Agreed
Steele is the big one!
If he gets injured, it’s like Cripps, Fyfe, Mitchell etc getting injured at their clubs!
I firmly believe that if Hannebery stays injury free and gets to 80-90% of his best, the midfield will be an area of strength.
Crouch, Steele and Ross are now experienced inside big bodies
Gresham, Jones and Clark can get in and out of traffic at clearance
Hill, Billings and Hannebery are very good users
Dunstan, Bytel and Byrnes provide midfield depth
Added to that we have a good tap ruckman and another ruckman who is excellent around the ground
Midfield Depth
Moderators: Saintsational Administrators, Saintsational Moderators
-
- Saintsational Legend
- Posts: 12078
- Joined: Thu 04 Jul 2019 8:53pm
- Has thanked: 5 times
- Been thanked: 2609 times
- skeptic
- Saintsational Legend
- Posts: 16898
- Joined: Wed 10 Mar 2004 7:10pm
- Has thanked: 3583 times
- Been thanked: 2853 times
Re: Midfield Depth
Not a weakness but I don’t think we have incredible depthVortex wrote: ↑Thu 28 Jan 2021 9:57amSo are you concerned our midfield is a weakness in 2021skeptic wrote: ↑Wed 27 Jan 2021 10:42pm 17 players listed in the OP
8 of them don’t primarily play in the midfield
3 are highly injury prone
Only 4 of them weren’t available to play in the team smashed by Richmond on the semifinal... 2 due to injury, 2 were elsewhere
It’s a little early to start boasting IMO
We’ve got a few injury prone mids amongst our lock in bests and the other replacement mids like Bytel, Higgins, Dunstan etc aren’t nearly as good (yet).
Guys like Clark and Billings may become as good this year or they might remain as players better suited flanks at this time
if Steele goes down or dips in form then we’ll have an okay midfield that pbly won’t be able to compete with the best
A drop off in standard or a large number of players that are as yet not proven to be as good is not my idea of depth. If Hannebery, Crouch and say Ross go down... we’re looking a bit shaky. The OP is essentially that we have a lot of players that could play in the midfield to varying standards
-
- Saintsational Legend
- Posts: 12078
- Joined: Thu 04 Jul 2019 8:53pm
- Has thanked: 5 times
- Been thanked: 2609 times
Re: Midfield Depth
First choice inside Mids
Crouch, Z.Jones, Steele
Second choice inside Mids (rotation)
Ross, Clarke, Gresham
Third choice inside Mids (if required)
Dunstan, Hannebery, Bytel
Fourth choice inside Mids (if desperate)
Higgins, Byrnes,
First Choice outside Mids (wingers)
Billings, Hill
Second choice outside mids (rotation)
Hannebery, Battle, Sinclair, Clark
Third choice outside mids (if really needed)
Byrnes, Connelly, Allison
First choice ruck/forward
Ryder
Second choice ruck/forward
Marshall
Third choice ruck ruck/forward
McKernan
To me, that a lot of depth
First Choice Midfield
C: Hill - Crouch - Billings
R: Ryder - Steele - Z.Jones
Rotation
C: Hannebery - Ross - Sinclair
R: Marshall - Clarke - Gresham
Even the B Team looks pretty good, and you’d never have a situation where your entire B Team were playing midfield anyway
Crouch, Z.Jones, Steele
Second choice inside Mids (rotation)
Ross, Clarke, Gresham
Third choice inside Mids (if required)
Dunstan, Hannebery, Bytel
Fourth choice inside Mids (if desperate)
Higgins, Byrnes,
First Choice outside Mids (wingers)
Billings, Hill
Second choice outside mids (rotation)
Hannebery, Battle, Sinclair, Clark
Third choice outside mids (if really needed)
Byrnes, Connelly, Allison
First choice ruck/forward
Ryder
Second choice ruck/forward
Marshall
Third choice ruck ruck/forward
McKernan
To me, that a lot of depth
First Choice Midfield
C: Hill - Crouch - Billings
R: Ryder - Steele - Z.Jones
Rotation
C: Hannebery - Ross - Sinclair
R: Marshall - Clarke - Gresham
Even the B Team looks pretty good, and you’d never have a situation where your entire B Team were playing midfield anyway
-
- Saintsational Legend
- Posts: 6419
- Joined: Fri 18 Sep 2020 6:51am
- Has thanked: 855 times
- Been thanked: 1013 times
Re: Midfield Depth
Yeah our midfield development is going to be a fascinating sub plot to watch this coming season.skeptic wrote: ↑Thu 28 Jan 2021 5:56pmNot a weakness but I don’t think we have incredible depthVortex wrote: ↑Thu 28 Jan 2021 9:57amSo are you concerned our midfield is a weakness in 2021skeptic wrote: ↑Wed 27 Jan 2021 10:42pm 17 players listed in the OP
8 of them don’t primarily play in the midfield
3 are highly injury prone
Only 4 of them weren’t available to play in the team smashed by Richmond on the semifinal... 2 due to injury, 2 were elsewhere
It’s a little early to start boasting IMO
We’ve got a few injury prone mids amongst our lock in bests and the other replacement mids like Bytel, Higgins, Dunstan etc aren’t nearly as good (yet).
Guys like Clark and Billings may become as good this year or they might remain as players better suited flanks at this time
if Steele goes down or dips in form then we’ll have an okay midfield that pbly won’t be able to compete with the best
A drop off in standard or a large number of players that are as yet not proven to be as good is not my idea of depth. If Hannebery, Crouch and say Ross go down... we’re looking a bit shaky. The OP is essentially that we have a lot of players that could play in the midfield to varying standards
So the tank has been filled, the tyres have been pumped up, the oil is checked. All we need now is a little luck along journey.
I must say though I'm excited and bullish about what lay ahead. I haven't had this feeling for nearly 20 years.
That's worth the admission alone as they used to say in the classics.
- skeptic
- Saintsational Legend
- Posts: 16898
- Joined: Wed 10 Mar 2004 7:10pm
- Has thanked: 3583 times
- Been thanked: 2853 times
Re: Midfield Depth
Absolutely Vortex and don’t get me wrong...Vortex wrote: ↑Fri 29 Jan 2021 8:03amYeah our midfield development is going to be a fascinating sub plot to watch this coming season.skeptic wrote: ↑Thu 28 Jan 2021 5:56pmNot a weakness but I don’t think we have incredible depthVortex wrote: ↑Thu 28 Jan 2021 9:57amSo are you concerned our midfield is a weakness in 2021skeptic wrote: ↑Wed 27 Jan 2021 10:42pm 17 players listed in the OP
8 of them don’t primarily play in the midfield
3 are highly injury prone
Only 4 of them weren’t available to play in the team smashed by Richmond on the semifinal... 2 due to injury, 2 were elsewhere
It’s a little early to start boasting IMO
We’ve got a few injury prone mids amongst our lock in bests and the other replacement mids like Bytel, Higgins, Dunstan etc aren’t nearly as good (yet).
Guys like Clark and Billings may become as good this year or they might remain as players better suited flanks at this time
if Steele goes down or dips in form then we’ll have an okay midfield that pbly won’t be able to compete with the best
A drop off in standard or a large number of players that are as yet not proven to be as good is not my idea of depth. If Hannebery, Crouch and say Ross go down... we’re looking a bit shaky. The OP is essentially that we have a lot of players that could play in the midfield to varying standards
So the tank has been filled, the tyres have been pumped up, the oil is checked. All we need now is a little luck along journey.
I must say though I'm excited and bullish about what lay ahead. I haven't had this feeling for nearly 20 years.
That's worth the admission alone as they used to say in the classics.
If Steele backs up
Hill and Gresh play close to expectations
Billings is a b it more consistent
Clarke transitions into the middle and Long provides good cover on a HBF
Hannebery stays on the park
Crouch and Ross play close to the standard of which they’re capable...
All of those are very realistic possibilities... Dan’s pbly the most unlikely but he’s been doing better every year so far... then that’s a brilliant looking midfield.
Like you I feel incredibly optimistic about 2021. Personally I think with a full strength team in the semifinal, we would have been a good show to knock over the Tigers... maybe it’s just the trauma of being a Saints fan which is urging me to be cautious but the sky is certainly the limit