Three-club midfielder Anthony Miles moved last preseason seeking greater AFL opportunities and was rewarded. The former Giant and Tiger enjoyed a productive season, highlighted by a 27-touch, six mark and major performance against the Saints in round 13. An ankle injury suffered in the round 21 Q Clash put early end to his season and limited him to running drills prior to the new year. History suggests last season's statistical output was around peak performance for Miles, and he has shown at his time at Richmond that he doesn't have a wide range of shots in his bag. At a club which needs to blood a new generation of inside midfielders in the guts, his worth to the team is mostly as a blocker to free up space for kids with more talent. This makes him hard to pick in fantasy drafts.
Too many Miles in his legs
Three-club midfielder Anthony Miles moved last preseason seeking greater AFL opportunities and was rewarded. The former Giant and Tiger enjoyed a productive season, highlighted by a 27-touch, six mark and major performance against the Saints in round 13. An ankle injury suffered in the round 21 Q Clash put early end to his season and limited him to running drills prior to the new year. History suggests last season's statistical output was around peak performance for Miles, and he has shown at his time at Richmond that he doesn't have a wide range of shots in his bag. At a club which needs to blood a new generation of inside midfielders in the guts, his worth to the team is mostly as a blocker to free up space for kids with more talent. This makes him hard to pick in fantasy drafts.
Anthony Miles is the sort of roleplayer who might have been given time and space to develop into whatever was the best fit for his talents at a more successful club. At the Suns, he was used at times last year as a key forward instead of his usual midfield game, and in his two senior appearances this year he has been given stopping jobs on Jake Lloyd and Dustin Martin, to some effect. He is by no means a feared tagger on that small sample size, but it will be interesting to see who he goes to in the Crows team as whoever it is will have some one-day downside. Rory Laird, perhaps?
Miles on northern trek
We have seen Anthony Miles's ceiling, and Richmond deemed it insufficient to be in their best 22. He moves to Gold Coast where standards are lower, and disposal counts in the low 20s don't look out of place. At his best, he can just beat the midfielder baseline. Don't expect a lot out of Miles if you use a late pick on him. Maybe he can earn a five-point jump as did Jarryd Lyons in his first year at Carrara, but even then he's a low-end starter. A hot JLT might change that to cause someone to reach for him in middle rounds.
Miles must walk 500 more
Demotion to play the last two games of 2016 in the magoos was portentous for Anthony Miles, as he spent the vast majority of last season there too and saw his senior place in inside midfield taken by Kane Lambert. Barring injury, it seems Miles will have to wait to re-enter a midfield now decorated with medallions from wing to shining wing. He should be in his prime now and be as hungry as Lin Jong was last season, so a speculator is on the cards, especially if he goes well in the JLT.
