Q : Why isn't the midfield the sum of its parts ?

[josie]

A good read Critter. I too hope the coaches can become a bit more creative and less predictable. West is another one that can add grunt with a few stints in the middle and at clearance. Westy can lay a decent tackle too.

[Grantysghost]

My feeling is that our normal midfield group - Bont, Ed, Libba, Kennedy, Treloar and Sanders - is a little too much of the same thing. Treloar, Harmes and Sanders are one paced and both Treloar and Sanders need improvement in the defensive aspects of their game. I think we could get better value from them elsewhere. (I haven't considered Freijah as a midfield option as I think it's vital that he plays in the backline. It's no secret that we have a shortage of quality defenders and I see his presence permanently in defence in 2026 as being essential.) At times, our midfield plods and against good teams we pay dearly for this. Too easily, they brush past our feeble attempts at tackling and turnover. We need to be faster and stronger, so in 2026 I would prefer to see a midfield of Bont, Libba, Ed, Kennedy, Baker & Weightman. Yes, Oskar Baker and Cody Weightman.

The addition of Baker would give us extra speed and carry. Both he and Ed have the natural leg speed necessary to escape the contests and stoppages. Having them operating in rotation gives us the capability of moving the ball quickly throughout a game. I see Weightman as a highly skilled player who offers more value to the team as a high-possession midfielder rather than as a small forward. In the pre-season match-sims a couple of years ago, when Ed Richards lit up the track, the other standout performance on the day was Weightman's stint, also in the midfield. He racked up plenty of possessions and his attack on the ball was strong and his delivery excellent. Given he recovers fully, I believe he would add dimension and value to the midfield.

Not only would these changes lead to a more effective attacking unit, but I think it would be stronger defensively. All six players lay tackles that stick... all six can, and do, take contested marks... and all six generally dispose of the ball to our advantage (Oskar can have the odd whoopsie).

This year we must demand more defensive support from all our midfielders. There were too many periods in matches last year when the opposition ran straight through our defences to kick multiple, consecutive goals. We can't have all four midfielders rushing blindly into attack, leaving us vulnerable to a swift counter attack. Too often, our midfielders are knackered from the charge into the forward line and have little in their tank to enable them to get back and help defend a turnover. The vulnerability of our defence is then exposed because too often our defenders are too inexperienced, or simply not good enough, to win the resulting one-on-one contests.

We need a game plan based around maintaining our defensive structure. One that enables us to get numbers back quickly and effectively when we lose control of the ball, without totally losing our rebounding capability. And that's where our midfielders improve. You might say good luck with that, but that's why Beveridge et al get paid the big bucks.

Wow amazing post Critter thanks for taking the time.
Baker in the midfield. I don't hate it. I'm not sure he's clean enough is my concern however it's exactly the kind of train my thoughts are on re the current mix.

Weightman isn't a bad shout as he was certainly training as a pinch hitting mid in pre seasons past.

[mjp]

My feeling is that our normal midfield group - Bont, Ed, Libba, Kennedy, Treloar and Sanders - is a little too much of the same thing. Treloar, Harmes and Sanders are one paced and both Treloar and Sanders need improvement in the defensive aspects of their game. I think we could get better value from them elsewhere. (I haven't considered Freijah as a midfield option as I think it's vital that he plays in the backline. It's no secret that we have a shortage of quality defenders and I see his presence permanently in defence in 2026 as being essential.) At times, our midfield plods and against good teams we pay dearly for this. Too easily, they brush past our feeble attempts at tackling and turnover. We need to be faster and stronger, so in 2026 I would prefer to see a midfield of Bont, Libba, Ed, Kennedy, Baker & Weightman. Yes, Oskar Baker and Cody Weightman.

The addition of Baker would give us extra speed and carry. Both he and Ed have the natural leg speed necessary to escape the contests and stoppages. Having them operating in rotation gives us the capability of moving the ball quickly throughout a game. I see Weightman as a highly skilled player who offers more value to the team as a high-possession midfielder rather than as a small forward. In the pre-season match-sims a couple of years ago, when Ed Richards lit up the track, the other standout performance on the day was Weightman's stint, also in the midfield. He racked up plenty of possessions and his attack on the ball was strong and his delivery excellent. Given he recovers fully, I believe he would add dimension and value to the midfield.

Not only would these changes lead to a more effective attacking unit, but I think it would be stronger defensively. All six players lay tackles that stick... all six can, and do, take contested marks... and all six generally dispose of the ball to our advantage (Oskar can have the odd whoopsie).

This year we must demand more defensive support from all our midfielders. There were too many periods in matches last year when the opposition ran straight through our defences to kick multiple, consecutive goals. We can't have all four midfielders rushing blindly into attack, leaving us vulnerable to a swift counter attack. Too often, our midfielders are knackered from the charge into the forward line and have little in their tank to enable them to get back and help defend a turnover. The vulnerability of our defence is then exposed because too often our defenders are too inexperienced, or simply not good enough, to win the resulting one-on-one contests.

We need a game plan based around maintaining our defensive structure. One that enables us to get numbers back quickly and effectively when we lose control of the ball, without totally losing our rebounding capability. And that's where our midfielders improve. You might say good luck with that, but that's why Beveridge et al get paid the big bucks.

OK. There's (a lot) in there...and trying to reply without a conversation is gonna be hard.

I get that Baker and Weightman have gone into the mids in your plan. No problem from me on making changes - have at it. But I am curious where Treloar and Sanders have gone.

Are they playing VFL? I don't think that's gonna fly with the playing group - Treloar is a superstar INSIDE MID and that's where he plays...he's not moving to a wing or half-forward...we saw enough of that a few years back and what we learned was the same thing the Giants and Pies had previously discovered - he is just a player when he doesn't get CBA's and have the opportunity to use his running power inside the corridor.

Sanders? The club has invested heavily in him and he has undoubted talent (even if he can appear at times to be an inside mid who is one paced, can't/wont win his own footy and refuses to kick the ball)...he has spent a lifetime playing inside and doesn't appear to have the Rhylee West type 'crumbing' skills that enabled him to transition to a F50-based player...

So - what does the team end up looking like?

Rather than taking the approach of completely restructuring the footy side - I think the opportunity is there to - if the players are mature enough - do things DIFFERENTLY without making whole-scale positional changes.

The mid group is going to include Richards, Bont, Liber and Treloar. It just is. That's an awesome group. Kennedy has kinda shown he belongs (his last 10-weeks were NOT great) and probably needs a bit of a go. Sanders needs some time. Freijah needs some time. But using players such as Baker - who I think is best playing outside the game in many ways but let's go with it for now - and other strong runners (maybe Weightman if his knee is recovered, maybe West...maybe 'the player to be named later' like a Hynes or Dolan) as 'flip' mids is something that can and will work 100%.

What do I mean? Well - in short - nothing formal needs to change...but there is NO REASON why Bont and West can't 'FLIP' between mid and forward roles at ANY TIME in the game. Let West do a bit of the defensive running/put his shoulder to the wheel and swap places with Bont for 2-3 minutes. What you will find is West's oppo will remain engaged with him for a BIT LONGER than he should and Bont will end up in space ahead of the game (the trade-off of course is that the oppo are plus one on attack as Bont is playing mid and has disengaged...). Quick flips like this to use the defensive running capacity of NON CBA players (whoever they are - maybe Baker and Weightman as you have suggested) SHOULD help defensively and SHOULD help keep the oppo defensive group off balance...when the oppo back 6 are basically running around on the same opponents all day they're probably winning that game - when they are rolling and scrambling to cover loose players and yelling at mids to "LOCATE" and all of the other BS that goes on, well - that's when they are in trouble.

Back to the OP I think our midfield is 100% the sum of it's parts. It's bloody good. All the arrows being fired about Brisbane being better and GC being better and whomever else...I mean - I'm not so sure about ANY of that. The primary difference to me this year has been GC had Miller coming up off half-forward and impacting and both Rioli, Noble (and the other dude with the 2x J's in his name) helping with the ball carrying from Half Back. Brisbane had Zorko picking the eyes out of it from half back and Bailey/Ashcroft coming up from half-forward (with Rayner and Lohman having their moments through the mids/connecting roles as well). We haven't got those supporting players coming up/in and supporting...like it or lump it, we really had Dale helping with bm from behind (and sometimes Bramble to be fair) with really zero impact from the half-forwards in terms of connection and midfield support. We NEED to:

#1 - Get the personnel right - maybe it's Hynes and Dolan improving, maybe it's McNeil improving, maybe West plays higher up, maybe it's Weighmans return?
#2 - Enable some more 'fluidity' in the on-field positioning of our CBA players and high forwards to support the defensive running.
#3 - Get another runner/carrier/ball mover inside D50 to help spring Dale - and maybe that's Sellwood??

All of that is a shit tonne of maybes. I mean - sure - the mids need to work back a bit harder but if their getting 30 and having 10x score involvements, what the hell do we actually want from them?

[Critter]

OK. There's (a lot) in there...and trying to reply without a conversation is gonna be hard.

I get that Baker and Weightman have gone into the mids in your plan. No problem from me on making changes - have at it. But I am curious where Treloar and Sanders have gone.

Are they playing VFL? I don't think that's gonna fly with the playing group - Treloar is a superstar INSIDE MID and that's where he plays...he's not moving to a wing or half-forward...we saw enough of that a few years back and what we learned was the same thing the Giants and Pies had previously discovered - he is just a player when he doesn't get CBA's and have the opportunity to use his running power inside the corridor.

Sanders? The club has invested heavily in him and he has undoubted talent (even if he can appear at times to be an inside mid who is one paced, can't/wont win his own footy and refuses to kick the ball)...he has spent a lifetime playing inside and doesn't appear to have the Rhylee West type 'crumbing' skills that enabled him to transition to a F50-based player...

So - what does the team end up looking like?

Rather than taking the approach of completely restructuring the footy side - I think the opportunity is there to - if the players are mature enough - do things DIFFERENTLY without making whole-scale positional changes.

The mid group is going to include Richards, Bont, Liber and Treloar. It just is. That's an awesome group. Kennedy has kinda shown he belongs (his last 10-weeks were NOT great) and probably needs a bit of a go. Sanders needs some time. Freijah needs some time. But using players such as Baker - who I think is best playing outside the game in many ways but let's go with it for now - and other strong runners (maybe Weightman if his knee is recovered, maybe West...maybe 'the player to be named later' like a Hynes or Dolan) as 'flip' mids is something that can and will work 100%.

What do I mean? Well - in short - nothing formal needs to change...but there is NO REASON why Bont and West can't 'FLIP' between mid and forward roles at ANY TIME in the game. Let West do a bit of the defensive running/put his shoulder to the wheel and swap places with Bont for 2-3 minutes. What you will find is West's oppo will remain engaged with him for a BIT LONGER than he should and Bont will end up in space ahead of the game (the trade-off of course is that the oppo are plus one on attack as Bont is playing mid and has disengaged...). Quick flips like this to use the defensive running capacity of NON CBA players (whoever they are - maybe Baker and Weightman as you have suggested) SHOULD help defensively and SHOULD help keep the oppo defensive group off balance...when the oppo back 6 are basically running around on the same opponents all day they're probably winning that game - when they are rolling and scrambling to cover loose players and yelling at mids to "LOCATE" and all of the other BS that goes on, well - that's when they are in trouble.

Back to the OP I think our midfield is 100% the sum of it's parts. It's bloody good. All the arrows being fired about Brisbane being better and GC being better and whomever else...I mean - I'm not so sure about ANY of that. The primary difference to me this year has been GC had Miller coming up off half-forward and impacting and both Rioli, Noble (and the other dude with the 2x J's in his name) helping with the ball carrying from Half Back. Brisbane had Zorko picking the eyes out of it from half back and Bailey/Ashcroft coming up from half-forward (with Rayner and Lohman having their moments through the mids/connecting roles as well). We haven't got those supporting players coming up/in and supporting...like it or lump it, we really had Dale helping with bm from behind (and sometimes Bramble to be fair) with really zero impact from the half-forwards in terms of connection and midfield support. We NEED to:

#1 - Get the personnel right - maybe it's Hynes and Dolan improving, maybe it's McNeil improving, maybe West plays higher up, maybe it's Weighmans return?
#2 - Enable some more 'fluidity' in the on-field positioning of our CBA players and high forwards to support the defensive running.
#3 - Get another runner/carrier/ball mover inside D50 to help spring Dale - and maybe that's Sellwood??

All of that is a shit tonne of maybes. I mean - sure - the mids need to work back a bit harder but if their getting 30 and having 10x score involvements, what the hell do we actually want from them?

My thoughts regarding the players you raised:

Sanders
I've enjoyed much of what Sanders has shown... and sometimes been disappointed. I don't think his appreciation of the pace of a game is sufficient to justify him playing in the midfield. He gets caught a little too often and regularly does things at odds with a game's flow. But he most definitely has potential and he most definitely is a keeper. I would play him as a high forward. (Think Cam Rayner. Not now, but later when Sanders develops the confidence to attack the ball with gusto.) He's a more than useful overhead mark, is a surprisingly nice set-shot kick and uses handball effectively as an attacking weapon. (But much less so when he uses it as means of getting out of trouble.) At this stage of his career, I think he would benefit from a more structured role.

Hynes
I'm excited by the potential of Hynes, with his silky disposal and game awareness. I think he will blossom in 2026 as a high half forward. In Hynes and Sanders we could have two high calibre mid-sized forwards who would have the capability of giving cover to wingers when necessity forced the latter to help defenders. A combination of Williams & Davidson on the wing and Sanders & Hynes in high forward roles, might just be our best chance of to create the fluidity in on-field positioning to which you were referring.

Freijah
We need to inject class into the backline and, to me, Freijah is our best option in 2026. If you were recruiting an archetypal half-back, he would exactly who you would go after. Sellwood is yet to prove himself in the VFL, so let's do the obvious this coming year and pick the best person for the role. He's an A-Grade footballer - powerful both offensively and defensively, capable of beating most opponents and still just 19. There's plenty of time for him to graduate to the midfield.

Nolan
Nolan is impressive, particularly when close to goal. Great balance and awareness. To me, he should spend 2026 playing a deep forward role.

Treloar
I don't have a place for him in my starting 23. No doubt you will vehemently disagree. I am concerned about the softness of his tackling and at his ability to run hard defensively. But I am sure he will have ample opportunity to prove me wrong.

Finally, don't fret about maybes. It's maybes that keep us coming back year after year.

[Bornadog]

Do you mean Dolan Critter?

[Uninformed]

Great discussion Critter and MJP. Terrific read thank you both.

Reading both propositions I can't help thinking how hard it would be to have to decide which way to go if you were listening to two coaches ideas for the team.

[Grantysghost]

Great discussion Critter and MJP. Terrific read thank you both.

Reading both propositions I can't help thinking how hard it would be to have to decide which way to go if you were listening to two coaches ideas for the team.

And also great thread right ... Right !?

[Uninformed]

And also great thread right ... Right !?

Just the best!

[Critter]

Do you mean Dolan Critter?

Brain fade

[mjp]

Great discussion Critter and MJP. Terrific read thank you both.

Reading both propositions I can't help thinking how hard it would be to have to decide which way to go if you were listening to two coaches ideas for the team.

What do you mean? Play as a team and do it my way!!

[mjp]

Sanders
I've enjoyed much of what Sanders has shown... and sometimes been disappointed. I don't think his appreciation of the pace of a game is sufficient to justify him playing in the midfield. He gets caught a little too often and regularly does things at odds with a game's flow. But he most definitely has potential and he most definitely is a keeper. I would play him as a high forward. (Think Cam Rayner. Not now, but later when Sanders develops the confidence to attack the ball with gusto.) He's a more than useful overhead mark, is a surprisingly nice set-shot kick and uses handball effectively as an attacking weapon. (But much less so when he uses it as means of getting out of trouble.) At this stage of his career, I think he would benefit from a more structured role.

I just think the least structured role on the field is a high forward and asking Sanders to do that is asking for trouble. He doesn't have the power of a player like Rayner and gets his separation through work rate and smarts - he can't put 2m on an oppo defender to take a catch (though he is a strong mark). This kid needs time inside the game and there is an element of 'make us better in the future' about selections - it isn't 100% about the oppo in front of us - it is "let's win but we need to give this player time 'HERE'" - HERE for Sanders is as an inside mid.

I do agree that he needs to get more comfortable playing time forward though as that is his ticket to the 22/23.

Hynes
I'm excited by the potential of Hynes, with his silky disposal and game awareness. I think he will blossom in 2026 as a high half forward. In Hynes and Sanders we could have two high calibre mid-sized forwards who would have the capability of giving cover to wingers when necessity forced the latter to help defenders. A combination of Williams & Davidson on the wing and Sanders & Hynes in high forward roles, might just be our best chance of to create the fluidity in on-field positioning to which you were referring.

Hynes is still so young - if we can get 12-15 games out of him in those roles you refer too (high forward pushing through) then I think that's a great outcome.

Freijah
We need to inject class into the backline and, to me, Freijah is our best option in 2026. If you were recruiting an archetypal half-back, he would exactly who you would go after. Sellwood is yet to prove himself in the VFL, so let's do the obvious this coming year and pick the best person for the role. He's an A-Grade footballer - powerful both offensively and defensively, capable of beating most opponents and still just 19. There's plenty of time for him to graduate to the midfield.

I'm happy for him to play back but when 'everyone' at the club is talking about him as an inside mid - well, we need to listen. They want him inside the game - so I just think we should acknowledge he is going to get time in there and move on. I do think we've all gone a bit overboard on the Freijah bandwagon - his attack on the ball isn't always what it needs to be - and I think describing him as an A-grader when he's really still just a kid with potential is a mistake...we need to let him come along at his own pace.

I would have left him back last year - we needed ground ball - but the fact he was moved was a bit of a message from the coaches...

Nolan
Nolan is impressive, particularly when close to goal. Great balance and awareness. To me, he should spend 2026 playing a deep forward role.

I like Dolan as well but I don't see how he is going to develop playing deep. I mean, "DEEP" is a misnomer in the modern AFL anyway but he seems at his best as a connection piece not an end-point...get him UP and go through him...has a long way to go to be an every week option.

Treloar
I don't have a place for him in my starting 23. No doubt you will vehemently disagree. I am concerned about the softness of his tackling and at his ability to run hard defensively. But I am sure he will have ample opportunity to prove me wrong.

I've seen a bit of commentary on the demise of Treloar and I don't actually understand. When he's played AFL he's been incredible. And he's dominated VFL games. What does he actually have to do to get some respect? I get his last 12-months have been poor based on injuries but I'm pretty sure the club acknowledged that with the new fitness regime they had the potential to "Lose a few soldiers..." - it just so happened that Treloar was the one who got lost.

I guess for me the reality is that he WILL play. Given that, we should be thinking about how to best utilise him (he's an inside mid) and support him to have the most consistent impact on games throughout the season.

[josie]

Critter & mjp, thoroughly enjoy your to & fro detailed posts. Bet the coaches have similar healthy debates. Agree with much of what each of you think.

i too think Frejiah is being over rated at this early stage of his career. He looks to be a star in the making. In fact I think he is a potential future captain. Still needs to find consistency though and I’m hoping that comes with maturity in body and mind as early as next season. I think he helps us moreso at present mostly in backline which is our Achilles heel, with occasional stints in midfield to mix things up.

I’d really like Sanders to become reliable enough given a fair bit of mid time next season. He could blossom further and I think is then more likely to agree to sign longer with us, so we obtain better value should the call to Tassie be too alluring (& I’d respect that but want to be compensated as best as we can).

[Uninformed]

What do you mean? Play as a team and do it my way!!

Really well thought out response to Critter mjp. But, seriously, you gotta know it is my way or the highway Bud!!!