Position 2022: Midfield Discussion
- Thread starter KLo30
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It's purely psychology of fantasy coaches! He's a really solid pick, in fact he's better than that. He averaged 124 over the last 15 weeks last year, 131 over the last 5.
That said the Crouch/Dawson factors definitely are spanners in the works for taking that finish and using it as a base for this year. Often though better teammates actually help guys who were one man shows in the midfield and at least those two will generally hit him by hand and foot unlike Keays as his running mate last year!
You do know you don't have to pick a Crow right?
Sloane is a bad pick. Might become relevant if he gets FWD at round 7.
That said the Crouch/Dawson factors definitely are spanners in the works for taking that finish and using it as a base for this year. Often though better teammates actually help guys who were one man shows in the midfield and at least those two will generally hit him by hand and foot unlike Keays as his running mate last year!
You do know you don't have to pick a Crow right?
Sloane is a bad pick. Might become relevant if he gets FWD at round 7.
Durability just too unreliable in this group with DPP guys coming through. Would take absolute carnage at the Dogs for him to get the minutes/role to go 110+ this year. Even 100 would be a solid effort given he's more likely to be playing outside where he loses CP but still can't kick.
Yet those 110+ seasons still sit there staring at us all to tempt
You could argue that the side being better would help his scoring, as would additional tag targets. Laird's ability to find space for cheap touches is in the elite of the elite group so if the team has the ball more, especially a guy like Dawson who hits targets and a guy like Crouch who looks for short kicks to open teammates, could definitely be more points.
Looking at the top 15 guys:
Macrae/Bont - Top side and two stars.
Steele - Unicorn
Miller - Even bigger unicorn.
Oliver/Petracca - Top side, two stars.
Lyons - Top side and realistically had Zorko at 16th as well as Neale and Clug.
Mitchell - Probably the most similar player to Laird but has scored no matter what.
Walsh - Unicorn
Laird - Unicorn
Merrett/Parish - Two stars.
Guthrie - Top side and lots of support.
Wines - Top side.
Mills - Good side with Parker 18th as well.
So basically 4 of the top 15 aren't well supported/top side guys.
Mostly devils advocate but wouldn't shock me at all if Laird was actually the top scoring midfielder this year.
I actually love this midfield group. As I said above, I could easily see Laird as the top scoring mid and he hasn't gone near my team because there's so many guys I like for that!
Always is other than Rucks for mine. Even the cheap mid options are super expensive so there's so much to get right. You can generally construct strong for and against stories on everyone, the top guys are "fully priced" but also elite and proven and captain options. The value guys are value but there's a reason for it.
What you chase changes narratives completely. Like I wouldn't bet against Petracca outscoring Oliver and he's much cheaper but if you put the gun to my head I'm taking Oliver as the higher scorer every time but it's 70k. Macrae and Bont have the same story and those are just picking two teammates where you can isolate the most variables!
This year I genuinely want to pick 8 premiums as well. Only positive of Walsh being injured is there's one less that I'm considering... I can so easily make the starting case for Macrae, Oliver, Steele, Miller, Bont, Mitchell, Laird, Parish and Petracca without even trying.
And then there's Neale
Always there tempting me but I just don't trust Ratten. He doesn't like players with composure or footskills to be in the midfield and every year they talk up that they need that and so far each year they get worse at it as he throws more and more butchers at the problem. I mean honestly, Steele shouldn't be the clear classiest midfielder for a team and Dunstan should never have been the 2nd classiest guy in an AFL side and yet they keep playing Ross, Crouch, Hanners (great by hand, woeful kick), Jones (I like his dash but he's a stinker of a kick) while guys like Clark, Billings, Gresham and Higgins all get stuck in peripheral support roles instead.
I like Ratten but he's always been a baffling coach for mine. I can't question the effort he extracts from players but I can't help but feel like he handcu*** the team positionally and can never trust him to play guys in the right spots
Yet those 110+ seasons still sit there staring at us all to tempt
You could argue that the side being better would help his scoring, as would additional tag targets. Laird's ability to find space for cheap touches is in the elite of the elite group so if the team has the ball more, especially a guy like Dawson who hits targets and a guy like Crouch who looks for short kicks to open teammates, could definitely be more points.
Looking at the top 15 guys:
Macrae/Bont - Top side and two stars.
Steele - Unicorn
Miller - Even bigger unicorn.
Oliver/Petracca - Top side, two stars.
Lyons - Top side and realistically had Zorko at 16th as well as Neale and Clug.
Mitchell - Probably the most similar player to Laird but has scored no matter what.
Walsh - Unicorn
Laird - Unicorn
Merrett/Parish - Two stars.
Guthrie - Top side and lots of support.
Wines - Top side.
Mills - Good side with Parker 18th as well.
So basically 4 of the top 15 aren't well supported/top side guys.
Mostly devils advocate but wouldn't shock me at all if Laird was actually the top scoring midfielder this year.
I actually love this midfield group. As I said above, I could easily see Laird as the top scoring mid and he hasn't gone near my team because there's so many guys I like for that!
Always is other than Rucks for mine. Even the cheap mid options are super expensive so there's so much to get right. You can generally construct strong for and against stories on everyone, the top guys are "fully priced" but also elite and proven and captain options. The value guys are value but there's a reason for it.
What you chase changes narratives completely. Like I wouldn't bet against Petracca outscoring Oliver and he's much cheaper but if you put the gun to my head I'm taking Oliver as the higher scorer every time but it's 70k
. Macrae and Bont have the same story and those are just picking two teammates where you can isolate the most variables! This year I genuinely want to pick 8 premiums as well. Only positive of Walsh being injured is there's one less that I'm considering... I can so easily make the starting case for Macrae, Oliver, Steele, Miller, Bont, Mitchell, Laird, Parish and Petracca without even trying.
And then there's Neale
Always there tempting me but I just don't trust Ratten. He doesn't like players with composure or footskills to be in the midfield and every year they talk up that they need that and so far each year they get worse at it as he throws more and more butchers at the problem. I mean honestly, Steele shouldn't be the clear classiest midfielder for a team and Dunstan should never have been the 2nd classiest guy in an AFL side and yet they keep playing Ross, Crouch, Hanners (great by hand, woeful kick), Jones (I like his dash but he's a stinker of a kick) while guys like Clark, Billings, Gresham and Higgins all get stuck in peripheral support roles instead.
I like Ratten but he's always been a baffling coach for mine. I can't question the effort he extracts from players but I can't help but feel like he handcu*** the team positionally and can never trust him to play guys in the right spots
Have found myself back with the big 5
Macrae Steele Oliver titch and Neale
reckon with so many question marks in the forwardline I’m going light up there
Looks like we’ll get a lot of backline rookies too. With hall getting injured it might even be worth dropping a premo back there and looking for some value
Macrae Steele Oliver titch and Neale
reckon with so many question marks in the forwardline I’m going light up there
Looks like we’ll get a lot of backline rookies too. With hall getting injured it might even be worth dropping a premo back there and looking for some value
Only need 2 for the bench
Going light up forward is referring to mid pricers in Coleman curnow cogs etc with 3 premos
Gresham Rayner types are also easy picks/money makers/stepping stones if you wanted to wait and see on who gets dpp spots in round 6
Think it’s the line to find value and wait and see as there’s a super amount of questions on basically every forward premo
Going light up forward is referring to mid pricers in Coleman curnow cogs etc with 3 premos
Gresham Rayner types are also easy picks/money makers/stepping stones if you wanted to wait and see on who gets dpp spots in round 6
Think it’s the line to find value and wait and see as there’s a super amount of questions on basically every forward premo
That was my very first thought when they said they were moving him out of the midfield but I don't know why they'd have not just traded him this year a year younger and with Freo having substantial assets, makes even less sense to actively devalue the asset, reduce your chances of winning the flag significantly and then trade him anyway this year.
Still just seems like preseason talk, you don't move one of the 3 or 4 best inside midfielders in the league to a wing when you're trying to win a flag.
Still just seems like preseason talk, you don't move one of the 3 or 4 best inside midfielders in the league to a wing when you're trying to win a flag.
Fair assessment but pretty confident the first round picks will get plenty of games in 2022
Gibcus chesser especially as I can see Richmond and West Coast falling away
Sinn is a good pick as Ken loves blooding youth
Dean looks reasonably sound with Howe and roughy out
The others I agree whole heartedly but the reports on kemp and hinge have been good which makes me keen to watch in the nab cup
Gibcus chesser especially as I can see Richmond and West Coast falling away
Sinn is a good pick as Ken loves blooding youth
Dean looks reasonably sound with Howe and roughy out
The others I agree whole heartedly but the reports on kemp and hinge have been good which makes me keen to watch in the nab cup