For too long now the MFC have been crying out for a quality goalkicking midfielder. I used to feel 'safe' when in their prime goalkicking midfielders Green, Bruce, and Johnstone were lining up in the guts, and when one of them was out I felt as though there was a massive hole in our list. Looking at 2008, I see Green lining up in defence, Johnstone playing for Brisbane, and Bruce gathering cheap possessions at will, many of which are clangers. So, look at our best midfield as it stands. McLean, so much untapped potential, decimated by injury. Jones, hard at it and honest, but not a finisher. Moloney, decimated by injury. McDonald, playing in defence. And then their is the up and comers Grimes, Maric, and Morton, the latter showing how much of a threat around the big sticks he can be in 2008. This lack of goals and overall delivery into the F50 from the midfield is really hurting the Melbourne FC. What do you all think?

For too long now the MFC have been crying out for a quality goalkicking midfielder. I used to feel 'safe' when in their prime goalkicking midfielders Green, Bruce, and Johnstone were lining up in the guts, and when one of them was out I felt as though there was a massive hole in our list. Looking at 2008, I see Green lining up in defence, Johnstone playing for Brisbane, and Bruce gathering cheap possessions at will, many of which are clangers. So, look at our best midfield as it stands. McLean, so much untapped potential, decimated by injury. Jones, hard at it and honest, but not a finisher. Moloney, decimated by injury. McDonald, playing in defence. And then their is the up and comers Grimes, Maric, and Morton, the latter showing how much of a threat around the big sticks he can be in 2008. This lack of goals and overall delivery into the F50 from the midfield is really hurting the Melbourne FC. What do you all think?

well articulated mate..

But no thanks..

Midfielders are dime a dozen..

THis draft has 2 much to offer..

Watts is the 1..

If he's gone, Nait's the man..

The smart money says Watts though..

I'd even take Hurley over Rich..

a thread using a slogan made famous by 50 cent as a title reduces its cred

Dime a dozen for a midfielder? In the last 15 years we've had Neitz, Schwarz, Lyon, Stynes, Ingerson, Robertson, White and a very promising up and comer in Rivers as KPP players.

Possibly the best names to play for the MFC in recent history.

Yet how many brilliant midfielders?

Woey had one great year. Bruce and Green arguably should not have been put in there, and with a superstar midfied probably wouldn't have been.

Viney was great, but generally our midfielder has ticked over due to a great number of workers who can click as a unit.

A superstar midfielder could be just what our team needs.

Obviously would be handy - but our forward stakes are in ever greater trouble. In all seriousness unless Newton improves signifigantly it is almost impossible for us to win a flag because we simply WILL NOT HAVE the key player kicking bags of goals.... it would have to be some sort of shared effort between the likes of Bate, Miller and Sylvia which seems very, very unlikely to be good enough to take us all the way. Neitz is gone - we need someone to be kicking at least 60 a year and I think Watts may be the one - from all reports he has a lot of other things to offer also

Dime a dozen for a midfielder? In the last 15 years we've had Neitz, Schwarz, Lyon, Stynes, Ingerson, Robertson, White and a very promising up and comer in Rivers as KPP players.

Possibly the best names to play for the MFC in recent history.

Yet how many brilliant midfielders?

Woey had one great year. Bruce and Green arguably should not have been put in there, and with a superstar midfied probably wouldn't have been.

Viney was great, but generally our midfielder has ticked over due to a great number of workers who can click as a unit.

A superstar midfielder could be just what our team needs.

To be fair, Yze and TJ were both pretty bloody good for 2 or 3 years each, and Junior without being a star, has been incredibly solid over a long period of time. That McLean kid goes alright too.

Dime a dozen for a midfielder? In the last 15 years we've had Neitz, Schwarz, Lyon, Stynes, Ingerson, Robertson, White and a very promising up and comer in Rivers as KPP players.

Possibly the best names to play for the MFC in recent history.

Yet how many brilliant midfielders?

Woey had one great year. Bruce and Green arguably should not have been put in there, and with a superstar midfied probably wouldn't have been.

Viney was great, but generally our midfielder has ticked over due to a great number of workers who can click as a unit.

A superstar midfielder could be just what our team needs.

Your opinion here 100% sums up my thoughts.

I thought Moloney might go there, but we've never had a polished, skillfull and quick midfielder with hardly any downside. In the Cooney, Ablett etc mould.

Both Naita & Watts are risky selections however much talent they have. I think we can be certain Rich will be a great player, with or without the freakish skills of Naita and strong marking of Watts.

Yeah, and they've done well.

But please, comparing Brock with G. Lyon or Stynes, even White i don't think so.

Junior has been great, but never superstar of the comp and Travis, well, what can i say. Had the ability to set the world alight, but really only had one consistent year

So, the choice is between a power forward, a gun midfielder and a gifted ruckman.

My theory on this is that West Coast won a Premiership (nearly two in a row) with the aid of two stellar midfielders and, once they left, the rest of the team crumbled.

Carlton and Richmond both have had a gun forward who would regularly kick 6 or more goals, yet they have still been monstered in almost every game they played. Only now are they starting to play good footy - and that's mostly due to the arrival and maturity of their midfields.

Finally, Fremantle have the most dominant ruckman in the competition, as well as a power forward but have won only two games this year - and that's due to the inability of their midfield to capitalize on its advantage in the ruck.

This year, Sydney are functioning nearly as well without Barry Hall - a power forward - as they did when he was firing.

So, in my opinion, developing a potent midfield will be the most effective way to move forward in the Premiership race. Therefore we should pick Rich. Failing that, we should take Naitanui, who can play as a utility midfielder.

I'll take Watts, but credit for the title of the thread, good to see a bit of creativity, regardless of what you think of 50 Cent.

Couldn't agree with that theory more, Chooka.

Dime a dozen for a midfielder? In the last 15 years we've had Neitz, Schwarz, Lyon, Stynes, Ingerson, Robertson, White and a very promising up and comer in Rivers as KPP players.

Possibly the best names to play for the MFC in recent history.

Yet how many brilliant midfielders?

Woey had one great year. Bruce and Green arguably should not have been put in there, and with a superstar midfied probably wouldn't have been.

Viney was great, but generally our midfielder has ticked over due to a great number of workers who can click as a unit.

A superstar midfielder could be just what our team needs.

My point is that midfielders are easier to come by!

I agree with your point, but you need to understand taht midfielders can be drafted anywhere..

if there is 100 kids that get drafted, 65-75 of them are midfielders.. thats my point!

Rich may be the best of them right now, but you could pick 1 up at pick 20 who is not far off!

this is how most recruiters think, thats the truth!

Couldn't agree with that theory more, Chooka.

Thanks, buddy.

But a quality midfielder with silky skills, good awareness etc. who is rated as a match-winner is not easy to come by.

And the point i make, beautifully put by Chook, is that a great midfield is more integral to winning a premiership than having good talls.

Now obviously if we don't rate him as being that good, and we think Natta or Watts etc. are better then by all means take one of them, but if they're on a par i'd go with the silky midfielder.

(Please keep in mind i'm talking generalities as i have no seen any of them play)

But a quality midfielder with silky skills, good awareness etc. who is rated as a match-winner is not easy to come by.

And the point i make, beautifully put by Chook, is that a great midfield is more integral to winning a premiership than having good talls.

Now obviously if we don't rate him as being that good, and we think Natta or Watts etc. are better then by all means take one of them, but if they're on a par i'd go with the silky midfielder.

(Please keep in mind i'm talking generalities as i have no seen any of them play)

Ok, u refer to eagles..

One side..

What about the Kangaroos, Bombers, Swans, The dominant Hawthorn sides..

Geelong, they came together when Mooney, Ottens, Johnson and N Ablett clicked!

I see ur point..

But though you may think midfield is more important, I tend to agree..

My point, again, is that they are easier to put together in a quicker period of time, talls take longer to develop and are much much harder to find!

How many truly good talls are their atm?

how many good mids are their??

Thats my point..

Watts is far rarer than Rich..

Both great players..

But Watts harder to get, and get right!

There will be 4 or 5 Rich's in the draft.. in a broad sense!

Carey, Hall, G Ablett Sr, Lockett, Silvagni, Jakovich, Mooney, Neitz, Brown, Franklin..

They are rare, thus special..

Judd, Harvey, Black, Cousins, G Ablett Jr, Bartel, West, Cooney..etc..

They are great, great players.. But there is alot more of them out there 2 spread around..

Lol great thread title!

Id take Watts. While I am of the opinion that the midfield is the most important part of a team, I think it's important we take this opportunity to take Watts. Our up and coming midfield is decent, our forward line is rubbish. We need a tall forward more than anything else by a long way. The fact that Watts is also rated as possibly the best talent just adds to the decision to take him.

I wouldnt mind having a star midfielder though. Travis is the closest we've had in my time, hence him being my fav player. And now Brock is lol

This will our last top(ish) pick for a number of years though, as the news teams get dibs on upcoming drafts, and you'd hope we have moved up the ladder too. Just makes the choice even more important to get right!

If the Eagles want Rich, they will get him because they are dead certanties to finish on the bottom.

I disagree with most of the views in this thread. I believe that Prendergast should pick the player who he thinks is the biggest talent and has the greatest potential. He should not, under any circumstances, make the choice on position only. I also think that the choice is out of four - Watt, Rich, Naitanui and Hartlett - not three.

I'm not prepared to give an answer on which one I'd choose simply because I haven't seen enough of all of them to make a valid answer, I also suspect that my skills in identifying talent are suspect. To provide evidence of this when I first saw Glen McGrath bowl I thought he was a hack and wouldn't make it to 50 tests

I believe that Prendergast should pick the player who he thinks is the biggest talent and has the greatest potential. He should not, under any circumstances, make the choice on position only. I also think that the choice is out of four - Watt, Rich, Naitanui and Hartlett - not three.

Exactly. I would possibly add Hurley to make it 5. We should focus on getting the best available with our first pick. If finish last then I think we will take Watts. And Warnock in the PSD!

Bruce gathering cheap possessions at will

Here we go again.

If a player runs hard and makes space, the possessions he gets aren't necessarily "cheap". They've been worked for, often very hard.

Bruce's disposal needs a lot of work, but you can never question his work rate.

For too long now the MFC have been crying out for a quality goalkicking midfielder. I used to feel 'safe' when in their prime goalkicking midfielders Green, Bruce, and Johnstone were lining up in the guts, and when one of them was out I felt as though there was a massive hole in our list. Looking at 2008, I see Green lining up in defence, Johnstone playing for Brisbane, and Bruce gathering cheap possessions at will, many of which are clangers. So, look at our best midfield as it stands. McLean, so much untapped potential, decimated by injury. Jones, hard at it and honest, but not a finisher. Moloney, decimated by injury. McDonald, playing in defence. And then their is the up and comers Grimes, Maric, and Morton, the latter showing how much of a threat around the big sticks he can be in 2008. This lack of goals and overall delivery into the F50 from the midfield is really hurting the Melbourne FC. What do you all think?

I think Rich will be a terrific player, still prefer Watt in the draft as I think he can help straighten us up and bring the likes of Wonaemirri, Davey & Maric into the game more.

My point is that midfielders are easier to come by!

I agree with your point, but you need to understand taht midfielders can be drafted anywhere..

if there is 100 kids that get drafted, 65-75 of them are midfielders.. thats my point!

Rich may be the best of them right now, but you could pick 1 up at pick 20 who is not far off!

this is how most recruiters think, thats the truth!

I agree...........get Watts for this one. Grimes might be what we want even though he's yet to blossom. Watts has the nous and the ability to take a high mark.

well articulated mate..

But no thanks..

Midfielders are dime a dozen..

THis draft has 2 much to offer..

Watts is the 1..

If he's gone, Nait's the man..

The smart money says Watts though..

I'd even take Hurley over Rich..

You're on the money..you can build a side around talls..Watts for me

I disagree with most of the views in this thread. I believe that Prendergast should pick the player who he thinks is the biggest talent and has the greatest potential. He should not, under any circumstances, make the choice on position only. I also think that the choice is out of four - Watt, Rich, Naitanui and Hartlett - not three.

I generally agree with that. Go for the best talent.

but there doesn't seem to be much between the 3-4 names that are always mentioned.

Go for the best talent. If you can't split them. Go for the KPP player. If you can't split them. Go for the home grown.

You know who i want.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGzqCIRgJLw...feature=related

Pls watch..

I rest my case..

Hope it works! if not, type in jack watts, on youtube, piock the one titled Jack Watts U-18 Champs 2008

Ive NEVER heard a crowd at a under 18's get so pumped when he takes that pack mark!

Watch it, and think hes done even better when no cameras, you CANNOT pass this kid up!