The Long Road Home: Midfielders

Dream Team coaches always look to their midfielders to smash out big scores week in, week out. This part of the team is usually the first to be completed, being filled up with hot shot premiums ready to bring you home the chocolates. So which ones can you trust? And which ones would you not even risk putting into your grandmother’s, best friend’s, ex-son in law’s dog’s team?

Bradburys

The guys who come home strong.

	Ave for Rounds 1-11	Ave for Rounds 12-22	Difference
S Mitchell	98	110	+12
J Selwood	100	110	+10
M Boyd	104	114	+10
D Swan	118	124	+6
S Thompson	94	99	+5

You could do at lot worse than having these five in your midfield. And it seems that the top three really turn it on in the last half of the season. Selwood and Boyd would appear to be must-haves, while Mitchell could be a good unique as long as he isn’t tagged out of the game.

Lay Down Sallies

The guys who drop off when the going gets tough.

	Ave for Rounds 1-11	Ave for Rounds 12-22	Difference
G Ablett	125	113	-12
J Bartel	112	102	-10
J Watson	97	89	-8

Maybe Ablett’s shift to the forward line in the last half of 2010 didn’t help, but these figures include 2009 as well. That’s a huge drop off for the little nude nut. Bet his dad didn’t drop off like that as the season drew on, eh Blighty? Bartel is another one who drops his bundle late in the season. Is it a Cats thing? I’ll look at Stevie J and Chappy in the forwards article and see if there’s a pattern.

Steve Moneghettis

The guys who keep it steady from start to finish.

	Ave for Rounds 1-11	Ave for Rounds 12-22	Difference
L Hodge	95	93	-2
S Pendlebury	106	104	-2
D Thomas	88	85	-3
L Montagna	116	112	-4
M Murphy	103	99	-4
D Mundy	86	82	-4

With Pendlebury and Thomas lifting their averages this year, we can rest assured they don’t drop off at the end of the year. You would think with Hodge’s slow start to the year, he will lift his average in the second half. The other guns drop off a bit, but not enough to sound any warning bells.

It is worth noting that there weren’t too many games missed by the above midfielders, with Pendlebury being the biggest culprit, missing 3 out of 22 games in the second half of the past two seasons.

Once again, feel free to suggest any other players in the comments below and I’ll check them out and let you know.

TOMORROW: Rucks.