Jones is a GUN all our players are GUNS - I will leave the development to our coaching team - thats what we pay them for.

Until the day they are no longer wearing the red & blue. Then I will wish them well & hope they look back with pride at their days at the MFC

Go "The New" Dees

God there is a lot of rubbish spoken on this forum. If Nathan Jones has a problem it is the ineptitude around him!

Precisely... it's hard to clear the ball effectively if there is no-one running off him to take the ball.

Bloody Hell...The Jones Boy has played 4 solid games this year...he is certainly not in the firing line.

Get off his case please.

I think I've blown a funny fuse

I have said this before but a given our midfield woes I think this needs to be looked at more closely. At this stage Nathan Jones is perhaps our most courageous and hard at it player and always gives a 100%. But in his main role around clearances ands stoppages he is a liability and not helped because he gets the ball more than most others.Too slow to make a decision and his first instinct usually is to protect the ball. Sticks it under his arms and try's to bulldoze out packs and usually goes to ground. The consequences are the ball gets locked up, fudges his disposal or gets caught. He's so slow in making up his mind that there is always easy pressure swooping in around him. Hence clean disposals by him to advantage are a rarity. He remind me so much of Gary Ablett in the clinches but the difference is that Gary raises his head when he gets the ball and looks for an option as first instinct.

I love the guy but he's got to do more with the ball ad quicker. He's strangling our midfield at the moment.

You've just described Jones, circa 2010. The Jones who came of age last year, and has been one of our best and most consistent players this season, is rarely caught holding the ball, is at least on par with rest of the midfield in getting out quick handballs or throwing it on his boot, has an extra yard of pace and whole lot more agility and awareness than the old Jones, and may just win our B+F this year. He's one of the few Dees whose performance is actually on an upward trajectory this season, and isn't too far off being an A-grade midfielder.

In conclusion, I don't agree.

His kicking was at roguhly 40%. Was he the only Melbourne player actually getting the ball out of there..... pretty much.

I bet he would find it a wee bit easier in a top side.

I've been a Jones critic, but after the first 3 games this year I thought Neeld was the best thing for him and he's shown all the signs of thriving - until yesterday. Jones turned his game around in the second half and deservedly wound up in the best players. His first half was poor and back to the old chunk - 2 or 3 pairs of arms wrapped around him and Jones going nowhere or banging it on the boot to no one.

Prior to yesterday, he's been one of our best players and I continue to believe that Neeld will bring out the best in him.

It makes me wonder what happened in the first half. Jordie and Magner effectively took Griffen and Boyd out of the contest to give Jones and Moloney a good run at it.

It makes me wonder if Moloney and Jones can't work together in the midfield - not from want of trying. It's only one game but just scratching my head.

BTW - 11 Melb players had effective disposals under 60% - not good

Jones will never be an elite AFL midfielder and we need to get to a stage where he isn't our best midfielder, which he currently is.

Doesn't mean he isn't a very important part of the midfield group going forward. He has been our best and most consistent player all year and has been a true leader through the middle.

Bagging him seems harsh, although I agree that he needs to be a smaller component in a better midfield.

Nup. He's ben playing the game like a 2 year old and getting pushed off the ball for years. Now he IS of the right age to be pushing aside kids... would make no sense to move him on now, or look to drop him.

Your point is well made, but there's room for a Jones if he gets the outside support. It's the Mortons and Daveys who need to remember they're good runners... I've been loving Watts in the clinches lately, but even he is a great asset delivering ball into fifty. Horses for courses...

I wish our midfielders as a collective had the ability to squeeze out handball after handball that gives us time and a little space. We just always seem to be unable to get that quick, spacing, shooting ball out which puts us under pressure where as watching the so many other sides bang bang bang/handball handball handball space/everyone spreads and away they go.

I wish our midfielders as a collective had the ability to squeeze out handball after handball that gives us time and a little space. We just always seem to be unable to get that quick, spacing, shooting ball out which puts us under pressure where as watching the so many other sides bang bang bang/handball handball handball space/everyone spreads and away they go.

I'm hearing you there mate.

I'm hearing you there mate.

I know I know give it time Neeldy is working it for the long term but am just amazed the MFC players are so under skilled/under developed for todays footy/under prepared/not switched on enough/have not turned up/been badly developed/so poorly drafted/do not want it enough etc etc. but just when I thought I had seen it all buuupp boowww it happens again.

I have said this before but a given our midfield woes I think this needs to be looked at more closely. At this stage Nathan Jones is perhaps our most courageous and hard at it player and always gives a 100%. But in his main role around clearances ands stoppages he is a liability and not helped because he gets the ball more than most others.Too slow to make a decision and his first instinct usually is to protect the ball. Sticks it under his arms and try's to bulldoze out packs and usually goes to ground. The consequences are the ball gets locked up, fudges his disposal or gets caught. He's so slow in making up his mind that there is always easy pressure swooping in around him. Hence clean disposals by him to advantage are a rarity. He remind me so much of Gary Ablett in the clinches but the difference is that Gary raises his head when he gets the ball and looks for an option as first instinct.

I love the guy but he's got to do more with the ball ad quicker. He's strangling our midfield at the moment.

Ridiculous thread.

Jones has his weaknesses as all players do, but if we had 22 playing with his determination, we would not be 0-4 !

To me, this is a first world problem.

If he was at Collingwood then yes, they might be worried about these sorts of things.

But he is at 'Third World' Melbourne and he would be our most consistent and selfless performer, if our young mids picked up his work ethic and professionalism - they will be a very good midfield in a few years.

I will not criticise the OP but conversely I wont put the knock on Jonesy either as I think the problem is structural.

I agree that Chunk doesnt get the ball out because I am not sure I see a person to dish the ball out to.

Against the Lions we were smashed in the clearances - they had Black who was in and under but everytime Black got the ball there seemed to be a player 5 metres off the pack in space to dish to.

In the clearances I see all our players too close to the action. One needs to drop off the back or side to get a handball receive.

We are cellar dwellers in handball receives and that is a big part of Jones problem - who the hell can he give it to ?

What Jones lacks in natural ability, he makes up for with courage, work ethic and leadership.

Of all the things we need from the group right now I would choose those particular traits - so identifying Jones as a problem of any significance currently is way off the mark.

With everything else that our playing group are currently displaying, someone decides to have a crack at the one player who is showing intent, obeying the coaches orders, providing leadership and doing the work of two men. Jones is killing himself for our jumper week in and week out with little or no help from our other midfielders. Maybe if Moloney, Trengove, Magner, Bail etc... could provide Jones with a bit of cover, or be positioned well for him to feed it out, or actually try moving around a stoppage, what is perceived as his poor decision making would actually work.

Jones is not an issue. Move on.

Jones, Magner, Moloney all have the same problem, they just aren't very good. Moloney got on top at the clearances for a little patch in the 3rd quarter and Jones came into it late but that was it.

As for mids taking players on, that is the aim. Watch Selwood, Mitchell and Josh Kennedy, they win the ball then use strength, movement and acceleration to get the ball to outside players or on the boot. Certainly more outside players with natural hand ball receiving talent would help, but we also need to get the ball in the first place.

Our stoppages are a disaster, but I'm sure we are working on it. The other thing that would help would be for Jamar to take more risk and try and win a few more hit outs forward instead of always hitting it backwards, it's much too predictable.

you've coped a battering here, but warranted Jackie get off the wacky tobaccy

If we were to look at his flaws his disposals are still lobsidded like a bad T/o when he tried to switch play in the middle on Sunday and ended in hands of a bullys player ..but generally it has improved

Keep trying love

I have said this before but a given our midfield woes I think this needs to be looked at more closely. At this stage Nathan Jones is perhaps our most courageous and hard at it player and always gives a 100%. But in his main role around clearances ands stoppages he is a liability and not helped because he gets the ball more than most others.Too slow to make a decision and his first instinct usually is to protect the ball. Sticks it under his arms and try's to bulldoze out packs and usually goes to ground. The consequences are the ball gets locked up, fudges his disposal or gets caught. He's so slow in making up his mind that there is always easy pressure swooping in around him. Hence clean disposals by him to advantage are a rarity. He remind me so much of Gary Ablett in the clinches but the difference is that Gary raises his head when he gets the ball and looks for an option as first instinct.

I love the guy but he's got to do more with the ball ad quicker. He's strangling our midfield at the moment.

Agree 100% and have been saying the same for a while

I am flabergasted at this thread.

Mark Neeld demands everything at an elite level and he is getting results.

Posters on this board should take note and raise their comments to an elite level as well.

Jones isn't the problem, the group of midfield clones is the problem. The desire to do the unselfish acts is the problem our midfield needs to realise there can only be one ball carrier.

Well Jacky, do you ever wish you just hadn't said anything?

Given the current state of the team I'll take whatever pleasure I can get wherever and whenever I can. If that means focusing on Jonesy giving his all and showing absolute commitment from go to whoa, that will have to do whilst we rebuild the team. Ok so he coughs it up a bit too often but what would we look like without him? To my mind he's a shining light in a very dark place at the moment. I'm sure we can find better and we should be looking but please, credit where credit's due FFS.

Jones is the best of a group of very similar players. He suffers from a lack of outside feeders who he can distribute to.

Doesn't deserve that.

Jones is a potential Gun. One of the few positives going around right now.