I[quote=“Deckham, post:5630, topic:2439, full:true”]
Dog’s have harder heads, actually. Because they’re bigger. Bigger jaws, and such.
[/quote]
It’s the whole nine lives thing. It’s quite an advantage when putting oneself in dangerous situations.
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Darcy is what we used to call a “Rover”. In that area he competes with Zerret and Smith and now has been forced down in the pecking order by McGrath. Myers is what we used to call a “Ruck Rover” his natural replacement is Langford. ( maybe even Laverde is coming into consideration in this role)
As I see it Myers remains a lock until Langford ( or Laverde ) starts producing contested disposals. However there are signs Langford is starting to “rest” in the forward line, rather than being used solely as a big bodied mid.
Its not to do with Darcy the rover, but the question remains, we have failed to draft a " midfield bull".
Stringer only lacks the tank to play more than about 25% tog as a mid, so we just use him as a centre bounce mid, and have him run down to the forward line.
In a year when new rules will see the Fyfes, Martins, Cripps and their ilk rule the centre bounce we have failed to develop, draft or trade in a midfield beast, while Hepp and Myers are getting older, not younger.
The game plan and midfield player roles had better be able to deal with these adversaries, and compensate so we can beat those teams.
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I’ve not watched all the JLT games, but are we sure the new 666 rule will have this effect? With less center bounce congestion maybe it will favour smaller, more evasive mids rather than the monsters?
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Your definitions hold but there are varying types of rovers. Parish is far better in close than Merrett and Smith, whilst he is not a midfield bull there are plenty of examples he can emulate who are extremely effective inside midfielders.
The new rules don’t just help the big bodied mids they help those who can lay first hands on the ball and have vision and ability to dish off. Parish in my opinion has that ability.
Only time will tell, but when you draft a pure midfielder then you should really play them there. For years there were complaints about trying to turn hbf into mids. Well we are now trying to turn a mid into a fp/hff.
It is not the best example but Selwood when he first came to Geelong was thrown straight into the middle, even though Geelongs midfield was ridiculous at the time. It was acknowledged that certain other players could contribute just as effectively somewhere else, whilst it was clear his best position was midfield.
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Agree with you there to some extent.
GAJ played the first 3 years as a small forward.
There are signs we are trying to “round out” pure mids we draft by playing them for periods of time as fowards.
Parish and DClarke come to mind as players we have done this with recently.
I think also they believed Darcy’s body was not ready to mix it with the big bodies in close.
I think young players need routine ie play weekend, train, play next weekend etc. The JLT period is all over the shop, half game here, half game there. When we get into the cut and thrust of the AFL season, he will be fine.
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Ablett wasn’t as good in his first few years as Selwood. I don’t think he was as physically developed as Selwood was either, size or endurance wise. He’s also a very good forward and probably would have started that way at any club.
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GAJ if memory serves was not a highly rated midfielder as a junior, had the talent but was a small forward.
Parish was twice an AA junior as a midfielder.
Regarding his body, well his first year was the banned year and he did very well thrown in the deep end.
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R.I.P.
Whats happened?
Darcy Parish has until the end of 2020 to exceed Gary Ablett the very junior
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Ol Darcy has copped a little bit of a bath in this thread… it’s been said but I’d like to point it out again. His best comparison is R.sloane. as displayed in the pics I put up rory didnt really come on untill his 4th year! Parish will take patience a concept not known to some on this board… Screenshot_20190317-121312_Chrome|243x500
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Just feels like the club aren’t getting the best out of Darcy and how that translates in terms of where he thinks his development is at, and whether he wants to move to another club (Sydney?) offering more midfield time remains an ongoing discussion. As others have mentioned, his best position seems inside but his opportunities appear limited with Smith, now Shiel running through there. In terms of whether Darc wants to stay at Essendon (only brought up due to trade talk last year), 2019 feels like a make or break one.
what trade talk?
To you
Only a thing with you
Only a thing with you
To you.
What a post … well done
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I’d love to see a list of midfield players under 6 foot that have made more impact in there first 3 years in the modern game.
Zaka and Myers will be retired before he hits 25, his prime.
Ha! Not sure what (I think?) you’re quoting but I’ll take the, “compliment” 
Hepp is getting older, but no faster than any of the others. He is just reaching his peak, no need to pension him off so quickly.
I personally think the “less congestion” thing is an utter myth. Everyone still starts the same distance away as they used to, it’s just the direction the incoming players arrive from that may change. The half back/half forward/wings can still charge in if they wish.
The big difference is that if you get a centre clearance the forwards aren’t already outnumbered.
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It seems they are gonna start him off in the twos. I think that is a smart move as he has shown before that he takes the disappointment well and puts his best foot forward in the ressies. It also allows him to play as a permanent rover which will no doubt provide him the best possible opportunity to find top form and the confidence in his ability which I think he can sometimes lack as most youngsters do.
I just hope that when he forces his way in, which he will, that they play him in the guts and not on a flank or a wing.