Where is our midfield at?

[magnifisaint]

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.

why would Gold Coast accept that? Armitage has 3 yrs maybe 4 Prestia who is more talented has a minimum of 8.

[saintbob]

Prestia can play and we will no doubt target him, my problem is he's not overly tall or quick and we've already got 5-6 like that.

I reckon we'd get better value by targeting a Steele,Whitfield or Kelly from GWS, as they've got a s*** load of mids and pressure for game will see a few want to move on.

I also reckon Hurley wiil by on our radar, especially if Chips hangs the boots up.


The pending move back to Morrabin will make it more attractive to future recruits.

[saynta]

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.

Armo was recovering from concussion from last week.

Naot unusual for a player to be a bit down the following week.