Best Midfield?

[DeadlyAkkuret]

Just a random thought. Assuming we could pick from a full squad, what would Sydney's best and fastest midfield look like?

[DeadlyAkkuret]

No bites?

[sharp9]

Just a random thought. Assuming we could pick from a full squad, what would Sydney's best and fastest midfield look like?

The same as last night...except with with Vezpremi and DOK/Brabazon/Meredith/Thornton in for McVeigh and Bolton

[sharp9]

I forgot Schmidt. My selection policy is old fashioned...choose the most talented (who might not be the best for the game actually in hand but who will win another flag quicker.

Our most talented midfielders (in order)

GOODES
KIRK
BUCHANAN
SCHMIDT
VEZPREMI
MOORE
BIRD
JACK
CROUCH

This is assuming you don't play Barlow, Mattner, Malceski, O'Keefe or Davis in the midfield.

Back-up midfielders are

DOK, Meredith, Thornton and Brabazon.

I would select every single one of those players ahead of Fosdike, J. Bolton, Mathews, McVeigh and Ablett - though Ablett has always threatened to be good, strong and a thumping kick, but SLOW and playing him injured is a really, really bad idea. Bad for the team and no good for Ablett's confidence, I reckon.

[Nico]

Midfield, what an interesting word in the context of our game.

You can have all of the above but no matter how good they are at gathering possessions around the ground we fail in that critical aspect of centre clearances. The stats in the paper this morning gives clearances 29 to 23 in STK favour. It doesn't however give centre clearances.

My observation was we maybe got 3 centre clearances out of 16. I saw Kirk get 1 but it wasn't a clean takeaway. Until we get the right combo in there the work of Jolly will be wasted. To have Bolton and McVeigh in at a centre bounce together is dumb.

STK had tough hard people in there every time and call their midfield slow but they aint soft and know how to read the game. Even in 2005 it was our glaring weakness and the club has done nothing to solve the issue.

We must get the likes of Bolton and McVeigh out of there and replace them with Bird, Jack, Moore and Buchanan. I am no Bevan fan but he would be a better bet at the centre bounces than the 2 pussies we go with. I am no fan of Kirk in there either because his clearances when he gets them are scrappy at best. Use him as a tagger from now on, the job he does best.

We must put the new generation in there, they can't do any worse.

[CureTheSane]

though Ablett has always threatened to be good, strong and a thumping kick, but SLOW and playing him injured is a really, really bad idea.

Ablett = Stuart Dew to a large degree.

Hopefully the coaching staff can help him take a few steps further than Dew did.

[goswannie14]

The same as last night...except with with Vezpremi and DOK/Brabazon/Meredith/Thornton in for McVeigh and Bolton

Did you actually go to the game last night? McVeigh was in everything. I thought he was in our top three players on the night, and the Swans supporters around me agreed.

[RogueSwan]

McVeigh was far from the worst last night, and I didn't realise B1 was playing until he took a mark in the forward line (end of 2nd quarter?). Even Kirk was well below what he was capable of, eg: that hospital pass straight to B2 on the D50 in Q1, what was going on there?
Based on last night the only ones who deserve to be in the centre are Goodes, Moore, Jack and Kirk.

[BSA5]

Fosdike Goodes Buchanan
Jolly Kirk Moore

Rotating from forwardline, backline and bench: Everitt, Bird, Jack, Barlow, Malceski, Mattner and McVeigh.

Those are our best midfielders. Davis should be played purely as a forward pocket. Push him onto half-forward if he isn't finding the ball, but not the midfield. He doesn't have the engine, speed or work ethic to play as a midfielder, and he would be wasted there anyway. Schmidt is a little bit slow for my liking. Not bad, but there are others ahead of him. A good backup in the event of injuries, but not in our best 22, at least not at the moment. I don't think Brabazon and Thornton are ready for league footy yet. Brabazon may be pushing by the end of the year, and if Thornton wasn't injured then perhaps he could too. I have absolutely no idea where Vezpremi is at, as I haven't seen him. And White shouldn't be played as a ruckman; he should be played as a key forward, so I haven't included him as a midfielder. Crouch is well past it. Jack has moved ahead of him. I hope I haven't missed anybody obvious.