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[Crippa#9]

This is the crux of our whole midfield. Cripps will do what Cripps does, Walsh is shuffled between on-baller and wing, and Cerra has been forced at times to play defense to detrimental effect.

I feel Walsh needs to play wing, Cerra purely on the ball, with Hewitt. Lord will push Hewitt but I'm unsure about Jagga's Role.

He will need to put on some body mass because he'll get smashed at AFL level, no matter how good his evasive skills are, and the last thing we need is to wreck him early like we seem to have done with every other mid we've had.

Walsh & Jagga are natural ball winners. Let them play to their strengths. Having them out on a wing is counter-productive.

Starting midfield lineup should be TDK-Cripps-Walsh-Hewett with Cerra, Lord & Jagga rotating.

 

[marcmurphy3]

Walsh wont be going to the wing. Gets talked about every preseason. Just wont happen.

Wing is for role players in todays game. Its not where you want your stars.

 

[4flagsin5yrs]

This is the crux of our whole midfield. Cripps will do what Cripps does, Walsh is shuffled between on-baller and wing, and Cerra has been forced at times to play defense to detrimental effect.

I feel Walsh needs to play wing, Cerra purely on the ball, with Hewitt. Lord will push Hewitt but I'm unsure about Jagga's Role.

He will need to put on some body mass because he'll get smashed at AFL level, no matter how good his evasive skills are, and the last thing we need is to wreck him early like we seem to have done with every other mid we've had.

All this discussion is moot when your #1 ruck is sidelined (by some North thuggery) and #2 and #3 mids (Walsh and Cerra) are clearly labouring - way off their best...

Can't carry injured blokes and expect to beat good teams.

 

[bmaurizio]

Agree no Sam probably won’t go to a wing, a player would need to be equipped with goods legs both sides, kicking with penetration and accuracy this is the main issue, vey few players have this talent.

 

[bmaurizio]

All this discussion is moot when your #1 ruck is sidelined (by some North thuggery) and #2 and #3 mids (Walsh and Cerra) are clearly labouring - way off their best...

Can't carry injured blokes and expect to beat good teams.

Absolutely, spot on.

 

[KJP7]

Get the feeling the club liked what they saw with Binns in the games he played and could be our starting wing with Ollie off HB.

Binns can find plenty of pill and that kick inboard off half back against the saints definitely made me think we have a player.

 

[marcmurphy3]

Get the feeling the club liked what they saw with Binns in the games he played and could be our starting wing with Ollie off HB.

Binns can find plenty of pill and that kick inboard off half back against the saints definitely made me think we have a player.

I really like Binns and would like to see him get more opportunity, but I feel our club values the defensive aspects of the wing role, much more then the offensive aspects.

I suspect thats why we havent seen much of him. Im not sure they care that much about the fact he can accumulate big numbers. Thats just my feeling.

Im wondering if Lucas goes past him for that reason. Hes bigger, more physical and better overhead. Can also accumulate but not as well. Ball use similar (hit and miss).

 

[Bletch]

I have seen several posts on here about Hewett and how others can take his role. Then I see people suggesting Lord, Jagga, Hollands, Cowan, Ben etc. can fill that role (for various reasons such as to make us faster). So I thought I’d just give a quick overview of how VFL (and assumably AFL) coaches setup stoppages. If anyone on here has the privilege to see how AFL coaches approach stoppage work in the inner sanctum (or also have VFL experiences), please give us your insights also.

Lets talk clean slate… Think the Tassie devils and their recruiters and coaches getting together to discuss what is needed in an ideal world for that very first bounce of the footy in game 1. It would be:
1x Striker mid
1x Engine mid
1x Defensive mid

To give those of you who are unaware a quick synopsis of what coaches mean when they talk about these role types, they are:

Striker mid: TYPICALLY... offensive weapon (break through defensive walls), explosive, clean, attacking mentality, decisive, physical (bigger/stronger bodies), high impact, higher kick ratio, high I50 ratio, kick goals, get tired easier so rest forward or lower TOG. 20 disposals is typically all they need to have influence on the game.

Engine mid: TYPICALLY... endurance athletes (high TOG), creative, high IQ, agility and/or speed (but not explosive), good two-way runners (get back to defend and help with transition), high handball to kick ratio, moderate meters gained, less physical (usually lots of loose ball gets). 30 disposals is typical for a good game.

Defensive mid: TYPICALLY... many of the engine mid attributes (but with maybe slightly less skill), anchors the midfield, good size/strong, defensive mindset and positioning, high tackle count, balanced handball to kick ratio, disrupts oppo setups, clamps a player, blocks/creates space, usually around 15-20 disposals while disrupting the opposition is a great game.

When you dont have the mix of these players midfields can sometimes look out of balance or one-paced. So having a gun in each of these role types is (generally speaking) the ideal scenario for match day coaches.

Now lets talk reality… Not every team has this mix of players available, and certainly not all the time, because of various factors such as injuries, suspensions, match-day rotations etc. etc. So what is a coach to do?

The quick one I want to cover off first is the Striker role. Gun Striker mids are rare commodities!! Not every team has one, but everyone wants one (or two). In fact, when I think of guys like this only few really stand out to me... Petracca, Young, Reid, Warner, JHF, DeGoey, Heeney. I might be missing one or two, but generally most teams lack these players and either decide to just run with a 2nd Engine mid or try and pinch hit speedy guys (typically small forwards) through there throughout the match.

Engine mids are common commodities. Gun Defensive mids are less common, but many Engine mids (especially those lacking the highest levels of skill) are often tasked with performing the defensive role.

With all that established, and GENERALLY SPEAKING, if 1x Striker mid 1x Engine mid and 1x Defensive mid roles can not be obtained, coaches fall back too 2x Engine mids 1x Defensive mid role. Essentially, coaches almost always, rely on that Defensive mid role to negate the offensive threat of the opposition (player and/or positioning to guard against the ball getting in offensive space).

This brings me onto Hewett. He is widely regarded as one of the best defensive mids in the comp. All of Walsh, Cripps, Lord, Elijah, Doc, Jagga, Ben etc. play engine or offensive roles. How anyone can say any of these players can push Hewett out of the team I believe does not have a firm grasp of how centre bounce stoppage work happens and the roles that get performed in there.

Take Port as an example. Have you ever seen a centre bounce with all of Butters, Rozee and JHF is there? Don’t go looking for footage, because I can tell you the answer is no… you never have. Why? Well JHF is a Strike mid and Butters and Rozee and Engine mids who both have a tendency to be offensive. If they don’t win the ball it would be a certain goal opportunity to the oppo every time. That is why I think Drews year was incredibly underrated. In fact, all good defensive mids go relatively unheralded compared to their other mids.

I look at the two grand finalists as no better examples of teams with gun defensive mids in Rowbottom and Dunkley and what they do for their teams. Everyone pumps up Heeney and Warner, but without Rowbottom, they cannot do what they do (without looking incredibly silly at times).

We have an amazing defensive mid in Hewett. I firmly believe he is best 22 if we are to go deep next year. But I am happy to have the discussions on who might take over that role. So if not Hewett, I think the question should really be phrased more along the lines of:

If not Hewett playing as the defensive mid, who else do you think could perform that sacrificial role?

I should point out that I have not mentioned Cerra (or Kennedy for obvious reasons). But I have noticed he also plays a lot more of that defensive mid role this year, especially around stoppages. I think he has copped a lot of flack. Injuries aside, I feel for him now that he has been playing the sacrificial defensive mid role more. Defence is not as sexy as offence. And Cerra was brought across for his offensive talents. But maybe Voss is grooming him as the Hewett replacement? Either way, Hewett is our best defensive mid for mine.

Thanks for taking the time to write such a detailed post. As for the general thrust of your argument, I'd agree that Hewett is probably the best on our list at that role, but I think there are others capable of it. You'd hope we don't have all of our eggs in the one basket for that role anyway. But I think most mids should be capable of switching roles when required, to better or worse effect. Cincotta played a defensive role quite effectively during the season.

As for the "striker mid" category - do coaches really use that term? It's not one I'd heard of before a couple of weeks ago on this forum (in the draft thread). Even did a word search across the forum, and the only other occurrences of "striker" were in relation to cricket, soccer or the Ted Striker meme from Flying High. "Power mid" is a term that pops up reasonably often, for the Petracca/Dusty types. Do you see "striker mid" as the same as this?

 

[DangerousD]

Who knows with Charlie, as it was an ankle injury and needed surgery

In general terms I think Voss relied too heavily on too few and the team suffered by not resting players and rushing back under done players.

The NBA have been limiting games of their stars and the soccer leagues regularly rest star players against weaker teams.

it’s something we should be doing or investigating

 

[marcmurphy3]

Thanks for taking the time to write such a detailed post. As for the general thrust of your argument, I'd agree that Hewett is probably the best on our list at that role, but I think there are others capable of it. You'd hope we don't have all of our eggs in the one basket for that role anyway. But I think most mids should be capable of switching roles when required, to better or worse effect. Cincotta played a defensive role quite effectively during the season.

As for the "striker mid" category - do coaches really use that term? It's not one I'd heard of before a couple of weeks ago on this forum (in the draft thread). Even did a word search across the forum, and the only other occurrences of "striker" were in relation to cricket, soccer or the Ted Striker meme from Flying High. "Power mid" is a term that pops up reasonably often, for the Petracca/Dusty types. Do you see "striker mid" as the same as this?

I dont think coaches are that black and white in terms of needing mid type a, b, c with players only fitting one catergory or another. Its fun to play around with but doubt its the reality

I think they just generally want a good blend of ball winning, run, speed, tackling, disposal, hardness ect. Players might have certain roles at a stoppage or on a specific week but these arent nessecarily fixed.

 

[budgiejk]

It's just as made up as Centre Half Forward and Full Forward.

All categories and labels are theoretical constructs whose value is in creating a mental shortcut.

We used to have ruck rovers and centres, but that stopped describing useful distinctions so we stopped.

On Pixel 7a using BigFooty.com mobile app

Yeah, can I get you to run down to "striker mid"? Those are parts on the places on the ground.

Sure people don't necessarily play in those specific roles, and "rover" is not a place on the ground either - but those positions have been terms and stated roles that everyone has known for 100 years.

Go down to the local leagues and say to the coach "who is playing striker mid this week"? Or to the VFL, or to any AFL coach. It's a nonsensical fad term, that has caught fire on this forum, but is meaningless elsewhere.

I get that certain players fall into certain idealistic categories, that's fine. But so say we need X made up position, and Y made up position is laughable.

 

[Arr0w]

In general terms I think Voss relied too heavily on too few and the team suffered by not resting players and rushing back under done players.

The NBA have been limiting games of their stars and the soccer leagues regularly rest star players against weaker teams.

it’s something we should be doing or investigating

We used 37 players the last 2 years, both league averages, same number of players as the Lions and the Pies the year before

 

[Blue and Silver]

Yeah, can I get you to run down to "striker mid"? Those are parts on the places on the ground.

Sure people don't necessarily play in those specific roles, and "rover" is not a place on the ground either - but those positions have been terms and stated roles that everyone has known for 100 years.

Go down to the local leagues and say to the coach "who is playing striker mid this week"? Or to the VFL, or to any AFL coach. It's a nonsensical fad term, that has caught fire on this forum, but is meaningless elsewhere.

I get that certain players fall into certain idealistic categories, that's fine. But so say we need X made up position, and Y made up position is laughable.

So the problem is that they are new.

You don't need to use them, or engage with them.

People like to try and describe things they feel aren't being adequately described. This is just how language evolves

On Pixel 7a using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[BigFrizz36]

I’m confident we would have picked O’Sullivan if he was available. He is the point of difference player.

There have been a couple of times where our recruiting team has denied this.

On the day 1 footage shown on carltonfc.com.au Austin and Agresta clearly state that Jagga is our number one target prior to the Tigers taking their first pick.

On afl.com.au today Cal Twomey has an article going through all of the wheeling and dealings on draft night. He states that Carlton had let the narrative that osullivan was our prime target run, but that Jagga was always our clear preference with our first pick as we believed he was the best player in the draft.

 

[BlueJet]

Yeah, can I get you to run down to "striker mid"? Those are parts on the places on the ground.

Sure people don't necessarily play in those specific roles, and "rover" is not a place on the ground either - but those positions have been terms and stated roles that everyone has known for 100 years.

Go down to the local leagues and say to the coach "who is playing striker mid this week"? Or to the VFL, or to any AFL coach. It's a nonsensical fad term, that has caught fire on this forum, but is meaningless elsewhere.

I get that certain players fall into certain idealistic categories, that's fine. But so say we need X made up position, and Y made up position is laughable.

Words enter the lexicon all the time.
Footy IQ, Balanced mid, quarterback etc. they weren't used for 100+ years either.
I've also heard striker mid used at local, talent league & VFL level, however, if a phrase irks you, you've no obligation to use it.

 

[TENACIOUS]

I have seen several posts on here about Hewett and how others can take his role. Then I see people suggesting Lord, Jagga, Hollands, Cowan, Ben etc. can fill that role (for various reasons such as to make us faster). So I thought I’d just give a quick overview of how VFL (and assumably AFL) coaches setup stoppages. If anyone on here has the privilege to see how AFL coaches approach stoppage work in the inner sanctum (or also have VFL experiences), please give us your insights also.

Lets talk clean slate… Think the Tassie devils and their recruiters and coaches getting together to discuss what is needed in an ideal world for that very first bounce of the footy in game 1. It would be:
1x Striker mid
1x Engine mid
1x Defensive mid

To give those of you who are unaware a quick synopsis of what coaches mean when they talk about these role types, they are:

Striker mid: TYPICALLY... offensive weapon (break through defensive walls), explosive, clean, attacking mentality, decisive, physical (bigger/stronger bodies), high impact, higher kick ratio, high I50 ratio, kick goals, get tired easier so rest forward or lower TOG. 20 disposals is typically all they need to have influence on the game.

Engine mid: TYPICALLY... endurance athletes (high TOG), creative, high IQ, agility and/or speed (but not explosive), good two-way runners (get back to defend and help with transition), high handball to kick ratio, moderate meters gained, less physical (usually lots of loose ball gets). 30 disposals is typical for a good game.

Defensive mid: TYPICALLY... many of the engine mid attributes (but with maybe slightly less skill), anchors the midfield, good size/strong, defensive mindset and positioning, high tackle count, balanced handball to kick ratio, disrupts oppo setups, clamps a player, blocks/creates space, usually around 15-20 disposals while disrupting the opposition is a great game.

When you dont have the mix of these players midfields can sometimes look out of balance or one-paced. So having a gun in each of these role types is (generally speaking) the ideal scenario for match day coaches.

Now lets talk reality… Not every team has this mix of players available, and certainly not all the time, because of various factors such as injuries, suspensions, match-day rotations etc. etc. So what is a coach to do?

The quick one I want to cover off first is the Striker role. Gun Striker mids are rare commodities!! Not every team has one, but everyone wants one (or two). In fact, when I think of guys like this only few really stand out to me... Petracca, Young, Reid, Warner, JHF, DeGoey, Heeney. I might be missing one or two, but generally most teams lack these players and either decide to just run with a 2nd Engine mid or try and pinch hit speedy guys (typically small forwards) through there throughout the match.

Engine mids are common commodities. Gun Defensive mids are less common, but many Engine mids (especially those lacking the highest levels of skill) are often tasked with performing the defensive role.

With all that established, and GENERALLY SPEAKING, if 1x Striker mid 1x Engine mid and 1x Defensive mid roles can not be obtained, coaches fall back too 2x Engine mids 1x Defensive mid role. Essentially, coaches almost always, rely on that Defensive mid role to negate the offensive threat of the opposition (player and/or positioning to guard against the ball getting in offensive space).

This brings me onto Hewett. He is widely regarded as one of the best defensive mids in the comp. All of Walsh, Cripps, Lord, Elijah, Doc, Jagga, Ben etc. play engine or offensive roles. How anyone can say any of these players can push Hewett out of the team I believe does not have a firm grasp of how centre bounce stoppage work happens and the roles that get performed in there.

Take Port as an example. Have you ever seen a centre bounce with all of Butters, Rozee and JHF is there? Don’t go looking for footage, because I can tell you the answer is no… you never have. Why? Well JHF is a Strike mid and Butters and Rozee and Engine mids who both have a tendency to be offensive. If they don’t win the ball it would be a certain goal opportunity to the oppo every time. That is why I think Drews year was incredibly underrated. In fact, all good defensive mids go relatively unheralded compared to their other mids.

I look at the two grand finalists as no better examples of teams with gun defensive mids in Rowbottom and Dunkley and what they do for their teams. Everyone pumps up Heeney and Warner, but without Rowbottom, they cannot do what they do (without looking incredibly silly at times).

We have an amazing defensive mid in Hewett. I firmly believe he is best 22 if we are to go deep next year. But I am happy to have the discussions on who might take over that role. So if not Hewett, I think the question should really be phrased more along the lines of:


If not Hewett playing as the defensive mid, who else do you think could perform that sacrificial role?

I should point out that I have not mentioned Cerra (or Kennedy for obvious reasons). But I have noticed he also plays a lot more of that defensive mid role this year, especially around stoppages. I think he has copped a lot of flack. Injuries aside, I feel for him now that he has been playing the sacrificial defensive mid role more. Defence is not as sexy as offence. And Cerra was brought across for his offensive talents. But maybe Voss is grooming him as the Hewett replacement? Either way, Hewett is our best defensive mid for mine.

Not sure why I’m caring about this…

However, unless you’re Dylan Alexander.

You’ve just copied his YouTube video and said that’s how clubs rate players. Never heard anyone else in the AFL refer to players like this.

 

[Jimmae]

Walsh wont be going to the wing. Gets talked about every preseason. Just wont happen.

Wing is for role players in todays game. Its not where you want your stars.

This really comes down to how you structure your midfield, and how that shape comes about.

The key thing is he should not be at a lot of centre bounces, and that he should generally be more outside. Where he starts on the field before a bounce, I don't care if it's half-forward or wing.

 

[BlueTongue]

Walsh & Jagga are natural ball winners. Let them play to their strengths. Having them out on a wing is counter-productive.

Starting midfield lineup should be TDK-Cripps-Walsh-Hewett with Cerra, Lord & Jagga rotating.

Walsh's strength is his fitness and gut running. These are attributes that are needed on the wing.
It is not his disposal (though this has been somewhat impacted by his back injuries I suspect) or vision (he gets caught way too often and seems to have a lack of peripheral awareness at times).
Instead of trying to play 2 of our best ball winners and have the 3rd sitting on the bench or in the VFL, it would make better sense for us to play all 3, and have one of Ollie or Cotters pushing to get back into the side, instead of another ball magnet.

 

[teagueyubeauty]

[emoji6][emoji[emoji6][emoji6]][emoji6]" data-quote="bigblueboy" data-source="post: 0" class="bbCodeBlock bbCodeBlock--expandable bbCodeBlock--quote js-expandWatch">

I’m confident we would have picked O’Sullivan if he was available. He is the point of difference player.

Nope, Jagga all the way


Sent from my iPhone using BigFooty.com

 

[Arr0w]

I'm okay with Walsh starting anywhere, but I agree with Jim, needs to be more outside

 

[tarczonandjane]

Words enter the lexicon all the time.
Footy IQ, Balanced mid, quarterback etc. they weren't used for 100+ years either.
I've also heard striker mid used at local, talent league & VFL level, however, if a phrase irks you, you've no obligation to use it.

I think it is a matter of whether those words are adding anything. Most of these types of terms come from commentators and data analysts who are essentially being paid to keep revolutionising things. Sometimes their terms will add to our understanding of the game, sometimes they won’t. I will leave it for better judges than me to determine where striker mid fits on that continuum.

 

[marcmurphy3]

This really comes down to how you structure your midfield, and how that shape comes about.

The key thing is he should not be at a lot of centre bounces, and that he should generally be more outside. Where he starts on the field before a bounce, I don't care if it's half-forward or wing.

The thing is you still need outside players in the centre. Players that can recieve. You cant just have 3 typical inside mids and rely on wingers to do that because they simply arent there. Need a balance.

Post CBA it obviously doesnt matter as much, but even then the wingers normally hold their width.

 

[BlueNath]

Thanks for taking the time to write such a detailed post. As for the general thrust of your argument, I'd agree that Hewett is probably the best on our list at that role, but I think there are others capable of it. You'd hope we don't have all of our eggs in the one basket for that role anyway. But I think most mids should be capable of switching roles when required, to better or worse effect. Cincotta played a defensive role quite effectively during the season.

As for the "striker mid" category - do coaches really use that term? It's not one I'd heard of before a couple of weeks ago on this forum (in the draft thread). Even did a word search across the forum, and the only other occurrences of "striker" were in relation to cricket, soccer or the Ted Striker meme from Flying High. "Power mid" is a term that pops up reasonably often, for the Petracca/Dusty types. Do you see "striker mid" as the same as this?

Yes, I hope people didn't think I was saying it is Hewett or bust for us. I agree we need others who play that role... and they already do. I welcome and encourage the discussion. I was just confused by suggestions that exciting and talented players like say Lord or Jagga could push Hewett out of the team without clarifying how they expect the roles to work. Not all players are suited to the defensive mid role. So I thought I'd elaborate on what the typical roles are in a midfield setup just to help with perspective.

What I didnt expect was some suggestions that roles(/"titles") don't even exist and everyone is just a midfielder with various attributes blah blah blah.

Coaches get played the big bucks to come up with game plans and identify the roles that are needed to execute each plan. They will use the term "next man up" often because the game plans should stand up regardless of the player. And what do we hear players say all the time... "I just need to play my role within the team". So there are team roles in each game plan. Things progressively get broken down further from there which is where line coaches and specific game day tactics come in. Players spend a lot of time these days with their line coaches watching and reviewing footage to help them best perform their specific role/s.

So to answer your question, yes... mids switch roles all the time! And whilst they may not say "I'll be the defensive mid this setup". They may say something like "Im going to press Heeney (into the drop of the ball)". The point is, the midfeild mix identify beforehand how they want the stoppage to work. They may not use the exact terms I identified, but they will be broadly be performing one of those roles. You can even have a setup where everyone performs a defensive role (like say when you are 2 goals up with 90secs on the clock) to lock/slow the game down. But even when you are 5 points down with under a minute to go, you typically still want a defensive mid role performed to, for example, stop the oppo's best clearance guy getting access to the ball. Essentially, you almost always need someone playing a defensive role at every stoppage. It does not have to be 1 guy doing that role 80% of the time each week. But all the best ones do.

So yes, you are right, Cinc did perform that role very effectively at stages this year. All of Cerra, Walsh and Cripps perform defensive mid roles each week. To perform that role best though, you do need to have some physical attributes. Thats why some of these younger, lighter framed kids coming through probably are not ready for that role yet. Whilst I want to see Jagga playing from round 1, Im just not sure he necessarily pushes Hewett out. We want guys playing to their strengths. Hewett is such a great and dependable defensive mid. If he goes out, do we want Cripps or Walsh sacrificing their game to predominately play that role to allow Jagga to shine? Im not saying we dont or do!! Maybe Cinc is the defensive mid guy and 2 of Cripps, Walsh and Cerra find other roles? Its exciting with some of the talent coming through and I agree they need opportunity. But we are also going for a premiership! It's a good position to be in (having depth of talent)

"Striker mid" is the term I here being used most often. But dont get caught up on the label as much as the role. If you use "Power mid", "The Dusty role", "Explosive mid" etc. anyone in the AFL industry knows the type of role/player you are describing. People seem to hate on the "strike/striker" term on here. I dont care what people call it. Just understand it is a real role heavily on th minds of AFL coaches. Because these guys are weapons that cut down defences.

I wish we had an explosive/powerful mid. But I also dont think we necessarily need one... not according to our brains trust, anyway. They rated Jagga at 1 and Austin said "he fits our team like a glove". So they clearly have a strategy that does not fit the mould (because most people think we are already one of the best teams at extracting the footy). This was further exemplified by Austin when asked a question along the lines of are we trying to develop run/speed like Hawthorn and he immediately responded by saying "we are not a copy cat football club". I loved that comeback! Not just because of the sentiment, but because he said it with such conviction. It was not his opinion. You could tell there is a clear strategy we have internally and it is ours alone. We are not trying to be anyone else. So the excitiment around Jagga tells me the club have a very clear vision for what our midfield mix is going to be to to help win us a premiership.

 

[BolshyAust]

I think it is a matter of whether those words are adding anything. Most of these types of terms come from commentators and data analysts who are essentially being paid to keep revolutionising things. Sometimes their terms will add to our understanding of the game, sometimes they won’t. I will leave it for better judges than me to determine where striker mid fits on that continuum.

Many come from the lack of literacy of those commentators and data analysts.

"Frontal" pressure instead of forward pressure? Can a team apply "backal" pressure?

 

[BlueTongue]

Yeah, can I get you to run down to "striker mid"? Those are parts on the places on the ground.

Sure people don't necessarily play in those specific roles, and "rover" is not a place on the ground either - but those positions have been terms and stated roles that everyone has known for 100 years.

Go down to the local leagues and say to the coach "who is playing striker mid this week"? Or to the VFL, or to any AFL coach. It's a nonsensical fad term, that has caught fire on this forum, but is meaningless elsewhere.

I get that certain players fall into certain idealistic categories, that's fine. But so say we need X made up position, and Y made up position is laughable.

Yes it's the new flavor of the month term which is quite popular with the younger Journo's in the media.
Having said that, I don't think it's nonsensical as it is an apt description of the power-mids (Dusty/DeGoey types) that can turn it on and score quickly.

But you are right when you say it's not a positional thing. It's more the type of player.