The Roar
The Roar

AFL
Advertisement

Fremantle have AFL's best midfield

22nd April, 2015
Advertisement
Expert
22nd April, 2015
91
1855 Reads

The blossoming of Lachie Neale into an A-grade player has lifted Fremantle’s midfield unit to the best in the AFL.

Sydney and Hawthorn have battled for this title for the last couple of seasons.

The Swans have five elite midfielders – Luke Parker, Josh Kennedy, Jarrad McVeigh, Dan Hannebery and Kieran Jack.

Hawthorn’s top end is made up by Luke Hodge, Jordan Lewis and Sam Mitchell, three of the hardest, most courageous and skilful footballers I’ve seen.

The Dockers, meanwhile, now have five top-tier midfielders – Nat Fyfe, David Mundy, Michael Barlow, Stephen Hill and Neale.

Fyfe is the best player in the land at present. Mundy and Barlow are two of the most underrated guys in the AFL. Hill has finally capitalised on his ability to become one of the game’s most damaging outside mids. And 21-year-old Neale is among the top five footballers his age in the competition.

The player who tips the balance in favour of Fremantle’s midfield is the same man who can tip the balance of a car, a boat, or even a truck – the goliath Aaron Sandilands.

Sydney and Hawthorn fans often point to the fact that their midfields are commanding even without having a dominant ruckman. But how much more effective would they be at the feet of arguably the best big man in the competition?

Advertisement

Tell me that Kennedy, Parker and co. wouldn’t have loved to have had Sandilands in a red and white jumper when he was monstering them last season. Across the two matches between the sides, Sandilands went head-to-head with Mike Pyke and utterly destroyed the Canadian, winning the hit out count 90-34.

Sandilands’ opponents certainly rate the work that he does. In this year’s top 50 AFL footballers, as voted by the players, he was not just the only ruckman to feature in the list, but was ranked at the lofty position of 20, ahead of the likes of Jordan Lewis, Dane Swan, Shaun Burgoyne, Luke Parker and Brent Harvey.

Young Neale is certain to join this top 50 list in the near future, perhaps even by season’s end. His display in Sunday’s Western Derby was remarkable. Neale’s 42 touches, 10 marks, seven clearances and three goals earned him the Ross Glendinning medal as best afield.

The dynamo appears to have hoisted his game to another level after a prolific 2014 campaign in which he had the Dockers’ second most disposals. Still little known outside of WA, his supreme display against the Eagles will have lifted his profile across the nation.

According to Hawthorn legend Dermott Brereton, Neale is the most underrated player in the competition.

West Coast can only dream of having a young on-baller with as much poise and tenacity as Neale. Time and again he cut a path through the centre square, leaving the Eagles’ plodding midfielder grasping at air. In between he could be found at the bottom of packs, scrapping for the ball with complete commitment.

Crucially for Fremantle, their midfield unit has plenty of youth. Sandilands admittedly doesn’t have long left in the game, but Neale, Fyfe (23 years old) and Hill (24) can form the nucleus of their on-ball division for close to a decade, while Barlow (27) and Mundy (29) could be around for several more seasons.

Advertisement

Last year I was one of many who questioned whether Fremantle’s premiership window was at risk of closing after their early finals exit.

The importance of veteran big men Sandilands, Matthew Pavlich and Luke McPharlin is without question. But the quality of their midfield alone will ensure that even when those lynchpins are gone, Fremantle should remain a force.

close