Definately need Rankine around the ball more.
Later in his career he can go up forward but now he needs to play midfield.
He is so dynamic which our midfield lacks
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Later in his career he can go up forward but now he needs to play midfield.
He is so dynamic which our midfield lacks
Gtowncrow
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This...
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My own personal bias but what i have seen of Izak since his U18 year, he has the potential to be the best player in the comp
Rankine and Horne-Francis stand head and shoulders as the best 2 16/17 year olds I’ve ever watched. Funny how things turn out as I was devastated when we didn’t try and get up in Rankines draft year to target him, but over the moon now to have him playing here for the next 10 years.
very excited to hear that we are playing him at stoppage. Must say I didn’t expect it.
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I agree with this. Their talent was ridiculous. I remember telling people about Rankine a couple of years before he was drafted. He was a freak. Horne was similar.
I think Rankine will start getting more CBA's this year, he is one of our best stoppage players. And when he is playing up forward he should be pushing up around the ball anyway. It is a waste having him close to goal all the time.
I would love for him to be spending most of his time between the centre square, wing and half forward area and then pushing forward when we are attacking. Basically play him anywhere from the centre line forward and let him do his damage.
Think you are over simplifying being a a gun mid. Takes more than just having agility to get to where Rozzee is at
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Ye can’t lead a midfield but doesn’t mean he can’t be a key piece of one
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I was thinking the opposite. All clubs have great midfielders, but not many have forwards who can do what Rankine can do
So you think Rankine only has agility? Have you seen him play in the midfield during his draft year and last year?
A big jump from playing well as a part time mid to becoming one of the best mids in the comp.
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Yes leave him as a forward that can go in the midfield when you need him. A good small forward is a quality asset.
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Gtowncrow
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Jordan Dawson disagrees with this.
Started last year as a quality backman. Finished as AA mid.
Dawson was and is a utility. Someone that had already proven he could play full time in any position.
Rankine is a forward and I don’t believe has it to become a full time mid. He can be successful in a part time role in the midfield. But not full time. There are a lot more times small forwards have tried to transition into midfield and it hasn’t been successful than it has worked.
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Hes a midfielder. You will see. McLeod started forward then half back before midfield. Both Rankine and rachele will be mids
Point being Rankine has a lot more than just agility if you actually seen footage of him playing in the midfield (very smart and creative around stoppage and excellent ball user with pace, also doesn't mind to harass and stick tackles). Dew also trained him as a midfielder the year he left GCS so will have the tank to successfully play as a midfielder.
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He was a mid at the U18 champs from memory. The ONLY question mark is can he build the tank to be a majority mid and oinch hit forward. He has every tool in the kit to be elite if he has the tank
But did any of them shown the quality of Rankine playing in the midfield during their draft year and last year? GCS had trained him in the preseason last year to move into the midfield but he got injured for the entire half of the season.
Every time one of our players shows any elite skills, someone posts “do you think he could make it as a midfielder?”
So I thought that I’d check the correlation between elite midfielders (including mid-forwards) and premierships.
The All Australian team selections for the premiers for the last 20 years is as follows:
The data suggests that All-Australian defenders are almost as important as All-Australian mids (including mid-forwards) for winning premierships. Only 3 premierships have been won in the last 2 decades without an All-Australian defender (compared with 4 without an AA mid). One of those premierships without an AA defender was the time that the umpires got the Bulldogs over the line against Sydney. I’ll leave it up to you as to whether that one should count.
Interestingly, the difference between the premiers and the runners up in All-Australian selections over the last decade has been the runners up have been stronger in the midfield and forwards and the premiers have been stronger in defence, particularly in key defenders:
Elite forwards do not seem to be as important as mids or defenders, but this might also be somewhat impacted by mid-forwards being classified as mids in the above analysis.
Rucks don’t matter much at all.
Having elite mid depth (ie AA squad mids) appears more important than defensive depth (I’ve only gone back 10 years, data was more effort than AA team).
There is also the question of where the player can be his most impactful. Moving an elite defender to the midfield to be our fifth best mid makes no sense, but making an All-Australian midfielder out of a fringe elite defender does.
Key takeaway:
Given that we have a decent amount of mids and mid-forwards (mainly the latter) that could be elite:
So I thought that I’d check the correlation between elite midfielders (including mid-forwards) and premierships.
The All Australian team selections for the premiers for the last 20 years is as follows:
The data suggests that All-Australian defenders are almost as important as All-Australian mids (including mid-forwards) for winning premierships. Only 3 premierships have been won in the last 2 decades without an All-Australian defender (compared with 4 without an AA mid). One of those premierships without an AA defender was the time that the umpires got the Bulldogs over the line against Sydney. I’ll leave it up to you as to whether that one should count.
Interestingly, the difference between the premiers and the runners up in All-Australian selections over the last decade has been the runners up have been stronger in the midfield and forwards and the premiers have been stronger in defence, particularly in key defenders:
Elite forwards do not seem to be as important as mids or defenders, but this might also be somewhat impacted by mid-forwards being classified as mids in the above analysis.
Rucks don’t matter much at all.
Having elite mid depth (ie AA squad mids) appears more important than defensive depth (I’ve only gone back 10 years, data was more effort than AA team).
There is also the question of where the player can be his most impactful. Moving an elite defender to the midfield to be our fifth best mid makes no sense, but making an All-Australian midfielder out of a fringe elite defender does.
Key takeaway:
Given that we have a decent amount of mids and mid-forwards (mainly the latter) that could be elite:
- If one of our forwards shows elite skills, it is more than reasonable to ask “do you think he could make it as a midfielder or mid-forward?”
- If Michalanney or Curtin shows elite skills, we need to ask if they can become All Australian defenders
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Footage of him at training? Or when he has moved in the midfield for a short time? Either way that isn’t strong evidence he can be an elite full time mid in the AFL for a whole season and repeat it year in year out. I understand that is all you have to go by but you guys are making it sound like it is a move that will very likely be successful. I think that is too optimistic. I think it could be successful but I would not say it is likely. I understand why the club would want to give it a shot but settling being a specialist forward that goes into the midfield when the team needs will work too.
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