Class of 2010 – Midfielders

We have some great, bloody great Über Premos, set to run around in the midfield this year! And we know that the likes of Dane, GAJ, Pendles, Selwood, Boyd etc are going to smash it.

Getting your starting MIDS right and deciding who your upgrade targets will be (particularly given MBR) a very interesting puzzle to solve.

In keeping with my previous class of 2010 article, I wonder if there are any heroes of yesteryear that we may have missed off the list. Who was a premo in 2010? And sucked a big one last year… I am sure that we can all think of a few.

Time to look at the Class of 2010 – Midfielders and see if there is merit in going “unique”.

Now because they have been talked about in previous articles I am not including Lenny or Barlow in this analysis…but we know they are both bloody good value

Let’s start with the most expensive first:

Leigh (To be said in Forrest Gump voice…”I Love you J(L)enny”) Montagna $485,000

Based on 2010 average should be priced: $545,000

	Ave	Disp	Goals	Games <100	100+ Games	100s turned into 110+ (%)
2011	96.4	24.1	13.0	12.0	9.0	78%
2010	108.5	28.7	18.0	8.0	18.0	78%
Diff	-12.1	-4.6	-5.0	4.0	-9.0	0%

Ahh Joey… in 2010 the world was yours…and then come 2011…CRACK…there goes Lenny’s knee and with it, any chance of you being the player that you were in 2010.

Lenny and Joey work together like a well oiled machine, Lenny is all of the greasy dirty hard working parts of the machine…and Joey is the Johnson Rod (Seinfeld reference) that plays well as an outside receiver and bangs it long and hard. Joey relies on the inside feeders to deliver him the pill and when he gets it he uses it.

Pros:

The boy can score, has been a DT Uber premo before and IMO can be so again.

Cons:

Like most of the guys on this list how do you fit him in? Maybe if you are playing 5 premo mids from the start you might sneak him in but would he make it in over Lenny who is 100k cheaper? Shares the BYE with Ablett, Murphy, and Mitchell.

Verdict:

Brave is the man that punts on Joey, but I reckon he could be one of the better smokies this year. Had he had a good year last year he would be like Boyd and the astute coaches would already have him pencilled.

Jimmy (Permanent 3 day growth) Bartel $482,200

Based on 2010 average should be priced: $540,000

	Ave	Disp	Goals	Games <100	100+ Games	100s turned into 110+ (%)
2011	95.9	22.0	26.0	12.0	12.0	58%
2010	107.7	26.3	14.0	9.0	15.0	73%
Diff	-11.8	-4.3	12.0	3.0	-3.0	-15%

Jimmy, he went from being the champion of junk time ball to just…well… not that guy anymore. 96 is still a bloody good average but…. Jimmy…. we expect more.

Pros:

Since 2007 has been a mainstay in many coaches’ teams and has consistently rewarded us with great numbers. He is a goal kicker…love those +9. Plus he is THE Jimmy (Another Seinfeld Reference)

Cons:

Was last year what we expect of the new Jimmy? Surely not. How do you put him in your team ahead of Captain Joel? Shares the Bye with Collingwood

Verdict:

Behind Joey would be the second most likely for a punt, I am sure there are coaches that will run with him. Not for me, if he is smoking come round 13 (post bye) will consider as an upgrade

Daniel (Must handpass….must handpass) Cross $481,100

Based on 2010 average should be priced: $520,000

	Ave	Disp	Goals	Games <100	100+ Games	100s turned into 110+ (%)
2011	97.3	24.1	1.0	12.0	10.0	60%
2010	103.7	26.5	2.0	9.0	16.0	50%
Diff	-6.4	-2.4	-1.0	3.0	-6.0	10%

Well… someone who shall remain nameless, decided to go unique last year and picked this guy instead of Boyd. OUCH. Like getting kicked in the privates with boots made out of Hungry Nut eating piranhas. Oh how I cursed his name last year. Anyhoo…

Pros:

He gets as much of the pill as Amy Winehouse…and is always thereabouts.

Cons:

To say that he loves a handball is like saying that Shaun Higgins likes his hair…Understatement. Handballs a lot, not a big tackler or goal kicker so is reliant on getting a lot of the ball for his DT points. People will pick Boyd over him

Verdict:

Never mention his name to me again. I can’t even eat Hot Cross Buns any more without getting a stabbing pain in the groin…bastard!

Luke (Being Hawks captain doesn’t affect your DT ave…No really it doesn’t) Hodge $467,300

Based on 2010 average should be priced: $510,000

	Ave	Disp	Goals	Games <100	100+ Games	100s turned into 110+ (%)
2011	96.6	24.3	19.0	11.0	11.0	50%
2010	101.6	24.7	15.0	10.0	13.0	57%
Diff	-5.0	-0.4	4.0	1.0	-2.0	-7%

You’ve gotta love Hodgey… he is a footballer’s footballer (whatever the hell that means)

Pros:

A lot depends on his role this year, but he can and will find the ball and use it very well (not that that is relevant) you know what you will get with Hodgey; at worst he will bring you a mid 90 ave…How I wish he was dpp. Only Mitchell, Shiels and Franklin had better averages than him last season.

Cons:

Where will he play and what will his role be? The emerging young Midfielders (think Shiels, Smith etc) mean that he may be back to the sweeper role…which means he won’t be averaging 110+ which is what you need for a mid.

Verdict:

Not for me… Love watching him play…but not gonna feature in many sides I wouldn’t have thought.

____________

Now there are 3 other guys that I looked at but seriously nobody will pick them… I am talking about:

Kane (I am the hard spot on the bottom of your foot) Cornes

Shane (Hey Hardwick…look at my surname man…please pick me) Tuck

Brad (I played underage cricket for Australia…no …really I did) Green.

All of these guys put impressive numbers up in 2010…but seriously…combined they are currently owned by 1.7% of coaches (majority of that is Green…I bet it is a bunch of guys picking their team by colour…yep they would have Black and Brown too)

So there you have it…the Prefects of 2010 that went AWOL in 2011. Do you have the balls to pick them this year? Who is your mid smokie?

Cheers

Rainman

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