Yet this is the same midfield that people seem willing to believe was going to carry us to glory but for the saga.
Like you say its been soooo frigging long since we’ve had the right midfield mix that its hard to even remember what it looks like not to mention the fact that the right mix has changed as football has evolved. I’ve long assumed that this is the reason why so many here appear to have no idea just how bad our midfield has been or its real value. It was only a few year ago that some were still pushing for drafting more talls 1st to get that area right because you know how you can just pick up mids late in the draft because they are a dime a dozen. This is exactly why I believe Dodoro should have been replaced 10+ years ago. He couldn’t see what other teams recruiters were doing & where football was heading so our recruiting has not seen the club at or near the forefront.
If we had a guy that could get it 30 times a little inside, good outside. Who can be one of the primary delivers into 50. I’d seriously question why they weren’t allready doing it.
Zaka is massively underrated these days. No one will come close to covering him.
Yes, of course, and you don’t have to sell me on Zaha.
I was more lamenting that we don’t have a heap of options for guys who could even develop into Zaha’s role eventually.
Colyer could be a devastating player if he could find it 25 times a game, btw.
Edit: You know, I’m just thinking. Orazio could actually fill that role even better than Zaharakis does. Is it maybe the time to give him an extended run on the ball?
Is that big midfielder who is 190+, fast and agile actually any good or just dining out on his size? If we think he is transferable to AFL level its exactly who we need.
Riley Collier-Dawkins (VIC)
Best position: Inside midfield
Height, weight: 193cm, 88kg
Recruited from: Oakleigh Chargers
Projected draft range: 3-25
Similar to: Marcus Bontempelli
April ranking: 6
Rationale: Late bloomer who is still growing. Possesses tremendous upside as a midfielder with his ball-winning capabilities and mobility at his height. Speculative to have this high, this early, but as a still-growing tall midfielder with the mix of attributes he has, he could be the best mid in the draft after a few years in the AFL system. Stocks drop due to being used a lot on the outside where he doesn’t find the ball often enough.
Strengths:
-Contested ball-winning
-Clean at ground level
-Wins the ball at speed
-Distribution by hand
-Still growing
-Rate of improvement
-Pace
-Agility
-Evasiveness in traffic
-Overhead marking
-Contested marking
-Capable through midfield or up forward
-Kicks out in front of targets to run onto
Weaknesses:
-Production
-Consistency
I really like him, his running patterns when not in the midfield are poor and is something he would have to work at to be a top star at AFL level needs to turn 20 disposals games into 30 disposal games
I haven’t seen the guy, but I feel like when they are already that tall, and probably grow another 1-2cms, and put on a bit more weight, then they tend to lose mobility…like Darcy Fogarty? It’s a fine line between clearance beast and lumbering liability.
Fogarty’s loss of mobility came from his knee injury more so than bulk, he hardly grew from his bottom age year. Collier-Dawkins is a different beast he was 187cm last year and has gone through a growth spurt and could even get taller, another 2cm shouldn’t effect his speed too much at the very worst his speed drops slightly and even then it’s much better than Cripps’s speed.
I reckon Richmond are a very good example that good defensive running, commitment at the contest and flexibility are far, far more important than “inside bulls”.
They’ve got 1 dedicated inside mid, Cotchin, and he’s about 180cm/80kg.
Richmond concede the centre and distribute their bullocking work around the ground to Cotchin, Martin, Caddy, Vlaustin, Grigg, Nankervis, Conca… all decent sized units who can cover ground, with Cotchin the smallest. Cotchin and Martin are both 17th for contested possession, Nankervis is in the top handful of most contested possessions for a ruckman. They’ve got runners, but they’ve got a lot of blokes that hit hard too.