camsmith said:
So Kev, which players currently playing are better than him?
Over the past couple of weeks, probably none. Over 2005 there were quite a few, as there were over the opening month of 2006 and as there will be at other times across 2006.
camsmith said:
More to the point, which midfielders are better than him?
When fit: Cousins, West, Riccuito & Hodge.
camsmith said:
He seemed to alright at taking contested marks when he won the game for the Eagles last year against us.
On that day he took 11 marks (almost all uncontested). That was a personal record, as he had only taken 7 marks in a game before then. Only twice in his career has he taken more than 6 marks in a game and his contested mark average is 0.4 per game.
camsmith said:
I agree that he's not the best player of the generation, or of all time yet. Simply because we might not have seen the best of him, we wont know until he is close to or has finished his career.
We have certainly seen the best of him.
Why?
He is a physical player who relies 100% on his legspeed, meaning that any injuries to his legs will impact upon his effectiveness. His disposal is clearly below a number of his midfield peers and this won't improve significantly, because you can only ever manage slight improvement to a players ground skills once they reach a certain developmental point. Pace can diminish with wear and tear, but skills and smarts won't, so I'd expect other midfielders to also have longer careers.
camsmith said:
I know you have a love affair with KPP (Pav comes to mind) but midfielders are just as good if not more needed in the current game than KPP (look at dogs..)
I don't believe this.
The Bulldogs look good against ordinary opposition lacking strong KPP in defence (hence their thumpings of sides like Richmond & Port), but will struggle against more rounded sides (hence their thrashing by Adelaide and loss to a struggling St Kilda).
If they Hounds had a stronger KPP presence up forward they would comfortably be outright premiership favourites.
This is also why West Coast will still struggle away from the comfortable surrounds of Fortress Subi, when their midfielders don't have the same space to continually run to (and through) and their lack of strong forward options are exposed.
It should also be noted that we're at a low point re: KPP depth & quality. A number of the games better talls are either past their use by date or struggling with injury, at the same time that a big clump of them are too young and raw to have made their mark yet.
I've never argued a case for KPP at the expense of a quality midfield, but rather I've always suggested a strong structural balance is the preferred option for any serious premiership contender. You always need a lot of midfielders, but you always have a lot to choose from. You need less KPP, but they're always in shorter supply, hence the greater value of the small number of good ones that exist.
