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Position Midfielder Discussion
- Thread starter IDIG
- Start date
Clayton Oliver went 22/111 in his 2nd season after 13/70 in his 1st.
Fyfe went 21/108 after 16/72.
The Bont went 20/103 after 16/78.
Sam Walsh has just blazed 22/87 in year one and looks as good a footballer as any. While 2nd year blues are certainly common, the best can make a massive jump up as well. Is he going to go at 105? Be worth a start if you thought he was...
Fyfe went 21/108 after 16/72.
The Bont went 20/103 after 16/78.
Sam Walsh has just blazed 22/87 in year one and looks as good a footballer as any. While 2nd year blues are certainly common, the best can make a massive jump up as well. Is he going to go at 105? Be worth a start if you thought he was...
Bont, Oliver and Fyfe all had the ability to win contested ball from day dot. Walsh is an outside accumulator in the Gaff mould but he is a special talent and is capable of averaging up to 30 disposals in his second season. I am reluctant to pick the uncontested types in SC because they need 30 disposals to barely break the ton.
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Good take. Just looking at the stats, in their first two years, CP% and average disposals for those other guys were:
Oliver: 19 disposals at 50% contested, then up to 30 at 51%.
Fyfe: 16 at 44%, then 25 at 50%
Bont: 16 at 46%, then 21 at 49%
Walsh averaged 25 disposals at 38% contested last year.
As a comparison, in 2019 Gaff averaged 32 possessions at 29% contested. In Gaff's first year he averaged 18 disposals at 25% contested.
Oliver: 19 disposals at 50% contested, then up to 30 at 51%.
Fyfe: 16 at 44%, then 25 at 50%
Bont: 16 at 46%, then 21 at 49%
Walsh averaged 25 disposals at 38% contested last year.
As a comparison, in 2019 Gaff averaged 32 possessions at 29% contested. In Gaff's first year he averaged 18 disposals at 25% contested.
Folding that together, Walsh is definitely more contested than Gaff, but cleary not as contested as Oliver/Bont/Fyfe were at that stage, although he is a stellar ball winner.
The big increases for the other guys mainly came from finding more ball (becoming a little more contested contributed some). Walsh is starting from a better base but as @Agent 47 said: looks like he'd need nearly 30 disposals a game to get past 100.
The big increases for the other guys mainly came from finding more ball (becoming a little more contested contributed some). Walsh is starting from a better base but as @Agent 47 said: looks like he'd need nearly 30 disposals a game to get past 100.
Brownlow Medallist Tom Mitchell admits he doesn’t yet know whether he will be ready for Round 1 as he continues his recovery from an ugly leg break a year ago.
The Hawthorn midfielder missed the entire 2019 season but remains optimistic about getting back to his best.
“It was actually 12 months on Saturday. I’m tracking well. I’ve slowly started to integrate into team training drills and things like that,” he told SEN Breakfast.
“I still don’t have a confirmation date on a return to play, but I’m really enjoying being among the boys and being a part of team training instead of running laps by myself.
“I can pretty much do everything. Once you integrate into the team training, you’re running, you’re kicking, you’re changing directions, so everything I’m going to need to do to play I’m doing that, but just at a lower level.”
While Mitchell is back in training, he is still managing his loads to make sure he doesn’t re-injure himself and believes the Hawks now have a deep enough midfield to take some of the pressure off his shoulders.
“Coming off a pretty nasty injury you have got to be a little bit realistic and maybe train smarter than harder,” he said.
“I need to pick my sessions when to train with intensity and know when to bring it back down so my body can adjust to training loads again.
“I definitely would like to get back to the standard I was playing at, but having said that we have got a number of midfielders who are running through there and even guys on the outside.
“I feel as though we have a really deep midfield and whether that means we’re spreading the load more, that might be helpful for the whole team so I’m not sure how it is all going to look once game time starts.
“Individually I would definitely like to get to a high standard of playing, but I’m not sure how long that is going to take coming off a big injury.”
Despite not being sure whether he will be ready for Round 1, Mitchell has put his hand up for the bushfire relief State of Origin game at the end of February.
“To be a part of a game that’s going to such a great cause and fundraising money for all the tragedies happening around our country, it is definitely something I would like to be a part of,” he said.
“It’s also to be able to challenge yourself against the best players in the competition.
“I am hoping that I will be right to play, but I’m not too sure where that all stands and it will be up to the medical team.”
Edit: included more of interview
The Hawthorn midfielder missed the entire 2019 season but remains optimistic about getting back to his best.
“It was actually 12 months on Saturday. I’m tracking well. I’ve slowly started to integrate into team training drills and things like that,” he told SEN Breakfast.
“I still don’t have a confirmation date on a return to play, but I’m really enjoying being among the boys and being a part of team training instead of running laps by myself.
“I can pretty much do everything. Once you integrate into the team training, you’re running, you’re kicking, you’re changing directions, so everything I’m going to need to do to play I’m doing that, but just at a lower level.”
While Mitchell is back in training, he is still managing his loads to make sure he doesn’t re-injure himself and believes the Hawks now have a deep enough midfield to take some of the pressure off his shoulders.
“Coming off a pretty nasty injury you have got to be a little bit realistic and maybe train smarter than harder,” he said.
“I need to pick my sessions when to train with intensity and know when to bring it back down so my body can adjust to training loads again.
“I definitely would like to get back to the standard I was playing at, but having said that we have got a number of midfielders who are running through there and even guys on the outside.
“I feel as though we have a really deep midfield and whether that means we’re spreading the load more, that might be helpful for the whole team so I’m not sure how it is all going to look once game time starts.
“Individually I would definitely like to get to a high standard of playing, but I’m not sure how long that is going to take coming off a big injury.”
Despite not being sure whether he will be ready for Round 1, Mitchell has put his hand up for the bushfire relief State of Origin game at the end of February.
“To be a part of a game that’s going to such a great cause and fundraising money for all the tragedies happening around our country, it is definitely something I would like to be a part of,” he said.
“It’s also to be able to challenge yourself against the best players in the competition.
“I am hoping that I will be right to play, but I’m not too sure where that all stands and it will be up to the medical team.”
Edit: included more of interview
Last edited:
Thanks for the update. I'm still making room for him in my team in case he does get up for Rd 1 but preparing a team without him as well, as it sounds like he may be eased into earlier games. I just want to see him back at full capacity and don't want to see him get injured again, if that means he misses a few rounds, so be it.
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It’s the midfield where Dunkley believes his game thrives, but is happy to do what is best for the team.
“My best footy is probably inside, but you look around the teams that have been successful over the last few years – and Richmond is a classic example – you’ve got a lot of players that can go through the midfield and each player has to play their role for the team,” Dunkley said.
“And if my role is a little bit more forward then I will do that for success. My first year I remember that clearly I was playing a lot more forward and I needed to pinch hit in the middle when Bonti was cooked in that finals series.
“I played my role and if that’s what I’ve got to do in 2020 then that’s what I’ve got to do. I’m happy to sacrifice the individual accolades for the team success.”
https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/...s/news-story/4c97eba602c58b299c0874f9c1119b67
“My best footy is probably inside, but you look around the teams that have been successful over the last few years – and Richmond is a classic example – you’ve got a lot of players that can go through the midfield and each player has to play their role for the team,” Dunkley said.
“And if my role is a little bit more forward then I will do that for success. My first year I remember that clearly I was playing a lot more forward and I needed to pinch hit in the middle when Bonti was cooked in that finals series.
“I played my role and if that’s what I’ve got to do in 2020 then that’s what I’ve got to do. I’m happy to sacrifice the individual accolades for the team success.”
https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/...s/news-story/4c97eba602c58b299c0874f9c1119b67
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A lot of mouths to feed in the blues midfield group if everyone is healthy - not in any particular order:
Cripps
Walsh
Murph
Curnow
SPS
Fisher
Kennedy
Setterfield
Newnes
Dow
Stocker
Not all of them will play of course but the bull in the china shop might be Kennedy who I'm guessing Carlton are still hoping will be the extra big body they need to take some of the heat off Cripps and Walsh.
Cripps
Walsh
Murph
Curnow
SPS
Fisher
Kennedy
Setterfield
Newnes
Dow
Stocker
Not all of them will play of course but the bull in the china shop might be Kennedy who I'm guessing Carlton are still hoping will be the extra big body they need to take some of the heat off Cripps and Walsh.
Cripps and Curnow locks to play on ball. Murphy in the guts with a little wing. Walsh and his running is suited to the wing. Newnes probably gets the other wing or swaps with SPS at half back. Stocker half back/back pocket if he's getting a game. Kennedy looked good as a forward and hasn't shown much as a mid. Dow will be lucky to play based on his second half of 2019 and if he does he'll probably be forward again. Setters as a mid rotation off the bench. Fisher is the most interesting one. Can play wing, high half forward or inside mid.
