Could well be a "hard" player Neeld is looking for. A meat & potatoes type. At 24 he is ready to go at whatever task he is assigned. Will keep a close eye on this one.

Family friends with James and watched him go through the ranks. Also used to throw some iron around in the gym with him.

Pound for pound the strongest bloke Ive ever known/seen. Will set the bar very high in the gym - which would be a good thing for many of our young mids

Agree with BTJ....He is an extremely professional bloke in this regard. Cant wait to see what he can do with the set up we now have at Melbourne and AAMI Park. Good news!!!

James magner should work in retail cause he is the clearence KING

Away in the Magner, no crib for his bed, the little lord Jamie laid down his sweet head (at the dees). Welcome Mitsubishi

This bloke looks pretty good to me. I like the highlights package! Welcome to the Club James and good luck fighting for a spot in 2012. Your grunt may be rewarded!

Away in the Magner, no crib for his bed, the little lord Jamie laid down his sweet head (at the dees). Welcome Mitsubishi

Very clever. I like it.

Family friends with James and watched him go through the ranks. Also used to throw some iron around in the gym with him.

Pound for pound the strongest bloke Ive ever known/seen. Will set the bar very high in the gym - which would be a good thing for many of our young mids

From your knowledge what is his tank like aerobically & also his repeat efforts throughout a game?

Is he a certainty for the midfield or could he be suited to the small forward role that we have been looking for...?

180cm, built like a brick sh*thouse, tackles like one, good sense around the contest, wins clearances...useful in the forward 50 I think for forward pressure and to create opportunities at ground level

Is he a certainty for the midfield or could he be suited to the small forward role that we have been looking for...?

180cm, built like a brick sh*thouse, tackles like one, good sense around the contest, wins clearances...useful in the forward 50 I think for forward pressure and to create opportunities at ground level

Or plonk him in the middle and get competin'.

With midfielders switching between the centre and through the forward line/back line these days, maybe the lines are blurred too...

From your knowledge what is his tank like aerobically & also his repeat efforts throughout a game?

Was freakishly fit when he was younger and quite slight, then filled out from age of 16 onwards. Wouldn't say fitness/repeat efforts are his strongest point now given his size but at the same time certainly not his weakness.

Very powerful. I remember him benching 150kg+ as an 18 yo. Crazy.

Won Sandy's B+F, will certainly be a good recruit for Casey! In some ways Valenti and Tuck would have been safer choices because we know what they can do. Let's see how James goes.

Also won most courageous in 2010 and 3rd in it's B&F in 2010. Has a bit of height for a mid and from the package posted above, seems reasonably competitive overhead.

How did he go in the Liston?

Like Williams, there can be little downside in recruiting this strong mature bodied and aggressive midfielder.

Big jump from VFL to AFL, but, as other have said - Barlow??

His recruiting looks like it gives us a bit of a hint of Neeld's game plan and his philosophy of being the hardest team to play against. This kid looks to fit the part, a big bodied tackling machine. I'm guessing skills are secondary to tackling and hard running for this pick up. My guess is that they are going to come out hitting hard and aiming not to be easily knocked off the ball. Two attributes sorely missing in the past few years.

Was freakishly fit when he was younger and quite slight, then filled out from age of 16 onwards. Wouldn't say fitness/repeat efforts are his strongest point now given his size but at the same time certainly not his weakness.

Very powerful. I remember him benching 150kg+ as an 18 yo. Crazy.

From his highlights package he looks like he relishes the contest. If the club can get him to elite level fitness he could become a bit of a weapon.

From one of the Saints boards:

"In other preseason news Sandringham player James Magner ran a time of 6.28mins in St Kilda’s 2km time trial on Saturday. Magner who is one of five Sandringham players currently training at the club ahead of this months drafts and is certainly impressing a lot of people down at the Saints.

James Magner is a 24 year old, tough inside midfielder, who averaged 30 disposals and 9 clearances a game in 2011. He also won Sandringham’s Best & Fairest award after finishing 3rd in 2010."

From one of the Saints boards:

"In other preseason news Sandringham player James Magner ran a time of 6.28mins in St Kilda’s 2km time trial on Saturday. Magner who is one of five Sandringham players currently training at the club ahead of this months drafts and is certainly impressing a lot of people down at the Saints.

James Magner is a 24 year old, tough inside midfielder, who averaged 30 disposals and 9 clearances a game in 2011. He also won Sandringham’s Best & Fairest award after finishing 3rd in 2010."

Any word on what sort of time the NDS or Goddards ect or any MFC equivalent would run this in as i think we do 3km in 10 minutes?

Won Sandy's B+F, will certainly be a good recruit for Casey! In some ways Valenti and Tuck would have been safer choices because we know what they can do. Let's see how James goes.

Merely getting games in the AFL doesn't make you an automatic "safe choice"... hence why no team selected either.

I'd rather take a chance on a hungry work-horse who has yet to be given the chance at AFL level yet, that's how Barlow's and Puopolo's are found. That's the kind of hunger I saw from Nicholson and Evans this year.

Edited December 13, 201113 yr by Deez Nutz

Absolute animal. Played against him in school footy and was aggressive and uncompromising as you would want with our new style of play. Gunna be a great fit. Got a bit of crunt in him too

Merely getting games in the AFL doesn't make you an automatic "safe choice"... hence why no team selected either.

I'd rather take a chance on a hungry work-horse who has yet to be given the chance at AFL level yet, that's how Barlow's and Puopolo's are found. That's the kind of hunger I saw from Nicholson and Evans this year.

after winning his second consecutive liston trophy, valenti has to be asking "what more do i have to do"...

he may be lacking in a bit of pace but surely you don't accidently win the VFL brownlow twice in a row, and i can't believe both the expansion teams passed on him at the very least...even port are crying out for something/anything in their midfield.

EDIT- do like the look of mitsubishi (coined by binman), just hope he doesn't miss too many weeks trengove style...look forward to seeing who can brush aside more tackles out of him, beamer and tappy (possible drinking game there)

Edited December 13, 201113 yr by rolly

I'd be a bit worried about my long-term future right now if I were Clint Bartram. This guy can play a run-with game & get plenty of ball going the other way, is hard at the ball, great tackler and reasonably good disposal - at least he doesn't seem to miss running into an open goal from 30m. Clint will have to improve his disposal out of sight to keep him out.

I like the pick, and actually recall being impressed with him at VFL level, but he has a stiffer kicking action than Moloney.

We didnt recruit him for his skills - more for the impact he'll have on our other players.

Don't get me wrong, happy with the choice for a rookie, but not so sure he'll be a "weapon".

Brett Lovett already making a contribution:

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/magner-makes-melbourne-rookie-list/story-fn53khop-1226221084500

All I can say is don't let him anywhere near Dangerfield!