http://m.afl.com.au/news/2019-01-12/who-has-the-best-onballers-we-rank-every-club

Understandable Collingwood ranked first.  Happy for Richmond to be overated at 2nd!  According to afl.com Richmond have the best defence, best forwards, and second best mids.

Bit strange really...

They don't even have Ablett as a midfield rotation for the Cats or Petracca for us.

C/wood and Richmond sell.

Classic click bait...

  On 13/01/2019 at 07:37, rjay said:

Bit strange really...

They don't even have Ablett as a midfield rotation for the Cats or Petracca for us.

C/wood and Richmond sell.

Classic click bait...

The article is a continuation from the AFL’s best forward lines. Petracca was named in the starting six best forwards for us so may explain why they haven’t named him as a midfielder. 

Collingwoods midfield is very much at it's peak. Sidebottom, Pendles, Wells, Varcoe, Beams are more likely to decline than get better at this stage of their careers. Wouldn't be surprised if some of those players really didn't have the impact they should in 2019.

 

Are the rucks part of the midfield? If they are Richmonds back up ruck is non-existent. With the new rule of the ruckman being able to grab the ball out of the ruck Grigg is not an option anymore. It's quite a rule change. Obviously Martin is class and Cotchin and Prestia very good but their lack of a back-up to the bullocking but limited Nankervis means they can't be ranked ahead of West Coast. 

• A ruckman who takes direct possession of the ball from a bounce, throw-up or boundary throw-in will no longer be regarded as having had prior opportunity.

Every time Grigg is in the ruck the opposition will just take possession and hand ball to their midfrield. Maybe Lynch will have to ruck more often. Ha, a multi million dollar back-up ruck.

I can't believe GWS are 3rd we [censored] all over their midfield talk about overrated.

  On 13/01/2019 at 12:00, WERRIDEE said:

I can't believe GWS are 3rd we [censored] all over their midfield talk about overrated.

You think the Eagles are gonna beat those Saints Werridee?

Edited January 13, 20196 yr by The Swimming Dee

  On 13/01/2019 at 11:12, deespicable me said:

Are the rucks part of the midfield? If they are Richmonds back up ruck is non-existent. With the new rule of the ruckman being able to grab the ball out of the ruck Grigg is not an option anymore. It's quite a rule change. Obviously Martin is class and Cotchin and Prestia very good but their lack of a back-up to the bullocking but limited Nankervis means they can't be ranked ahead of West Coast. 

• A ruckman who takes direct possession of the ball from a bounce, throw-up or boundary throw-in will no longer be regarded as having had prior opportunity.

Every time Grigg is in the ruck the opposition will just take possession and hand ball to their midfrield. Maybe Lynch will have to ruck more often. Ha, a multi million dollar back-up ruck.

The ruckman will be immediately claimed...that's why they bought in the rule all those years ago

It's going to be hilarious watching Collingwood's retirement home midfield get spanked this year.

Sliiiightly off topic but i noticed that at Port a certain J Watts is only classed as forward depth. What a disappointment that young man has been.

  On 13/01/2019 at 10:49, Adzman said:

Collingwoods midfield is very much at it's peak. Sidebottom, Pendles, Wells, Varcoe, Beams are more likely to decline than get better at this stage of their careers. Wouldn't be surprised if some of those players really didn't have the impact they should in 2019.

 

Preuss and May will clean them up.

GWS midfield ahead of us,  thats a good laugh.

Shocked!!! Bombers rated 7th?? The writers must not have been feeling well that day.

Didn't read the article. We have the best midfield.

Maybe interesting to look at starting 4's...

C/Wood  Grundy, Pendles, Treloar, Beams

Tiges  Nank, Martin, Cotchin, Prestia

GWS DS, Ward, Taranto, Hopper

Us.....Gawn, Viney, Oliver, Brayshaw

Looks like C/Wood & Us.

I would give Us the edge but I'm surprisingly biased...

GWS midfield of Mumford - Congilio - Kelly - Whitfield - Ward is very good

Kelly a good chance to win the brownlow this year if he stays fit

  On 14/01/2019 at 00:20, DubDee said:

GWS midfield of Mumford - Congilio - Kelly - Whitfield - Ward is very good

Kelly a good chance to win the brownlow this year if he stays fit

If I could pick any one player to come to Melbourne it would be Kelly. 

I hope there are more articles coming out that have others as the team(s) to beat. Im over the constant hype. We haven't done that much yet.

  On 14/01/2019 at 00:37, FarNorthernD said:

If I could pick any one player to come to Melbourne it would be Kelly. 

i'd go patrick cripps

Richmond second? Please. I wondered why they didn’t list the rankings of their midfield last season. For good reason. 8th for contested possessions and 17th for clearances. 17th!

Shane Edwards being All Australian is simply testament to the dodgy nature of the AA selection process.

  On 13/01/2019 at 10:49, Adzman said:

Collingwoods midfield is very much at it's peak. Sidebottom, Pendles, Wells, Varcoe, Beams are more likely to decline than get better at this stage of their careers. Wouldn't be surprised if some of those players really didn't have the impact they should in 2019.

 

Another joy to watch on the 2019 horizon, for sure. 

Understandable that Pies midfield is ranked first. They got to a grand final on the back of a strong midfield and have added Beams to that group over the off-season. I do think it will drop off, as Pendles is slowing up and Beams has to start dropping off soon too.

Tigers rely on Martin. Cotchin is a good player, but doesn't get heaps of ball compared to most other mids. Edwards is average, Lambert is decent, Prestia is decent. Hardly anything to write home about and we are comfortably better IMO.

GWS is still strong despite losing an insane amount of talent. Imagine if they had Shiel, Treloar, Adams, D Smith etc still in there! As it stands, Ward, Kelly, Coniglio are all guns, but their depth has been eroded now. We've showed we can beat them late in the year. 

Our midfield is right up there. Best of all, our 1st choice mids are young and have years ahead of them. Gawn, Viney, Oliver, Brayshaw. That starting 4 is one of the best going round and will build together for years to come. We'll never struggle to win our share of the ball if we can keep Viney, Oliver and Brayshaw on the park. Add in guys like Harmes, Jones, Petracca etc and it's a great midfield. It would be good to get another quality pacy mid though, hoping that Sparrow could become that player. While we lack key forward depth, the midfield is still the  most important part of the team and we need to continue to add elite talent there. 

  On 14/01/2019 at 01:28, P-man said:

Richmond second? Please. I wondered why they didn’t list the rankings of their midfield last season. For good reason. 8th for contested possessions and 17th for clearances. 17th!

Shane Edwards being All Australian is simply testament to the dodgy nature of the AA selection process.

I agree.  If you look at differentials they were 15th on CP and 18th in clearances.  Even GC were better than them.  A case could be made that Fremantle have a better midfield than Richmond.  

I’ll be really interested to see how Richmond go this year with 6-6-6.  They relied on pressure and defensive intercepts last year.  Rance looks like a superstar when he can play loose and intercept rushed kicks.  Looks VFL B grade when he needs to be accountable one on one.  If they are 18th again for clearance differential they won’t finish top 4.

  On 14/01/2019 at 00:37, FarNorthernD said:

If I could pick any one player to come to Melbourne it would be Kelly. 

 

  On 14/01/2019 at 00:53, daisycutter said:

i'd go patrick cripps

I would take McCrae...I reckon he's exactly what we need but with a bit of luck KJ could be the answer this year.

  On 13/01/2019 at 19:53, Salems Lot said:

Sliiiightly off topic but i noticed that at Port a certain J Watts is only classed as forward depth. What a disappointment that young man has been.

He sure started like a rocket at Port.

6 goals in a JLT game and then a 2 brownlow vote performance in round 1. Then he fell off the cliff shortly after.

He just strikes me as a very unprofessional AFL player.