Which AFL team has the best midfield quartet in the league right now?
Last week, Tim Watson posed the question suggesting the West Coast grouping of Nic Naitanui, Tim Kelly, Luke Shuey and Elliot Yeo would be number one.
We haven’t seen that quartet this year, with all three star midfielders spending chunks of time on the sidelines with various injuries.
Garry Lyon meanwhile is backing the Richmond group of Toby Nankervis, Trent Cotchin, Dion Prestia and Dustin Martin.
Jordan Lewis on Thursday morning gave his thoughts, backing the ladder-leading Demons.
“I think the contenders are Brisbane, the Western Bulldogs, Geelong, Port Adelaide and Melbourne,” Lewis told SEN Breakfast.
“The more I look at it, and I tend not to look at numbers, I think sometimes they can be a little bit skewed.
“I know I’ll get ribbed for this, I’ve gone with the Melbourne quartet in Max Gawn, Clayton Oliver, Christian Petracca and James Harmes, with Angus Brayshaw on the wing.
“Add a little injection of Kysaiah Pickett every now and then add Jack Viney.
“I think it provides good balance in terms of speed, explosiveness, adding in Viney is the in-and-under type.
“For me, if you look at the Western Bulldogs, they’re a little bit same-same.
“The only real time the Demons have been wiped off the park is the Sydney game where they got smashed out of the middle.
“The reason I like Melbourne as well is if they get beaten in the centre bounce, you’re very rarely coming out the front of a stoppage.
“They defend really well, whereas Melbourne (when they win it) work out a way to get into that launchpad to kick it deep inside their forward 50.”
Despite their injuries, the Eagles still rank as the number one centre clearance team in the competition, averaging 11.3 per game.
Geelong, Port Adelaide, St Kilda, Essendon and Carlton are all also in double digits.
Interestingly, Melbourne ranks 13th for centre clearances per game, while the Western Bulldogs and Richmond also sit outside the top eight.
The Demons rank in the bottom four for total clearances, alongside Hawthorn, Adelaide and the Tigers.
The Power are the number one overall clearance team statistically.