What's the worst that can happen? We're bottom 4 as it is.The issue is Baker is probably our best player so far this year and does he still play to the same level if moved
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AFLW 2024 - Round 10 - Chat, game threads, injury lists, team lineups and more.
Our Midfield
- Thread starter Bird Man
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I think you will find i wrote that last year.
Before we got hopper and taranto
Id **** off if i was him as well.
We stagnated his development by trimming him down and then dont play him
I agree.
The first bounce after half time on the weekend was Prestia, Hopper, Taranto. I dont think that mix is ideal, it's too slow, too one-paced, lacks pace, skill and burst from the stoppages. Add Cotchin to the mix and it's glacial slow.
We need Bolton/Dusty + 2 of the other 3 as the rotation. I'd be going Bolton, Taranto, Hopper as the starting mids against Melbourne first bounce.
If Short returns that is another creative mid in the mix rather than BakerThe issue is Baker is probably our best player so far this year and does he still play to the same level if moved
Or give Dusty licence to rotate himself in there
I prefer Ross over Graham but when Graham didn't go to SA and triggered a contract extension and Sonsie started coming good.. both of them appear to be ahead of Ross.
Ross has been playing wing on occasion so kmac leaving is his main hope
I don't know if Ross is a walk up start at essadon or the saints.
Gold coast? Trade for
Lucotious
Ludicrous that Ross doesn't get an extended run in the side. Finished off last year playing food footy and his last full game this year (against the pies?) was also good, 23d and a huge goal.
Can see Shorty coming back in and going in the midfield. Considering how rubbish Taranto and Prestia are for the quick kick out of congestion, Short gets far better penetration on the same kick off one step. It's very frustrating seeing these quick kicks travel 30 meters straight to the oppo.
Can see Shorty coming back in and going in the midfield. Considering how rubbish Taranto and Prestia are for the quick kick out of congestion, Short gets far better penetration on the same kick off one step. It's very frustrating seeing these quick kicks travel 30 meters straight to the oppo.
Adding Dusty doesn't add much in the way of pace.
He's slowed a lot and has lost that aura of invincibility.
Sadly, the Dusty stiff-arm don't work anymore.
He's still a very good player and requires a top minder, but he ain't that gamebreaker anymore.
Bolton and Short/Baker need to play majority mid from now on. Even if it means rotating Hopper and Taranto through half forward.
It is extremely frustrating to continually see 2-3 developing mids miss out on a game for others who are very one dimensional and then see our mids struggle to maintain the intensity late in games due to a lack of rotations earlier in the match .
It’s time for the match committee to realise we won flags with 7-8 + blokes going through the midfield not 3-4 and to start playing midfielders and using them in defensive forward roles or upon a flank when resting rather then picking specialist flankers .
Imo there should be only 6-7 blokes in any side who can’t successfully rotate through the midfield, our balance at the moment is way of where it needs to be .
We have over half the side who can’t or aren’t playing multiple roles .
Once sides are able to nullify the game we’ve taking into a match we are easily scored against particularly late as our mids are cooked.
Blokes like Rioli , HRS , Mansell and even Clarke should not be getting games ahead of Sonsie , Ross or Dow .
Particularly with graham Out injured .
It’s time for the match committee to realise we won flags with 7-8 + blokes going through the midfield not 3-4 and to start playing midfielders and using them in defensive forward roles or upon a flank when resting rather then picking specialist flankers .
Imo there should be only 6-7 blokes in any side who can’t successfully rotate through the midfield, our balance at the moment is way of where it needs to be .
We have over half the side who can’t or aren’t playing multiple roles .
Once sides are able to nullify the game we’ve taking into a match we are easily scored against particularly late as our mids are cooked.
Blokes like Rioli , HRS , Mansell and even Clarke should not be getting games ahead of Sonsie , Ross or Dow .
Particularly with graham Out injured .
- Thread starter
- #712
TT, Hopper, Bolton, Graham, Cotchin, Prestia, McIntosh, Ross, Baker
Our midfield on paper is pretty good. However, we get spanked most weeks in the midfield. Dimma picked up TT who has been amazing and Hopper who has been at best average.
Moving forward with Cotchin leaving, Prestia not having an impact since 2020 and Dusty has one more year and doesn't want to play midfield.
Now more than ever we need a coach or a midfield coach that changes our game style to suite TT and hopper after all why did we get them? to play in a system that has a bad midfield?
Our midfield on paper is pretty good. However, we get spanked most weeks in the midfield. Dimma picked up TT who has been amazing and Hopper who has been at best average.
Moving forward with Cotchin leaving, Prestia not having an impact since 2020 and Dusty has one more year and doesn't want to play midfield.
Now more than ever we need a coach or a midfield coach that changes our game style to suite TT and hopper after all why did we get them? to play in a system that has a bad midfield?
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Presita hasn't been good since 2020? He got 19 brownlow votes last year and was 3rd in our B&F.
**** yes. Come on down Josh Carr.
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Isn't Josh Carr a bit to old to come out of retirement?
TheOptimum18
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Our biggest issue (outside of injuries to key players) is that we've looked slow all season. We've looked slow for about 2 seasons now.
We're either playing an extra tall when we don't need to, play an extra contest mid (or 2) when we don't need to, or a combination of both.
Graham looked easily 2 steps off the pace vs the Dogs when played in the middle (5 CBAs in the first half, 1 in the second half), while Hopper hasn't looked fully back to 100% after his injury. Cotch has clearly shown that he should've been managed about 3 weeks ago, and is unlikely to play on, while Prestia's form has been up and down the whole season. McIntosh repeatedly is beaten by his direct opponent on the wing or in contest, but people think a few goals (which is probably manufactured from our system more than KMac's individual ability or brilliance) seems to mask his overall disappointing performances.
But the biggest common denominator with Graham, an ageing Cotch, Hopper who isn't fully fit, an inconsistent Prestia and McIntosh on the wing is a lack of pace. 3 of the 4 inside mids I've mentioned there are wedged onto the half-fwd flank for some reason, instead of playing players who are genuine fwds or who have genuine speed which would clearly help our system as a whole.
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If we’re out of contention by the last round v Port I’d like to see a midfield of Taranto and Hopper joined on the wings and half forward line of a mix of Ross, Bolton, Sonsie, MRJ, Clarke and Cumberland.
A bit of youth and speed to go with the grunt work of Taranto and Hopper would be interesting to see and also a glimpse of our future once Cotchin, Macca, Prestia, Graham and Pickett are gone.
A bit of youth and speed to go with the grunt work of Taranto and Hopper would be interesting to see and also a glimpse of our future once Cotchin, Macca, Prestia, Graham and Pickett are gone.
TheOptimum18
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Clarke just confirmed to be out for the rest of the season
We just don't have enough depth right now.
lizard man
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The opposition midfield always run the ball at out the center bounce and get the ball directly to their forwards quickly ….. meanwhile we just scrubbed the ball forward and straight into the opposing defenders hands
Hopper and TT were our only midfielders with 20+ disposals.
Shows how shallow our stocks are in the mids and where we’d be as a club without them.
Shows how shallow our stocks are in the mids and where we’d be as a club without them.
