Pendles and Steele are past thier prime.

[Dave The Man]

I am not saying they will Retire but I am saying we can no longer Rely on them as there not Consistently Good like they use to be.

They still have Moments of Brilliance but they can go missing at Times.

Like tonight Steele had little Impact and Pendles had a Few Flashes.

We have to find some new Dominant Mids to be our Best Mid.

De Goey has that Potential but Struggling to think who else can get to that Level?

Then Pendles and Steele can have Cameos with those new Top Mids

[Mr Miyagi]

It comes down to what the opposition can get away with too. Numerous times I saw Pendles and Sidey being dragged to the ground/held back illegally so they couldn't contest the ball, but it was done in a way that made it look accidental (tangling legs together etc). One instant I clearly remember was Pendles trying to get up and run on, but the Giants tag had his legs entwined around his, and he was literally reaching down trying to move his legs away. With Wills getting blocked and held from getting the ball to our outside mids, it made them look average. Adams had a down day too. Compare to Dustin Martin, who just has the ability to break those holds and blocks time and time again. Wills and Adams were well held, which took Sidey and Pendles out of their natural game and forced to play a game that doesn't suit them. The Giants were better, but they had a bit of umpiring on their side with what they got away with -- we need to find that mongrel in our mids.

[mgh3536]

Steele goes forward
Pendles goes back (see Luke hodge)

Adams, wills, Treloar, beams, Crisp, Maynard, et al through middle

[stui magpie]

Sidey and Pendles are clearly our 2 best mids. GWS tagged them, significantly reducing their output, and our other mids didn't stand up.

We lost the midfield battle right there

[Mr Miyagi]

Did Crisp play in the midfield yesterday? I can't recall him doing so. Big mistake if we didn't swing him there.

[What'sinaname]

Our window is closing. We've had two years to snag a flag with these players, but we've failed to do so.

So time for a mini rebuild.

[Mr Miyagi]

[Jpies]

I think Pendles and Steele both have good footy to come. Steele had a poor year, but Pendles was deservedly AA. I'm optimistic that Steele will bounce back. Yesterday was a poor day for both, but that happens.

What happens after next season (or the one after) is a genuine question. We have some good mids who will still be in their prime (Adams, Treloar), but no one the quality of Steele/Pendles. De Goey is a different type of player. The depth of talent will also come into question.

Frankly, I think we have a lot riding on Sier's development. I also think Maynard needs to move into the centre. And I'm optimistic that Brown will keep improving - he could become a very good mid.

[Mr Miyagi]

We'll never see a draft again like the ones we got Sidey and Pendles.

By the way, i disagree with the thread title. They're in their prime. What they need is support in the midfield. Treloar, Wills and Adams lowered their colours yesterday, which allowed the heavy tags on Sidey and Pendles to restrict their influence.

[RudeBoy]

We desperately need De Goey to step up and become our bull midfielder and occasional forward, like Dangerfield.

[Dark Beanie]

Or Sier to pull his finger out and step into that role.

Unfortunately footy is not a priority for him (hence the Phil Inn episode), so I am not sure if the Pies will persist with him.

[Mr Miyagi]

I just keep thinking of where we'd be with Kale Kirby today if he could have played on.

[K]

[Bucks2014]

Sorry Dave, disagree up with Eurekas 50 threads of every day.

Sidey only 28, we had very few good players yesterday other than our backs, mids towelled up. Sorry Grundy was great.

Pendles made all Australian this year so debunks your theory he's past it. Clear that De boer is a very good tagger or that he's very good at getting away with scragging. Can't remember who tagged Sidey, but does seem to struggle with it.

These two players are very important, if they both play well we normally win. Hence the reason GWS tagged them. Captain is 31 and GWS still think he's the best player, so that's good enough for me.

As a few have said Sier needs to work out if footy is for him or not. Have a look at his finals series last year in particular semi and prelim he was awesome, winning clearances and hitting targets by hand especially. Wills could only dream of having his ability, if he did wow what a player he would be.

Still hurts, especially as we nearly stole it. But you can't blame these two guns.

[K]