Position Midfielders Discussion

Which midfielders will you be starting? New poll 4/3/19

  • Macrae $690k

    Votes: 71 47.3%
  • Cripps $648k

    Votes: 134 89.3%
  • Oliver $623k

    Votes: 85 56.7%
  • Fyfe $618k

    Votes: 61 40.7%
  • Kelly $618k

    Votes: 14 9.3%
  • Neale $607k

    Votes: 46 30.7%
  • Dusty $564k

    Votes: 41 27.3%
  • B Crouch $418k

    Votes: 51 34.0%
  • Libba $300k

    Votes: 46 30.7%
  • Walsh $207k

    Votes: 104 69.3%

  • Total voters
    150
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Could you pick a POD elsewhere, or simply worry about PODs later? You don't seem overly convinced on Bont.

Even two starting sides that are identical will quickly generate different scores, because of on field and captaincy decisions, along with LTI replacements and upgrade targets.
I think you kind of need one or two pods to start but you need to justify it, I don’t mind picking Bont if I can do something with the extra money and hope he has a good year. Definitely has the most potential of all the players around his price except Dusty.
 

Darkie

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Interesting.

Thursday, 7 February 2019
Dayne Zorko set a personal best in the club's 3km time trial early in the New Year, breaking 10 minutes for the first time.
"Leaving last year as the captain, I thought it was really important that I came back in the best possible nick, if not the best shape out of everyone," Zorko said.
"I really wanted to set a strong example not only for the boys that were here, but the draftees that came in and the traded players that came in."
Michael Whiting for AFL.com.au
 
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https://www.afl.com.au/news/2019-02...m=feed&utm_campaign=RSS+feed:+AFL+Latest+News

NATHAN Buckley has declared he's prepared to drop a big-name midfielder should performances not warrant a berth in a jam-packed Collingwood line-up this season.

………..Buckley believes he won't know his ideal set-up until early in the season...…….."It might mean that one of the names doesn't play or that you rotate them through a little bit more, that’s the reality and we'll never be putting the individual above the best team footy.

................Flush with an embarrassment of riches, Buckley flagged an expanded role for skipper Scott Pendlebury, who has previously spent short stints at half-back.........."Pendles is an inside player, but he's also a very smart player, so he could be on the fringe in front (of the ball), behind or even on the wing.

"Steele (Sidebottom) will find himself in different positions."
While Sidebottom and Treloar may spend more time on wings with Tom Phillips and Chris Mayne, Buckley has high hopes for Sier in 2019.
"He's one that has played inside (midfield) and needs to add another string to his bow," Buckley said.
"He spent some time forward and we need to continue to give him that exposure to develop.
"But having said that, if he's the best inside midfielder for us, he plays, regardless of what else is around him.
"His body shape is chalk and cheese from where he was 18 months ago.
"It's a credit to the work he's done and he's putting himself in a position where he can really launch and find out what sort of footballer he can be."
Sier, who ranked sixth for centre clearances last year, will be key to the Pies' improvement with a strong emphasis on centre bounces this pre-season.

While Beams will be a welcome addition, Daniel Wells shapes as a new recruit, and a player Buckley revealed could become a 'cream on the top' player after just four games last season.
Wells is expected to spend increased time in attack alongside Jordan De Goey, who Buckley hinted would enjoy a similar forward-midfield split this year to his breakout 2018 campaign.

With Darcy Moore flying on the track at centre half-back in his return from hamstring woes, another positional change has Tyson Goldsack switching to attack this season.
 
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Mr Bucks

just stick Tay Tay and Sier in the centre square and rotate Beams , de Goey , Pendles , Treloar , Wells etc throughout the game like Hawthorn used to do , different 3 each bounce.

Leave WHE , Phillips , Sidey , Stephenson on the wings where they can run run run all day long and teach them how to kick 35m zig zag bullet passes to the big American in space.
 
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Was looking through team lists at SC relevant players and noticed what may be an interesting trend (I don't have the data set to do a full analysis across the league but it would be insightful for sure).

When WB won in 2018 (or were very competitive but lost) they seemed to generate lots of SC points for their midfielders. They also had a very healthy slice of the overall SC pie, despite their winning margins being often fairly small. Lets look at some numbers, showing the margin, SC team totals and any WB player who scored over 100:

R3 def Ess by 19 pts
SC:
1926 - 1376 (Hunter 142, Williams 139, Macrae 131, Bont 116, McLean 115, Dahlaus 113, Wallis 107, Daniel 102)

R6 def Carl by 21 pts
SC:
1786 - 1513 (Bont 145, Macrae 141, McLean 111)

R7 def GCS by 9 pts
SC:
1758 - 1543 (Macrae 189, McLean 146, Hunter 114)

R8 def Bris by 14 pts
SC:
1776 - 1524 (Macrae 156, Bont 132, McLean 115, Dunkley 105, Hunter 102, Suckling 102)

R15 def Geel by 2 pts
SC:
1590 - 1708 (Dunkley 105, McClean 104)

R20 def StK by 35 pts
SC:
1712 - 1587 (Johannisen 156, Dunkley 132, Macrae 121, Lipinksi 113, Hunter 108, Daniel 100, Bont 100)

R21 def Nth by 7 pts
SC:
1768 - 1531 (Hunter 155, Macrae 153, Bont 134, Daniel 120, McLean 112, Dunkley 106)

R22 def Carl by 17 pts
SC:
1750 - 1555 (Dunkley 157, Hunter 146, Bont 124, Macrae 110, Crozier 107, Wallis 101)

R23 lost to Rich by 3 pts (included because it is illustrative)
SC:
1751 - 1553 (Macrae 163, Hunter 127, Dunkley 116, Daniel 112, Bont 106, Crozier 101)

A few things I noticed:
- The list of 100s is almost 100% midfielders, which is unusual perhaps but not unexpected given the players on their list (no real standout forward targets, no real ruck, no dominating defender in 2018)
- Aside from Macrae, who just had an awesome season no matter which way you spin it, players like Hunter, Bont, McClean and Dunkley seem to score much better in wins.
- Macrae didn't play when they beat Geelong and everyone's SC scores were down (cause and effect?)

So the takeaway I'm getting is this: When WB are winning, their mids rack up disposals and SC points like nobody's business. It would seem Macrae's precision passing and control lifts the entire team to play better (probably giving lesser players more time and space to make effective disposals). They might dominate games through the middle with possession but it doesn't really translate to scoreboard dominance, so maybe the "close game" aspect of SC scoring boosts them up even more - 40 touches in a game that is "close" can score more than 40 touches in a blowout, despite the reason the game is close being that your team can't kick goals :rolleyes:.

So how many games will WB win in 2019? I struggle to see it being more than 8 or 9 again. If they look like they are running into some form or some weak teams, then their mids could be some great value to trade in.
 
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Interesting,great work Leroy.

I still think Macrae is a lock even if they win under 10 games. In saying that, if dogs can get towards 13-14 wins it could benefit him and possibly lift his average.
 
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Probably not the best way to look at but using the same teams against this years draw you'd get:

R3: GCS (away)
R5: Car (away)
R7: Ric (away)
R8: Bri (away)
R9: Gee (home)
R10: Nth (away)
R12: Bye
R13: Car (home)
R16: gee (away)
R18: STK (home)
R20: BRI (home)
R21: ESS (home)
 
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Was looking through team lists at SC relevant players and noticed what may be an interesting trend (I don't have the data set to do a full analysis across the league but it would be insightful for sure).

When WB won in 2018 (or were very competitive but lost) they seemed to generate lots of SC points for their midfielders. They also had a very healthy slice of the overall SC pie, despite their winning margins being often fairly small. Lets look at some numbers, showing the margin, SC team totals and any WB player who scored over 100:

R3 def Ess by 19 pts
SC:
1926 - 1376 (Hunter 142, Williams 139, Macrae 131, Bont 116, McLean 115, Dahlaus 113, Wallis 107, Daniel 102)

R6 def Carl by 21 pts
SC:
1786 - 1513 (Bont 145, Macrae 141, McLean 111)

R7 def GCS by 9 pts
SC:
1758 - 1543 (Macrae 189, McLean 146, Hunter 114)

R8 def Bris by 14 pts
SC:
1776 - 1524 (Macrae 156, Bont 132, McLean 115, Dunkley 105, Hunter 102, Suckling 102)

R15 def Geel by 2 pts
SC:
1590 - 1708 (Dunkley 105, McClean 104)

R20 def StK by 35 pts
SC:
1712 - 1587 (Johannisen 156, Dunkley 132, Macrae 121, Lipinksi 113, Hunter 108, Daniel 100, Bont 100)

R21 def Nth by 7 pts
SC:
1768 - 1531 (Hunter 155, Macrae 153, Bont 134, Daniel 120, McLean 112, Dunkley 106)

R22 def Carl by 17 pts
SC:
1750 - 1555 (Dunkley 157, Hunter 146, Bont 124, Macrae 110, Crozier 107, Wallis 101)

R23 lost to Rich by 3 pts (included because it is illustrative)
SC:
1751 - 1553 (Macrae 163, Hunter 127, Dunkley 116, Daniel 112, Bont 106, Crozier 101)

A few things I noticed:
- The list of 100s is almost 100% midfielders, which is unusual perhaps but not unexpected given the players on their list (no real standout forward targets, no real ruck, no dominating defender in 2018)
- Aside from Macrae, who just had an awesome season no matter which way you spin it, players like Hunter, Bont, McClean and Dunkley seem to score much better in wins.
- Macrae didn't play when they beat Geelong and everyone's SC scores were down (cause and effect?)

So the takeaway I'm getting is this: When WB are winning, their mids rack up disposals and SC points like nobody's business. It would seem Macrae's precision passing and control lifts the entire team to play better (probably giving lesser players more time and space to make effective disposals). They might dominate games through the middle with possession but it doesn't really translate to scoreboard dominance, so maybe the "close game" aspect of SC scoring boosts them up even more - 40 touches in a game that is "close" can score more than 40 touches in a blowout, despite the reason the game is close being that your team can't kick goals :rolleyes:.

So how many games will WB win in 2019? I struggle to see it being more than 8 or 9 again. If they look like they are running into some form or some weak teams, then their mids could be some great value to trade in.
I think the dogs will improve - another year in their pups so expect improvement there and Libba back, fit and more importantly with an appetite will also see the dogs improve.

Ed Richards is going to be a player I reckon. He looked really good towards the end of the season and expect further improvements from him this year.

Now it's just a matter of who will consistently get the lions share of the SC points. Bont could have a big year, he's got so much more to give.
 

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Interesting.

Thursday, 7 February 2019
Dayne Zorko set a personal best in the club's 3km time trial early in the New Year, breaking 10 minutes for the first time.
"Leaving last year as the captain, I thought it was really important that I came back in the best possible nick, if not the best shape out of everyone," Zorko said.
"I really wanted to set a strong example not only for the boys that were here, but the draftees that came in and the traded players that came in."
Michael Whiting for AFL.com.au
There’s another lion that keeps entering my head. He would undoubtedly be a pod and a pick that could make me look rather foolish at his price but I’m absolutely drawn to him as a breakout candidate. Won’t get any attention because of the big names and has the ability to go forward and kick goals. I think the lions could be a big improver this year which can’t hurt his scoring either.

More importantly, he’s training the house down and expected to spend more time in the midfield this year so a sure thing to explode coming into his third season.

Thoughts?

@Connoisseur are you able to find some cool stats on McCluggage?
 
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There’s another lion that keeps entering my head. He would undoubtedly be a pod and a pick that could make me look rather foolish at his price but I’m absolutely drawn to him as a breakout candidate. Won’t get any attention because of the big names and has the ability to go forward and kick goals. I think the lions could be a big improver this year which can’t hurt his scoring either.

More importantly, he’s training the house down and expected to spend more time in the midfield this year so a sure thing to explode coming into his third season.

Thoughts?

@Connoisseur are you able to find some cool stats on McCluggage?
Zorko won't get any attention ... there is a reason he is constantly in and out of my team .... No longer any of Rocky, Beams, Redden etc and Robbo is good for a suspension each year and Berry might be under an injury cloud. Brought in Neale .... who does the attention go / or continue to go to ?
 
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IDIG

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Zorko won't get any attention ... there is a reason he is constantly in and out of my team ....
I still think Zorko will get his fair share of attention but still worth considering. When I get a chance, I plan to do a fixture analysis of taggers which might help when deciding between the Zorko/Zerrett/Sloanes of the world.
 
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I still think Zorko will get his fair share of attention but still worth considering. When I get a chance, I plan to do a fixture analysis of taggers which might help when deciding between the Zorko/Zerrett/Sloanes of the world.
In his defence when he gets off he can go big ... but it's a roller coaster ride IMO ...
 
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There’s another lion that keeps entering my head. He would undoubtedly be a pod and a pick that could make me look rather foolish at his price but I’m absolutely drawn to him as a breakout candidate. Won’t get any attention because of the big names and has the ability to go forward and kick goals. I think the lions could be a big improver this year which can’t hurt his scoring either.

More importantly, he’s training the house down and expected to spend more time in the midfield this year so a sure thing to explode coming into his third season.

Thoughts?

@Connoisseur are you able to find some cool stats on McCluggage?
very close second to my Taranto breakout pick.

Lions are ready to surprise a lot of people , Berry , McCluggage and Rayner are ready.

May even still go with both Taranto & McCluggage (if they both still had F status would be locks)

Fagan and Hodge have them playing a very exciting brand.
 
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I still think Zorko will get his fair share of attention but still worth considering. When I get a chance, I plan to do a fixture analysis of taggers which might help when deciding between the Zorko/Zerrett/Sloanes of the world.
Actually a list of effective taggers would be great (from anyone) ... I know some of them but not all of them ..
 
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very close second to my Taranto breakout pick.

Lions are ready to surprise a lot of people , Berry , McCluggage and Rayner are ready.

May even still go with both Taranto & McCluggage (if they both still had F status would be locks)

Fagan and Hodge have them playing a very exciting brand.
Taranto as a foward I'd lock away .. not sure as as a pure MID ....
 
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stepped up last season when Kelly was missing , will do the same without Shiel
Needs to be a keeper at that outlay though ... no issues with his ability or team role .... 70k more enters into proven history territory ...
 
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