Who are the top 10 midfielders in the league?

[Iceman!]

Robbo literally gets paid to have an opinion on football. He’s the chief football writer for the Herald Sun and is a prominent figure within the industry. You don’t get to his position by not knowing anything about the game.

There are lots of past and present players who know a lot more about football than you and I that value his opinion. But sure thing, anonymous BigFooty nuffy. Your opinion holds more weight than his and you’re definitely in a position to dismiss his opinion

13th instead of 11th. Well done on pedantic fault finding. My point still stands that he’s in the conversation. Tom Mitchell is also a crab and there’s every chance he isn’t the same player he was pre-injury. I don’t exactly rate pointless stat padders like Mitchell and Dunkley.

You’re just pissed off Prestia is regarded by some as a better midfielder than Macrae and Dunkley. Prestia is a huge part of the reason why we’re not a flash in the pan premiers like the Bulldogs. He’s super consistent and reliable and is finally starting to get the respect he deserves. Time to pull your head in.

Jeez this is a good one...

So you say that Prestia being voted 13th in the coaches votes is proof of him being a top player. But yet Mitchell was voted the best by the players, umpires and 3rd by the coaches in 2018. Yet he is some crab?

'time to pull your head in'

 

[Virgin Dog]

Is Pendles a victim of his own consistency? For nearly a decade and a half he's averaging high 20 possies and I'd imagine that'd be high DE% also.

If anyone else played to those standards with that consistency over such a period we wouldn't hear the end of it.

The difference between most other players and Pendles is that he lacks leg speed but that is irrelevant because he creates time and space like no other player past or present, and we may never see another player that can match that ability. He can literally bend time to his will such is his ability to predict where and when the ball is going to be. Footy nous rarely equaled.

Is he just expected to roll up week in and week out with those numbers and create that time and space as though it's a 2nd nature?

This might sound biased but it's hard to argue his influence on games even to this day.

In saying that, I don't have in the top 5 - I'd have him at 6 - 10 currently. The likes of Danger, Fyfe, Martin, Bont, Kelly just attract more attention they're the main event. Martin in the bushfire game proves that, got bog but was not regarded as such in popular opinion. Even Pendles had arguably just as much impact in that game.

Other 'underrated' mids for mine:

Yeo
Schuey
Treloar
Mcrae
Prestia
Sides
Gaff

All of these players have exceptional ability, but you can't fit 20 into 10.

Completely agree with what you're saying re: Pendlebury. Should be hailed among the all time great midfielders, and is seriously unlucky to not have a Brownlow right now, or even two.

The way you describe him as a player is exactly how I see Bontempelli, as I feel they each have such similar strengths. What they lack in leg speed, they gain in ability to create their own space, hold their composure in contested situations, and always seem to create a target where most players would never have found one.

I think Pendlebury belongs in the conversation for top 10 - he may not accumulate as many touches as Treloar, but his impact per possession is among the highest of any player throughout the competition. Easily your best and most important midfielder, and close to your best player (behind Grundy)

 

[Carringbush2010]

Completely agree with what you're saying re: Pendlebury. Should be hailed among the all time great midfielders, and is seriously unlucky to not have a Brownlow right now, or even two.

The way you describe him as a player is exactly how I see Bontempelli, as I feel they each have such similar strengths. What they lack in leg speed, they gain in ability to create their own space, hold their composure in contested situations, and always seem to create a target where most players would never have found one.

I think Pendlebury belongs in the conversation for top 10 - he may not accumulate as many touches as Treloar, but his impact per possession is among the highest of any player throughout the competition. Easily your best and most important midfielder, and close to your best player (behind Grundy)

One of the all time great mids might be stretching it a bit, a generational great yeah no doubt. Bont has more tools in the shed, he can be a burst player like Danger and can predict and read the play like Pendles maybe not as evidently but there is no doubt he is a great reader of the play and is able to position himself to best advantage.

The likes of Bont, Danger, Fyfe and Martin will possibly be regarded as better players over their careers and rightly so.

My issue is that for the bulk of the footy public and media what Pendles does is 'meh Pendles is being Pendles again this week'. Where as if 95% of the rest of the leagues players churned out those performances with that consistency it'd be the best thing since sliced bread, coronavirus would hardly get a mention.

 

[Virgin Dog]

One of the all time great mids might be stretching it a bit, a generational great yeah no doubt. Bont has more tools in the shed, he can be a burst player like Danger and can predict and read the play like Pendles maybe not as evidently but there is no doubt he is a great reader of the play and is able to position himself to best advantage.

The likes of Bont, Danger, Fyfe and Martin will possibly be regarded as better players over their careers and rightly so.

My issue is that for the bulk of the footy public and media what Pendles does is 'meh Pendles is being Pendles again this week'. Where as if 95% of the rest of the leagues players churned out those performances with that consistency it'd be the best thing since sliced bread, coronavirus would hardly get a mention.

I don't think it's too much of a stretch to be honest. He's without doubt one of the best of this generation, but not many can say they've been at the standard Pendles has been for so long. Spending a decade right at the top is rare. The only ones of the last 20 years I can think of where I can confidently say they've been among the best for at least a decade is Scott Pendlebury, Gary Ablett Jr, Chris Judd, Simon Black, Nathan Buckley and Scott West. There are guys who have been very good for many years like Danger, Fyfe, Martin, Cousins, etc. but not right at the very top for that long, or not without missing extended stretches of footy.

 

[Carringbush2010]

I don't think it's too much of a stretch to be honest. He's without doubt one of the best of this generation, but not many can say they've been at the standard Pendles has been for so long. Spending a decade right at the top is rare. The only ones of the last 20 years I can think of where I can confidently say they've been among the best for at least a decade is Scott Pendlebury, Gary Ablett Jr, Chris Judd, Simon Black, Nathan Buckley and Scott West. There are guys who have been very good for many years like Danger, Fyfe, Martin, Cousins, etc. but not right at the very top for that long, or not without missing extended stretches of footy.

It's likely that all of Bont, Danger, Fyfe and Martin will maintain their influence over their careers though, and they all have the one thing that Pendles does not - wow factor.

From oppo fans that may be disputed given his influence on games, but his quality of work is just the norm for him and is expected and has been for many a season now. A bad day at the office for Pendles is a very good day for most, if he has sub 25 possies the sky falls in, if he has 30+ it's nothing to see here.

 

[HAPPY BUDDHA]

Prestia is pretty overrated imo & would be lucky to make top 20.

 

[Carringbush2010]

Prestia is pretty overrated imo & would be lucky to make top 20.

Really? Maybe not top 10 but I reckon most would have him in the 20.

 

[Scotland]

Prestia is Richmond's 3rd best mid. On that simplistic basis he's in the 37-54 bracket. But not all teams have two better mids.

No one is picking Prestia over the top, top mids in the comp. Fyfe, Martin, Danger etc.

He's a good player that fills an important role in a good side, but let's not get carried away. When we start talking top 20 the starting point is each team's best mid. So Sloane/Crouch, Neale, Cripps, Pendles, Merrett (?), Fyfe, Danger, Swallow (?), Josh Kelly, Mitchell, Oliver, Cunnington, Boak, Dusty, someone from St Kilda, Josh Kennedy, Shuey, Bont... and that ignores guys like Coniglio, Yeo, Macrae, Zorko, Selwood, Tim Kelly etc. who didn't make the cut at #1.

Prestia belongs in a conversation with the better inside mids of the comp who aren't known for their pace/goal kicking/outside game.

 

[Tig017]

Robbo literally gets paid to have an opinion on football. He’s the chief football writer for the Herald Sun and is a prominent figure within the industry. You don’t get to his position by not knowing anything about the game.

Please bugger off, you're embarrassing the rest of us Richmond supporters.

 

[Tig017]

Martin
Mitchell
JPK
Fyfe
Pendlebury
Merrett
Sloane
Bont
Dangerfield
Kelly

lol

 

[juss]

Prestia is pretty overrated imo & would be lucky to make top 20.

He's not top 10, best and fairest in a premiership year always holds weight though, he'd have to be around the top 20 mark.

Of all the years used as argument, 2019 still has to hold the most weight.

 

[Cotchins Hair Piece]

Prestia is pretty overrated imo & would be lucky to make top 20.

I agree. I reckon he use to be at 20 but Petracca has recently taken his spot and moved Prestia to 21.

 

[Carringbush2010]

Prestia is Richmond's 3rd best mid. On that simplistic basis he's in the 37-54 bracket. But not all teams have two better mids.

No one is picking Prestia over the top, top mids in the comp. Fyfe, Martin, Danger etc.

He's a good player that fills an important role in a good side, but let's not get carried away. When we start talking top 20 the starting point is each team's best mid. So Sloane/Crouch, Neale, Cripps, Pendles, Merrett (?), Fyfe, Danger, Swallow (?), Josh Kelly, Mitchell, Oliver, Cunnington, Boak, Dusty, someone from St Kilda, Josh Kennedy, Shuey, Bont... and that ignores guys like Coniglio, Yeo, Macrae, Zorko, Selwood, Tim Kelly etc. who didn't make the cut at #1.

Prestia belongs in a conversation with the better inside mids of the comp who aren't known for their pace/goal kicking/outside game.

It's all about how one views his game, he's not the all day tank running Gaff, Scheuy or Sides on the wings. He's a contested ball bull like a Cunnington or Adams.

I'd rate him as high if not higher than those two purely based on his output.

Without sounding like contradicting myself I doubt Dion would equal that output in a transition based team like wc or giants. Richmonds pressure game suits Priesta like Adams at Collingwood and I'd argue Cunnington would be an even better player in those two teams.

Prestia is very good because of the system he plays in, guys like Yeo, Martin, Fyfe, Danger, Bont or even Pendles are elite purely because they're elite.

 

[Carringbush2010]

lol

Yeah I don't know how anyone would have Merret in there, potentially a very good player but not in that company in any universe.

 

[blaisee]

One of the all time great mids might be stretching it a bit, a generational great yeah no doubt. Bont has more tools in the shed, he can be a burst player like Danger and can predict and read the play like Pendles maybe not as evidently but there is no doubt he is a great reader of the play and is able to position himself to best advantage.

The likes of Bont, Danger, Fyfe and Martin will possibly be regarded as better players over their careers and rightly so.

My issue is that for the bulk of the footy public and media what Pendles does is 'meh Pendles is being Pendles again this week'. Where as if 95% of the rest of the leagues players churned out those performances with that consistency it'd be the best thing since sliced bread, coronavirus would hardly get a mention.

Pendles is a genuine champion. There is no doubt about that.

Bont is better because he kicks more goals

 

[Carringbush2010]

I'm perplexed that Cotchin isn't in this conversation more often.

We are talking about a quality mid who's won a brownlow, premiership captain and if I am correct has at least 1 aa Guernsey right?

 

[Carringbush2010]

Pendles is a genuine champion. There is no doubt about that.

Bont is better because he kicks more goals

All of Bont, Danger, Fyfe, Martin are better because they have more tools at their disposal.

It's fair argument that none of those can read the ball like Pendles can, in fact it's fair argument that no other player past or present can to that level. They are all very good at reading the ball but not to the same level but they have more dimensions to their games, that's what makes them better.

 

[master bate]

I'm perplexed that Cotchin isn't in this conversation more often.

We are talking about a quality mid who's won a brownlow, premiership captain and if I am correct has at least 1 aa Guernsey right?

Really?

Super talented young player who peaked with a Brownlow quality year in 2012, then progressively lost his way as Richmond did with too much kick chasing and short kicking rubbish from a top 5 mid going in to 2013 to probably outside the top 20 in 2016.

Played a new crash and bash style in 2017, still with some lovely skills and I thought overall his finals when the games were really hot in 2017 were probably stronger than Dusty's who was the cream on the cake later in games. Solid back up in 2018 but then struggled with injury and played a new role as a half forward/mid as much as anything in 2019. Averaging 20 touches and 3 tackles and only kicking 3 goals from 14 games isn't going to get you in the conversation for the best mid in the game.

 

[Carringbush2010]

Really?

Super talented young player who peaked with a Brownlow quality year in 2012, then progressively lost his way as Richmond did with too much kick chasing and short kicking rubbish from a top 5 mid going in to 2013 to probably outside the top 20 in 2016.

Played a new crash and bash style in 2017, still with some lovely skills and I thought overall his finals when the games were really hot in 2017 were probably stronger than Dusty's who was the cream on the cake later in games. Solid back up in 2018 but then struggled with injury and played a new role as a half forward/mid as much as anything in 2019. Averaging 20 touches and 3 tackles and only kicking 3 goals from 14 games isn't going to get you in the conversation for the best mid in the game.

But you're talking about one season, he's been pretty consistently good in years previous - especially in the tigs dark times, then carried through in 17 and 18.

Not saying he's a match for a Bont or Fyfe or Danger or Martin but it's fair argument to have him in the 10 over the course of his career.

Potentially he should be in the conversation, feel on this thread at least he's a little under rated.

 

[Scotland]

It's all about how one views his game, he's not the all day tank running Gaff, Scheuy or Sides on the wings. He's a contested ball bull like a Cunnington or Adams.

I'd rate him as high if not higher than those two purely based on his output.

Without sounding like contradicting myself I doubt Dion would equal that output in a transition based team like wc or giants. Richmonds pressure game suits Priesta like Adams at Collingwood and I'd argue Cunnington would be an even better player in those two teams.

Prestia is very good because of the system he plays in, guys like Yeo, Martin, Fyfe, Danger, Bont or even Pendles are elite purely because they're elite.

Every team has a mix of midfielders and a system that should make the most of their collective talents. Prestia was a good get for Richmond as he is a very good clearance player (not their strength or their focus) and he takes some of the load off Martin and Cotchin. It's a luxury being able to throw a Martin/Dangerfield/Bont forward to kick goals knowing you have other players who can step up in the centre. I'm comfortable there are 5-10 players (probably more) who could slot in and do what Prestia does at Richmond. Inside players who can find the ball and tackle tend to just keep on doing that wherever they are. Gaff is better than Prestia, but he couldn't because they have different skill sets. Tom Mitchell is better than Prestia in the same role, but would he still get 35+ touches sharing the midfield with Cotchin and Martin?

In 2018 Jack Redden got 100+ clearances, 100+ tackles and 25 touches game and no one outside WC really cared. He was our 3rd or 4th best mid and we won the flag, doesn't make him top 20. I don't have Prestia top 20 because of the guys you listed who have more strings to their bow.

 

[GastevsBeard]

One of the all time great mids might be stretching it a bit, a generational great yeah no doubt. Bont has more tools in the shed, he can be a burst player like Danger and can predict and read the play like Pendles maybe not as evidently but there is no doubt he is a great reader of the play and is able to position himself to best advantage.

The likes of Bont, Danger, Fyfe and Martin will possibly be regarded as better players over their careers and rightly so.

My issue is that for the bulk of the footy public and media what Pendles does is 'meh Pendles is being Pendles again this week'. Where as if 95% of the rest of the leagues players churned out those performances with that consistency it'd be the best thing since sliced bread, coronavirus would hardly get a mention.

Amazingly as a Pies supporter, I think you might be under-rating Pendles a bit. Bont may be better by the end of his career, but on output so far Pendles has a more decorated career

FWIW Pendles is perhaps the # 1 player of all time for consistency

 

[Carringbush2010]

Gaff is better than Prestia, but he couldn't because they have different skill sets.

But they are different players, Gaff is a wingman. Yes I agree Gaff is a better player so is Sides but again different players, Prestia doesn't have the tank of those two. That's why you see him in the coalface and not on the outside and that's generally the tigs game, force the contest forward til they win it and structure up around the ball win.

Forgot Jack Redden, what a player and very much under rated. That's easy to do when he's in a mid brigade like wc have, Yeo is a similar type but rated more highly if you're outside the wc fan base. Even then I'd argue even Yeo is under rated also.

They have sublime players across every line, similar if not even with in talent to the giants.

 

[Giant Pete]

Pendles is a genuine champion. There is no doubt about that.

Bont is better because he kicks more goals

He’s not a good set shot though.

 

[Carringbush2010]

Amazingly as a Pies supporter, I think you might be under-rating Pendles a bit. Bont may be better by the end of his career, but on output so far Pendles has a more decorated career

FWIW Pendles is perhaps the # 1 player of all time for consistency

Under rating Pendles? Is that even possible? Sure his consistency IS probably better than most of even the all timers if not the best.

That doesn't make him as good as Bont, Danger, Fyfe or Martin in my book because they have more ammo in their tool box.

All of those 4 are great burst players and are extremely good at reading the ball, ok not to the same level Pendles but no other player past or present has been able to bend time to their will like he can and we may never see another player do it to that level. He is not a burst player and even though he does not need to be the fact remains he can't burst out of packs like these guys.

STILL they are better players because of the extra dimensions they have in their game over Pendles. I'm not under rating him in the slightest but to suggest he is as good as those guys is far reaching for mine.

 

[Carringbush2010]

He’s not a good set shot though.

And that's probably the only blemish to his game.

I don't how I put blemish and this bloke in the same sentence to be honest.

IF he improved his set shots we'd be looking at a 30 to 40 a year goal mid. That is heady stuff and would make him undisputed best mid at the minute, no doubt in my mind.