Without doubt, the biggest recruiting success and bargain of this year has been Aaron vandenBerg.

Strong, big bodied, goes hard for the ball and the man, with decent enough skills and can play in a variety of positions. The fact that he was physically developed enough to play day one was also a huge bonus. He isn't just another Magner who faded after a promising start, this guy can seriously play and will play for many years to come.

Therefore, what other players like vandenBerg are out there in state leagues who can step up and provide instant support and depth to our midfield?

Jason Pongracic would be a pretty decent, strong bodied midfield rotation player. not a star, but has more upside than many on the list.

Without doubt, the biggest recruiting success and bargain of this year has been Aaron vandenBerg.

Strong, big bodied, goes hard for the ball and the man, with decent enough skills and can play in a variety of positions. The fact that he was physically developed enough to play day one was also a huge bonus. He isn't just another Magner who faded after a promising start, this guy can seriously play and will play for many years to come.

Therefore, what other players like vandenBerg are out there in state leagues who can step up and provide instant support and depth to our midfield?

I'm a massive fan however I think his skills are below par. He definitely needs a lot of work here.

Pretty sure however he did minimal preseason so a bit of extra training of the skills while half cooked should do him wonders.

His game against the dogs this year was fantastic and I think gave us a glimpse of what he can do if he plays as an inside mid.

Love his aggression at the pill and at the man and excited about his future.

I'm a massive fan however I think his skills are below par. He definitely needs a lot of work here.

Pretty sure however he did minimal preseason so a bit of extra training of the skills while half cooked should do him wonders.

His game against the dogs this year was fantastic and I think gave us a glimpse of what he can do if he plays as an inside mid.

Love his aggression at the pill and at the man and excited about his future.

No doubt the skills are his weakness, but I can't remember the last time an untried player with some many positive attributes (outside of Hogan) walked into our team. I guarantee if he was playing on the weekend he wouldn't have put up such a weak effort.

If we can land just one more player of this type for a bargain price then it will fast-track the development of a lot of our younger players.

The poster boy for mature age recruits appears to be Michael Barlow. How were his skills when he started in the AFL? I know he got a lot of the ball, but was he also polished with his use of it?

Barlow isn't even polished now. Some of his kicks are terrible.

Barlow's skill has improved light years since his days at Werribee.

Barlow's skill has improved light years since his days at Werribee.

Yep, and I expect Vanders to be the same...he's got all the basics to build on, just needs to adjust a bit more to AFL level and getting a good preseason under the belt will really help.

VANDENHEART!!

The thing abput vanders was that we found him by accident while watching Frost.

Shane Valenti?

Every club is looking for that bargain mature age recruit. Don't know of any but I can guarantee one club out there will take a punt on someone and it will pay off just like we have done with Vanders.

Shane Valenti?

Breaks my heart every time.

The thing abput vanders was that we found him by accident while watching Frost.

Thats not right.

Jason Taylor has been watching him since he was 15 and has been in touch since. Taylor is very big fan of him and i can see why.

Getting a little bit excited for next year...

His old coach at Ainslie went down to Melbourne and watched training and said that he saw Vanders dominate the way he dominated at Ainslie.

Now, that might not be the nicest thing to say about the other players but it makes me think he will avoid the second year blues if healthy.

In the guts and leave him there.

47 minutes ago, rpfc said:

Getting a little bit excited for next year...

His old coach at Ainslie went down to Melbourne and watched training and said that he saw Vanders dominate the way he dominated at Ainslie.

Now, that might not be the nicest thing to say about the other players but it makes me think he will avoid the second year blues if healthy.

In the guts and leave him there.

He out-swaggered CP5 in the drills on Monday (talk, stirring and nailing skills) I thought the prospect of the two of them rotating through the midfield is a yet to be identified syndrome for future AFL retirees.  

A better fitness base meaning less fatigue and a year of AFL experience under his belt will hopefully see the skills improve.

I find it interesting to watch younger ( new)  players adapting to the pace of the AFL. Salem is a good case study - he has silky skills. He hardly wasted a possession last season. In his first season however, he did turn the football over a bit purely because he occasionally rushed his disposal thinking he had less time than he actually did.  This is not a criticism of Salem but an acknowledgement that new players to the AFL can take a little time to adapt to the pace - in the early days some rush their disposal whilst others get caught a bit - I thought the Vanders did rush his disposal last season.

 

I liked what I saw (early) of Magner.  Not sure if he was ever going to make it, but the coaching at the time ensured he wouldn't.

Then he started opening his mouth to the media about our club, so I lost all respect for him after that.

4 minutes ago, billy2803 said:

I liked what I saw (early) of Magner.  Not sure if he was ever going to make it, but the coaching at the time ensured he wouldn't.

Then he started opening his mouth to the media about our club, so I lost all respect for him after that.

I still can't believe how badly Magner was treated. He was never going to be more than a top up player but gees in his last year he was clearly in the best 18 at Melbourne but they would not pick him despite the fact that our mids got smashed week in week out.

2 minutes ago, Cranky Franky said:

I still can't believe how badly Magner was treated. He was never going to be more than a top up player but gees in his last year he was clearly in the best 18 at Melbourne but they would not pick him despite the fact that our mids got smashed week in week out.

What I never understood was where we played him - he was a one position player - that is at the bottom of the pack in the centre square. He was always an inside mid feeding the ball out  - nothing more. He had a few early games when he did quite well as an inside mid and then we tried to turn him into a defensive forward ? WTF ?

12 minutes ago, Cranky Franky said:

I still can't believe how badly Magner was treated. He was never going to be more than a top up player but gees in his last year he was clearly in the best 18 at Melbourne but they would not pick him despite the fact that our mids got smashed week in week out.

If Magner was that good where is he playing now?

29 minutes ago, nutbean said:

What I never understood was where we played him - he was a one position player - that is at the bottom of the pack in the centre square. He was always an inside mid feeding the ball out  - nothing more. He had a few early games when he did quite well as an inside mid and then we tried to turn him into a defensive forward ? WTF ?

It was Neelds brilliant football mind.. He was a free thinking coach with a real capacity to transform players. Turning semi good ones into very average ones and average ones into complete duds. 

25 minutes ago, ManDee said:

If Magner was that good where is he playing now?

Signed at Heidelberg actually.

 

Liked Magner until he ran his little mouth off like a spoilt brat. Was as slow as Brock Mclean and like Luke Tapscott was way too big for a midfielder who couldn't keep up with the midfielders of the game.

11 minutes ago, dazzledavey36 said:

Signed at Heidelberg actually.

 

Liked Magner until he ran his little mouth off like a spoilt brat. Was as slow as Brock Mclean and like Luke Tapscott was way too big for a midfielder who couldn't keep up with the midfielders of the game.

James Magner
Personal information
Full name	James Magner
Date of birth	12 August 1987 (age 28)
Original team(s)	Dandenong Stingrays (TAC Cup)
Draft	No. 42, 2011 AFL Draft, Melbourne
Height/Weight	178 cm / 82 kg
Position(s)	Midfielder
Club information
Current club	Port Melbourne

 

Way too big?

 

Gary Jnr Ablett
#9   Gold Coast Suns
Age: 31yr 7mth    Games: 274     Born: May 14, 1984
Height: 182cm     Weight: 85kg     Position: Midfield

 

Nathan Fyfe
#7   Fremantle Dockers
Age: 24yr 2mth    Games: 112     Born: September 18, 1991
Height: 190cm     Weight: 88kg     Position: Midfield

or the same as Jack Viney, way too big.

Jack Viney
#7   Melbourne Demons
Age: 21yr 8mth    Games: 49     Born: April 13, 1994
Height: 178cm     Weight: 82kg     Position: Midfield

 

 

Edited December 16, 20159 yr by ManDee

43 minutes ago, Cranky Franky said:

I still can't believe how badly Magner was treated. He was never going to be more than a top up player but gees in his last year he was clearly in the best 18 at Melbourne but they would not pick him despite the fact that our mids got smashed week in week out.

He should never expected any more than he got. Whether he was good enough to be in the best 18 or not, he always should have known he was there to protect the kids only, not impede their development by robbing them of the chance to play. We got nothing out of playing him.

39 minutes ago, nutbean said:

What I never understood was where we played him - he was a one position player - that is at the bottom of the pack in the centre square. He was always an inside mid feeding the ball out  - nothing more. He had a few early games when he did quite well as an inside mid and then we tried to turn him into a defensive forward ? WTF ?

I think we gave him a chance to prove us wrong; that he did have other facets to his game and could be more versatile than to just play as an average extractor and nothing more. Unfortunately for Magner everyone's first impression proved to be true.