Midfield obsessed ??

[Au_Blue#24]

Are we becoming obsessed with midfield smaller players ??

This is in light of the Adkins rumour.

What about some taller key posi players

Or is Woosha developing a new trend of super-team which can run all day !!

Your thoughts

 

[jod23]

Midfields win premierships...simple as that.

 

[i_luv_westcoast]

I don't totally agree with that Jod. I think Brisbane is underated up forward and down back. Their spine is Mal Michael-Leppitsch-Black-Brown-Lynch. Brisbane is good all over the field, that is why they have won the last two premierships.

Remember Essendon was always thought to have a suspect midfield and they won the premiership in 2000. Kangaroos won in 1999 and I think Carey had a lot more to do with it than Shannon Grant or Peter Bell.

I think it's a bit of a myth that the strongest midfield will win you the premiership. A team has to be strong all over the field. That is why Adelaide has recruited Wayne Carey to help with their forward problems.

 

[eagleskickass]

you have to start developing somewhere, maybe Woosha is developing the midfield first. Plus he may think the young talls we have are what we need to develop, not bring in new ones perhaps? get a good midfield to feed the young players heaps so they get plenty of the footy and may develop faster?
Who knows, but in Woosha i trust

 

[daddy_4_eyes]

I think its because talls are much more expensive during trades and so going after a quality midfielder is cheaper than going after a quality tall.

 

[Mead]

The thing is, a quality midfield makes all of your talls vastly better, because the forwards are getting both quantity and quality ball. Anyone can shamble out and take a mark if your midfielders are constantly putting it directly on the forwards chests. The same applies at the other end- if your defence is never under pressure because the midfield are winning it out of the centre, things are a heck of a lot easier for them.
Also, Midfielders give you better value for money. When someone as fit as Cousins is completely on his game, he effectively functions in three places at once, as an extra man in defence mopping up loose balls, as a ball getter in the middle of the field, and a threat for a running goal up forward- most key position players simply can't do that. If you have 5 super fit midfielders who can outrun their men all day, they can follow the ball wherever it goes, and in effect give you 5 extra men in defence and attack.
Classic example of a team which got it the wrong way round is Richmond- decent set of talls in Ottens, Gaspar, Richardson, Stafford etc, but not much of a midfield. And they got burnt this year as a result.

 

[hourn]

You've got to start with your midfield and by developing it.

But you can't win without a good all round team these days, hence i believe we should be making offers for players such as Alistair Nicholson, Darren Gaspar, Johnathon Hay or Jade Rawlings etc,.

 

[jod23]

Originally posted by i_luv_westcoast
I don't totally agree with that Jod. I think Brisbane is underated up forward and down back. Their spine is Mal Michael-Leppitsch-Black-Brown-Lynch. Brisbane is good all over the field, that is why they have won the last two premierships.

Remember Essendon was always thought to have a suspect midfield and they won the premiership in 2000. Kangaroos won in 1999 and I think Carey had a lot more to do with it than Shannon Grant or Peter Bell.

I think it's a bit of a myth that the strongest midfield will win you the premiership. A team has to be strong all over the field. That is why Adelaide has recruited Wayne Carey to help with their forward problems.

But this midfield phenomenon is only just beginning. We have all talked about the traditional CHF and FF being almost non existent nowadays. Essendon started it and Brisbane have followed. They both had teams that ran and ran, everybody ran! Teams are getting smaller and quicker, it's just the way the game is going.

That's why i believe from now on or at least until the tide changes, midfields will win premierships.

 

[Voice of Reason]

Originally posted by jod23
But this midfield phenomenon is only just beginning. We have all talked about the traditional CHF and FF being almost non existent nowadays. Essendon started it and Brisbane have followed. They both had teams that ran and ran, everybody ran! Teams are getting smaller and quicker, it's just the way the game is going.

That's why i believe from now on or at least until the tide changes, midfields will win premierships.

Yep, that's how I see it too, provided that you can put enough of a score on the board to establish a winning lead.

I can see the game going the same way as soccer, where some teams will have a strong midfield, but muck about with it too much and not score enough goals. So it's important not to lose sight of the fact that the idea is to score more goals + points than your opponent (I know it's obvious, but indirect football to me is often when a team subconsciously is more focussed on keeping possession than scoring goals).

I think Woosha is building a team of really strong runners (I'm rapt with Chick), which will enable our good young talls to really capitalise on possession won in the midfield.

 

[El Cid]

It's not just midfield that WC is increasing, it's skill/class level all over the ground. Apart from your spine, everybody should be a potential midfielder. Similar to Essendon 2000 (Easily best side ever)
This is what we've got now and where they should play. Ranked in class.

First Class:
Cousins (C, F)
Judd (C, F)
Peter Matera (F)
Kerr (F,C)
Wirrapunda (F,B)
Flethcher (C, F)
Chick (C,F,B)
Sampi (F,B)
Morrison (F,C,B)

Good:
Rowan Jones (F, C)
Wooden (F,C,B)
Chambers (C)
Read (B)
Adkins (F,C)
Phil Matera (F)

Nothing Special:
Braun (C)
Banfield (C)


Most teams will fear that... Maybe lacks a bit of strength but hopefully Hunter, Embley, Green, Lynch, Wilson can help us out there. Gardiner and Cox is a top ruck combo.

Easily Top 4 if we stay healthy.

 

[Goldenblue]

Originally posted by El Cid
Nothing Special:
Braun (C)
Banfield (C)

Like your passion, but I think you may be a bit harsh on these two guys.

Braun and Banners have suffered much from injuries in past, but I thought Banners did come good towards the end of the year when his fitness peaked. Not exactly top of the class, but in honesty, he got the job done.

Brauny I think is one of the best interstaters WC do have on their list and if they did not think highly of him, I am sure it would have been "Muscles" rather than Williams that was traded back home.

 

[larrikin]

Originally posted by El Cid
This is what we've got now and where they should play. Ranked in class.

First Class:
Cousins (C, F)
Judd (C, F)
Peter Matera (F)
Kerr (F,C)
Wirrapunda (F,B)
Flethcher (C, F)
Chick (C,F,B)
Sampi (F,B)
Morrison (F,C,B)

I'd have Chick right behind Cousins, with Kerr not far behind.