Elliott's midfield ambition

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Green Eggs

Green Eggs

@TheBanterChamp
Mar 13, 2013
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AFL Club
Collingwood
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Charlotte Hornets
http://www.collingwoodfc.com.au/news/2013-11-19/elliotts-midfield-ambition

Entering his first injury-free pre-season, high-flying Magpie Jamie Elliott has made a reservation for a place in Collingwood's midfield.

Elliott has battled groin and other injury issues that severely restricted his preparation in his first two seasons at the Pies.

But with summer training in full swing, Elliott has sat down with coach Nathan Buckley and the club's medical staff to map out a program to allow him to join the Magpies' midfield rotation in 2014.

"I've spoken to Bucks and it's one of my ambitions to play midfield at some stage," Elliott told AFL Media.
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I love the energy Missy gives to our forward line, but is there room for him to have a crack as a mid?

He seems to have some great motivation and a pretty unique skill-set as far as comparing with other midfielders we currently have.

Whats everyones thoughts?
 
Yeah I agree, they almost all want to be mids. Fas said the same thing recently.

Not sure Elliott playing midfield suits the team. We have a lot of young mids now and his value as a small marking forward is huge as he can be a tough match up.

I think at best this year he can value add by incorporating short midfield bursts to his game (same goes for Fas), for example by rotating with Swan.

Hoping for a big year from the Elliott/Fasolo combo.
 

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Elliot is a pretty solid small forward and it's unlikely he transitions into a better midfielder than small forward imo.

Fasolo has much greater scope to play midfield imo.
 
I reckon with the days of limited interchange it would be a great asset. Imagine if all your forward and back pockets could rotate through the midfield, would give a huge advantage in running out games over the opposition. If you could develop the players duality so that essentially everyone can play midfield except for the key position players, we would run over the top of all in our path.
 
September Action said:
Remember Dids at his peak going through mid?
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Didak was way better than Elliot in almost every aspect except for marking and tackling - both skills which are more valuable to the side as a small forward.

Honestly drawing a comparison between Elliot and Didak is a bit unfair on Elliot imo. Didak at his best was in the top bracket of outside midfielders in the competition. Whilst atm is a pretty solid AFL footballer I don't see that much more scope for improvement in him and certainly not to the extent that would have him hitting Didak's level.
 
I actually think Elliot could turn himself into more than quite a capable midfielder in the next 3 or so years. Will be interesting to watch.
 
He'd just be washing through there so there's no problem at all. As was said above with an interchange cap it doesn't hurt to rotate through there and rest Pendles or Swan forward. It's much better to have players with dual capabilities than one niche.

Can make match ups a bit of nightmare for the opposition if players can switch more readily.
 

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Can't see him getting too many opportunities but fully support him building the tank so that he could have a run through the midfield if we need to mix things up. Having as many players as possible with some level of flexibility only enhances the team. Can't understand why people have an issue with it.
 
As a rotation for a spell, it's a gerat idea. Elliott can hit a target, this is a skill not all of his contempories can match. Sure he is a great 1 on 1 mark for his size, but he offers so much more than a permanent forward
 
Ultimately these days every small forward needs to build a tank big enough to play midfield. It's why Eddie Betts wasn't worth the money he was demanding and Carlton let him go.

However, we don't want Elliott as a permanent mid. He is a gun forward who has strong hands and good goal sense. He is needed forward.

That said, your small forwards are going to be inconsistent. It comes with the position on the field. Some days you just don't get delivery or the ball just doesn't go your way. Sometimes you just also cop a good match up.

Therefore, the best small forwards can then push into the midfield to try and work into the game. It is also a good way to expose a good back pocket who has your measure.

I think teams are going to start playing taller opponents on Elliott because he is more a lead up forward than a crumber. Therefore, if a stronger opponent can account for him in the air, he doesn't have to worry so much about ground level.

So if that's the case, Elliott needs to work these bigger opponents over by running through the middle and exposing them for pace. It may only be for 5 minute bursts, but we can't have a player of his quality going cold in a pocket for too long.
 
I hope that Elliot starts learning when to go for a screamer and when to position himself for a crumb.
 
forwardflanker said:
Didak was way better than Elliot in almost every aspect except for marking and tackling - both skills which are more valuable to the side as a small forward.

Honestly drawing a comparison between Elliot and Didak is a bit unfair on Elliot imo. Didak at his best was in the top bracket of outside midfielders in the competition. Whilst atm is a pretty solid AFL footballer I don't see that much more scope for improvement in him and certainly not to the extent that would have him hitting Didak's level.
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Look, I absolutely agree. I'm just making the observation that Dids, a fwd specialist, owned the midfield in the brief period he was fit enough. The footy smarts and elite kicking were central to this. Elliot is not in the same bracket, but he does find space in congestion which indicates smarts.
 
It's good he has the goal, but he's to valuable as a small forward IMO, it's not like we're short on mids.
 
I like the idea but like Dave suggested above only for 5 minute bursts.

What Elliott does well is see the play unfold quicker than others and a few times this year he used this to run forward and find himself in all sorts of space, particularly against Carlton. If he can drag his opponent into the midfield for 5 minutes and then expose him running forward it may work.
 
I just want to see Elliot and Fasolo tearing shit up inside our forward 50 next year. Short bursts in the midfield yes but I want to see both of them kick 35-45 goals for the year. Combined with Cloke, White and Reid its a very strong forward line.
 
Elliott is exactly the type of player you need in the forward line. He is that dangerous type that should be left forward, similar to a Didak, LeCras, Wingard, Monfries etc. who consistently slam goals on the board. If midfield is what both he and the club want, then I think he should follow a similar path to that of Didak and push into the midfield much later in his career if ability permits.

He's a forward and a good one. Leave him there.
 

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Elliott's midfield ambition

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