I was just looking at a picture of Tom McDonald and was struck by the similarities between him and Jim Stynes.

Same sort of body shape, albeit a bit beefier.

Has great athleticism ,and good endurance,I know it sounds left field ,but I bet he would  be an amazing ruck man.

He would get to a lot of contests, take heaps of marks, and either drift forward or back.

He is also tall enough ,would give us great drive, could be a superstar as a follower.

Not so sure about the ruck idea, but I thought at the start of the year he's a doppleganger for our Jimmy

That's an interesting idea. If an Irish novice could learn how to do it, I'm sure Tom McDonald would be able.

194cm might be a bit short for a ruckman.

  On 21/08/2012 at 08:18, s-t-i-n-g-a said:

194cm might be a bit short for a ruckman.

....and also far too good at what he does -- CHB and if not, worth trying at CHF

We average 42 hit outs per game against 39 for our opponents. Our ruck options are outstanding relative to every where else on the ground. Tom as an emerging big key defender has been one of the few shining lights this season. Better than Frawley on current form. We would lose more than we gain. Besides not tall enough to ruck.

I suppose I'd just love to see him take the game on , on his own terms, without having to mind a player as a backman.

Could also be tried up forward or on the wing.

He was drafted as a forward/ruck. I remember our recruiters saying they expected him to grow a little still and that he had the athleticism to play ruck. He actually played a lot of ruck in his U18 footy so its not a stretch by any means

  On 21/08/2012 at 08:42, Don24 said:

He was drafted as a forward/ruck. I remember our recruiters saying they expected him to grow a little still and that he had the athleticism to play ruck. He actually played a lot of ruck in his U18 footy so its not a stretch by any means

Pretty sure he ws never seen as being tall enough to ruck at AFL level, lots of guys ruck in TAC ect but cant at AFL.

Jordie, I am just repeating what our recruiting staff said so unless you know more than them?

When drafted he was 194cm (same height as Jeff White) and was apparently still growing according to the tests we did, who knows how accurate they are but he was definitely drafted as a forward who could potentially also ruck

  On 21/08/2012 at 08:54, Jordie_tackles said:

Pretty sure he ws never seen as being tall enough to ruck at AFL level, lots of guys ruck in TAC ect but cant at AFL.

You are correct IMO.He also is far to good to be a ruckman .Ge will either become an outstanding CHB or CHF.

He will become an elite footballer whom along wth Watts will become beauties in a few years after gaining some bulk and experience.

without doing a proper search here is a quick article i found. The recruiters went into more depth but u can see here he was drafted as a fwd/ruck.

It is fascinating reading an article like this 2 years later!

http://www.melbournefc.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/7415/newsid/105353/default.aspx

  On 21/08/2012 at 08:18, s-t-i-n-g-a said:

194cm might be a bit short for a ruckman.

Carlton's ruckman of the century was 188cm....

  On 21/08/2012 at 10:01, Don24 said:

without doing a proper search here is a quick article i found. The recruiters went into more depth but u can see here he was drafted as a fwd/ruck.

It is fascinating reading an article like this 2 years later!

http://www.melbourne...53/default.aspx

Ha ha great quotes!! Says Howe is a very accurate kick for goal!!!!!!!

  On 21/08/2012 at 09:58, Don24 said:

Jordie, I am just repeating what our recruiting staff said so unless you know more than them?

When drafted he was 194cm (same height as Jeff White) and was apparently still growing according to the tests we did, who knows how accurate they are but he was definitely drafted as a forward who could potentially also ruck

They may have said that you are true, and i wasnt saying you are wrong but imo he is too short to be a ruck, imo 197-200 is becoming tall KPF height ie. Clarks, Tippets, Daniher coming through. And i also think he was recruited as a ruck/forward but that piece (when i scanned for the part on him) never suggested he would be used in that way when drafted. Which was under a different coaching regime.

Just my thoughts on it. He is a great defender atm, and i can see him and Frawley becoming really hard to beat, thats what i like about him.

  On 21/08/2012 at 10:34, jnrmac said:

Carlton's ruckman of the century was 188cm....

He also retired 29 years ago. Times change. Sellar is 196cm and even he is only a pinch hitter... need to be pushing 200cm these days.

Gawn is a forgotten man... Jamar does the job and Martin is still improving, with Fitzpatrick being another that could come on.

Leave Tom where he is - he has made such a strong start to his career down back.... the last thing we want to do is flirt with his form while he still learning the caper.

Good lord, no!

He be snapped in two by Big Cox's right knee.

Let the kid continue doing what he's succeeding in.

If it ain't broke...

Played as a pinch hitter in the ruck at Casey with big Max after Spencer went down with a knee but really only a stop gap measure. His best football has been played back and he should be left to develop there for the mo. Not sure if this is right but I think he only came to football in a serious way late so he is very much a work in progress and coming along nicely.

No, he is developing well enough in the backline, what's the point of putting him into a position where he will be smashed, possibly injured and have a chance to turn the ball over up the field rather than in our defensive 50

  On 21/08/2012 at 08:26, america de cali said:

We average 42 hit outs per game against 39 for our opponents. Our ruck options are outstanding relative to every where else on the ground. Tom as an emerging big key defender has been one of the few shining lights this season. Better than Frawley on current form. We would lose more than we gain. Besides not tall enough to ruck.

The ruck issue is an interesting one, what it shows is the time to learn the set ups. If anyone has seen the booklets/powerpoints of set ups players use they would understand that it takes a lot of time to adjust to what seems to be a totally different set up.

It's certainly an idea to throw up, we seem to have too many defenders and it could give us more of an even spread. It's also a role where disposal isn't as crucial. 194cm isn't too short for a 2nd ruck, Leigh Brown is 194 (fittingly on our coaching staff) and was great at it for the Pies in the last couple of years. If you have a very strong body and/or a better than average leap it's definitely not too short. However I have seen good signs from Tom in defence and he just needs cleaner disposal and as i've said before a Jamar/Clark ruck combo (About an 80-20 split) is the way to go but considering their sensitivity to injuries then who knows

How about we just leave him down back and let him develop?