Port Adelaide great Kane Cornes believes small midfielders have seen their value at the trade table plummet in recent years.
While the likes of Tom Mitchell and Matt Crouch have considerable accolades to their names, Cornes feels a lack of interest in the duo proves that clubs aren’t interested in acquiring small on-ballers whose best skill is accumulating the footy.
Referencing Lachie Neale, Cornes feels midfielders without big frames must have “serious weapons” for clubs to value them from a list management perspective.
“I just wonder which type of player’s value has dropped the most in AFL football over the last two to three years,” Cornes said on AFL Trade Radio.
“It’s probably the smaller, plodding midfielder, I look at the James Worpel, Tom Mitchell, Matt Crouch type.
“If you are going to be that smaller midfielder, you’re going to have to have serious weapons like Lachie Neale.
“What Lachie Neale has done is not only he’s the cleanest player in the competition, but he’s added that distance and penetration with his kick and he’s been able to go forward and kick goals.
“But players like Matt Crouch and Tom Mitchell who are big accumulators but don’t have high metres gained, certainly don’t have massive scoreboard impact and aren’t goal scorers, that’s the type of player whose value has dropped most over the last two to three years.”
While Crouch and Mitchell are both considered gettable this trade period, Cornes pondered whether they’ll have any genuine suitors despite their glittering resumés.
“So, I’m just speculating here about Matt Crouch and Tom Mitchell and where they fit in the landscape,” Cornes said.
“Will there be homes for those two players? Considering they’re both All-Australians and one is a Brownlow Medallist.
“They don’t seem to have clubs beating down the door to get them.”
This year’s AFL trade period begins on Monday, October 3 and finishes on Wednesday, October 12.