Midfield Woes: Instant fix

I do hope we aren’t putting a lot of hope on Laverde becoming a midfielder. I just don’t see that working out.

1 Like

I think LAV if he can’t transition to midfield he is going to have to reinvent himself like Sicily at Hawks as a defender.

The way our fwd line is going to be setup in future based on how it was most effective this year is 3talls/3smalls so that medium fwd is going to find it difficult to get in.

I am not sure about centre square, but I could see him working up and down the wings.

Who the fark isgoing to win the inside ball next year?

2 Likes

A lot of talk about our need for a Watson replacement, “inside bull”. But I don’t reckon that’s the go. @brem06 noted in the other thread about not trying to beat the #1 team in a particular area with the same game plan but lesser talent. We’re not about to develop the depth of clearance mids, so we need to minimise our weakness in that area while maximising or strengths.

I reckon that means intelligent, quick mids who have a string defensive mindset. And quick outside runners who will cut up teams once we get the ball. Back Heppell and Parish and Langford to win enough ball, and our structures to help us against the contested ball teams. (And FFS get those structures right). And bring in the guys that will do the damage when we get the ball, while still tackling, defending and running to position.

Make Sydney have to bend their structure to contain or runners, rather than trying to go head to head.

6 Likes

Heppell and Parish and Zac and etc etc etc.

I know he might not be the answer, I was only presenting an option and it’s a bit tough to rule him out already. Relying on any one player sets you up for dissaster, the answer will be 3-4 quality mids that can help ease the pressure in the middle. We’ll never know unless we play him and that’s why I was disappointed that we didn’t. He could easily struggle but could also be another quality inside option. He might not be a huge inside bull but he’s an inside bull all the same, and will get bigger physically, he’s only 1 year in the system but already shows hard intent on the ball.

Like Raines and Richardson did.

It’s never that quick and it’s all about culture.

Kid is already 187cm and 83kg when drafted.

He could finish 189cm and 87kg.

That’s well big enough to be a physical presence in the contest. And the lad has the mongrel and tenacity no doubt. I love this kid. Should play round 1 next year.

2 Likes

The big negative, or more accurately, not a positive about kobe is that he doesn’t have an explosive step away. which is why we got him for a pittance, if we can build him up so he can either hit the pack at speed, or just be strong enough to get the ball away to a mckenna, zaka etc he’ll be a very good pick up.

1 Like

Yeh. Your right.

If he did have some explosion be would have gone top 10.

Mutch is literally only 4cm shorter

Huge fan of this kid, of all that we have drafted in the past 3 years he is the most likely to become the inside mid we require. Begley also shows a lot of promise but doesn’t win a lot of the ball yet even in the VFL.

1 Like

Very true, but his biggest asset is his hardness at the ball. No other we have drafted in the past few years is as hard at it as him. He should aim to be a Jobe/JPK type. Neither had the explosive speed, but he will need to pack on a few kgs.

2 Likes

I’d say parish is as hard.

1 Like

Can’t disagree with that

**Door opens for midfield options** ..

Simon Conway - @SimonConway12
14 September 2017 3:01 PM

Retirements, development and recruiting could open the door for some fresh faces in the Essendon midfield next season.

Jobe Watson played 20 games in 2017 but has announced his retirement alongside Brent Stanton who, despite only playing seven games this season, has been a mainstay of the Bombers midfield since 2004.

Darcy Parish played 20 games in the midfield this year and is up to 40 games across his first two seasons.

Andrew McGrath also gained some midfield exposure late in the year.

Watson leaves a significant hole as an inside midfielder. He was ranked second at the Club for both contested possessions and clearances.

Worsfold has identified Kobe Mutch, Josh Begley, Kyle Langford and Jayden Laverde as potential options for more time in the AFL side’s midfield.

“We don’t have any of the big, Jobe Watson calibre guys but we’ve got some solid boys that will step up,” Worsfold told The Footy Panel.

“Kobe Mutch played mainly on the wing this year in the VFL but started to play inside later in the year and he’s going to grow into a really solid boy.

“We think he’s got potential to play inside and outside. He’s got a huge tank, he can run all day but he can win the ball inside.

“Josh Begley is another player who late in the VFL season started to get some time on-ball and again, he’s got a very good tank, good speed and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him develop into someone who can go through the midfield as a really strong bodied player.

“Kyle Langford developed really well throughout this year. We had him working in the midfield in the VFL all year as part of his development so he’s going to be looking for opportunities to step up inside.

“Jayden Laverde is another one we believe we can start to put some midfield development into.”

The trade and free agency period gets underway next month and that shapes as another avenue for the Bombers to boost their midfield stocks.

The Club has previously stated they have the salary cap space to bring in an established player if the opportunity arises.

“We think we’ve got the players on the list, (but) that doesn’t mean we won’t look outside as well,” Worsfold said.

“If we can add in immediate talent that would be something we’d be looking at as well, but there are a lot of things that have to happen to get players to the Club.”

The Bombers were ranked 13th for contested possession in 2017, while their Elimination Final opponent, Sydney, was 5th.

The raw statistics can be misleading depending on the game styles of certain teams but the Dons matched the Swans (132-136) in contested possession last week despite the lopsided scoreboard.

Darcy Parish (14 contested possessions), Dyson Heppell (11), Jobe Watson (10) and Joe Daniher (10) all notched double figures in that category.

“As much as Kennedy and Parker were very good in winning contested ball and clearances, we pretty much matched them in that area," Worsfold said.

“It was more the ball on the outside that we weren’t very efficient with, we didn’t get it forward enough, we turned it over and Sydney intercepted way too many times.

“That was the biggest part of the game that was disappointing for us.

“I thought the way the guys took it up to Sydney in terms of the tackling and pressure around the contest and contested ball – there was a lot of hard work put in to that.

“But we need to get better in that regard. We lost Jobe who has been a strong contributor in that area so there is some good challenges for us.

“Overall I think our game may have been the lowest in terms of contested ball and that’s a little bit about the way we play, it has been a trend for us throughout the year.

“We look mainly to see how we match up against our opposition every week in that regard and we improved in that area throughout the year, so it’s certainly an area we want to continue to get better at.”

Looks like adam saad wants to come back to victoria. Would be a pretty handy replacement for pidge when he makes the transition into the midfield.

1 Like

We’d have running bounces out of the backline til the early morn (he’s #1 in the league, McKenna’s #3)

4 Likes

adam saad would be an excellent acquisition. where did you read he is looking to leave GC? it wouldnt surprise me, he seems to have very strong family ties in vic