Braithy wrote:
ˆˆ
a good watch.
he's telling us, what we deep down have known for a little minute now. Cripps and hewett in the same midfield don't hurt the oppo at all.
... and he's only looking one way - at metres gained. it takes a whole new level, when you look at what their direct opponent is gaining on them. it puts us at such a deficit, i'm not sure how balance it out.
The stats don't lie:
Hewett: 149m against the Tigers, better but still a long way off.
Crippa: 278m against the Tigers, better, but Taranto still had 50m on him
Another match up was, Lalor who had 450m v Smith 303m
The biggest issue we have is midfield depth and in order to adjust the midfield mix we have to essentially get non midfielders from other areas of the ground (like Williams), which is digging one hole to fill another IMO. But that could be our only option.
Here is an article from last year about midfield compositions.
And we can all see the game has gone up a notch again this year with the new rules.
https://www.afl.com.au/news/1366579/the-new-midfield-stars-like-ed-richards-max-holmes-and-finn-callaghan-are-leaving-the-brownlow-bulls-behindQuote:
With most clubs putting less emphasis on the clearance and contested elements of the game, inside bulls like Carlton star Patrick Cripps and those who dominated the Brownlow count back in 2021 are having fewer opportunities to make the impact they once did.
It doesn't mean the best ones are any less valuable, according to Bell, but they do need the right players around them for the midfield to function in transition.
Western Bulldogs champion Marcus Bontempelli, who was runner-up to Wines in the 2021 Brownlow Medal and remains arguably the game's best player, has been unaffected by the shifts given his versatility.
Dual Brownlow medallist Lachie Neale, meanwhile, has remained influential as an inside ball-winner but is enjoying more freedom as opposition teams now try to minimise Hugh McCluggage's transition damage.
"You still need to have a mix of both," Bell says.
"Patrick Cripps is a great player and he would fit into any midfield and be a really valuable player.
"But it's about what other pieces you can put around a clearance machine like Patty."
The answer is a 20y old kid at the moment who is only playing about 75% game time and even then that is probably too much for his fitness level.
Quote:
Coaches identify four different types of midfielders – the inside bull like Cripps, the transition midfielder like Smith or Holmes, the power midfielder/forward like Bailey Humphrey, and the defensive/structure midfielder, who will often protect the corridor and ensure the right balance is maintained. This is a role Scott Pendlebury appears to be playing in his 20th AFL season.
The art for stoppage coaches is to make sure their team has the right balance at all times and can compete at stoppages without losing running power when the game is in motion.
"You need a combination of guys, but if you're going to err on one side, I would err on the side of having more of the transition guys now," one leading midfield coach tells AFL.com.au.
"Against teams that like to score, you can't play as many slow, dour midfielders because you might need to kick over 100 points to win a final against the best teams this year.
"It can be harder to score with those guys if they don't turn up to as many contests, so there is a higher value now on the transition midfielders who can run and carry the ball off turnovers."
For us:
Inside Bull: Crippa (slow)
Defensive mid: Hewett (slow), Cerra (slow)
Power mid/forward: Jagga (not super quick, but very evasive and makes good space)
Transition mid: Walsh (not as quick as he used to be), Lord (can play as a defensive mid also)
Then who else do we have?
IMO due to a lack of depth and options, when we go against teams that have more Power or Transition players we get smoked.
Or when the above guys are being beaten in their positions, we have no one to replace them, they are the best we have.
If we were to make positional changes this is what I would do first.
Ollie back in the back pocket.
Florent on the wing with Carroll, both with CBA time as transition mids rotating with Chesser playing wing only when they go in.
Williams as a power mid/forward, especially with Newman back.
Cottrell as a transition mid that goes forward as long as his kicking is better.
Game plan to remain the same, just better suited athletes to combat other teams exploiting our 1 geared midfield and lack of spread.
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