If Nathan Jones goes...

[DemonSG 1]

While you didn't use the word "insurance", you did say that to trade Jones "before we see the development of Bleese, Gysberts, Strauss etc would be a huge mistake". I took this to mean that it would be a mistake to trade Jones right now, because there is a chance that these players won't be as good as we hope, in which case you think we'll need him.

It's starting to sound like that's not what you meant at all, and that you were actually saying that Jones is an important player for the next couple of years, because we need him to physically protect those guys as they're coming through, and teach them the ropes. My apologies.

Nat Jones is a must player for the MFC at least until we see how the younger brigade are developing, to trade him now in my opinion would be a huge mistake and a lack of foresight by the FD. He has much to offer and has been a loyal servant during the dark days, keep him and we will get our rewards.

[Guest Rojik of the Arctic]

alwyn davey. might be the change he needs. i dont think many will agree. if he dicides to go and they wont give us a decent pick , we could do worse

Hmmm. I'd want a good sweetener to go with it but even then I might not be sold. We have more than a couple of players that do his job at around the same level.

[two sheds jackson 3]

Nat Jones is a must player for the MFC at least until we see how the younger brigade are developing, to trade him now in my opinion would be a huge mistake and a lack of foresight by the FD. He has much to offer and has been a loyal servant during the dark days, keep him and we will get our rewards.

Now I'm a bit confused on what your point is.

If by "keep him until we see how our younger brigade developes", you mean that we should keep him to assist them in their development and provide some protection, then again, this is a valid point and will certainly be part of any cost/benefit analysis on the part of the football department when considering a trade.

If by "keep him until we see how our younger brigade developes" you mean that we should keep him until we find out whether or not they'll end up being as good as Jones, then this is a terrible approach to list management. If our fancied younger midfielders are not significantly better than Jones, we will not win a flag regardless.

Edited September 12, 2010 by two sheds jackson

[rpfc 28,734]

Nat Jones is a must player for the MFC at least until we see how the younger brigade are developing, to trade him now in my opinion would be a huge mistake and a lack of foresight by the FD. He has much to offer and has been a loyal servant during the dark days, keep him and we will get our rewards.

I hope Nathan develops into what you think he will.

I don't see it like that, and I wonder if the FD see it the same.

I want to be ruthless as a club, and I know that it isn't popular but if I was a Geelong fan seeing Moloney go for Ottens - I would've said "Have a great career, Brent."

Davey Scully Morton - Centreline

Jamar, Moloney, Trengove - Rucks

McKenzie, Sylvia, Gysberts, Batram, Grimes, Bail, and Jones - Extra rotations through middle.

I would welcome Nathan as apart of that support group but he will find himself on the fringe of our 22 I'm sorry to say.

Good depth.

But you know what they say about good depth...

[Rhino Richards 1,467]

Well put RPFC.

THe only sweetener I need for MFC to trade for Alwyn Davey is the words NO WAY.

[JACKATTACK 17]

I hope we get something better than Alwyn for Jones. I'm not against having him at the dees but we are the losers out of that deal.

And that twitter is dissapointing to read, even if it isn't intended as it sounds it is irresponsible given the context.

I hope Jones stays, we'd be losing him at his lowest ebb if he left now, I see significant improvement in him through the prime of his 20s.

[titan_uranus 25,042]

Alwyn Davey sucks.

Nathan Jones isn't exactly a star, but we'd be losing out massively if we got Davey for Jones.

[Bingo 305]

If Jones goes, would it be worthwhile chasing Stanton?

[satyricon 267]

Again, my two bob's worth, perhaps it is Jones' that is looking for pastures new, the 13th in the B&F after playing all the games wouldn't have pleased him. Perhaps he can see the writing on the wall, if he is out of contract it is quite easy for him to sign a new one if offered....what if he hasn't.....

the midfield next year will have quite a few candidates to rotate through the 5 or 6 positions (if you count the wing as midfield)....in no particular order.......Davey, Moloney, Sylvia, Jetta, Blease, Scully, Trengove, Gysberts, , Tapscott, Mortno, Bail, Green, Bruce, McKenzie, Grimes......

do we really need Jones....

Edited September 13, 2010 by satyricon

[Carn dees 108]

If Jones goes, would it be worthwhile chasing Stanton?

Nope, Stanton butchers the ball more often than Jones does.

I spent a few games watching him closely s a few Essendon supporters where getting into his disposal, and yes his kicks can get quit ugly.

[old55 23,687]

Nat Jones is a must player for the MFC ...

What does "must" mean? If someone else offers him $2M over 4 years are you going to match it?

[The Chazz 4,077]

Again, my two bob's worth, perhaps it is Jones' that is looking for pastures new, the 13th in the B&F after playing all the games wouldn't have pleased him. Perhaps he can see the writing on the wall, if he is out of contract it is quite easy for him to sign a new one if offered....what if he hasn't.....

the midfield next year will have quite a few candidates to rotate through the 5 or 6 positions (if you count the wing as midfield)....in no particular order.......Davey, Moloney, Sylvia, Jetta, Blease, Scully, Trengove, Gysberts, , Tapscott, Mortno, Bail, Green, Bruce, McKenzie, Grimes......

do we really need Jones....

This is where I get a little frustrated with some 'landers at times. Ok, it's good to rattle off a heap of names to prove a point, but you need to be realistic when including these names.

For example, I'm not sure how you can include Jetta, Blease and Tapscott in this group, as "good candidates". They are young players, and of the 3 that I picked out, 2 of them haven't even played a game! To expect these guys to rotate through the midfield, and keep a 22/23 year old (Jones) out of the best 22 is ridiculous. And I can't really see Bruce rotating through the midfield - how many minutes did he play in that postion this year? He's also not Benjamin Button.

Personally, I pick Jones well ahead of Tapscott, Jetta, Blease and even Gysberts and Bail, based on what I have seen at senior level. Having said that, I can't wait to see games pumped in to the blokes I mentioned, but I can't see why that would be at Jones' expense, especially in the midfield. At this stage, Bail is a half back flanker, Tapscott a Half Forward Flanker, Jetta a Forward Pocket. That leaves Blease, who I can't see owning a wing position from game 1, maybe a HBF, and Gysberts will be rotated through somewhere.

As for Jones, I can't see how he would want to leave in the way that McLean did - I think he has more respect for the Club than that, and more importantly respect for the players. Would he be thinking that his spot is on the line? Maybe, but I strongly doubt it. He played 22 games this year, has played 92 of a possible 110 since Rd 1 in his debut year (83% of the possible games - not many at the Club would have a record like that). While he didn't poll votes in the B&F, that is still an individual award which I don't think he will be too fussed about. Again, he played all 22 games this year, so his form must not have been too bad. Someone might be able to explain how the voting works ie. Is it given to the top 5 for each game? If so, he may actually be a consistently in out top 4-8 players of every game, therefore not getting as many votes as we would expect. If that is the case, I'm pretty sure that's where he stands at the MFC anyway.

If he wants to go, he can leave - I wont be locking him up for it, as long as we are sutiably compensated, which I believe we will be given the recent record of the departures. But, if he stays, obviously he will have to keep working hard, and ensure that he retains his spot and continue that excellent games played %. If he drops off in form, and out of favour from the coach, we will benefit from it as he will be hungry to get back in the seniors.

I would love for him to stay, as I think he is a good clubman, and a handy player without being a star. I would have him in my starting 22 come Round 1 next year (based on season 2010), aand hope that he can continue to improve over the coming years and hold his spot. If he doesn't, he will play a lot of games for Casey in a short period of time.

[Dappa Dan 2,188]

I thought Swan had Jones easily covered on every base. Swan has been very good for years and in the past 2 years has been elite.

He was very good 2006-2008, and elite 2009 onwards. Before 2006 (He was drafted 2001) he was just another plodder. This shows us that A-up until the age of 21/22 (Jones is 22) he was nothing like as good as Jones is... admittedly in a different role.

In R22, a 32 yo Harvey made Jones look pedestrian....very pedestrian,

Around the same age, Swan was made to look pedestrian by a slew of opponents. This isn't news. And Harvey is a dead-set superstar even at his age.

Jones will run all day but his pace is ordinary and he needs other strengths to combat that.

I actually think Jones' engine can improve. I'd like to see him keep running LITERALLY all day... in the way that Scully/Judd/Swan do. James McDonald wrote a good piece in today's paper about it (in a bigger article on Swan) where he suggests that Swan has some trigger in his mind where when he stops running, something clicks, and he has to take off again. Not everyone can be as explosive as Robert Harvey where they're keeled over on their quads barely holding themselves up for about 20 seconds, then they tear off at full pace.

I have this awful feeling that the Swan comparison will rear its ugly head with every fringe player around the age of 22 in the coming years. I have no problem with rpfc's feeling that he has hit his ceiling. That implies that he's predicting he won't improve enough to warrant a spot in the 22. I don't agree with him, but we're talking just predictions here, which are as wishy-washy as anything on demonland. Personally I think he's more than earned the right to prove he can find that extra gear and add the strengths you're speaking of above. The question is, at what club, and how long he'll be given to prove it before something drastic has to be done.

most of you are missing the point.

No one is saying Jones is close to Swan currently. What was suggested that five years ago (when they were the same age) Swan was crap. Jones at 22 would smash Swan at 22, on ability and perceived upside.

Exactly. Swan could easily be the most improved player after the age of 21/22 we'll see in years. Just because Swan did it, doesn't mean Jones will do it... we all realise that... but you have to give him a chance, don't you?

[GRUN DEE 69]

Nope, Stanton butchers the ball more often than Jones does.

I spent a few games watching him closely s a few Essendon supporters where getting into his disposal, and yes his kicks can get quit ugly.

Jones for Stanton? YES.

Great clearance player and can run games out hard!

Do we need him? Probably not. Not a priority with our developing midfield.

[Brayshaw Self 847]

Jones for Courtenay Dempsey?

[dee-luded 2,959]

Jones for Stanton? YES.

Great clearance player and can run games out hard!

Do we need him? Probably not. Not a priority with our developing midfield.

Not Stanton for me. But....

If Jonesy wants to go to the Dons,,, IMO,,, one way we could play it would be to give Jones + Pick 12, to essendon,,, for Pick 8 + Pick 29.. An elevated 1st Rnd pick (4 spots), plus an extra 2nd Rnder.

If, he were to go to Sydney,,, I'd want their 1st Pick (21)...

[big tuna 0]

Don't know if the bombers have much that we need so swapping picks is probably how a deal would get done... if in fact Jones wants out.

I think he will follow Jamar's lead and take a 1 year contract to determine his future worth to the club. If he takes his game up to the next level (as Jamar did) he will be offered a nice fat 3 year deal by MFC... and if he gets squeezed out of our best 22 then he will have GWS sniffing around as his fall-back position.

[e25 5]

NO.

I would not trade Jones for any Essendon player, unless it was a tall.

And even then, it would have to be a tall like Hurley, Carlisle, Ryder or Gumbleton.

Not Neagle, Daniher, Slattery or one of their spud ruckmen.

(ok, I'd accept Melksham).

[Green Machine 63]

I hope Nathan develops into what you think he will.

I don't see it like that, and I wonder if the FD see it the same.

I want to be ruthless as a club, and I know that it isn't popular but if I was a Geelong fan seeing Moloney go for Ottens - I would've said "Have a great career, Brent."

Davey Scully Morton - Centreline

Jamar, Moloney, Trengove - Rucks

McKenzie, Sylvia, Gysberts, Batram, Grimes, Bail, and Jones - Extra rotations through middle.

I would welcome Nathan as apart of that support group but he will find himself on the fringe of our 22 I'm sorry to say.

Good depth.

But you know what they say about good depth...

I just trew up in my mouth a little.

[rpfc 28,734]

I just trew up in my mouth a little.

Oooohhh, that one is going to bite you.

He's a kid.

I don't care if you can't command a spot in the 22 when you are 20.

This is an rpfc guarantee - Morton will play 200 games for this club and be a great wingman/ute.

He is Flag Core.

[sylvinator 96]

Oooohhh, that one is going to bite you.

He's a kid.

I don't care if you can't command a spot in the 22 when you are 20.

This is an rpfc guarantee - Morton will play 200 games for this club and be a great wingman/ute.

He is Flag Core.

Agreed. Showed plenty in the last 2 games of this year + the entire of season 2009 to make me think he was be an awesome player.

Not because he'd actually come out and dominated afl games regularly, but because he has shown some elite attributes for afl, that could very well 'come together' one day in the near future

[titan_uranus 25,042]

If Jones goes, would it be worthwhile chasing Stanton?

No.

Stanton is terrible. Slower than most, can't kick, doesn't get enough of the ball when it matters (i.e. first half clearances), can't play forward, can't play back, goes missing for long period, doesn't lead. Just a crap player.

Jones for Courtenay Dempsey?

No.

Dempsey is over-rated and just not that good. Pace is nice but isn't enough to make you a decent AFL player. He is totally unaccountable and his disposal is iffy.

[brey9186 102]

"Russsssssian!! Yeeeew!! What a yr he had congrats to the boys!! Very Stiff Greeny, great result for the DEES!! Big 2011 I say!! "

@nathan2jones twitter

[Felix 92]

"Russsssssian!! Yeeeew!! What a yr he had congrats to the boys!! Very Stiff Greeny, great result for the DEES!! Big 2011 I say!! "

@nathan2jones twitter

Green would have been the better option over LeCra... IMO.

[Roost It 1,434]

Personally I'd like to keep him for the next 1 - 2 more years, he's a great backup up if Moloney or Mckenzie go down or lose form. Without Junior we need to keep some grunt around. With the likes of Tapscott, Gysberts and Blease coming through he's a polar bear facing climate change.