Any chance Neeld can give a few games to Jordie where he tells him to be an offensive weapon and go and hunt the ball?

He had 9 clearances on the weekend whilst playing a tagging role and currently sits behing Jones and Beamer for clearances on the season. I would like to see what he could do if he was allowed to play as solely a clearance player hunting the footy.

There is no reason why either of our Captain Jacks can't be given Jordies role, it may actually take Trenners to the ball a bit more, and he is supposed to have a big tank to stay with an elite midfielder.

Am I talking rubbish, or is it worth a try? Our midfield can't get much worse, we may as well try some new approaches.

An attacking weapon would ideally have good disposal. Jordie does not. And he doesn't have blistering pace. Can't see many weapons that could cause damage as an offensive player.

  On 02/07/2012 at 08:53, ox_5 said:

An attacking weapon would ideally have good disposal. Jordie does not. And he doesn't have blistering pace. Can't see many weapons that could cause damage as an offensive player.

Offensive in a clearance sense, like Priddis. He has good hands and can find the footy. I don't see any of our other mids consistently clearing the ball.

Not a bad idea and worth a shot I think. We may as well keep testing out versatility and different roles, as there isn't a whole lot else to do for the rest of the season/

  On 02/07/2012 at 08:56, Jerry Lundergard said:

Offensive in a clearance sense, like Priddis. He has good hands and can find the footy. I don't see any of our other mids consistently clearing the ball.

The problem with poor disposal JL is it helps the other team start an attack.

I remember four times on Sunday his clangers into the forward line went straight to lions players who sent the ball into their forward line.

Two ended in Lion Goals.

On one occasion he picked out the one lion among four melbourne forwards.

He is good at tagging and clearing from the centre, Simon Black or Rich he is not!

If Jordie can find balance between a heavy tag and then getting the pill he will be the envy of every club eg: Cameron Ling. Keep him tagging and keep educating him. Ling as a assistant couch would be gold too.

  On 02/07/2012 at 12:01, cowboy_from_hell said:

If Jordie can find balance between a heavy tag and then getting the pill he will be the envy of every club eg: Cameron Ling. Keep him tagging and keep educating him. Ling as a assistant couch would be gold too.

I agree with you cfh but do not kid yourself he is never going to be a Rich.

The funniest thing about discussing JM is that we all sound as though we have a choice.

He will be at the MFC for a long time, with the exception of Jones he is the best we have.

He at least knows how to get the ball which puts him a long way in front of a lot of others on our list

  On 02/07/2012 at 12:05, old dee said:

I agree with you cfh but do not kid yourself he is never going to be a Rich.

The funniest thing about discussing JM is that we all sound as though we have a choice.

He will be at the MFC for a long time, with the exception of Jones he is the best we have.

He at least knows how to get the ball which puts him a long way in front of a lot of others on our list

Agree he will never be a Rich. Whilst the slick midfielder is pretty in the guts and god knows we need some I like Jordie to tag as it gives us balance.

  On 02/07/2012 at 08:43, Jerry Lundergard said:

Any chance Neeld can give a few games to Jordie where he tells him to be an offensive weapon and go and hunt the ball?

He had 9 clearances on the weekend whilst playing a tagging role and currently sits behing Jones and Beamer for clearances on the season. I would like to see what he could do if he was allowed to play as solely a clearance player hunting the footy.

There is no reason why either of our Captain Jacks can't be given Jordies role, it may actually take Trenners to the ball a bit more, and he is supposed to have a big tank to stay with an elite midfielder.

Am I talking rubbish, or is it worth a try? Our midfield can't get much worse, we may as well try some new approaches.

Certainly it would be worth a try, and as you say JT may get nearer the ball and learn from whomever he is tagging. And Jordie's disposal by hand is pretty good, and by foot not as bad as many here suggest.

He's actually not a bad kick when he has time to get balanced. He's usually in the thick of a contest though & his disposals are rarely afforded time

If our forwards are playing in front (like a forward should), and providing the opposition don't have a loose man back, then it shouldn't matter too much what his kicking is like going forward *in particular when he hasn't got time to steady and can only go the long kick to a contest.

McKenzie 50 games in and just 22, let's see what he is like in a couple of years time, using Jones as an example, each year he has been getting a bit better, now in mid 20's and is consistently good if not better each game.

And as an aside the midfield was not the problem on Sunday, the clearances and inside 50's were good, the fwd structure let us down, if they can fix that in 6 days we will give the Tigers a real go..

Why not ey? Our season is shot, I recon we should try as many different things to see what will work going forward past "the season from hell!".

At least we no that whatever role Neeldy would put to Ranga he'd have a red hot crack at doing it well, reckon he'd struggle in the rucking role tho......lol

As stated By Go The Biff his disposals are, the majority of time, under pressure, so while not elite, are good enough and probably a lot better with no pressure.

Seasons been ova for us a long time now, so time to try different roles maybe? Mr Neeld no's what he's doing, he just needs SOME better players on our list to achieve what we all desire.

  On 02/07/2012 at 23:53, satyricon said:

McKenzie 50 games in and just 22, let's see what he is like in a couple of years time, using Jones as an example, each year he has been getting a bit better, now in mid 20's and is consistently good if not better each game.

And as an aside the midfield was not the problem on Sunday, the clearances and inside 50's were good, the fwd structure let us down, if they can fix that in 6 days we will give the Tigers a real go..

I just get the feeling with Jordie, what you see is what you get, 50 games or 100 games we will still have an in and under, run with player who will tackle 'til his hearts content, will feed the ball out often from the bottom of a scrum, and keep his direct opponent to limited possessions. I don't see a polished finisher, (clean execution) or one that can run with the ball.

If anything, I hope he can improve his weaknesses to become a more rounded player, but I don't necessarily expect it from him, mainly because I don't think he possesses those attributes in his make-up as a footballer.

I think the strength of our midfield is rather shallow in comparison to other midfields. In fact, quality wise I rate it bottom of the pile. I don't like saying that, but I think it's true. Whether or not our clearances and i50's appeared competitive, it's the ineffective approach of those stats that are telling. This isn't measured as a direct stat, although you can draw some conclusions by each players efficiency and marks i50. I suppose the ratio of direct scoring against i50 entries may reflect a poor return, but IMO it is more a reflection of a ) delivery i50 and b ) strength/nous of our forwards. No doubt Clark was a big loss. But even when Garland and Rivers contested, where were the players at the fall of the ball ?

We need a small nippy forward to be front and centre and cause havoc i50.

  On 03/07/2012 at 00:56, H_T said:

I just get the feeling with Jordie, what you see is what you get, 50 games or 100 games we will still have an in and under, run with player who will tackle 'til his hearts content, will feed the ball out often from the bottom of a scrum, and keep his direct opponent to limited possessions. I don't see a polished finisher, (clean execution) or one that can run with the ball.

If anything, I hope he can improve his weaknesses to become a more rounded player, but I don't necessarily expect it from him, mainly because I don't think he possesses those attributes in his make-up as a footballer.

I think the strength of our midfield is rather shallow in comparison to other midfields. In fact, quality wise I rate it bottom of the pile. I don't like saying that, but I think it's true. Whether or not our clearances and i50's appeared competitive, it's the ineffective approach of those stats that are telling. This isn't measured as a direct stat, although you can draw some conclusions by each players efficiency and marks i50. I suppose the ratio of direct scoring against i50 entries may reflect a poor return, but IMO it is more a reflection of a ) delivery i50 and b ) strength/nous of our forwards. No doubt Clark was a big loss. But even when Garland and Rivers contested, where were the players at the fall of the ball ?

We need a small nippy forward to be front and centre and cause havoc i50.

The bit about the small fwd is exactly right, this is what I meant about getting the structure right, don't think we have managed yet this season apart from against GWS

I think Jordie will get better, hence my comparison with Jonesy, a couple of years ago his kicking was not the best but with more preseason, more good coaching etc he has become a really good mid, we missed him terribly on Sunday.....Clint Jones was exactly the same but a couple more years, and if he is not required to tag can become a handy backup mid

  On 03/07/2012 at 02:21, satyricon said:

The bit about the small fwd is exactly right, this is what I meant about getting the structure right, don't think we have managed yet this season apart from against GWS

I think Jordie will get better, hence my comparison with Jonesy, a couple of years ago his kicking was not the best but with more preseason, more good coaching etc he has become a really good mid, we missed him terribly on Sunday.....Clint Jones was exactly the same but a couple more years, and if he is not required to tag can become a handy backup mid

Footballers such as Jones and Jobe Watson, guys who have a desire to improve every ounce of their game present evidence that certain areas of their game can be improved. Fingers crossed Jordie can follow suit.

With regards to small forward, a thread just started on Todd Banfield, he's one of several I would enquire about. There seems to be competition for spots up there and he's been one who has been at the feet of Johnno Brown and even Mitch Clark himself.

Plays his role with aplomb. Hard at it tagger, who is also an in-and-under and tackles all day.

No-one else currently plays this role in the team. It looks like Neeld is trying to build up Magner and Moloney's defensive side by playing them in the forward line, but until they develop these attributes, Jordie is stuck being this player for the MFC.

And I have absolutely no problems with it at all.

Jordi is the re-mixed Cameron Ling simple as that. Stops his player, gets the ball. Not many players in the league are capable of playing both a negating role while still contributing on the offensive side.

Neeld made a best 18 side with gaps in it when he first came down to the club. I'm willing to bet that Jordi was one of the guys on that list, or at the very least is on it now.

  On 03/07/2012 at 03:24, pitchfork said:

Jordi is the re-mixed Cameron Ling simple as that. Stops his player, gets the ball. Not many players in the league are capable of playing both a negating role while still contributing on the offensive side.

Neeld made a best 18 side with gaps in it when he first came down to the club. I'm willing to bet that Jordi was one of the guys on that list, or at the very least is on it now.

Beautifully written, and we all saw the importance of Ling in the Geelong dynasty.

I was actually a bit disappointed he didn't run with Black for the entire game on Sunday, such is the confidence I have in Jordie.

for me, Jordie would not be in our very best team

you need to have at least 2 strings to your bow............he is just keeping a spot warm for either Taggart or Gysberts imo.

Jodie McKenzie gets lauded on this site but in reality he is a good honest battler with ordinary disposal.

To even suggest he could be an 'offensive weapon' shows just how far we 'reach' as Demon supporters.

  On 06/07/2012 at 00:33, Range Rover said:

Jodie McKenzie gets lauded on this site but in reality he is a good honest battler with ordinary disposal.

To even suggest he could be an 'offensive weapon' shows just how far we 'reach' as Demon supporters.

Another great post RR, think you must have got over excited from reading Chris from Perth post, Jordie McKenzie will be one of the first players picked each week, once he was fit he came straight in to the side at the start of the season.....in two years time I expect to see a midfielder at the top of his game both defensively and offensively.....why? because of his application and dedication and the will to improve....noticed he is kicking more than ever when he was the handball king a year ago...the kicking will get better and better

  On 06/07/2012 at 03:14, satyricon said:

Another great post RR, think you must have got over excited from reading Chris from Perth post, Jordie McKenzie will be one of the first players picked each week, once he was fit he came straight in to the side at the start of the season.....in two years time I expect to see a midfielder at the top of his game both defensively and offensively.....why? because of his application and dedication and the will to improve....noticed he is kicking more than ever when he was the handball king a year ago...the kicking will get better and better

Kidding yourself. He's a third stringer in the worst midfield in the comp.

In two years time I expect to see him pushed out of our core midfield group by more talented recruits and battling for a tagging role.

  On 06/07/2012 at 03:39, Range Rover said:

Kidding yourself. He's a third stringer in the worst midfield in the comp.

In two years time I expect to see him pushed out of our core midfield group by more talented recruits and battling for a tagging role.

And he cannot kick.

I agree RR unfortunately he is the best of a bad lot of mid fielders.

Not sure if everyone has noticed but we are effectively last on the ladder with one genuine win.

We have mainly a team of second raters, IMO it is that simple.