How do we get our bark back?

[bornadog]

Hi MJP,
As a group I think the media overate our midfield core group. And I’ll probably get burnt in saying this, but yes I do think the majority of our midfield is overrated as a whole.

Do I personally think Bonti is overrated? Yes I do...just. For mine he goes missing in too many occasions, gets caught with the ball all too often, is a shocking kick for goal. But he can turn a game in a quarter. His field kicking is sublime when on song. Is he a bad player? No way, but I still see lots of improvement in his game, and the way commentary talk about him, then yes, I think he is overrated for what he delivers on a weekly basis.

Macrae is slow, doesn’t run both ways well, has avge foot skills more often than not and doesn’t give scoreboard pressure for a highly rated mid. Yes, he is consistent in the amount of ball he gets, but like I said, he’s more in the mould of Mitchell/Merrett who I also think is slightly overrated for what they actually do with the ball.

I also put hunter in this category.

Smith is going to be a beauty. For what he has done in his first 2 years he is certainly not overrated. He will be a star.

Toby, lipinski and Hayes would not be starting 22 in any team imo.

At the moment, English has proven he is not a first ruck. Time will tell where he ends up.

Dunkley and libba I personally think are not overrated. Both play to their abilities.

My point is that we have a mid group that I personally think the media overate. I’m not talking about all individual players, but as a core group, then yes.

But what do I know

I ready myself for the roasting Lol

Have to totally disagree with you.

Both Bont and Macrae are AA and Hunter is one of the best wingman in the AFL.
Smith is a future star and probably ranked as one of the best 2nd year players in the AFL.

[Grantysghost]

I don't think any of our mids are over rated least of all Bontempelli. I think we could do with a better finisher by foot for sure (Polec would be OK by me, but Kelly is the gold standard). None of them are A grade field kicks. Bont is sometimes (used to be seems to have gone backwards maybe injury/fatigue) , Smith could be/will be. Watching the Crows last night a young guy they have Lachlan Murphy (rookie draft Clarko) really lowered his eyes and hit up passes by foot. I was super impressed with that aspect of his game, and I think we lack one more guy in the mix who can do that.

[DOG GOD]

Have to totally disagree with you.

Both Bont and Macrae are AA and Hunter is one of the best wingman in the AFL.
Smith is a future star and probably ranked as one of the best 2nd year players in the AFL.

No worries Bornadog...appreciate your thoughts. But I didn’t say I thought Smith was overrated.

[DOG GOD]

I don't think any of our mids are over rated least of all Bontempelli. I think we could do with a better finisher by foot for sure (Polec would be OK by me, but Kelly is the gold standard). None of them are A grade field kicks. Bont is sometimes (used to be seems to have gone backwards maybe injury/fatigue) , Smith could be/will be. Watching the Crows last night a young guy they have Lachlan Murphy (rookie draft Clarko) really lowered his eyes and hit up passes by foot. I was super impressed with that aspect of his game, and I think we lack one more guy in the mix who can do that.

Kelly is definitely the mid we need.

[Grantysghost]

Kelly is definitely the mid we need.

Is he still best buds with the Bont ? He would demand such a premium I'm not sure we could afford him, especially with the massive deal GWS have at his fingertips. (4-8 years ?).

[azabob]

Kelly is definitely the mid we need.

Is Kelly more inside or outside these days?

[Grantysghost]

Is Kelly more inside or outside these days?

Outside in I think?
1.6 to 1 uncontested to contested possessions this season.

[DOG GOD]

Is Kelly more inside or outside these days?

To be honest, I haven’t seen a lot of GWS games this year. I know the games I’ve seen he’s done both. I know I drool every time he gets/kicks the ball. Maybe with the likes of Ash, Caldwell etc, and Taranto, Whitfield, Hopper and Coniglio playing more, he is maybe playing the inside/outside role depending on matchups etc. but I agree with the above, maybe more outside.

[DOG GOD]

Is he still best buds with the Bont ? He would demand such a premium I'm not sure we could afford him, especially with the massive deal GWS have at his fingertips. (4-8 years ?).

Yep it would take ALOT to prize him. I’m sure he signed for those 2 years with a clause his next contact would be for 8 further years.

[CarnTheScray]

We need more pricks in the team. We have too many 'nice' players.

Libba is a mongrel. Cordy is a mongrel, but was missing. Smith has it sometimes. Naughton has swagger, but it's not quite the same thing.

We need one more bastard. A Clay Smith. A Tim Callan, who would walk to the quarter time huddle boasting about how he ground some opponent's face into the mud (yes, I overheard him talking to Ayce one break at Willy).
I don't think we play with enough "edge".

Agree 100% We have too many nice guys on field. It gets me going every time I see English be a little passive mute on the field. If I was him I would want to be the most aggressive, physical and intimidating player on the field with a height like that.

That's why I always doubt English will ever be ready, he looks like an agreeable person who just stumbled into a career.

[Remi Moses]

Don’t think our midfield is overrated
If anything we need an extra Hunter type ( his loss really stood out ) Hayes is an ok player, but need a level above
I didn’t think we got beat up the other night and just got beaten by a champion player .

[Remi Moses]

Gotta say though a Picken , Clay Smith type
Maybe not Tim Callan

[GVGjr]

To me our midfield is very good but there are some areas of concerns and improvement opportunities as Dog God pointed out

Bont is the real deal but yes his set shot goal kicking isn't of a genuine champ. We have also been guilty of plonking forward for too long
Macrae is a beauty but is reluctant to kick for goals and needs to work on his kicking depth and penetration
Dunkley has some limitations be gets the ball moving forward. We need him back in the midfield rotations
Smith has pace and kicking depth and really provides some spark for us
Liberatore might has slipped back just a bit but is a crucial midfielder
Hunter has some flaws but runs hard in both directions
McLean has been disappointing and needs to improve. He's more of a forward midfielder than the other way around
Lipinski lacks some pace but I think he's a bit better than what we have seen this year
Hayes is more of a pure winger than a centre square option but with just one game behind him this year there must be some doubts
Jong is just too injury prone and West needs some more time

We need another quality player in the Bailey Smith mold which is a lot easier said than just being able to draft or trade for a player of his quality. We also need a tagger in the Jack Steele mold. Capable of limiting an opposition star player but also getting the ball himself

In my opinion it's a very good midfield but there are some obvious improvements opportunities

[Danjul]

Don’t think our midfield is overrated
If anything we need an extra Hunter type ( his loss really stood out ) Hayes is an ok player, but need a level above
I didn’t think we got beat up the other night and just got beaten by a champion player .

Last year against the Dogs Dangerfield got 23 possessions (twice).

And his last half dozen games this year have been even less. I think his average for this year is 23.

What was it about Friday’s game that gave him a 50% increase and made him dominant and a match winner?

And also has our mids called overrated here.

[GVGjr]

Last year against the Dogs Dangerfield got 23 possessions (twice).

And his last half dozen games this year have been even less. I think his average for this year is 23.

What was it about Friday’s game that gave him a 50% increase and made him dominant and a match winner?

And also has our mids called overrated here.

It annoys me no end in seeing a quality midfielder go unchecked but unless we are instructing someone to do it we will get burned at times.
Last year we got thrashed by Cripps and lost the to Carlton game, a few weeks later in a rematch we matched him up and limited his impact and we won it

We just need to have a rethink about using someone in a tagging or run with role