I dont want to get into a bad habit of singling out players and getting people to go open slather on them but i must ask about where jonesy is at as i was dissapointed with his game on sunday. I absolutely love the guy and i think his passion for the club is almost unrivalled by any other player.

BUT....

1. What is his role in the team??

2. Is he too slow for modern day football?

3. does his poor disposal lead to too many turnovers that put our players pushing forward under pressure defensively?

4. Should we expect more from a guy whos now been in the system since 2006 and is part of the leadership group?

People on here are very harsh on Nathan. But in answer to your points;

1. I think his role is quite varied. His best position in my opinion is to play a close tag on an appropriate opponent. If his opponent isn't accountable, Jones has the ability to break a game open, and kick a couple of goals from 50+ (any goals from our midfielders is a bonus).

2. He is slow, but not too slow for modern day football. While his stocks would rise if he had an extra couple of yards of pace, he doesn't have it, and I'm not willing to dismiss him because of it. Rhys Shaw proved on Sunday that you can be an effective tagger without being lightning quick (until Tappy smashed him!!!).

3. Would love some actual statistics on how many turnovers he has per game. Then we can compare that with Grimes, and for those still in mourning, Cam Bruce. Jones is on the bottom of the packs a lot of the time, there aren't too many players in the comp that play that role and don't have a higher turnover count.

4. I don't expect much more from him from a leadership point of view. They don't pick the leadership based on ability alone, and I'm pretty sure Nathan's role off-field with our young list is quite significant. Don't forget that Miller was in the leadership group last year, so it's obviously the stuff some do behind the scenes gets noticed, and doesn't mean they are certain starters in the 1's.

My conclusion - Jones will play consistent footy this year, and would like to think he will take a big step forward in the 2nd half of the season. Reality is, at the end of this year, he will be competing for spots, which I'm sure he is well aware, and I think that is an excellent position to be in if we have guys like Jones as our depth.

It is very disappointing to see how "rusty" he is at present. His disposal was woeful on the weekend but, hey, so was Grimes'!

How about his 55m bomb for a goal though?

But, on the whole, yes if he is not careful... Viney will permanently replace him (in-and-under type, rugged). Our midfield in 2-3 years could potentially be: Jamar, Moloney, Davey, Scully, Trengove, Viney... Gysberts, Blease.

If Jones does a Warnock and declines as a player, he'll be ousted. Watch this space.

He was tagging Hannebery who he kept to 4 touches in the first half, so think he did his job.

He is being used as a run with player, however I can see Bail replacing him if he Bail does what he did on the weekend simply for the fact that he is quicker.

One word gotzy15... Yeeeeeeoooooooowwwwwwwww!!!

I dont want to get into a bad habit of singling out players and getting people to go open slather on them but i must ask about where jonesy is at as i was dissapointed with his game on sunday. I absolutely love the guy and i think his passion for the club is almost unrivalled by any other player.

BUT....

1. What is his role in the team??

2. Is he too slow for modern day football?

3. does his poor disposal lead to too many turnovers that put our players pushing forward under pressure defensively?

4. Should we expect more from a guy whos now been in the system since 2006 and is part of the leadership group?

I am in the same boat as you Gotzy. Love Jonesy to death. And I appreciate that he had to be the number one or two midfielder for 2 years or so when he was still developing, and few others would take the pack-hits and help him out. He also bleeds red and blue and would be great to have around the club.

1. What is his role in the team??

Tagger/stopper. He can really concentrate for long periods and can tackle brutally. His first three or four steps are quite quick and because he positions himself so well, he is close enough to close down most players he runs with. Rohan Bail needs to be encouraged to run and carry, something Jones shouldn't do too much of.

2. Is he too slow for modern day football?

No. You need up to 4 super-quick players. Most of the others can be of average quick speed, and 2 or so can be slower and given specific roles. Many slower guns running around in the AFL (e.g. Mitchell, Hayes, Baker, )

3. does his poor disposal lead to too many turnovers that put our players pushing forward under pressure defensively?

Yes. Actually, he is at his most accurate when shooting for goal on the run, which many others find it difficult to do. However, his turnovers are usually founded on poor decision making rather than poor disposal. He gets tackled so often at the point of kicking the ball.

4. Should we expect more from a guy whos now been in the system since 2006 and is part of the leadership group?

No. The FD can see great merit in his place in the team so let them persevere a while.

.

Edited March 30, 201114 yr by Maldonboy38

I agree people have been harsh.

As an older fart I didn't get the tweets, website and the tats (will never work them out) but when i got over my preconceived ideas about their utility I see that they demonstrate he is unfailingly positive, a great clubman and is a decent bloke giving his best. No doubt thats why he is in the leadership group.

Since he has been given the tagging role he has been good at it and we need a player like that.

If he keeps players like Hannebery quiet then he should be judged on that effort.

What I like about him is his willingness to take on board what the club wants from him.

Now he doesn't try and break through packs as he once did to my utter frustration.

We also have to remember he is not getting any easy ball.

Most of his possessions are in very tight places.

I really hope he has a solid year and we find at the end we have underestimated him.

Edited March 30, 201114 yr by Robbie57

It is very disappointing to see how "rusty" he is at present. His disposal was woeful on the weekend but, hey, so was Grimes'!

How about his 55m bomb for a goal though?

But, on the whole, yes if he is not careful... Viney will permanently replace him (in-and-under type, rugged). Our midfield in 2-3 years could potentially be: Jamar, Moloney, Davey, Scully, Trengove, Viney... Gysberts, Blease.

If Jones does a Warnock and declines as a player, he'll be ousted. Watch this space.

Do you realise how stupid it is predicting Viney, who is not even in our team, will replace a leader at our club? Like actually think about it mate.

His (Jones) fist job in the midfield is to lock down his opponent and then make him accountable, do people even watch the games?

Warnock has not declined as a player? There is simply not a role for him week to week as we have better players before him.

Do you realise how stupid it is predicting Viney, who is not even in our team, will replace a leader at our club? Like actually think about it mate.

Couldnt have said it better myself.

I can be very critical of jones, mostly becasue he showed alot of promise in his early seasons but has since not developed into the player i thought he was becoming. He still has a role and i dont think any one can question his passion, but his disposal/decision makin can let him down at times.

But every time he puts on the red and blue i'll suport him, and then later cringe when i read his tweets!

I'll be surprised if Jones makes it as a tagger.

I think he'll probably eventually get squeezed out if we become as good as I hope.

there was a brilliant outmuscle and mark right on the last line of defense, followed by a nice long pass, in those tense last moments, and of course the big bomb for goal. Everyone notices his flaws but not when he does great things like that

there was a brilliant outmuscle and mark right on the last line of defense, followed by a nice long pass, in those tense last moments, and of course the big bomb for goal. Everyone notices his flaws but not when he does great things like that

Layed 2 tackles in that frenetic last Q in front of the MCC stand that i loved. I think Jonesy does a lot of unnoticed work.

He may never be a super star, but if Jones does not play we will notice it, particularly in a second half game when everyone is getting tired. Jonesy is a big unit who keeps on trying.

Yeah, he does some great things, but it's the simple things he makes a meal of that are unforgivable.

Those errors were holding us back early in the game, and they seem to happen too often.

Yeah, he does some great things, but it's the simple things he makes a meal of that are unforgivable.

Those errors were holding us back early in the game, and they seem to happen too often.

Sure, but some of that is opposition pressure at a centre bounce when the ball is Red Hot. I sometimes try to imagine what it is like in those packs, what is said, how much it really hurts?

I am not making excuses for jonesy but he does a lot of dirty jobs that no one else will touch.

It could be that his work enabled Beamer to break free in the last Q.

Nathan Jones is not Chris Judd but i still believe we need him to do the hard midfield work.

I will watch him closely this sunday-i know how much he loves this club. B)

Yeah, he does some great things, but it's the simple things he makes a meal of that are unforgivable.

I think this is a fair call.

I will watch him closely this sunday-i know how much he loves this club. B)

I reckon the whole 'love for the Club' thing could be a little over-rated at times; you probably love the Club but I don't think you deserve a game on that basis

Do you realise how stupid it is predicting Viney, who is not even in our team, will replace a leader at our club? Like actually think about it mate.

His (Jones) fist job in the midfield is to lock down his opponent and then make him accountable, do people even watch the games?

Warnock has not declined as a player? There is simply not a role for him week to week as we have better players before him.

Fair call re Viney... hence my use of the word "potential"

And, yes, Warnock has diminished. His performance vs Essendon in the NAB Cup was insipid. It didn't do him any justice...

Its easy:

Jones is not in our best 22.

I reckon the whole 'love for the Club' thing could be a little over-rated at times; you probably love the Club but I don't think you deserve a game on that basis

Possibly, but it just might help in that last Q when everyone is knackered.

I noticed in the pre-season when we were losing, a lot of posters wanted to knock both Jones and Moloney. I was hoping that our "grunt" workers were just taking it easy waiting for the "real" games to start, no need to practice "barge work" which drains the body and gives corky's and soreness etc. I think Moloney sort of proved this point on Sunday with an outstanding performance. Quite clearly best on ground and giving 110% all day. So some of you ROTTERS switch your focus to Jones.

Jones, Moloney, Sylvia, Trenners and now Tappy supply the fantastic "gruntfest" that will take us a long way this year and without it we may just go back to our NAB challenge form so leave the bloke alone and watch us give Hawthorn a bit of their own back. Mitchell, Jona's onto you.

Possibly, but it just might help in that last Q when everyone is knackered.

I don't think it makes a difference.

Personal pride, competitive spirit, love for your teammates...

They would all have the same effect.

And you wouldn't succeed in the first 3 quarters without those elements, you wouldn't even make it to AFL level.

"Love for the club" is an assumed quality, and heavily overrated.

It's like yesterday I read someone say that Jack Watts needs to put more effort in when pulling on the MFC jumper (paraphrasing).

What an antiquated, obsolete view of the situation.

This isn't the dark ages where a coach's sole aim was to motivate players to run through brick walls.

It an appealing sentiment for passionate supporters, but holds little relevance in today's game.

I don't think it makes a difference.

Personal pride, competitive spirit, love for your teammates...

They would all have the same effect.

And you wouldn't succeed in the first 3 quarters without those elements, you wouldn't even make it to AFL level.

"Love for the club" is an assumed quality, and heavily overrated.

It's like yesterday I read someone say that Jack Watts needs to put more effort in when pulling on the MFC jumper (paraphrasing).

What an antiquated, obsolete view of the situation.

This isn't the dark ages where a coach's sole aim was to motivate players to run through brick walls.

It an appealing sentiment for passionate supporters, but holds little relevance in today's game.

Unfortunately you are correct.

This is four in a row e25!

Its easy:

Jones is not in our best 22.

Clearly he is in our best "team".

Who will fill his tagging role?

Posters who like myself who note how much he loves the team aren't suggesting you get in the team on "love of the jumper" rather it that attribute demonstrates that thos players will go the extra mile and are hungry for success for the team. Jonesy is one of those players.

I hope he proves all of the doubters wrong this week by shutting down his opponent.

I dont believe that's true at all.

His "love for the club" and "willingness to go the extra mile" compared to others, is merely perception, and an incorrect one at that.

Don't try to tell me because a player is hesitant in choosing an option or not able to get to a contest, that he wants the win any less than another player.

The "want" is irrelevant.

I've got a few points to add, as I have Jonesy as one of my favourite players, and can't see that changing.

1. Questions of his speed interest me, as I know he isn't lightning quick, but did anyone else notice the chase of Sumner down the wing in Q3 (?) on the weekend. He didn't catch him, but a player regarded for being very quick didn't pull away either.

2. Running goals from 50+. Him and Sylvia are probably the main two players in our side that can do this regularly, and do. Very important, and not rated highly enough (by fans not FD).

3. Not every player in our squad will ever be highly skilled, super slick stars. To make a team you need a combination of these stars, and a whole bunch of other players who serve a purpose. I agree they need to limit his turnovers a bit, but I believe that the FD rate his output and 'mongrel' on field very highly and rightly so. And I also agree with some other posters that people don't seem to notice too much of the good he does.

4. He has made the leadership group due to the role he plays in mentoring and helping with the development of our younger players. And while he has been around a while, he is by no means a veteran and probably ahead of his years in this regard. He trains harder than anyone, bleeds red and blue (which should not win him a position, but is a nice quality for a player to have), motivates others (has taken Scully and others under his wing) and sets an impeccable example as to the levels of professionalism required of modern day footballers.

5. As for talk of Viney, just stop. It's stupid and I'd quite happily not hear of it again until the time is imminent.

All in all, Jonesy sets an example to our players that is almost unrivalled, and holds his position in our 22 at the moment. Quite probably in a couple of years he may be pushed aside by better players, but who knows, he may also surprise. That said, I'm not into talk of a couple of years, because all that is relevant is now, and people need to remember that from time to time. Lets please ease up a little. If he has an absolute shocker, of course criticism may come, but look a little closer and maybe you'll find that time isn't now.

I dont believe that's true at all.

His "love for the club" and "willingness to go the extra mile" compared to others, is merely perception, and an incorrect one at that.

I agree and disagree with this. Some players are more about the "team" than others who seem to play for themselves (eg. Fev and Hall). Jones definitely falls into the "team oriented" camp to the point where he involves himself in promotion of the team via Twitter, blog etc and on the field with his selfless courage.

He seems to be quite content to take on the lower profile tagger role and takes on an incredible workload which tends to go unnoticed by many... hence all of the constant calling for him to be dropped. Go to his website or read his tweets and his love for the club and his team mates becomes very apparent... one read of the Tiwi Times item on his website will allay any doubts about that.

I seriously think that without Jones there doing the grunt work that he does week in and week out, he would be sorely missed. Everyone seems to forget how much he improved over the 2010 season and I believe once season 2011 is up and running properly (pre-season and first round games are never a good indicator), that improvement will continue.