bullus_hit said:
The exception is with the elite kicks like Jordan Clark, think every team needs one quarterback. That will be our challenge next year, basically need to find a Houli replacement.
Bowden and Deledio were favourite players of mine while in the quarterback role, but I’m pessimistic about the quarterback role going forward. A little off-topic, but here’s one perspective on flanker roles:
Successful modern flankers/non-midfielders are generally making it as intercept markers/contest halvers and by being highly competitive 1v1 - forward or back, from Vlastuin to George. As a result of modern AFL midfielders becoming increasingly elite runners, flankers have incredible midfield groups to run it out of the backline for them or push forward with them - and midfielders do anything football-related better than anyone else. This reduces the level of need for skilful, attacking flankers who are flawed defensively.
Chaos ball strategies (in response to rising defensive professionalism) have also reduced the value of the pinpoint kicking that quarterbacks (and other flankers) traditionally depended on for a living. Flanker kicking strengths don’t matter as much in this highly defensive environment.
The 6-6-6 rule too should mean less tolerance for any less-than-competitive defender in 2019+. Clubs can’t protect highly outside flankers with flooding anymore, as the 7th defender will be forced into the forward line. Which defensive role do clubs sacrifice at centre bounces? It won’t be a medium-sized intercept marker. The outside running defender is the most expendable when you’ve got a fit midfield and a defensively competitive back 6. Just win contests/intercept it and push it forward to your running midfielders. I see this as more of a general trend towards a game where everybody needs to be able to compete, defend, and win contests - a result of defensive professionalism successfully blunting teams that rely on kicking accuracy. The 44 players cover more ground over 120 minutes than ever before, and they’ll cover even more ground in 4-5 years. This means less space, more pressure, less clean passes, more contests. Players will never get less fit, so this trend is a one-way direction.
Forcing clubs to play 6 forwards also increases the incentive of more clubs to play a negating player like Towner. If this happens, we’ll eventually see more quarterback types being clamped down on, with less flooding support - meaning quarterbacks become the target of more forward half turnovers. Defensive values are increasing, so this applies generally to all players, but flankers usually tend to be the most affected by defensive attention because if they’re good attackers, but can’t play midfield, then their weakness probably lies in their contested ability somewhere. Every one of our 6 defenders must be able to defend a wider radius on his patch of turf than ever before, but they’re less required than ever to run with the ball and be chiefly responsible for setting up play. Midfielders are better at that and fit enough to do it.
So it is the rising professionalism of midfielders (from an ever-younger age) that is the cause of all these changes, meaning flanker roles are adapting in response to whatever the midfielders can or can’t do. Midfielders do more with the ball, flankers do less - freeing them up to do more defensively, just as the coaches want. So keep recruiting fit, professional midfielders and turn the failed ones into whatever flanker roles are required at the time.
