AFL news: Statistics reveal the league’s real midfield kings

Greater Western Sydney has paid top dollar to keep its midfield stars at the club. But now there is no money left. This is how it reached this point.

Tanner Bruhn is linked with a return to Victoria.

They are the superstar midfielders on the massive wages.

When it comes to the annual trade race, the fight to bring home some of Greater Western Sydney’s jet playmakers back to Melbourne has driven up their price tags to gangbuster levels.

Whether it is Josh Kelly, Lachie Whitfield, Stephen Coniglio or any other of their midfield mates, the Giants have been handsomely rewarded at payday.

But over the past two months of the season, an uncomfortable question has emerged.

Has the GWS Giants’ star-studded midfield brigade lived up to anywhere near its end of the bargain in 2022?

A lot was effectively lumped on coach Leon Cameron when he and the club decided to part ways in classy fashion after two wins from the first nine games.

But since Round 12 the GWS midfield brigade has been the worst in the competition in some eye-popping aspects.

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Josh Kelly and the GWS midfield need to lift.

It is true the Giants’ finals hopes are dashed, and motivation wanes when September dreams fade out of view.

But Essendon aren’t going to finish in the eight either, yet they have somehow found top gear.

So for all the talent and hype about the GWS engine room, it seems remarkable that the Giants are ranked 18th in the league for points from stoppages over the last eight games.

Only two years ago when the Giants made the finals in 2021 the club was ranked top-four in the same stat. They scored at ease out of the middle. The orange tsunami was a powerhouse.

Similarly, in 2021 the Giants were fifth in clearance differential.

If the Giants have had a one-wood, their stoppage power was it. Their greatest strength.

But where has that big, big sound gone now?

Stephen Coniglio comes under pressure against Brisbane.

Either we underestimated the influence veteran Shane Mumford had in the ruck or the Giants’ on-ballers have vastly underperformed, ranking 18th for clearance differential over the past two months.

They are not just getting beaten there, the Giants are being pulverised in the clinches.

Last weekend against Brisbane, it was a walk in the park as Brisbane destroyed GWS in clearances 24-49. Port Adelaide punished them 37-26. Against Collingwood it was the Magpies’ way 37-28.

Since Round 12, it has been the same story in contested possession differential (16th) and ground ball differential (16th), according to Champion Data.

Where is the hunt? The desire? The brilliance?

For all the talk about their stunning midfield talent, the Giants have become minnows in the middle.

Tim Taranto is likely to move on from the Giants at season’s end.

On Sunday, Mark McVeigh’s men will take on Carlton which will deploy one of the best engine rooms in the game (ranked fifth for clearance differential) at Marvel Stadium.

And in the backrooms, the annual race for the latest in-demand Giants’ star ball winners has begun to heat up as Tim Taranto, Jacob Hopper, Tanner Bruhn and Bobby Hill weigh up their futures.

Between Richmond, Collingwood and Geelong, the demand for their signatures has ensured the contract prices (especially Taranto and Hopper) are headed north in the same vein as their midfield mates.

But due to the geographical nature and the abolishment of COLA (Cost Of Living Allowance), GWS has always had to pay a premium to keep their stars from returning home interstate.

Jacob Hopper has been linked with Collingwood and Richmond.

Their long-term contracts have been slayed publicly at times but rival clubs have, in a sense, had the Giants over a barrel in negotiating terms when the Kangaroos, for example, offer blockbuster money to try and lure a marquee star home.

But the Giants simply can’t afford to pay a 20 per cent retention tax on every gun midfielder from interstate to come through the club.

It is why the Giants face yet another salary cap squeeze with rival clubs believing the Giants are needing to shed up to $1 million in salaries this year.

Perhaps that’s understandable when they’re winning finals, but when the team is bottom-four, and the midfield has failed to fire, there’s a big, big problem.

Originally published as AFL news: Statistics reveal the league’s real midfield kings