Blue Collar Midfield ??

[bandwagon]

I noticed Leroy got called Lewis at the weekend. Made me smile.

[Melbourne_Blood]

Jetta has had far more media attention this year than Cyril. I watch all the fox shows, read all the afl news online and in the herald, and listen to SEN. I'm not claiming that makes me an expert because it certainly does not, all I'm saying is Jetta has had far more mentions In all those mediums than Rioli this year. Some of them even mention how he's overtaken Rioli. To say Jetta doesn't get enough media attention is so far wide of the mark it's not funny.

[MightyBloods]

and Jetstar and Richards have both been mentioned consistently in the Melb media as 'probable' all-australian.

[magic.merkin]

I agree with the above 2 comments.

Jetta is news down here, and Cyril has gone quiet.

Richards will be AA going by the media down here if he keeps going

[rojo]

Blue collar? I think Kennedy, Jack and possibly over the past few weeks McVeigh, are better than blue collar. What's more ROK, Hanners, Bolton, and at his best Parker give great depth. The Priddis article on AFL.com had our midfield up there with the best in the competition. Mummy and Pyke's good work must be helping, while Bird is carving out a niche for himself as well.

I was impressed on Sunday that Jack starred in the first half and ROK in the second half. My concern all along has been that the strategy of having the midfielders provide pressure both in the forward line and in defence was causing them to run out of legs in the last quarter. It was probably just how it worked out on the day but it seems like a good idea to say okay Jack, you run yousef ragged in the first qtr, McVeigh, your turn in second, Bolton/Hanners in the 3rd and ROK and who ever can manage it in the 4th. I know, it is obvious I have never coached a sporting team, let alone to victory!

[BSA5]

It's been an odd mix. We're getting heaps of media coverage, but most of it is still wildly inaccurate. Hopefully it's just a symptom of people suddenly taking notice, and as time goes on it will get more insightful and, well, correct. I still shake my head every time they get the basic roles of our players completely wrong (e.g. on 360 the other night they called McVeigh an "inside warrior" and ROK one of our outside runners), and Nick Smith and AJ are still horribly underrated. We don't have as star-studded a midfield as some teams (e.g. Hawthorn or Collingwood), but at the same time we're certainly no longer blue collar. Jack, Jetta, Kennedy and Hanners all have genuine star quality.

Oh well, in any case, we're starting to gain some recognition. Being rated, but for all the wrong reasons, is probably the best possible thing for us. Keep worrying about how we'll tag you, and we'll just go ahead and win our own ball. Keep worrying about how we'll try to engineer stoppage after stoppage, and we'll just scoot off through the corridor, thank you very much. Keep panicking about our defence more than our attack, and we'll keep putting scores of 100+ on the board. Suits us just fine!

[DeadlyAkkuret]

They weren't there is a difference between our midfield and geelong's our players are not necessarily the most talented blokes out there but they go out there every week and get the job done. They always get the best out of what they can do. I don't think its offensive at all what i do find offensive is the media's lack of love for Lewis Jetta perhaps one of the most exciting brilliantly skilled players running around at the moment.

I can accept this from the idiots in the Melbourne media, but from one of our own? Phrases like "Hard at it", "Go about their job" and "Honest midfield" are such backhanded compliments. We're much more than that this year.

[Cpt. Kirk]

I can accept this from the idiots in the Melbourne media, but from one of our own? Phrases like "Hard at it", "Go about their job" and "Honest midfield" are such backhanded compliments. We're much more than that this year.

I disagree, all our mids are brilliant players(are they as talented as pendleberry, Swan and abblett). They are brilliant together they work as a team they know their strengths and their weaknesses and they go up and above what is expected of them every week. I reckon its an honor for players like brett kirk and kieran jack who came from an area of low skill to get the best of themselves and come out high end footballers.

P.S : I respect sydney players more the any others because they do everything in their power to make themselves the best people and the best players they can possible be.

[Matimbo]

Check out this article in SMH today on Hanners ...

Hannebery, the man who makes the running

Opinion is one thing, but the facts speak for themselves. Hanners gut running is right at the top of the AFL, far above the tag "blue-collar". In another thread, someone asks what has changed about the Swans since earlier this season. I watched the WCE game again last night and Hanners midfield work has improved out-of-sight since earlier in the season. He was everywhere and his quick handballs were high quality. Lines up with what he says in the article about his fitness now being where he wants it after an interrupted pre-seaon due to knee surgery. Now he just wants to bulk up a few kilos which will make him even more deadly in close.

[Plugger1300]

The most inaccurate reports are generally from the Sydney based RWO members who complain about lack of coverage of the swans in Melbourne. I'm loving the fact that in the last few weeks the Swans have had articles in both major newspapers and on most footy tv shows. Jon Andersons team of the round has Swans players littered with it every week and last week four players.

We can't be all the Melbourne media talk about as they have to cater to the majority.

Really trying to find things to complain about atm - We are top of the ladder!

[BSA5]

The most inaccurate reports are generally from the Sydney based RWO members who complain about lack of coverage of the swans in Melbourne. I'm loving the fact that in the last few weeks the Swans have had articles in both major newspapers and on most footy tv shows. Jon Andersons team of the round has Swans players littered with it every week and last week four players.

We can't be all the Melbourne media talk about as they have to cater to the majority.

Really trying to find things to complain about atm - We are top of the ladder!

You won't find me complaining, the media have been all over us for a good month now! There was a week or two earlier in the season when we were the talk of the town as well.

The complaint is that when it rains, it pours. It takes us being one of the best teams in the competition to open the floodgates, and if we're not, if we're "merely" another top 8 side, we get largely ignored. Even North has received a fair bit if coverage this year, but if we were in their position, you think we'd get that? No way!

[jono2707]

The most inaccurate reports are generally from the Sydney based RWO members who complain about lack of coverage of the swans in Melbourne. I'm loving the fact that in the last few weeks the Swans have had articles in both major newspapers and on most footy tv shows. Jon Andersons team of the round has Swans players littered with it every week and last week four players.

We can't be all the Melbourne media talk about as they have to cater to the majority.

Really trying to find things to complain about atm - We are top of the ladder!

What? Sorry I don't understand how the Sydney-based RWO members give the most inaccurate reports?

FWIW I'm tired of everybody complaining about the lack of media attention - of course the Collingwoods, Carltons and the other Melbourne-based clubs will get the most attention, as that's where the majority of the AFL media is located. I'd rather read one well-written article about us (ie Hanner's article in today's Fairfax press) than 20 fluff pieces about Melbourne-based players that are just used to fill space. Anyway people have to write about us now as we're on top, so of course those that haven't been paying attention will make mistakes and fall back on preconceived notions about how we might have once played.

[Nico]

What? Sorry I don't understand how the Sydney-based RWO members give the most inaccurate reports?

FWIW I'm tired of everybody complaining about the lack of media attention - of course the Collingwoods, Carltons and the other Melbourne-based clubs will get the most attention, as that's where the majority of the AFL media is located. I'd rather read one well-written article about us (ie Hanner's article in today's Fairfax press) than 20 fluff pieces about Melbourne-based players that are just used to fill space. Anyway people have to write about us now as we're on top, so of course those that haven't been paying attention will make mistakes and fall back on preconceived notions about how we might have once played.

Yep, and I am tired of people referring to "fluff pieces". They are articles about footballers that people want to see and read. They love their teams and players and lap up every story that comes their way. It is ingrained in our culture down here and until SEN arrived there was never enough info about the game and players on radio and TV. Fox has taken up the SEN style by analysing everything about the game and sure is educating the supporters on the intracacies of the game. If they didn't have interesting stories about players in the footy season then I don't know what they would have stories on. Maybe the latest tiddlywinks tournament.

[jono2707]

Yep, and I am tired of people referring to "fluff pieces". They are articles about footballers that people want to see and read. They love their teams and players and lap up every story that comes their way. It is ingrained in our culture down here and until SEN arrived there was never enough info about the game and players on radio and TV. Fox has taken up the SEN style by analysing everything about the game and sure is educating the supporters on the intracacies of the game. If they didn't have interesting stories about players in the footy season then I don't know what they would have stories on. Maybe the latest tiddlywinks tournament.

More isn't necessarily better. Same thing happens here in Sydney with NRL, where issues are thrown around so much, and so many 'experts' want to have their say, that it all gets a bit tiring. I guess it makes you look forward to the weekend and the real stufff that much more...

[magic.merkin]

Switch off?