2008 Player Review - #2 Nathan Jones

[Demonland 73,140]

2. Nathan Jones [180cm 81kg 20.01.88 - 50 games (21 in 2008), 21 goals (9 in 2008)] - had a stellar 2007 season when he finished second in Melbourne's best and fairest and third in the NAB AFL Rising Star award but he couldn't match that this year.

Jones was as always hard and tough at the clearances but unfortunately he was thrust completely onto centre stage as injuries to others in the midfield made him the main target of opposition taggers. As a result, his ball winning capacity and the efficiency of his disposal suffered.

[Guest Chopper]

Jones had a poor year but I like the way he goes about his business.

He isnt one to give up, always battles til the final siren & plays with self pride.

He just needs to add a few strings to his bow.

[beelzebub 23,383]

I realise I am tempting derision..but as good as Jones is..in effort and heart.. Im not now convinced he's 100% there..or wll be.. A good servicable player without that extra..whatever !! A good second up midfielder..but not top shelf.

We need to be realistic..

[Guest Chopper]

I realise I am tempting derision..but as good as Jones is..in effort and heart.. Im not now convinced he's 100% there..or wll be.. A good servicable player without that extra..whatever !! A good second up midfielder..but not top shelf.

We need to be realistic..

Do you think DB could develop NJ into a Half Back Flanker?

[beelzebub 23,383]

Do you think DB could develop NJ into a Half Back Flanker?

That might be a reasaonable direction to put him. He does ok to initiate the rebounds..just comes undone in the linking. many will suggest thats the result of the extra attention...but if that IS the result of the extra attention it does us no good to have that as the effect.

he needs to refind ..."something"

[deanox 9,989]

no to NJ as a half back flanker. you guys deride bell enough for his disposal and his penchant for getting caught, NJ will ensure we have one of those on each side of the 50 arc!

jonesy had a dissapointing year in stats, and probably in effectiveness on the ground, however he probably learnt more abut afl than he had in the previous 2-3 years. he was asked to be the clubs number 1 midfielder for big chunks (no pun intended) of the year and i thought for a player who only played his 50th in the last round, did the job with his head held high every week. put mclean, moloney and davey back into that side and jones will look a lot better when not having to shoulder all the load himself.

[LeBron James 41]

He is a bloody fantastic player. His year was underrated, he averaged 70% disposal effeciency which isnt THAT bad. Pretty hard when your forced to be your teams number one midfeilder at 21 yo.

[beelzebub 23,383]

Obviously a lot is going to rest on how "others" pull up and go next next year. Seems he cant hold the #1 spot himself.

Dont throw stats up...they are worth exactly the pixels they take up..apparently anything that doesnt get you buried is claimed as "good" .

Again..hes a good 2nd hit up centre.. but we really need to take the team to another level. Does Nathan offer this potential?? Im not at all sure he does. Only too happy to be shown this is an eroneous perception. Only too happy.

Jones IS far more creative with tehe ball than Bell..if ws a choice..Id choose Jones to fill a posiiton ahead of Bell.

A little less atention on a flank..and more space might suit him ( NJ)

Going to be very interesting how they shape up in preseason. Casey here we come

[Mono 455]

I doubt the 180cm, 81kg bit. (He looks a lot heavier than that to me. Whelan is listed as 180cm, 84kg.)

First, let me say, I love the way he plays, courageous, hard at it, never stops trying etc. And this year, he became the number 1 mid-fielder after McLean's injury, so he copped the major attention/best opposition.

But, he has basically one speed, and poor acceleration and is (thus?) unable to break tackles. His possessions are only at stoppages; he rarely gets to other contests to crumb/gather as good mid-fielders should. And his disposal is not good. He just doesn't have an impact on the game.

2009 will be a very important year for him. He must find some real acceleration that allows him to break a tackle (lose weight?). And he must improve his kicking. These 2 a minimum. He was dropped towards the end of the season; on return to the team, I saw no improvement/change in his impact or form.

Years gone by, he would have made a great 'back pocket'; sadly those days are gone.

[deanox 9,989]

Again..hes a good 2nd hit up centre.. but we really need to take the team to another level. Does Nathan offer this potential?? Im not at all sure he does.

daniel kerr was one of the best number 3's ever, but cant cut it as number 1 this season...

imo it is almost impossible to have 3 number 1s in any team, they cost alot, and the chances of unearthing them all at once are very low. imo brisbane did it, and it got them 3 flags. if mclean steps into the role of number 1 mid and is successful, NJ could have a very solid long career...

[beelzebub 23,383]

daniel kerr was one of the best number 3's ever, but cant cut it as number 1 this season...

imo it is almost impossible to have 3 number 1s in any team, they cost alot, and the chances of unearthing them all at once are very low. imo brisbane did it, and it got them 3 flags. if mclean steps into the role of number 1 mid and is successful, NJ could have a very solid long career...

aye...there be the rub !!! Can even Macca do #1 justice..??

point taken.

Keep in mind the Melb that Jones is in is nothing like the Weagles that Kerr played in for years !!

We all need to remember..despite any excuses ( soe valid..) that in a 16 team comp...we came 16th !!!

judge much of what any in the team do...by that!!

[Tigers Dayz 2]

I doubt the 180cm, 81kg bit. (He looks a lot heavier than that to me. Whelan is listed as 180cm, 84kg.)

First, let me say, I love the way he plays, courageous, hard at it, never stops trying etc. And this year, he became the number 1 mid-fielder after McLean's injury, so he copped the major attention/best opposition.

But, he has basically one speed, and poor acceleration and is (thus?) unable to break tackles. His possessions are only at stoppages; he rarely gets to other contests to crumb/gather as very good mid-fielders should. And his disposal is not good. He just doesn't have an impact on the game.

2009 will be a very important year for him. He must find some real acceleration that allows him to break a tackle (lose weight?). And he must improve his kicking. These 2 a minimum. He was dropped towards the end of the season; on return to the team, I saw no improvement/change in his impact or form.

Years gone by, he would have made a great 'back pocket'; sadly those days are gone.

I originally thought Nathan could be our Paul Chapman, but not any more.

Pretty much everything "mono" says is right IMO.

I would trade (disappointedly) and see how Valenti goes.

After the last couple of games, I would also like the fitness guys to work up Sylvia as a running midfielder, which is what he should always have been.

Depending on results, that may also limit Nathan's future with MFC

[brey9186 102]

struggled with the number one midfielder tag, needs brock mclean and brent moloney to stand up ( and not get injured) to give support in the guts

will never be a line breaking goal kicking midfielder, but a real important clearance player, who can hopefully do shut down jobs too

plus is a very nice young man

[brey9186 102]

oh, and a finished sleeve or two over the preseason would look great too jonesy!!!

[rpfc 28,779]

He came second in the B+F at 19.

He was tagged mercilessly at 20.

He will be 21 at the start of next year.

He will be at Melbourne at the start of next year. I cannot believe that the hand-wringing on this site has led to "We should trade a promising 20 year old because he struggled being the most tagged midfielder in the worst team in the comp."

[Tigers Dayz 2]

He came second in the B+F at 19.

He was tagged mercilessly at 20.

He will be 21 at the start of next year.

He will be at Melbourne at the start of next year. I cannot believe that the hand-wringing on this site has led to "We should trade a promising 20 year old because he struggled being the most tagged midfielder in the worst team in the comp."

Its probably more about what he does when he gets the ball, and the way he does not create open opportunites due to lack of speed and endurance, than the fact he is 'tagged'.

See, I'm of the opinion that when the the players, McLean etc, Buckley (yes Buckley) come back and take the tags, then there may not be a place for Jonesy. Love the guy, just fact. Can't see the skills necessary to go forward.

[LeBron James 41]

He came second in the B+F at 19.

He was tagged mercilessly at 20.

He will be 21 at the start of next year.

He will be at Melbourne at the start of next year. I cannot believe that the hand-wringing on this site has led to "We should trade a promising 20 year old because he struggled being the most tagged midfielder in the worst team in the comp."

I am 100% with you. I can't believe some of the people on this site.

[Tigers Dayz 2]

I am 100% with you. I can't believe some of the people on this site.

I'd rather you be right than me demons06!

[beelzebub 23,383]

... I cannot believe that the hand-wringing on this site has led to "We should trade a promising 20 year old because he struggled being the most tagged midfielder in the worst team in the comp."

Im sorry..is that yor actual argument to keep?? just curious.

Keep in mind...promising..and delivering..may be two different things

He now needs to back up some good work and step up a level... yes step up.. where he's at wont do us any good no matter how many rosey glasses are issued !!..thats just a reality of footy

[Mono 455]

He came second in the B+F at 19.

Great

He was tagged mercilessly at 20.

No he wasn't. The only hard tag he got was against Freo - he got 3 touches, we won. However, each week, he was pitted against the opposition's best mid-fielder/s.

He will be 21 at the start of next year.

Yes, and he is getting heavier/bigger (and slower?). This year he couldn't break tackles, or find space. This year he lacked speed and acceleration, and thus the ability to get to contests.

2009 he must find a way to correct this. Stay out of the gym, lose weight and work on acceleration. Or ......................

[Chook 15,022]

Jonesy will be much better off next year with another year of experience under his belt, not to mention the addition of Brock McLean back in the middle. I like to think of the Chook McLean and Nugget Jones team as the chicken nugget combo - and I believe they're much better off together than apart.

[Lord Travis 10,763]

I made a post about how disappointed I was with him all the way back in July. I doubt much has changed so I'll just re-post it.

Jones is really struggling with the tags this year. No doubt about it. He's actually been the most disappointing player in the team this IMO. But there are reasons for this.

One, I had very high expectations of him leading into this season because I love the way he goes about his footy.

And two, he has no Brock, no Junior, no Moloney around him. Green is playing along the HB line, and Bruce is thrown where ever he is needed. Therefore Jones has had no support in the midfield, as he is the only one constantly there. There's no consistency with players who play there. They're being brought in for a few matches then dropped or injured. All the top teams, their midfields play together for years and gel. We dont have that (yet), and Jones is the only one who's constantly there. So I can forgive him as he is a young player being forced to shoulder a responsibility and load that is far greater than he should.

With more support from players around him in the future, and added experience and maturity, I expect he will overcome the tagging situation that's been forced on him at times this year. But right now, he is struggling. 4 possessions in a full game of football from a midfielder is pathetic, no matter how hard the tag.

My criticism of him is this. And people will probably disagree here. But I dont think he gets enough cheap uncontested kicks. When I say that I dont mean sitting round chipping it back and forth in the back pocket. I mean that he doesnt present an option around the ground or find space. He just kind of heads to where he thinks the next contest will be and hope theres a pack he can smash into. Jones has only ever got over 25 disposals 3 times in his career. He needs to get more ball around the ground like Brock does. While he goes in hard, he also works into space around the ground and helps move us forward (with his very underrated kicking skills). Jones gets all his disposals are under pressure, and thus get butchered alot as either to noone or floaters. When he actually has a little time and space he isnt as bad a kick as he appears. He's delivered a few nice passes inside 50 this year. Posters here may say "well thats not his role", and theyre right, but IMO Jonesy needs to do that to take his game to the next level as a player.

[Adzman 2,154]

Jones is one of a select few on our list with courage, balls and a never say die attitude. Say what you want about him, but these players help win premierships, and if we are going to win one in the next 5-6 years, he will need to be playing in the red and blue.

Jones was helped by too few in the middle this year. Chook will help him when he comes bacl, as Chook is our best player at winning clearances. (a special mention to Macca, who is a star at winning the footy!)

Silky skilled players are a dime a dozen (bruce, yze- great to watch, but when the game is one the line, will they win you the footy?).When the going gets tough, those "silky" type players wait outside the pack waiting for a Jones type to get them the ball.

We are a soft football team, having Jones makes us a little more credible.

Jones does not need to be the star, he just needs to keep being the guy at the bottom of the packs, getting his teammates the footy.

[Rhino Richards 1,467]

He came second in the B+F at 19.

He was tagged mercilessly at 20.

He will be 21 at the start of next year.

He will be at Melbourne at the start of next year. I cannot believe that the hand-wringing on this site has led to "We should trade a promising 20 year old because he struggled being the most tagged midfielder in the worst team in the comp."

Completely Agree.

He has had to stand alone in the midfield that was regularly being shot to pieces.

This has been a hard and unreasonable ask on a 20 year old with barely 50 games.

I wonder how he would go as 3rd or 4th up midfielder in a better team. Undoubtedly better. He is no star but is hard at it and competitive.

And given we have a profound weakness in our midfield, why the hell would we trade him? And who would replace him with ...Valenti?? Good grief.

Some people trade for trade's sake without a thought for how you really improve your list.

[beelzebub 23,383]

Jones is one of a select few on our list with courage, balls and a never say die attitude. Say what you want about him, but these players help win premierships,

In order to use these qualities in a premiership win...you actually need to be in one..a Premiership..well, Grand Final that is. In order to get there...you need a whole bunch of other attributes, currently Jones'y isnt topped up with those. He need to put some serious hours into spped building and greater awareness of option when in play. ( acknowledged..he's not alone here )

We are a soft football team, having Jones makes us a little more credible.

There are times I certainly cant argue with this view, however whilst physical intensity might add some kudos.. eventaully its only scoreboard impact that speaks. This is not to say its up to Nathan..but he needs to be more involved in better play. That wil be much more credible.

Jones does not need to be the star, he just needs to keep being the guy at the bottom of the packs, getting his teammates the footy.

Yep, he can keep doing this by all means..but needs to add more damaging dimensions with consistency. The reality is the team needs all players to improve..including Nathan. Otherwise no one is hanging a medal aroud their necks come September.

Unfortuhantely being honest in your efforts on the footy field ( at AFL level ) is a distant cry from being devistatingly effective !!!