SYDNEY has the AFL's most lethal array of dual threats.
As the Swans have revitalised their once-fading finals hopes with a thrilling five-match winning streak, the midfielders at the heart of that run have continued to show their wares in multiple positions.
It can make game-planning for a John Longmire side incredibly difficult for rival teams. It can also make forecasting for Sydney's trade and free agency plans later this year even more intriguing.
Over the course of the season, the same six Swans players have been central to the club's midfield strategy. But determining whether they should actually be viewed as pure midfielders, or assessed differently, is a cloudy subject.
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In terms of centre bounce involvements, Sydney has a clear 'big six'. Luke Parker (447 involvements), James Rowbottom (348), Chad Warner (292), Errol Gulden (214), Tom Papley (197) and Callum Mills (154) are those players.
No other Swans midfielder has registered triple-figures for centre bounce attendances this season, while Isaac Heeney (68) and Angus Sheldrick (60) are the only others to have at least gone into double-figures.
But, while the midfielders are functioning individually and the results lately have been flowing, Sydney still ranks second-last this season for clearance differential – only West Coast is worse – and is No.13 for scores from stoppage differential.
The reason why it hasn't necessarily been detrimental to Sydney's now rapidly improving finals chances is the fact the club's midfielders are so adept at switching out of their primary onball roles and into secondary positions.
Across the last three seasons, Champion Data has noticed a trend among the Swans' chief midfield ball-winners. Even though they spend less time in other positions, they often perform better in those roles.
Take, for example, Mills. Between seasons 2021-23, the Sydney co-captain has been logged by Champion Data as spending 72 per cent of games in the midfield compared to 18.5 per cent on the wing and 9.4 per cent in the backline.
But, when you assess his AFL Player Ratings Points – Champion Data's most definitive metric to analyse influence – and smooth out his numbers per 100 minutes, he averages 12.25 points as a defender compared to 11.92 as a midfielder and 11.07 as a wing.
Furthermore, when you compare those numbers to the AFL average, Mills is performing +4.01 points above expected as a defender compared to +2.84 as a wingman and -0.93 as a midfielder. That trend continues across the board.
Parker performs +3.05 above average as a forward compared to +0.59 as a midfielder, Rowbottom goes at +2.91 as a forward compared to +0.39 as a midfielder, while Warner runs at +3.36 as a forward compared to +3.28 as a wing and +1.64 as a midfielder.
Gulden is arguably the most versatile within Sydney's midfield and certainly has the most even split in terms of time in position, spending 44.2 per cent of games forward compared to 35 per cent on the wing and 20.7 per cent in the midfield.
But even Gulden's numbers follow the aforementioned pattern. The young Swan, who is emerging as one of the AFL's most talented players, performs at +3.75 above League average as a wing compared to +1.90 through the midfield and +1.59 as a forward.
Bizarrely, it's Papley – undoubtedly the midfielder who spends the most time forward from within Sydney's 'big six' of centre bounce players – who actually performs relatively similar in both roles.
Champion Data notes that Papley performs +1.50 AFL Player Ratings Points above the average per 100 minutes as a forward, while going at +1.41 AFL Player Ratings Points above the League average as a midfielder.
The stats by no means denigrate Sydney's midfielders as midfielders. If anything, they prove their individual success in onball roles. For example, Warner, Gulden, Parker, Papley and Rowbottom are still performing above the AFL average per 100 minutes.
But they also highlight the midfield group's remarkable versatility which, in turn, does beg the question: If the Swans are to target onball depth at season's end, what type of midfielder do they want?
A traditional midfield workhorse, the type that will help solve the aforementioned clearance and stoppage issues that have plagued the club this season? Or another dual threat, in keeping with the classic Sydney prototype?
