The midfield is arguably the most important positional group in footy, as they're tasked with being present at most contests and all stoppages while serving as the link between their defence and offence.
Without a strong ensemble of onballers, teams are destined to fall apart as middling play in this area results in catastrophic consequences to the outcome of a contest on a given day.
Not all midfields are alike, as some prioritise a physical ball-winning style, while others emphasise a run-and-gun outside game, while there are sides that prefer a healthy balance of the two.
Each club has its own formula for constructing the ideal midfield but every side's engine room can perform at the highest level.
With this in mind, let's have a look at the league's best midfield groups heading into 2022, starting from 18-13.
4. (15) North Melbourne
North Melbourne's engine room has a very young core with a lot of potential to develop under the guidance of senior coach David Noble.
The acquisition of Hugh Greenwood from Gold Coast will definitely bolster North's tackling stocks (17th in 2021) as this man is an opponent-wrapping machine. He will combine well with veteran inside-mid Ben Cunnington and hard-nut Jy Simpkin as these Roos can play bully in the centre, with Luke Davies-Uniacke and Tarryn Thomas to give their highly-touted teens time to grow into the AFL.
Midfielder
Disposals
Tackles
Clearances
Despite the Kangaroos' upside, they do have an array of concerns that will stunt their development if not immediately addressed, these being that they're ranked 18th in contested possessions, 17th in inside 50's and 16th in total clearances.
This implies is that the Kangaroos' young onballers get bullied around the contests and lack the physical capabilities to effectively execute second efforts to win the ball back in these instances, something that will no doubt improve with a full season of their aforementioned inside players.
Furthermore, North struggles to execute forward entries while under pressure and often fails to generate effective offence if they can't win the ball immediately from stoppages, especially in the centre.
With another year of games and their recent addition of Jason Horne-Francis, the Roos are constructing a balanced side made up of ball-winners and silky users that look likely to ascend up these ranks with more development.
