or refuse to give them games. Take Bolton/Martin/Edwards, naturally with age Edwards will be spending less time on ball, Dusty will seemingly play the Dusty role, we don't need Bolton also playing that same role if we can't win the bloody ball. There was period of games last season where Bolton was averaging 25, a goal a game and was up there in the league in centre clearances. Something has to give, we don't have the luxury of playing all three of those guys outside of the packs, praying on the loose 50/50 balls.

Also funny how so much is made of RCD not getting enough touches or being defensively weak yet that could apply to pretty much every single midfielder who played tonight but they won't be held to the same standard despite having played many more games. With more game time that should improve for RCD, the same can't be said for others like Aarts.

Aarts is a ludicrous waste of a spot. I was pissed when he was named and not surprised when he had a negative impact playing as a mid. Stupid selection decisions compounded each other.

Building around Prestia then losing him a quarter into the season and then having no other option available. He was the one player we couldn’t afford to lose.


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[beema limapep]

My plan to fix our midfield would be:

• Cotch, Jack, Lambert and Sheds to retire + Caddy delisted to free up as much cap space as possible.
• We attempt the very difficult task of bringing in two ready to go big-bodied mids to have another crack while Grimes, Prestia, Lynch and Dusty are still there (2 more years). These players MUST be under 26 and we can't mortgage our future to bring them in (for example, we could try to trade in Tom Green for our first and a future 2nd and bring in Matt Kennedy as a FA).
• If we can't make this happen (due to lack of cap space or being unable to attract the players), then we do a complete 180 and immediately begin a rebuild using Sydney's recent rebuild as the model to replicate.

Agreed.

 

[beema limapep]

Aarts is a ludicrous waste of a spot. I was pissed when he was named and not surprised when he had a negative impact playing as a mid. Stupid selection decisions compounded each other.

Building around Prestia then losing him a quarter into the season and then having no other option available. He was the one player we couldn’t afford to lose.


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Aarts simply gets beaten in 1 on 1 contests 95 times out of 100.

He would not be best 22 at the overwhelming majority of other Clubs.

 

[NZ_Tiger]

Aarts simply gets beaten in 1 on 1 contests 95 times out of 100.

He would not be best 22 at the overwhelming majority of other Clubs.

Days later I still can’t see what he’s ever offered. Not only a waste of a match day selection but a list spot as well.

We could of grabbed Jet Bolton out of Claremont, he’s twice the player and plays in the mid field. Also can’t kick for shit so no worse off there, at least he gets ball though.


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[Marcel Proust]

 

[Marcel Proust]

100%. Nailed it.

You guys might be right but surely you need to wait for two games before putting the fork in cotchin?

Cripps will pwn many teams if he stays fit

 

[Rich01]

Aarts simply gets beaten in 1 on 1 contests 95 times out of 100.

He would not be best 22 at the overwhelming majority of other Clubs.

Yep, there’s a real deficiency in that high half forward, small forward area. Aarts and Castagna should not be in the team but there is no pressure on them from others in that position.

Parker should be doing this but instead they are trying to play him as a winger.

And MJ looks a long way off.

Perhaps Stack could be trialled there, I’m not sure.

 

[Rocco sifreddi]

We got hammered in the clearances last year

We should of picked up Dunstan. Yeah his kicking is sh*t but we wouldn't need him to hit Jack/Lynch/Balta on the **** with a laser 35m bullet. What we would have needed him for was to shovel the ball out to our players that could do that. What we would need is hard attack on the inside and get the ball out to Dusty/Bolton/Edwards/Baker

I feel for Tucky, he would look a Brownlow medalist in this team.

We would have got him for a slab, murdered in the clearances last year and more of the same again, relying on cotch to do the grunt again was never gonna happen , if someone like graham or rcd doesnt step up to play that role we can expect another year like last year.

 

[Noidnadroj]

If Cotchin did the right thing and retired we would have got cerra. If Jack did the right thing and retired we would have Chol and money. Club didn’t have a long term strategy. Cotchin Edwards and quite possibly lambert done at the end of the year midfield gone. Persisting in aarts is an indictment on our list good vfl player. We must get games into sonsie rcd and Dow. Prestia is good for 10 games our midfield is decimated. Where’s our big bodied mids? This draft had them and I am not just talking about kids. Conceivably by the end of the year our whole midfield about 7 players have to be new. We missed the boat and we are out to sea drifting.

So which inside mid would you have taken and when? Bypass Gibcus? Hmmm. And who would you have taken ahead of Brown? inside-mid Sonsie?? …. who we got anyway.

On exposed form I don’t think we could have done better than Gibcus, Brown and Sonsie with our first three picks.

We are not building a premiership list for 2023-25 by desperately chasing Dunstan and the like…. it’s for 2026-2030 and Gibcus will be central to that.


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[mauricerioli]

I think there’s a bit more to it than personnel in the midfield, the coaching has to come into it too.
Is our stoppage coach up to the task?
Even with Prestia going off we should still be able to compete in there, not get slaughtered 17-2 in clearances in the last quarter.

 

[beema limapep]

I think there’s a bit more to it than personnel in the midfield, the coaching has to come into it too.
Is our stoppage coach up to the task?
Even with Prestia going off we should still be able to compete in there, not get slaughtered 17-2 in clearances in the last quarter.

As posted on another thread, our inside mids will get destroyed by at least 12 other teams.

A break even with the remainder.

 

[Mr Magic]

If Cotchin did the right thing and retired we would have got cerra. If Jack did the right thing and retired we would have Chol and money. Club didn’t have a long term strategy. Cotchin Edwards and quite possibly lambert done at the end of the year midfield gone. Persisting in aarts is an indictment on our list good vfl player. We must get games into sonsie rcd and Dow. Prestia is good for 10 games our midfield is decimated. Where’s our big bodied mids? This draft had them and I am not just talking about kids. Conceivably by the end of the year our whole midfield about 7 players have to be new. We missed the boat and we are out to sea drifting.

Cotchin is not the problem

The problem is we did not get Lipinski and Kennedy.

RCD hopefully will make but do not be surprised its in the backhalf as well as he develops

I thought our backline defensively showed weaknesses ignoring our taller types. Stack would fix a few issues in our backline

 

[DoItForCaptBlood]

Not enough credit going to Cripps. He simply in that last quarter, after a damn good 3/4s before that too, said 'not this year r1 again'. They did very few rotations of the midfield during that 15- 20 min blitz, and Cripps was central to it all.
Not saying there aren't issues for us in the midfield, but 5 mins into the last, in the feeling was Dusty and Cotch were going to put it to bed and grind out the final 25 mins , but there were a lot of rotations and a genuine hunger to win by the Tankers.

A lot of work this next week on what went wrong throughout the game, but sometimes you have to say 'too good this time' and I mean Cripps here - 30 possies & 3 goals and lifted the mids around him.

Let see how our senior players respond - certainly not panic stations yet.

 

[beema limapep]

Not enough credit going to Cripps. He simply in that last quarter, after a damn good 3/4s before that too, said 'not this year r1 again'. They did very few rotations of the midfield during that 15- 20 min blitz, and Cripps was central to it all.
Not saying there aren't issues for us in the midfield, but 5 mins into the last, in the feeling was Dusty and Cotch were going to put it to bed and grind out the final 25 mins , but there were a lot of rotations and a genuine hunger to win by the Tankers.

A lot of work this next week on what went wrong throughout the game, but sometimes you have to say 'too good this time' and I mean Cripps here - 30 possies & 3 goals and lifted the mids around him.

Let see how our senior players respond - certainly not panic stations yet.

For every Cripps, there's a Fyfe, a Mitchell, a Neale, a Merret, a Steele, a Miller, a Taranto, a Macrae an Oliver etc etc etc.

I'm telling ya now, we are going to get murdered.

 

[DoItForCaptBlood]

For every Cripps, there's a Fyfe, a Mitchell, a Neale, a Merret, a Steele, a Miller, a Taranto, a Macrae an Oliver etc etc etc.

I'm telling ya now, we are going to get murdered.

You forgot Dustin Martin...

Oh. Wait...

 

[Grrr]

No point whinging about who or what we should have done, we have got the cattle we have got so they are our solution.

I do not think our situation is as bad as all that. Cripps destroyed us, and he will destroy most team he plays they way he looked on the weekend. But we led at 3/4 time, so something was working. Losing Prestia was massive, but we were still in it.

We have to back our players and introduce some young players who have spark and aggression. Stack and Cumberland are the two that are the most obvious, but they might take a week or two more. Why wasn't Ross at least tried in the guts considering he played there all preseason including the practice games. We have no other defensive mid.

Balta plays high CHF the week before and is about our best player. So let's start him back. Then when he is put forward, he is played deep forward and jack is high. Bizarre.

Reckon Hardwick is so stubborn and loyal sometimes he confuses himself.

 

[beema limapep]

You forgot Dustin Martin...

Oh. Wait...

How did Martin go compared to Cripps on Friday?

Oh wait.....