Jordie McKenzie

[olisik 4,060]

A dud?

Really?

He has things to work on but if McKenzie is a dud and shouldn't play I have got about 8 names that line up Rd 1.

Forfeit the season people. It's our only option.

I think he is in the wrong sport and should've taken up NRL where he can tackle to his hearts content and do not need skills to get the ball forward.

Nethetheless we have him now so we should milk the most out of him, whether in the AFL or VFL. That said I think he would be best use as a run off interchange player. Not a starting 18 player.

Keep him on the bench and once it is obvious one of our mids is solidly being beaten by an opponent then bring him on to equal out that said contest.

[Jens Lehmann 75]

That is one of the silliest suggestions, for a role for any player, that I've seen in years.

It's up there with Frawley in the midfield.

[olisik 4,060]

That is one of the silliest suggestions, for a role for any player, that I've seen in years.

It's up there with Frawley in the midfield.

Cool story

[Hannibal 5,814]

Do you mean actual physical pressure or mental pressure? If the former, wouldn't the coaches get him to practice kicking as he is about to be tackled. If the latter, wheel in a psychologist.

Both.

The physical pressure in the AFL is enormous. It's the high intensity tackling, the speed of the game - you feel like you have a nano second to get rid of it, the defensive rolling zones that make hitting a target difficult from even 20 metres, i.e. an accurate kick can be made to look bad because often they're trying to hit a stationary target. The more games a player gets at AFL level the more he'll start to adapt to the environment.

Some players perform better mentally when under pressure than others. They're cooler and can execute that kick the same they would in training, whereas others second guess themselves. The doubts creep in. Especially when they've previously had a propensity to cough it up. There's a reason why sports psychology is a profession - as you mention.

I also reckon McKenzie is a little slow to react, which gets him into grief.

Edited March 12, 2013 by Ben-Hur