What a midfield

[jetts32]

We scored 20 goals on the weekend, Mcglyn scored 3, Goodes 2.
That's 5 goals from genuine forwards, the other 15 goals came from our glorious elite midfield.
Mcveigh and Hanners have been so impressive to start off the year.
Kennedy and ROK just keep performing great every game.
Bolton improves with age.
Jack has the side step of an NBA player and gets out of anything, he's going great.
Luke Parker has been outstanding for such a young kid, he was great this time last year before his injury and now he's stepped that up even more.

One concern however is Jetta, kicked a good goal, but has been very quiet to start off the year, he doesn't seem to want to run as much, saw him alot in the corner of the screen, or behind the pack, not looking like he was last year, I hope it's just a confidence thing and he gets back to his best, we need that speed that he brings, especially against the good sides!

[Auntie.Gerald]

i think Kennedy and Jetts are being marked heavily also to be fair and they are adjusting how they cope with this

what better way then having other players like Bolts and Macca going to another level...... where they will massive attention come their direction

too may cannons to nullify !!!

[jetts32]

Kennedy seems to be fine with the extra pressure, he is our leading disposal getter at the monent, it's just the Jetta doesn't look like he wants to run, put all the pressure you can on Jetta but he will still run faster than 90% of the players that tag him, that's the worrying thing, he just doesn't look as hungry.

But you're right, they can't shut everyone down, so hopefully this is just a temporary thing for Jett's.

[Swansongster]

One concern however is Jetta, kicked a good goal, but has been very quiet to start off the year, he doesn't seem to want to run as much, saw him alot in the corner of the screen, or behind the pack, not looking like he was last year, I hope it's just a confidence thing and he gets back to his best, we need that speed that he brings, especially against the good sides!

I seem to recall Jetts starting slowly last year and agree with someone else's comment on another thread that he might be playing a role. Will not be surprised to see him spark up a little later in the season with a new role after spending the next few months soaking up a tag from the opposition's fastest player. As soon as coaches realise that there are seven blokes that need attention in our midfield, space will once again emerge for Jetts.

[Ludwig]

I seem to recall Jetts starting slowly last year and agree with someone else's comment on another thread that he might be playing a role. Will not be surprised to see him spark up a little later in the season with a new role after spending the next few months soaking up a tag from the opposition's fastest player. As soon as coaches realise that there are seven blokes that need attention in our midfield, space will once again emerge for Jetts.

That was probably my comment. I was watching the replay closely to see why Jetta wasn't getting much of the ball. He seemed to be around the play, but the ball wasn't coming his way. When we got moving forward, our pack of inside midfielders moved the ball quickly, handballing to each other, obviating the need to use Jetta on the slingshot. Maybe NM were defending against the ball coming over the top to Jetta, so his bread and butter plays never developed.

Like everything that's successful in footy, produces a strategy to defend against it. All the opposition coaches must have a plan to guard against Jetta and the much discussed slingshot. I think we need to come up with another strategy for how to use Jetta more effectively. Perhaps tagging the opposition's best outside midfielder is one possibility. Often that creates opportunities on turnovers.

There really is no point in Jetta mixing it with inside mids, so standing off the packs is quite sensible. In keeping with the title of this thread, we have so many good midfielders getting involved in the play, they seem to be looking for each other to move the ball forward and not the long ball over the top to Jetta.

[Triple B]

...he will still run faster than 90% of the players that tag him....

I'd be interested to know who these other 10% of players who can stay with Jetts are....

[Captain]

Surely this is the greatest midfield of our clubs history.

Kennedy, Jack, McVeigh and O'Keefe. Throw in the up and coming Parker and Hannebery +Goodes/Bolton floating in there at times.

Wow.

[jetts32]

Haha I said that to try be fair for other clubs, it's more likely closer to 99%.

[Swansongster]

Surely this is the greatest midfield of our clubs history.

Kennedy, Jack, McVeigh and O'Keefe. Throw in the up and coming Parker and Hannebery +Goodes/Bolton floating in there at times.

Wow.

Ssshhhh! Don't tell the Melbourne media.

[liz]

I think our midfield is still a little under-rated because commentators tend to cotton onto players who can regularly rack up 30-40 possessions and focus less on defensive skills. I doubt there is a deeper midfield of players who run in both directions as ours. And they are a selfless bunch too. For example, tt is hard to imagine many reigning Norm Smith medallists accepting a role, in his very next game, of negating a second year player as his primary role (notwithstanding the fact that ROK also got plenty of the ball himself).

[undy]

On SEN yesterday they were across it - they listed four or five of them, said wow then about 5 minutes later remembered Jude (not unlike some posters on here). They even devoted 5 minutes to how stupid they were to underrate Sydney again.

[Mountain Man]

I agree that Jetta is the only one that is in any way a worry. I was at the game, and I did not see any 'tag' being applied.

The concern is that he was in 'jog' mode the whole time. I felt he could have run a lot more even if only to be in space, or to threaten to prevent switch plays.

[mariachi]

My view was that Jetts made some good second and third defensive efforts and while quiet in attack still had a good game. Just having him lurking outside the play keeps an opposition player off the ball.

[penga]

Surely this is the greatest midfield of our clubs history.

Kennedy, Jack, McVeigh and O'Keefe. Throw in the up and coming Parker and Hannebery +Goodes/Bolton floating in there at times.

Wow.

Have a little geezer at the team list from the 2001 Elimination Final (vs Hawthorn):
AFL Tables - Hawthorn v Sydney - Sun, 9-Sep-2001 2:30 PM - Match Stats

Paul Kelly, Paul Williams, Wayne Schwass, Jude Bolton, Darryn Cresswell, Brett Kirk, Stuart Maxfield. Throw Jared Crouch, Adam Goodes, and Ryan O'Keefe through there, and I think that midfield, on paper at least thanks to their various stages of their career, was a better one. Yet we are by a long way advanced as a team, currently, compared to that one..

[liz]

Have a little geezer at the team list from the 2001 Elimination Final (vs Hawthorn):
AFL Tables - Hawthorn v Sydney - Sun, 9-Sep-2001 2:30 PM - Match Stats

Paul Kelly, Paul Williams, Wayne Schwass, Jude Bolton, Darryn Cresswell, Brett Kirk, Stuart Maxfield. Throw Jared Crouch, Adam Goodes, and Ryan O'Keefe through there, and I think that midfield, on paper at least thanks to their various stages of their career, was a better one. Yet we are by a long way advanced as a team, currently, compared to that one..

If you took each of those in the prime of their careers, you're probably right. But Kirk was a long way off reaching the level he started to in late 2002 onwards. Kelly was still a good player but past his absolute best. ROK was very much a fringe player. Goodes was still an inconsistent key forward. Jude was an enthusiastic young pup but nowhere near to his current level of accomplishment. Schwass was slightly past his best, though still playing reasonable footy at that stage.