SA Footy

At the Eagles vs West game on the weekend we saw two different teams enter the field with two different midfield models.

The Eagles had a bunch of midfielders who could almost exclusively be called ‘inside midfielders’ that is, strongly built midfielders who get in to the bottom of the pack, fight for the ball and can get out a quick kick or handpass. Often they are slow to average speed.

By contrast, I thought West entered the game with a more even spread incluidng both 'inside midfielders' as well as ‘outside midfielders’. The latter are those midfielders who typically have a slighter build who receive the ball and who run and carry and usually possess an accurate and penetrating kick.

The end result was a 12 goal victory to West. It was abundantly clear for anyone who attended the game that Wests’ victory was largely due to its midfield dominance. It was clearly evident that Wests’ midfield model is far more suited to dry weather footy than is the Eagles. The eagles can expect to see similar results caused by similar deficiencies time and time again this year.

The question I am curious about and what I’d like to pose to the SA Footy community is whether you think your club has an even spread of inside-outside midfielders and who which midfielders are suited to which roles. I suspect that the really strong clubs have found the correct balance while the clubs who won’t go so well are those who recruit midfielders who are either all insiders (e.g the eagles) or outsiders. How would you rate your club? Is an inside-outside midfield mix even appropriate or is one more important than the other?

For eagles supporters, I think our club’s focus on inside midfielders is well past its expiry date. The eagles' official recruiting policy of avoiding talented outside midfielders seemed to be brought into the club in the mid-2000s following a couple of GF losses to Centrals where our midfield – small yet quick at the time (i.e. Jason Dylan, Adam Ugrinic, Darren Holland, Gavin Colville etc) – were outmuscled by a Centrals team featuring the likes of the Gowans brothers, Dew, Guerra, Stevens etc. Gradually, the midfield mix of the team changed and eventually we were able to mix it with them and become a powerful team.

Since this time, game plans and styles have changed. The tactics once employed by Centrals and to a lesser extent the eagles are no longer effective. Godden and the eagles in general have been sticking their heads in the sand and denying that the model isn’t broken. This is wrong. There is a problem and it has to be addressed. I for one am sick of the regular excuses that are fed to us eagles supporters each year about why the match committee is avoiding recruiting to address this side’s obvious weakness. Whoever is responsible must be sacked.

I would have thought the main knock on Norwood's midfield group in 2013 is that with Zorzi, Suckling, Webber, at the moment Matt Thomas, and Mark Evans, it skews too heavily inside. Pfeiffer and Kane Murphy work as both inside and outside— the nearest to a true outside mid is Simon Phillips when fit, but he plays at least half the time in the forward-lines so hardly counts. Still, even on the hard ovals of March/April, doesn't seem to have harmed Norwood too much so far.

To me it's simply all about balance. Those Port and Centrals sides that dominated still had pace and good skills, to go with the strength and muscle.

Agree with your summary MrFuller, we made a conscious effort after 2000-01 to improve our inside strength. And probably in our 2011 flag we had a reasonable balance with Toumpas, Rimmington and Hall providing pace and Goldy, Allmond and Raymond being no slouches either.

Carey from what I've seen so far doesn't seem to add too much new. Can only surmise we recruited him to try to take Powell's spot if he retires at the end of the year. Is there much on offer in the 2's as far as pace goes? I thought Martyn was meant to have a lot of toe, perhaps he's worth at least a look?

FlyingHigh wrote:To me it's simply all about balance. Those Port and Centrals sides that dominated still had pace and good skills, to go with the strength and muscle.

Agree with your summary MrFuller, we made a conscious effort after 2000-01 to improve our inside strength. And probably in our 2011 flag we had a reasonable balance with Toumpas, Rimmington and Hall providing pace and Goldy, Allmond and Raymond being no slouches either.

Carey from what I've seen so far doesn't seem to add too much new. Can only surmise we recruited him to try to take Powell's spot if he retires at the end of the year. Is there much on offer in the 2's as far as pace goes? I thought Martyn was meant to have a lot of toe, perhaps he's worth at least a look?

Have been waiting for Batley to come on. Haven't seen him for a couple of years, but he had pace and good skills - just couldn't quite run out a game. Hoping he shows some form in the reserves and makes his way to league soon.

I think players like Jarrad in 2006 and Toumpas in 2011 showed how valuable an outside midfielder with pace and skill can be. You need to be able to carry the lines and deliver. We still have a few of these - Jarrad/Goldsworthy/Sumner/Lewis.

I think the Eagles rely on too few in the midfield. To be the best you need about 8-10 quality midfielders to rotate through. I reckon we have 2/3 top class (Powell, Rowntree and Goldsworthy is almost there). Of course there is no longer Cica and McKenzie to throw in there when you need a clearance or to stem the flow.

I don't think it is so much about the balance of inside/outside mids that is an issue for the Eagles as much as the depth of quality mids in general. Godden just needs to put time into the young ones coming through.

Westies were super organised and disciplined and until the Eagles as a group can get to this point and do it for long periods they will be middle of the road. The best SANFL teams are quality and it's not so easy to just flick the fingers and have a top class midfield at your disposal. I'm hoping this year the Eagles can beat the sides around them and close the gap on the top 2 by the end of the year with improvement that comes with experience to the young players.

You also need a good running half back line too these days. A major reason Norwood were so dominant last year even after losing Duigan and Piuopolo we unvieled Terlick ( lost him too )
Centrals were massively successfull with that style too.
Most players these days could be classed as rotating midfielders.

The Eagles do not normally have the right mix, but Vince and Mitchell sure helped solve that

On Friday night the eagles were heavily skewed towards players who could run and carry the ball. Yes that was partly due to the inclusion of Smith, Vince and Mitchell. But even the inclusions of Almond and Karpany assisted.

We saw the result. With too many slow, inside midfielders we would not have had the ability to engage in the fast ball movement which brought about Norwood's demise.

The bruising one-on-one footy model used by Centrals and Eagles during the mid-2000s is dead. The style brought by Norwood has seen to that. This is the now the new model we need to use going forward.