Where is our midfield at?

[Bluthy]

I've not not been one to panic too much about our midfield. But a game like that does shake you a bit and make you reappraise things. Engine room - where the bloody hell were ya?

Armo - seems down at the moment - oppo doing a number on him but maybe carrying a injury. When up is a powerhouse and adds some outside run and line breaking to his game. Disposal pretty good.
Steven - down yesterday from his normal high-zip standard - oppo giving him a focus. Disposal is average is a big downside stopping him being an elite midfielder. I can't see that getting any better to be honest
Dunstan - looked knackered yesterday - crying last week was kind of strange too - maybe needs a break. I love his inside work. Disposal is average to good. Might get better with a stronger tank but probably won't be brilliant with the ball.
Ross - Got lots of it yesterday but he still disappoints me by not being damaging enough with the footy. There was one on the HFF flank where for once he had heaps of time to pick a target but again he missed everyone. We were desperate for a goal and he couldn't get it done. 40 games only so maybe needs more games under his belt to really blossom with the ball.
Newnes - Similar to Ross I don't think he's damaging enough despite learning to get plenty of footy. With 70 odd games under his belt a game like yesterday was crying out for him to help turn the tide when our senior mids were down.
Freeman - our great (ex black and) white hope. As a junior had burst speed, balance and great disposal. But we need to see him on the park first and then see if he can show that form in the seniors. keep everything crossed sainters
Gresham - Is showing a bit for sure. Great maneuverability and ball reading - his purple patch in the second half was exciting. But his disposal is disappointing for a guy who came in with big wraps about his neat disposal. Is regularly missing easy targets. Is it still nerves/inexperience? Lets hope so. He seems to be spotting targets but just not hitting them.
Acres - won't ever be elite with disposal. His big size and long stride could make him a force in the middle - we've seen glimpses of it. But he can also look really out of the game like he did yesterday. Needs to learn to impose himself even when its not going his way.
Weller - Weller is very up and down to mine. Great strength and endeavor and can do the mecurial occasionally. Not sure he has the real class we need though at the highest level. Goal scorer though
Eli - been getting stacks of it in the VFL. Good disposal. Runs hard.
Curren - doing pretty good at VFL level - not sure he is AFL level though
Minchington - might have been missed yesterday. Ok ball use.

What jumps out is a lack of elite ball users with our mids. Boy we've passed over some elite midfield talent with our high picks. Its scary what Melbourne and GWS have on their list with skillful young mids. The one you can't help but to rethink is losing our pick 5 for Carlisle (which ended up pick 6). We could have got the 2nd or 3rd best midfielder at that pick which is elite potential with great disposal. Maybe we do need another couple of years of bottom 8 finish to get 2 elite draftee mids. And cross our fingers we can lend an elite FA. That is tough to do though.

Also I'm still disappointed that we are either all up, or all down. A lot of the players need ARmo and Steven to get things really going and then start going along for the ride. They don't have that independence of mind and endeavor to not just go with the tide. Will that change with more games? You can only hope.

[bigcarl]

Slaughtered in the clearances yesterday. Very disappointing. We need a couple of dynamic bigger-bodied A-graders. Let's hope Acres and Freeman come on.

Meanwhile I can see why Gilbert is needed in midfield roles. We also look a lot better when Riewoldt is roaming around lending a hand.

[Impatient Sainter]

I will get criticised but on reflection overnight Armitage is the player I would trade out at years end! Basically Ross has gone past him and hopefully Dunstan will do the same. Armo is a good slogger but we need A graders and you have to give something to get that. If JOM can get himself going send Armo up to GCS in the trade.

[SydneySainter]

We have a workmanlike midfield at best.

Whilst we may have our A-graders and "potential" A-graders, not one is currently elite.

We need at least one elite mid.

[bigcarl]

We have a workmanlike midfield at best.

Whilst we may have our A-graders and "potential" A-graders, not one is currently elite.

We need at least one elite mid.

And preferably two

[SydneySainter]

We have a workmanlike midfield at best.

Whilst we may have our A-graders and "potential" A-graders, not one is currently elite.

We need at least one elite mid.

And preferably two

In a perfect world, yes, but few teams have them. If we trade for one and Freeman gets past his injury woes, problem solved!

[bigcarl]

We have a workmanlike midfield at best.

Whilst we may have our A-graders and "potential" A-graders, not one is currently elite.

We need at least one elite mid.

And preferably two

In a perfect world, yes, but few teams have them.

True, The Cats do, which is why they are a premiership threat

[saintact7]

Media reports over last year or so have indicated our interest in a few elite midfielders such as Luke Parker, Sloane, Heppel and Josh Kelly, any of whom would fit the bill perfectly but we've missed on all of them unfortunately

[Bluthy]

Media reports over last year or so have indicated our interest in a few elite midfielders such as Luke Parker, Sloane, Heppel and Josh Kelly, any of whom would fit the bill perfectly but we've missed on all of them unfortunately

They have to want to leave initially - Danger, Carlisle, Gabblett - and then you have to dangle enough money and show enough promise of a flag to snag them from your competitors. Richo with his strong personal connection skills has definitely helped us get Carlisle and Freeman. 100 pt losses don't help us look like finals contenders though.

[Junction Oval]

Generally, good comments Bluthy. You are not far off the mark.

What we have is a bunch of "average" footballers in the middle. No elite kicks, which we supporters have been complaining about for "years" now.

A couple of Petracca's would be nice, but it didn't fall our way (I am happy with Paddy for the long term).

[SydneySainter]

We have a workmanlike midfield at best.

Whilst we may have our A-graders and "potential" A-graders, not one is currently elite.

We need at least one elite mid.

And preferably two

In a perfect world, yes, but few teams have them.

True, The Cats do, which is why they are a premiership threat

Then you have the once in a blue moon teams like the Eagles of 05/06. Not only did they have three elite mids in Cousins, Judd & Kerr, but they were arguably the best three mids in the league!

[Hemi Baxter]

We have a workmanlike midfield at best.

Whilst we may have our A-graders and "potential" A-graders, not one is currently elite.

We need at least one elite mid.

And preferably two

In a perfect world, yes, but few teams have them. If we trade for one and Freeman gets past his injury woes, problem solved!

Only past his injury woes and we're good to go? He's never played senior footy. Might be worth going back and having a look at what Collingwood supporters had to say about how he went in the handful of VFL games he played for them.
And Bluthy I didn't see him as an elite kick as a junior. He was v highly rated for his ability to split the pack and get clearance with his burst speed but he tended to just chuck it on his boot and hoist it downfield a fair bit.
We have to be realistic about Freeman, with his injuries delaying his entry to senior footy by a minimum of three years he is as much an unknown as anyone on our list who has to play a game.

[evertonfc]

I reckon we're on track for a top five pick this year, which, you'd expect, would be the second or third best midfielder in the country for his age.

He can't come quickly enough.

BTW, nobody has mentioned Billings. Which I suspect is because we all see him as a gun flanker. He's certainly ticked that box, but with Sinclair and Lonie also up there, we're well stocked.

Need a crackerjack midfielder now.

[saintsRrising]

To be Top 4 we are short two ELITE mids plus Freeman (assuming Freeman makes it).


However unlike many, including the club, I am very doubtful of our ability to actually land these elite mids as Free Agents.

[whiskers3614]

Too many on here labouring under the delusion of Steven and Armitage being A graders.
More a case of "in the land of the blind the one eyed man is king"

[Con Gorozidis]

I know we say this every year - but Armo is now almost 28. His average disposals has dropped from a career high 28.4 in 2015 to 23.8 now.

Armo for Prestia straight swap?

Prestia perfect age for us. We then have Prestia + ~pick 6 in a strong draft to use on best available.

Then we have Prestia + hope Freeman comes on next year.

[Bluthy]

Only past his injury woes and we're good to go? He's never played senior footy. Might be worth going back and having a look at what Collingwood supporters had to say about how he went in the handful of VFL games he played for them.
And Bluthy I didn't see him as an elite kick as a junior. He was v highly rated for his ability to split the pack and get clearance with his burst speed but he tended to just chuck it on his boot and hoist it downfield a fair bit.
We have to be realistic about Freeman, with his injuries delaying his entry to senior footy by a minimum of three years he is as much an unknown as anyone on our list who has to play a game.

Well now you've depressed me further HB. I had Freeman penciled in a potential elite disposal based on his AFL draft package highlights where he looked really crisp with his passing. So who are we left with as mids with really good disposal? Billings, but he almost certainly won't be a full time mid. And maybe Gresham who looked very neat and precise and creative in his junior highlights albeit not the flattest kicking. God I hope his disposal comes on. Acres is another possibility but he looks far from elite with his kicking at the moment - very clunky actually.

I can't help to go back to the Carlisle trade. AT the time I said we should use our top pick for a silky disposal mid and then our second for the best young tall back to partner Goddard as our backline generals for the next decade. To use our top pick 5 to get a 23 y.o backmen with injury concerns still seems crazy to me especially when we already had used a second rounder on a huge backmen in Goddard and Tom Lee had shown a bit in the VFL. Generally you shouldn't use your top picks on a backmen unless they are something extraordinary like Weitering. It smacked of taking a shortcut to get a ready to go backmen to challenge for finals this year instead of playing the long game. And I'm not sure how two huge backmen will go together - if they will be too big the way defences more and more are becoming about agility and rebound - just look at the hawks.

Now we have we a real gap in our list for genuine elite disposal mids. Would Dal Santo come back do you think if I promise not to say he's not tough enough. We should be able to get one with our top pick this year and we may land a big FA but I still think thats a long shot. I'm depressed.

[Impatient Sainter]

Well said Bluthy and totally agree re the Carlisle trade....

[Con Gorozidis]

Well said Bluthy and totally agree re the Carlisle trade....

We could have got Callum Ah Chee and Kieran Collins and saved ourselves the drama with Carlisle.
But the coach wanted Carlisle and Freeman because he didnt want to wait around for Goddard, Collins and Ah Chee to develop.

This is where clubs often go wrong. They go to short term.

[BigMart]

Too slow

[spert]

VFL standard. Play from behind too much and don't do enough damage with the ball. I feel we are dropping behind the pack in this area.

[shrodes]

I know we say this every year - but Armo is now almost 28. His average disposals has dropped from a career high 28.4 in 2015 to 23.8 now.

Armo for Prestia straight swap?

Prestia perfect age for us. We then have Prestia + ~pick 6 in a strong draft to use on best available.

Then we have Prestia + hope Freeman comes on next year.

And what do the Suns gain out of straight swap trading a 23/24 year old for a 27/28 year old? Fanciful at best.

[fugazi]

Billings and Sinclair should be added to that group

[Con Gorozidis]

I know we say this every year - but Armo is now almost 28. His average disposals has dropped from a career high 28.4 in 2015 to 23.8 now.

Armo for Prestia straight swap?

Prestia perfect age for us. We then have Prestia + ~pick 6 in a strong draft to use on best available.

Then we have Prestia + hope Freeman comes on next year.

And what do the Suns gain out of straight swap trading a 23/24 year old for a 27/28 year old? Fanciful at best.

Prestia is out of contract and could walk to Essendon, Collingwood, Saints or Richmond for nothing in return in the draft. Armo is also a pretty darn good player. And the Suns need experience not just kids.

[BigMart]

Prestia is not an A Grade mid

Worth more to get him than his ability.