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Impact on the new club:
Last season was a disaster for the Melbourne Football Club. However, thanks to a successful trade period and two top 10 draft selections, fans should now be very excited for the future. In 2019 the team lacked in outside speed in the midfield the clubs list lacked.
With the inclusion of Ed Langdon, this shortcoming is immediately addressed, given his skill set. He ranks ‘elite’ in the league for intercept possessions, rebound 50’s and marks while is considered above average in meters gained and effective disposals among plenty others.
Last year the player most impacted by the lack of outside midfielders was Angus Brayshaw. The coaches moved him outside of the contest from the inside role he thrived in previously. The addition of both Langdon and Tomlinson should eradicate the need for ‘Gus’ to play as an outside midfielder. Hopefully, this frees him up and allows him back inside the guts and looms as a value premium selection in all forms of the game if this happens.
Impact on the old club:
The trade of Langdon to Melbourne opens up one of the wings for the Dockers, and with the departure, also of Brad Hill Fremantle are crying out for some outside speed, polish and poise.
Former magpie James Aish could be given a role further up the ground after being drafted as an outside midfielder, given that he’ll have defensive eligibility he could be a great pick up especially in drafts.
Adam Cerra looks primed for a fantasy breakout if he’s allowed this role. ‘Chez’ is a silky user of the ball with hand a foot and rarely makes a wrong decision with it. When given a chance this year to play through the midfield late in the year he displayed his potential with some promising scores.
Other potential wingman candidates include Stephen Hill, Jason Carter, Darcy Tucker and if the club chooses to draft Dylan Stephens who possesses plenty of similarities to Andrew Gaff.
Fantasy Summary:
A SuperCoach average of 85 and 92 in AFLFantasy this year was a personal best for Ed Langdon. These are improvements on his output from previous seasons but still doesn’t place him anywhere near a premium midfielder in any format.
As an outside midfielder, the consistency and ceiling of his scoring are directly linked to how well his teammates can extract the ball from stoppages. Even with a move to the Demons, I struggle to foresee enough scoring improvement were he averages 100 next season.
He does hold relevance as a draft candidate and is certainly someone that’d be a handy contributor on your list depending on the depth of squads.
