What kind of midfielder is Mills? Is he the kind that spreads well and is equally good inside and outside?
With the Sydney Brisbane game being so wet, I was thinking that if Mills is more of an inside, in and under guy, the super wet conditions would have been perfect for him hence the huge score (including 2 goals obviously).
Closest comparison I can come up with is Pendles.
He's a big bodied midfielder, tackles at a very high level, wins his own ball and has very clean hands but also has that ability to create a bit of time and space where there isn't a lot and is a penetrating and elite kick of the ball. Also deceptively fast. He'd be in the absolutely elite category as a mark for midfielders as well, was used mostly as the primary intercept mark when playing in defense.
I don't think the goals will be that high but wouldn't surprise me if he's a 1 a game player, 99.9% of midfielders can't go with him in the air so he's going to have a big mismatch pushing forward and with his kicking skills he's a good chance around the back and on the run.
Honestly think he's the most obvious Petracca comparison this year of an elite midfielder who has played out of position his whole career but is finally playing his natural role.
I'd be surprised if he doesn't push 110 this year and not surprised at all if he went 115+. He's our most talented midfielder by a fair amount and his blend of inside and outside skills really separates him from the other guys and definitely suits the rules.
The risk remains if he goes back into defense for some reason where he's probably close to a 90-95 type of player which given how strong the back group looks this year just wont cut it. I think he's done there with Campbell, Dawson, Cunningham and McCartin all having found homes there.
Other risk is he's stupidly courageous which definitely has inherent injury risk that it carries with it. He's been fairly durable but has copped some hits along the way.
I'd be surprised if he's not inside the D6 range in his current role and would think he's got a very strong case to be in the top 3-4 that probably separate into a slightly higher tier.
That said for me the defender premium group is looking pretty outrageous this year.
Lloyd is still Lloyd, I think he comes back to the pack but still probably leads it. Laird and Mills have great midfield roles and absolutely suit the new rules. Ridley is a holy trinity guy capable of 110+. Whitfield is Whitfield whenever he's back. Stewart isn't far off a trinity guy. Daniel, Short, Maynard, Crisp and a whole bunch of others all look capable of pushing 100+.
Just ridiculous depth.
