I thought he was a bit stiff a couple of weeks a go to get dropped, i like the way he attacks the ball and his strength, accountability and he can also run! i would be a bit dissapointed if he got dropped this week thoughts?

Filler til other kids develop.

Once they do, he is a list clogger.

Garland is the worry to me at present. His Handballs last night put many team mates under ridiculous pressure

and also opened the door to Port in the last Q. That handball to the wing was just so wrong!!

Filler til other kids develop.

Once they do, he is a list clogger.

Ordinary post. Macdonald's been a great pick up. His experience and hardness at the ball is very valuable to this team.

Ordinary post. Macdonald's been a great pick up. His experience and hardness at the ball is very valuable to this team.

Not sure if I can agree with that.

He was drafted in case Garland never recovered from his foot injury. For now, he adds strength, hardness and experience to the line up, but is still a very flawed player with his decision making and skill level. (just see the north game as an example).

I don't mind him in the team this year, or next, but I don't doubt that he'll eventually get squeezed out as the more talented and skilled young players gain strength and experience.

And regarding Garland, he had 12 months off from footy, which mean he probably won't get back to his best until 2011. Considering 12 months off I think he is doing a very good job. He height, spoiling ability, reading of the play and pace are all valuable. He was lining up on Hitchcock during the 2nd and 3rd quater. For a guy 192cm, that is invaluable to the team to have such amazing flexibility.

Not sure if I can agree with that.

He was drafted in case Garland never recovered from his foot injury. For now, he adds strength, hardness and experience to the line up, but is still a very flawed player with his decision making and skill level. (just see the north game as an example).

I don't mind him in the team this year, or next, but I don't doubt that he'll eventually get squeezed out as the more talented and skilled young players gain strength and experience.

And regarding Garland, he had 12 months off from footy, which mean he probably won't get back to his best until 2011. Considering 12 months off I think he is doing a very good job. He height, spoiling ability, reading of the play and pace are all valuable. He was lining up on Hitchcock during the 2nd and 3rd quater. For a guy 192cm, that is invaluable to the team to have such amazing flexibility.

Actually he looks to me the replacement for Bruce.

Filler til other kids develop.

Once they do, he is a list clogger.

Players don't become 'list cloggers' - Lists become clogged by poor contract management.

I thought he was a bit stiff a couple of weeks a go to get dropped, i like the way he attacks the ball and his strength, accountability and he can also run! i would be a bit dissapointed if he got dropped this week thoughts?

are you off your head he cost four goals from turnover v the kangaroo he played the worst game i have every seen, he was not stiff at all if you watched that game you would not think he was stiff

Players don't become 'list cloggers' - Lists become clogged by poor contract management.

^ This.

As for Macdonald, I'm happy enough with him. But as Enforcer25 alluded to (but articulated poorly), I find it hard to see him fitting in the side when all these "developing" players become "developed" players. He'll be squeezed out eventually, but until then I'm happy for him to keep getting a run.

Good ordinary footballer IMO.

Not sure if I can agree with that.

He was drafted in case Garland never recovered from his foot injury.

Looks like an invented premise. Everything that follows is tainted by its phoniness.

Joel Mac is a match hardened Bigger body that is very important to our defence at the moment, & will get even more important later in the season when young bodies start to really tire.

I hope Joel plays some finals footy for us to prove to Voss that he made a bad decision.

It's great that casey are flying as it means players like Joel Mac are not automatic selections-he has to earn it like anybody else.

^ This.

As for Macdonald, I'm happy enough with him. But as Enforcer25 alluded to (but articulated poorly), I find it hard to see him fitting in the side when all these "developing" players become "developed" players. He'll be squeezed out eventually, but until then I'm happy for him to keep getting a run.

Good ordinary footballer IMO.

More politely put but I'm with Enforcer. List Clogger, almost already. I'd prefer to see Strauss playing in his role.

More politely put but I'm with Enforcer. List Clogger, almost already. I'd prefer to see Strauss playing in his role.

Bit rough.

I agree that others will overtake him, but "list clogger" he is not.

Over time it may be true, but right now definitely not.

Without him we'd have lost a few more games. Not saying we won because of him, but I doubt we have the players who could have performed the role he did in a few wins.

I think at the moment it is more important for the team's development that we've won those games rather than get a few more matches into Strauss or Cheney.

For now.

Garland is the worry to me at present. His Handballs last night put many team mates under ridiculous pressure

and also opened the door to Port in the last Q. That handball to the wing was just so wrong!!

Bad call WYL. Garland was great last night. Copped a couple of whacks in the chest, but he provided run from half back and attacks the contest well. Played a lot better than MacDonald.

Singling out one error in the fourth, in which most of our players dropped off and/or made mistakes, isn't fair.

At least MacDonald didn't drop every ball that came near him and can play tall or small. My concerns are with Rivers.

Not sure if I can agree with that.

He was drafted in case Garland never recovered from his foot injury. For now, he adds strength, hardness and experience to the line up, but is still a very flawed player with his decision making and skill level. (just see the north game as an example).

I don't mind him in the team this year, or next, but I don't doubt that he'll eventually get squeezed out as the more talented and skilled young players gain strength and experience.

And regarding Garland, he had 12 months off from footy, which mean he probably won't get back to his best until 2011. Considering 12 months off I think he is doing a very good job. He height, spoiling ability, reading of the play and pace are all valuable. He was lining up on Hitchcock during the 2nd and 3rd quater. For a guy 192cm, that is invaluable to the team to have such amazing flexibility.

I agree, but let's play him in the two's until ready. At the moment he is making too many mistakes IMO

Not sure if I can agree with that.

He was drafted in case Garland never recovered from his foot injury. For now, he adds strength, hardness and experience to the line up, but is still a very flawed player with his decision making and skill level. (just see the north game as an example).

I don't mind him in the team this year, or next, but I don't doubt that he'll eventually get squeezed out as the more talented and skilled young players gain strength and experience.

And regarding Garland, he had 12 months off from footy, which mean he probably won't get back to his best until 2011. Considering 12 months off I think he is doing a very good job. He height, spoiling ability, reading of the play and pace are all valuable. He was lining up on Hitchcock during the 2nd and 3rd quater. For a guy 192cm, that is invaluable to the team to have such amazing flexibility.

I agree, but let's play him in the two's until ready. At the moment he is making too many mistakes IMO

Bad call WYL. Garland was great last night. Copped a couple of whacks in the chest, but he provided run from half back and attacks the contest well. Played a lot better than MacDonald.

Singling out one error in the fourth, in which most of our players dropped off and/or made mistakes, isn't fair.

Defenders should not cough the ball up like that, it is a hard call i agree, but its also his job as a defender to not cough the ball up at critical moments.

He has to tighten up if he wants to be a top line defender. Better he learns it now than later.

That hand ball out wide was early in the 4th Q and it gave port the sniff. I like Garland and i want him to play well as he has shown a lot of Strength to beat his injuries.

But there are still many things for him to learn to be a defensive player. It gets tougher to defend each year-The AFL make sure of it.

Leadership and experience are things we lack. We got them for free in the PSD with MacDonald. enough said. These savvy vets help the kids develop quicker. We owe him a great thanks regardless of how long he plays here.

At least MacDonald didn't drop every ball that came near him and can play tall or small. My concerns are with Rivers.

did you watch the game rivers was so clean on sat night, i could not believe my eyes, they said it would be slipper, but rivers was very clean on sat night, macdonald turn it over too many time for my liking he tends to panic a bit under pressure, by half way next year he will not get a game unless we have lots of injuries in the back half, voss made the right call just pick one good bit of play that Joel had last night that you can remember you wont, he is a dud, he is a short term fix, and in time DB will see that maccer is just a filler.

did you watch the game rivers was so clean on sat night, i could not believe my eyes, they said it would be slipper, but rivers was very clean on sat night, macdonald turn it over too many time for my liking he tends to panic a bit under pressure, by half way next year he will not get a game unless we have lots of injuries in the back half, voss made the right call just pick one good bit of play that Joel had last night that you can remember you wont, he is a dud, he is a short term fix, and in time DB will see that maccer is just a filler.

I'm sure Sean Wellman and the football department take a different view on this, but perhaps you know more than them?

I suggest you read the latest article entitled 'Great Wall of Melbourne'. It takes much more than Frawley and Warnock to build that wall, and I expect that both of those players like having Joel next to them - he's a hard bodied competitor.

Leadership and experience are things we lack. We got them for free in the PSD with MacDonald. enough said. These savvy vets help the kids develop quicker. We owe him a great thanks regardless of how long he plays here.

Well said. That is exactly why Joel is there. i would hope that he is quite vocal on the ground giving advice to young minds who are eager to learn.

The idea that anybody who is not in our best 22 or 19/20 years old is automatically a "list clogger" is misguided. People seem mildly obsessed with the idea of churning players through our list in the blind belief that there must be an 18 year old waiting in the next draft who is vastly better than the 24 year old with finals experience currently on the list.

Whilst still sometimes a harsh assessment of a player, I would prefer the term "depth player" in about 9/10 of these instances. It's usually a far truer reflection of their place in the team than "list clogger".

I'm sure Sean Wellman and the football department take a different view on this, but perhaps you know more than them?

I suggest you read the latest article entitled 'Great Wall of Melbourne'. It takes much more than Frawley and Warnock to build that wall, and I expect that both of those players like having Joel next to them - he's a hard bodied competitor.

Agreed! He was a good pick up. Certainly no "dud"!!

I agree he is no "dud".

Adds depth to the Great Wall of Melbourne. Fills a need when required, but he's borderline best 22 for me. When the likes of Strauss and youth come on they will more than likely take precedence (depending upon Joel Mac's form too). Dee-luded has a point re: Bruce too IMO.