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SAM LANDSBERGER, Herald Sun
November 28, 2018 7:30pm
Subscriber only
Simon Goodwin is a lucky man.
The Melbourne coach has returned to work with the AFL’s best list at his disposal, according to Champion Data.
The Demons boast the league’s second-best backline, fifth-best forward line and No.1 midfield.
The AFL’s official number cruncher rated Jake Lever the No.5 key defender in the game as he recovers from a knee reconstruction and the Demons have also added Steven May, who slots in at No.11.
It shapes as a great combination.
Former coach Paul Roos told the Herald Sun this year the Demons had the league’s most talented list and now he has been supported by Champion Data.
It is the onball rankings which make for particularly pleasant reading for long-suffering Demons fans.
At 21, Clayton Oliver is already the No.3 midfielder in the league — behind Brownlow winners Dustin Martin and Nat Fyfe — and Angus Brayshaw, Christian Petracca, Jack Viney and James Harmes all have room for improvement.
Champion Data rates James Harmes as below average … but if the shutdown star continues his late-season form, as he beat Tom Mitchell and Joel Selwood in September to place third in the best-and-fairest, that is surely about to change.
It means Melbourne could, and should, widen its already-healthy gap on the rest of the AFL’s midfield brigades.
Goodwin knows the engine room is his key to premiership glory.
“Contested ball is a big part of the game and it’s a big part of the way we’ve built our club,” Goodwin said after this year’s preliminary final loss.
“We had 34 tackles and lost contested ball. You want to bring your strength (to a final).”
West Coast’s midfield massacre of Melbourne that day was a surprise, and helps explain the Eagles’ lowly list ranking of 11th.
The Eagles ranked last for groundballs during the home-and-away season but they pulled it together in September, winning the count in every final.
They still don’t have an elite midfielder (top 10 per cent of the AFL), with Luke Shuey, Andrew Gaff and Elliot Yeo all rated above average (11-35 per cent).
But if West Coast’s exceptional midfield form from September rolls on then the club’s overall list ranking will quickly skyrocket.
Essendon boasts the fifth-oldest team but the second-least experienced.
2019 LIST RANKING
1. Melbourne
2. Adelaide
3. Richmond
4. Essendon
5. Collingwood
6. Geelong
7. GWS
8. North Melbourne
9. Hawthorn
10. Brisbane
11. West Coast
12. Port Adelaide
13. Sydney
14. St Kilda
15. Western Bulldogs
16. Carlton
17. Fremantle
18. Gold Coast
And overall, the Bombers possess the AFL’s fourth-best list and that is because they have assembled the best group of under 25-year-olds in the land.
Look at the age of the ‘S quartet’ of recruits — Jake Stringer, 24, Devon Smith, 25, Adam Saad, 24 and Dylan Shiel, 25.
They have brought together a group for sustained success, albeit one which still needs some midfield sparkle.
Darcy Parish, Kyle Langford, Andy McGrath, Dyson Heppell and Shiel are all rated average (35-65 per cent).
At the other end of the list ladder, a chasm sits between Western Bulldogs (15th) and Carlton (16th) with the Blues, Fremantle (17th) and Gold Coast (18th) a clear bottom three.
Clayton Oliver is ranked the third best midfielder in the competition. Picture: AAP
Dylan Shiel is among a bevy of top Bombers recruits aged 25 and under. Picture: Michael Klein
The gap between the Dogs and Blues is about four times the size of the second-biggest gap between any other neighbours on the list ladder, while the 2019 Dockers will be the youngest list Ross Lyon has ever coached.
And then there is Adelaide, which — after one bad year plagued by off-field issues — still has some serious weaponry plus a favourable fixture in 2019.
The Crows have six elite players in Rory Sloane, Rory Laird, Eddie Betts, Tom Lynch, Paul Seedsman and Brodie Smith and are the only club to be rated in the top three in every part of the ground.
You wonder if that might make Carlton list boss Stephen Silvagni a little sweaty after he swapped future first-round picks with the Crows last week.
November 28, 2018 7:30pm
Subscriber only
Simon Goodwin is a lucky man.
The Melbourne coach has returned to work with the AFL’s best list at his disposal, according to Champion Data.
The Demons boast the league’s second-best backline, fifth-best forward line and No.1 midfield.
The AFL’s official number cruncher rated Jake Lever the No.5 key defender in the game as he recovers from a knee reconstruction and the Demons have also added Steven May, who slots in at No.11.
It shapes as a great combination.
Former coach Paul Roos told the Herald Sun this year the Demons had the league’s most talented list and now he has been supported by Champion Data.
It is the onball rankings which make for particularly pleasant reading for long-suffering Demons fans.
At 21, Clayton Oliver is already the No.3 midfielder in the league — behind Brownlow winners Dustin Martin and Nat Fyfe — and Angus Brayshaw, Christian Petracca, Jack Viney and James Harmes all have room for improvement.
Champion Data rates James Harmes as below average … but if the shutdown star continues his late-season form, as he beat Tom Mitchell and Joel Selwood in September to place third in the best-and-fairest, that is surely about to change.
It means Melbourne could, and should, widen its already-healthy gap on the rest of the AFL’s midfield brigades.
Goodwin knows the engine room is his key to premiership glory.
“Contested ball is a big part of the game and it’s a big part of the way we’ve built our club,” Goodwin said after this year’s preliminary final loss.
“We had 34 tackles and lost contested ball. You want to bring your strength (to a final).”
West Coast’s midfield massacre of Melbourne that day was a surprise, and helps explain the Eagles’ lowly list ranking of 11th.
The Eagles ranked last for groundballs during the home-and-away season but they pulled it together in September, winning the count in every final.
They still don’t have an elite midfielder (top 10 per cent of the AFL), with Luke Shuey, Andrew Gaff and Elliot Yeo all rated above average (11-35 per cent).
But if West Coast’s exceptional midfield form from September rolls on then the club’s overall list ranking will quickly skyrocket.
Essendon boasts the fifth-oldest team but the second-least experienced.
2019 LIST RANKING
1. Melbourne
2. Adelaide
3. Richmond
4. Essendon
5. Collingwood
6. Geelong
7. GWS
8. North Melbourne
9. Hawthorn
10. Brisbane
11. West Coast
12. Port Adelaide
13. Sydney
14. St Kilda
15. Western Bulldogs
16. Carlton
17. Fremantle
18. Gold Coast
And overall, the Bombers possess the AFL’s fourth-best list and that is because they have assembled the best group of under 25-year-olds in the land.
Look at the age of the ‘S quartet’ of recruits — Jake Stringer, 24, Devon Smith, 25, Adam Saad, 24 and Dylan Shiel, 25.
They have brought together a group for sustained success, albeit one which still needs some midfield sparkle.
Darcy Parish, Kyle Langford, Andy McGrath, Dyson Heppell and Shiel are all rated average (35-65 per cent).
At the other end of the list ladder, a chasm sits between Western Bulldogs (15th) and Carlton (16th) with the Blues, Fremantle (17th) and Gold Coast (18th) a clear bottom three.
Clayton Oliver is ranked the third best midfielder in the competition. Picture: AAP
Dylan Shiel is among a bevy of top Bombers recruits aged 25 and under. Picture: Michael Klein
The gap between the Dogs and Blues is about four times the size of the second-biggest gap between any other neighbours on the list ladder, while the 2019 Dockers will be the youngest list Ross Lyon has ever coached.
And then there is Adelaide, which — after one bad year plagued by off-field issues — still has some serious weaponry plus a favourable fixture in 2019.
The Crows have six elite players in Rory Sloane, Rory Laird, Eddie Betts, Tom Lynch, Paul Seedsman and Brodie Smith and are the only club to be rated in the top three in every part of the ground.
You wonder if that might make Carlton list boss Stephen Silvagni a little sweaty after he swapped future first-round picks with the Crows last week.
