Firstly I will admit; I did have my doubts about Joel MacDonald. But after the past 3 rounds I have

liked his game a lot. On Sunday, seeing him run back with the flight of the ball and launch himself

straight into a leading Jack Riewoldt was one of my highlights. Hope he continues to impress and

get a game. Wish him all the best Saturday night against his old mob!

Jury is still out for me.

We've seen him play some good games against lackluster competition.

I'll wait until he performs against a contender.

Jury is still out for me.

We've seen him play some good games against lackluster competition.

I'll wait until he performs against a contender.

so you will wait till he plays well against a good team to announce to everyone you think he is a good a

player? There is no jury or certain point when you can say he was worth the pick, all that matters is that he has played well in the games which he has played and put how body on the line.

Jury is still out for me.

We've seen him play some good games against lackluster competition.

I'll wait until he performs against a contender.

he played pretty well against Collinwood, who I would say is a contender.

I think he has settled in well

I like him and I reckon he's pretty efficient in his disposal.

He was, however, well beaten by Burton including having 2 goals kicked on him in short succession.

He needs the 'right' opponent. Trav may be the 'right' opponent this Saturday.

I like him and I reckon he's pretty efficient in his disposal.

He was, however, well beaten by Burton including having 2 goals kicked on him in short succession.

He needs the 'right' opponent. Trav may be the 'right' opponent this Saturday.

He might have been matched up on Burton for a bit but Bruce was on him for most of the first half from what I can recall.

And not every defender is going to stop every fwd from kicking a goal!

In the last three rounds he has been fantastic. One of the best aspects of his game is his ability to get the ball and immediately rebound by running hard and breaking tackles to get the ball forward.

I also like the fact that he wanted to come to Melbourne and went straight into the PSD so he could come to the Dees.

Jury is still out for me.

We've seen him play some good games against lackluster competition.

I'll wait until he performs against a contender.

Seriously, can we all just give him a break? Has looked very solid to me and is a player with good experience in a young backline. Once Riv comes back that will be a couple of cool heads to support the young guys when we will invariably be under the pump on many occasions this year

Joel was fantastic against Richmond. He played his best game against them, but he's been solid all year. Occasionally, the coaches have got his match ups wrong, but generally he's been a very good pick up. He adds an important dose of experience too. His courage, backing into the pack reminded me of Rivers, who he may well be keeping out of the side at the moment.

There have been some recent threads on JMac, and I think he's doing a job for us at the moment.

I'm not sure whether he'll be good enough to hold down a spot long-term.

However, that's a moot point for now.

I think he has been really good. he plays tall and small. I dont get why he is under some scrutiny in here.

Experianced and a cool head. here to stay i would think!

What's the biggest difference between last years good young defence and this year's top-5 defence? And by that I mean the most obvious difference...

It's our rebound, which was non-existent for 3 years there. Who's the player most responsible for our rebounding? Well, it's Grimes. But who's second?... Ummm. Frawley... Ok, but who's third? Aha! I reckon Joel is probably the next best rebounder, or perhaps the next most regular rebounder.

I like him in the side. I don't think he'll be the player Grimes and Frawley will be/are... but he's still a really good acquisition. His workrate and guts are as good as anyone's in the side, except maybe Scully. Personally, playing with a guy with his attitude and reliability would make me walk taller.

Jury is still out for me.

We've seen him play some good games against lackluster competition.

I'll wait until he performs against a contender.

Very Harsh Call. He has Stiffened up that Defence a lot & Helped the side to win over the last 2 weeks

It's players like Joel who are going to be the Teachers of this team in building the "culture" that we all want-it's a tough gig to be a defender in modern footy & so far Joel Mac has done a great job.

Really looking forward to saturday nights game against the Bears-I hope he proves them wrong big time.

I think he's looked pretty solic and composed across the backline, I'd certainly have him in the team over Rivers atm.

Will be very interested to see how he goes against his old side.

He might have been matched up on Burton for a bit but Bruce was on him for most of the first half from what I can recall.

Incorrect. Joel was on him for majority of the time. Bruce played on him for less than 5 minutes.

Incorrect. Joel was on him for majority of the time. Bruce played on him for less than 5 minutes.

Frawley was towelled up by Riewoldt last weekend - are we calling for him to be dropped?

Seriously, Joel has been a great addition to our backline. I'm not sure why these people are saying his long-term future isn't looking very bright, he hasn't done much wrong to date and I'm not sure who we have on our list that will take his place.

One thing I have liked about him is that when the backline are under the pump, I feel most at ease when he has the ball in his hands. That's the experience factor and the bigger body.

Joel has been brilliant, and is an automatic selection right now.