Could someone please enlighten me as to Joel MacDonald. I have heard two stories on his performance at the Lions last year.

A - He played all 22 games WELL in 2009 with Brisbane and Vossy dropped him before the Finals for no real reason. Why would a player play all 22 games and then get dropped?

B - He played all 22 games last year and suffered a back injury, stopping him from playing Finals.

I have been to all Melb games this year, and I'm a little disappointed with his performance.

Was he a good Backman last year?

Edited May 6, 201015 yr by d me

Simple he wasn't dropped he missed the finals with a back injury.

He was pretty good in rounds 2-5. Had a stinker last week. Will be a solid defender for us over the next 1-2 years.

He's a C+ player. Nothing more nothing less.

He had a shocker last week no doubt but IMO he was unlucky to be dropped

He is worth more to Melbourne than he is to Brisbane from a team value perspective

He is a good player who has the advantage of games experience without being anything special

Last player i remember that palyed all home and away games and was dropped for the finals was Essendon,s

Derek Kickett under Kevin Sheedy

I dont think they have spoken since

The thing i am starting to see at Melbourne is it is going to get harder to keep your spot / get prommoted without good form

This is very promising going forward

Last player i remember that palyed all home and away games and was dropped for the finals was Essendon,s

Derek Kickett under Kevin Sheedy

I dont think they have spoken since

Sheedy won the flag that year. Hardly lose sleep over it.

Mark Blake was dropped for GF in 2007 after playing 22 games including finals.

9492 go dees

J.Mac got plenty of the footy against the Roo's but some if not most of his disposals were very poor. My be is a disciplinary thing? It's a great thing that players have pressure to hold their spots!!

Maybe it's a team balance thing: can't really have Joel Mac, Grimes and Bruce (3 x HBF) in the same team, esp. since Bruce won't need to play on Johnno this time round. Also Rivers and Bartram could fit into that category.

He'll be back soonish, you'd think.

Smacks of match ups or lack there of!

Too many guys knocking on the door to get into this team.

A sub par performance will earn you a week or several at Casey.

As the list depth grows, so does the competition to remain in the side.

Simple he wasn't dropped he missed the finals with a back injury.

He got dropped. MacDonald has mentioned that he felt he was missing out on finals because of queries over his back, but realised later that he'd actually been dropped.

I think the realisation may have been around the time he realised Brisbane were offloading him.

It sounded like he took it pretty hard, and this was some time this year IIRC.

Just a journeyman half back flanker. Good ordinary player.

A wasted pick for mine - they should have speculated with a younger player.

Just a player.

Won't be in our next premiership team.

Just a player.

Won't be in our next premiership team.

little harsh. We have won 3 games and he was an integral part of them. can hold is head up higher than a lot on our list over the last 3 years.

I will be surprised if he doesn't impress at Casey and get back in sooner rather than later. I think Rivers was lucky to take his spot, despite McDonalds poor game last week. He moves the ball on quicker than Rivers does.

little harsh. We have won 3 games and he was an integral part of them. can hold is head up higher than a lot on our list over the last 3 years.

Agreed. He had one howler but all players do at some point or another.

Just a journeyman half back flanker. Good ordinary player.

A wasted pick for mine - they should have speculated with a younger player.

Very harsh Franky, You still need players with a bit of experience. We have more than enough youth to 'speculate' with.

He is very slow , but made up for it in rounds 2-5 with quick ball movement , enabled by a lack of pressure from the opposition .

He was found out against 2 teams who applied non-stop pressure in rounds 1 and 6.

Edited May 7, 201015 yr by joeboy

Played well in our wins but I feel he's somewhat limited with his disposal. Gives good run and can also hold his own one-on-one, but he really burned us with his disposal last week. It's hard to keep someone in the team who turns the ball over repeatedly like he did last week.

He'll be back sooner or later.

little harsh. We have won 3 games and he was an integral part of them. can hold is head up higher than a lot on our list over the last 3 years.

I will be surprised if he doesn't impress at Casey and get back in sooner rather than later. I think Rivers was lucky to take his spot, despite McDonalds poor game last week. He moves the ball on quicker than Rivers does.

Just calling it how I see it.

I've seen plenty worse and no doubt he'll play 60 or so games for the club, but I see an old-fashioned half back plodder when I watch him play. He's an honest and serviceable player.

Just a journeyman half back flanker. Good ordinary player.

A wasted pick for mine - they should have speculated with a younger player.

Did we really need another Stefan Martin in last years pre season draft??

Did we really need another Stefan Martin in last years pre season draft??

Joel Mac & Stef Martin are two different types of player.Joel is 188 cms tall,weighs 88 kls and is 25 years old and played 86 games whilst Stef has played 29 games- in 3 different roles- Back, Forward and Ruck.He is 23 years old, 198 cms tall and weighs 100 kls. Joel can play HBF, CHB,FB, BP AND POSSIBLY WING.I think a wing would be his best position.

Joel Mac & Stef Martin are two different types of player.Joel is 188 cms tall,weighs 88 kls and is 25 years old and played 86 games whilst Stef has played 29 games- in 3 different roles- Back, Forward and Ruck.He is 23 years old, 198 cms tall and weighs 100 kls. Joel can play HBF, CHB,FB, BP AND POSSIBLY WING.I think a wing would be his best position.

Put him on the wing only if we decide to tank again. Too slow and not a good enough ball-user.