2015 Player Review - # 37 Aaron vandenBerg (R)

[Good Times Grimes 2,396]

I hope now he has earned his spot in the senior side and a contract, he doesn't stop competing and going the extra level to become even better and a consistent contributor. Blokes like Jordie Mckenzie come to mind when he first played with his ferociousness around the ball and tackling and we thought "Gee, we have a player here" I hope his attitude stays positive, we have had too many players in the past who choose to take the easy option after putting pen to paper.

Bring on 2016. Go Dees!

I don't think Jordie ever stopped giving anything less than his best when he was with the MFC. I think that by no fault of his own, he just simply wasn't good enough.

[Uncle Fester 2,848]

I hope now he has earned his spot in the senior side and a contract, he doesn't stop competing and going the extra level to become even better and a consistent contributor. Blokes like Jordie Mckenzie come to mind when he first played with his ferociousness around the ball and tackling and we thought "Gee, we have a player here" I hope his attitude stays positive, we have had too many players in the past who choose to take the easy option after putting pen to paper.

Bring on 2016. Go Dees!

I don't know where V'burg will end up. High HHF rotating through the midfeild maybe... but it's harsh... really harsh to accuse Jordie of skating. I never saw him take a backward step. Jordie only ever lacked the abiltiy to hurt when he had the ball, never the abilty to give 100% when he didn't have it.

[Fitz Fitzpatrick 886]

I don't know where V'burg will end up. High HHF rotating through the midfeild maybe... but it's harsh... really harsh to accuse Jordie of skating. I never saw him take a backward step. Jordie only ever lacked the abiltiy to hurt when he had the ball, never the abilty to give 100% when he didn't have it.

we can never question Mckenzies attack or desire for the game but Im pretty confident we've got a much better footballer in Vandenberg. Im a little unsure of how far he will progress but i think he could be a really damaging HF, his physicality bringing some great defensive inside 50, creating opportunities for those around him.

Just haven't seen enough of him , and only on my laptop, to be able to judge his future through the middle

[Demon_JB 1,389]

I don't know where V'burg will end up. High HHF rotating through the midfeild maybe... but it's harsh... really harsh to accuse Jordie of skating. I never saw him take a backward step. Jordie only ever lacked the abiltiy to hurt when he had the ball, never the abilty to give 100% when he didn't have it.

Fair call, I just remember everyone including myself thinking we found a player here and then turned out to be our whipping boy. Not sure what went wrong with him after such a promising start.

[Fitz Fitzpatrick 886]

Living overseas its so hard to get a gauge on blokes when you only get to watch the tv coverage.

close up shots and camera angles trying to catch the "drama " of the game instead of whats actually going on

[rpfc 28,963]

He is a ball winning mid that needs to play in the midfield - you put him on the flank predominantly and you will watch him become less and less effective.

Put. Him. In. The. Guts.

[Straight Sets Simon 23,113]

He started training late because he was a rookie selection, plus he was coming off shoulder surgery and if he didn't get injured during the year he was good enough to play all 22 games.

Gun.

[Fitz Fitzpatrick 886]

He is a ball winning mid that needs to play in the midfield - you put him on the flank predominantly and you will watch him become less and less effective.

Put. Him. In. The. Guts.

Do reckon he has the tank at this stage?

[stuie 7,374]

I like Vandenburg as much as Trengrove and Dunne, probably not as much as MacDonald, but definitely more than Pederson and Mitchie.

Hopefully Mission can get them right for next season...

[beelzebub 23,390]

Can we have another 5 like him.

A footballer with a footballer's brain who lo and behold can play football.

Rocket Science

[Uncle Fester 2,848]

Getting away from Jordie (thanks for your service, mate) Vandenburg will be, I think, an incredibly useful player for us over his journey. Not only is he a good - very good footballer, he's also one of the players that we are assembling that make the rest of the team walk a little taller when they are on the field. We had a bunch of them under Northey and it was those hard as nails blokes that dragged us up from the bottom as much as the talent did. I'm not talking mean or sniper tough guys, I'm talking about fellas that take a hit, get up, grin at the other player, and go again twice as hard and win the ball.

V'burg has that, and so do a few others, and they are the players that win you the really important games by making their opponents second guess themselves when everything is on the line.

[rpfc 28,963]

Do reckon he has the tank at this stage?

He's no kid, he's 23 and he is used to playing 100 mins in the middle for two years straight for albeit a third tier comp.

His body will adapt if we put him in there - it will never adapt if we leave him on a flank.

He knows this is only chance to live his dream - give him a chance to do what he wants and play him in the middle - it's not like we have a plethora of options in there...

Plus, he's big, plays big, and we need that.

Actual need - not the 'need' that we apparently have to recruit a 2nd forward for Hogan to play with - but an actual need.

[stevethemanjordan 6,952]

Agree he'll be huge for us once he gets a couple of full AFL pre-seasons under his belt because currently he is well behind which is scary to think about considering the impact he had for us this year.

He is the kind of player you can't help but fall in love with. The thing I love about players like him is how they manically chase when an opponent has the ball even up to 20 metres away.. Brayshaw, Viney and Vanders all have the instinct to chase and pressure without question. I won't name names but there are still a handful who do not possess that sort of urgency and they need to take a leaf.

Aside from that, he's actually a really smart footballer with a great overhead mark and an ability to hit the scoreboard.

A full pre-season of running without interruption and he could well become one of our most important starting mids with his size, aggression and versatility.

Edited November 4, 2015 by stevethemanjordan

[monoccular 17,697]

Great attack on the ball and man, but shabby disposal.

His so called shabby disposal (if one agrees with that premiss) may be in part due to the fact that much of his disposal is from in close under intense pressure.

Fair call, I just remember everyone including myself thinking we found a player here (Jordie) and then turned out to be our whipping boy. Not sure what went wrong with him after such a promising start.

Despite my ongoing love and respect for all that Jordie got from himself and gave to the team, never once leaving any effort behind, I feel that VDB already has superior disposal skills than Jordie and will end up being a far more valuable player. If Jordie's work rate and work ethic were transmissible to every player on the list however, we would have been a lot further advanced by now. Edited November 4, 2015 by monoccular

[rpfc 28,963]

The thing about Vanders is that, yes he can butcher a footy, but sometimes its a possie not many other players would have been able to get.

And when near the forward line - it doesn't have to perfect - it has to be advantage side of Hogan and he will do the rest.

[Deeoldfart 8,154]

Vanders is rarely mentioned with the core group of mids who are expected to take the Dees to the next level (Jones, Viney, Brayshaw, Salem, Tyson and Petracca) but I think his name sits very comfortably with that lot. Our team is on the rise, and Vanders will be an important part of the journey!

[KingDingAling 3,758]

He is a ball winning mid that needs to play in the midfield - you put him on the flank predominantly and you will watch him become less and less effective.

Put. Him. In. The. Guts.

I agree, but I do think he could rest in a forward pocket. He has a big body, and he uses it well.

[rpfc 28,963]

I agree, but I do think he could rest in a forward pocket. He has a big body, and he uses it well.

Absolutely, and with the rotations limit, that will have to happen but I don't want to see him filling a spot at HFF - the guy is a ball hunter.

[beelzebub 23,390]

Vanders is rarely mentioned with the core group of mids who are expected to take the Dees to the next level (Jones, Viney, Brayshaw, Salem, Tyson and Petracca) but I think his name sits very comfortably with that lot. Our team is on the rise, and Vanders will be an important part of the journey!

Hmm..188 90 kg can run and kick most of the day...can mark and find his own ball, can spot and offload with effect...

sounds like a........... mid