COACH Neil Craig says the club is on the right track with its midfield brigade, but he is adamant it must top up its depth in the upcoming recruiting and drafting period.
Speaking at AAMI Park on Friday, Craig spoke about the development of its key midfielders and how they had become important parts of the team.
“We’ve got Nathan Jones, who has had an exceptional year. He’s a fantastic player, Nathan. I’ve got huge respect for him. His game last week, I think, took him to another level, after a really bad facial injury. His capacity to come back and continue to perform at a high level, I think, elevates him again,” he said.
“You’ve got Colin Sylvia, who is not too dissimilar to the way Nathan plays. He’s played really consistent footy and we would hope Colin will stay at the footy club, because he’s in a period now where he’s playing his best footy. He’s at an age, experience and knowhow, where he’ll play his best footy.
“Then you’ve got a Matty Jones, who has been going through there. He’s a run and carry type player and I really like the way he plays.
“Jack Viney is going to develop into an all-round midfielder and Jim Toumpas will be a very good player, so I don’t get caught up too much in this inside and outside midfielder.”
Craig almost dismissed the notion of outside and inside midfielders, suggesting that players needed to play both roles.
“If you want to play in the midfield, you play both roles, because there’s so many opportunities that bob up in both areas. We certainly need additional, quality numbers in the midfield to give us some depth,” he said.
“Whether that comes from the draft, where you would suspect from where we’ll finish on the table, it would. My information that I’ve got, there are some midfielders that would fit that criteria.
“In terms of trading and free agency, I know the club’s on the look out there, but in general, the midfield is an area we need to try and supplement, because that’s an area where we’ve got less depth.”
Craig said first year Demon Jimmy Toumpas, who has played 12 AFL matches, was going to be a crucial long term player, even though it had been a tough season for him to acclimatise at the club.
“He didn’t play a lot of footy last year, because of some injury. He missed the second half of the season and had an interrupted pre-season, which was never good for anyone, let alone a first year player coming into the system,” he said.
“So when I consider that and I know what his mentality is like, I know how much he wants to be a fine player in the AFL, so he’s got a great competitive mentality.
“The things I’ve seen him do, that gives me great confidence that Jimmy Toumpas will be a very fine player, not only for this club, but in the AFL. Sometimes his greatest strength can be his weakness – he wants to be the champ yesterday and that rarely happens, if ever, but I’d sooner be dealing with that attitude than the opposite end of the continuum, so he’ll be OK.”
But Craig was stronger on Melbourne’s attack and backline, saying that those areas were well stocked.
“The forward line, on what we’ve got on paper at the club, is well serviced and the way that the defenders are jelled together and the depth we’ve got there is very good. Our midfield is the area we need to look at,” he said.
