Tom McDonald (and Oscar) SIGNS.

[Jaded No More 68,976]

Structurally I think the 3 most important players in our team are Gawn, McDonald and Hogan in that order.

Hogan may end up at number 1, but premierships are won in defence. We need a Tom McDonald in finals. No team can win a flag without a strong backline. Some have won it with average forwards but defence has to be rock solid. McDonald, for all his kicking brain fades, is not even in the prime of his career and is already in the top dozen tall defenders in the competition.

Do I wanna rip his head off when he turns it over? Yes! Do I thank god that he is ours when he takes countless of marks a week, punches the ball away, defends against the best forwards each week and can run out a full game without a break? You bet I do. 

If we lose him, we will probably go back 2-3 years minimum in our tilt at a premiership, and that's only if we can draft/trade/develop someone else who is equally as good. Maybe we won't. 

KPDs don't grow on trees. They are as hard to get as KPFs and they make or break a team. 

We have to pay maximum value for these players because losing them is going to cost us that much more in the long term. I will be furious if we lose McDonald for the sake of $100k or even $200k a year! 

[John Demonic 5,933]

Posed this Q in another thread, but:

What if Hawthorn will make a big offer for him just like they did with Carlisle? What if Gibson is retiring at the end of the year and TMAC is holding out on re-signing for this reason. Who would we want from a Hawthorn trade?

Equalization Woo.

[chookrat 4,268]

3 minutes ago, johndemons said:

Posed this Q in another thread, but:

What if Hawthorn will make a big offer for him just like they did with Carlisle? What if Gibson is retiring at the end of the year and TMAC is holding out on re-signing for this reason. Who would we want from a Hawthorn trade?

Equalization Woo.

The sweetener for him moving to hawthorn could be the prospect of him playing with Hogan as key bookends for the next decade.

[doc roet 1,302]

If Hogan goes to hawthorn,we might be able to snare Travis Cloke.

Him and Dawes would make a great forward line,back together again.

Then we would really go places.

[John Demonic 5,933]

38 minutes ago, doc roet said:

If Hogan goes to hawthorn,we might be able to snare Travis Cloke.

Him and Dawes would make a great forward line,back together again.

Then we would really go places.

As funny as that sounds, the Hogan paranoia thread is that way----->

Back to Unsigned TMAC. It's not unrealistic to assume that Hawthorn will make a play for him as he's every bit as good a defender as Carlisle. Any word out there?

[John Crow Batty 8,886]

1 hour ago, Jaded said:

Structurally I think the 3 most important players in our team are Gawn, McDonald and Hogan in that order.

Hogan may end up at number 1, but premierships are won in defence. We need a Tom McDonald in finals. No team can win a flag without a strong backline. Some have won it with average forwards but defence has to be rock solid. McDonald, for all his kicking brain fades, is not even in the prime of his career and is already in the top dozen tall defenders in the competition.

Do I wanna rip his head off when he turns it over? Yes! Do I thank god that he is ours when he takes countless of marks a week, punches the ball away, defends against the best forwards each week and can run out a full game without a break? You bet I do. 

If we lose him, we will probably go back 2-3 years minimum in our tilt at a premiership, and that's only if we can draft/trade/develop someone else who is equally as good. Maybe we won't. 

KPDs don't grow on trees. They are as hard to get as KPFs and they make or break a team. 

We have to pay maximum value for these players because losing them is going to cost us that much more in the long term. I will be furious if we lose McDonald for the sake of $100k or even $200k a year! 

If TMac goes to Hawrthorn they will re-educate him just like they did with Frawley. Took a while  but he has made very few mistakes this season.

 

[John Demonic 5,933]

23 minutes ago, america de cali said:

If TMac goes to Hawrthorn they will re-educate him just like they did with Frawley.

Yeah, a Bruce, Yze & Neitz Hawthorn re-education

[Ted Lasso 19,568]

On 7/24/2016 at 7:21 PM, johndemons said:

Posed this Q in another thread, but:

What if Hawthorn will make a big offer for him just like they did with Carlisle? What if Gibson is retiring at the end of the year and TMAC is holding out on re-signing for this reason. Who would we want from a Hawthorn trade?

Equalization Woo.

We don't have to worry about the Hawks, they're hoping to land both Tom Mitchell and Jaeger O'meara this off season, they won't have anything left to trade after those two.

[Dee1987 277]

50 minutes ago, Abe said:

We don't have to worry about the Hawks, they're hoping to land both Tom Mitchell and Jaeger O'meara this off season, they won't have anything left to trade after those two.

Haha would love us to pinch Mitchell away from Hawks grasp plz 

[beelzebub 23,390]

1 hour ago, america de cali said:

If TMac goes to Hawrthorn they will re-educate him just like they did with Frawley. Took a while  but he has made very few mistakes this season.

 

Wish we knew how to educate defenders 

[rjay 25,351]

54 minutes ago, beelzebub said:

Wish we knew how to educate defenders 

It's pretty simple 'bb', you put some quality experience around them.

[beelzebub 23,390]

2 minutes ago, rjay said:

It's pretty simple 'bb', you put some quality experience around them.

Needs more than that. Need better educators. 

A decent fullback  would help no end though.

[Demonsone 2,050]

Tom Turnover..... Whilst not alone his turnovers killed us against WC. Kicked to the opposition with no pressure, Great defender but undos all of his great work with terrible kicking 

[mattjm 151]

4 hours ago, Jaded said:

Structurally I think the 3 most important players in our team are Gawn, McDonald and Hogan in that order.

Hogan may end up at number 1, but premierships are won in defence. We need a Tom McDonald in finals. No team can win a flag without a strong backline. Some have won it with average forwards but defence has to be rock solid. McDonald, for all his kicking brain fades, is not even in the prime of his career and is already in the top dozen tall defenders in the competition.

Do I wanna rip his head off when he turns it over? Yes! Do I thank god that he is ours when he takes countless of marks a week, punches the ball away, defends against the best forwards each week and can run out a full game without a break? You bet I do. 

If we lose him, we will probably go back 2-3 years minimum in our tilt at a premiership, and that's only if we can draft/trade/develop someone else who is equally as good. Maybe we won't. 

KPDs don't grow on trees. They are as hard to get as KPFs and they make or break a team. 

We have to pay maximum value for these players because losing them is going to cost us that much more in the long term. I will be furious if we lose McDonald for the sake of $100k or even $200k a year! 

u make so much sense

 

[Willmoy1947 4,221]

5 hours ago, Redleg said:

Not sure how that relates to his seeming inability to kick goals from over 40m out and being poor below his knees.

 

My point is you're expecting too much too early in my opinion. Don't lose the faith, my son. "Pax vobiscum"

[jnrmac 20,307]

On 7/23/2016 at 8:50 PM, Sylvia Saint said:

He has tickets on himself, thinks he's a better kick than what he is, thinks he can sell candy, thinks he's worth Dangerfield money. Get over yourself Tom. I'd rather he stayed but logistically two Frost types on 350k is better than one Tom McDonald on 700. B-grade defenders aren't that hard to find. 

snap

[jnrmac 20,307]

4 hours ago, doc roet said:

If Hogan goes to hawthorn,we might be able to snare Travis Cloke.

Him and Dawes would make a great forward line,back together again.

Then we would really go places.

They did win a flag.....

[deespicable me 1,579]

Equalisation is a crock of rats entrails.

That plick Frawley said pay me $700- k or I'm gone and went to Hawthorn for about $350- k. Thanks ####!

Thats what they do. They tell the free agents they're interested in "come and play in a decent team, play finals, enjoy the glory, but don't think you can command big money. It's on our terms or don't bother."

It's all very well for Hawthorn and a couple of other big clubs but the smaller clubs having to pay their own players more money to keep them will keep the premierships in the big clubs coffers for a long while to come.

Gil (who I believe is an empty headed puppet and a political appointment that will just pay lip service to "equalisation" in the interests of Hawthorn) has done nothing to change the alarming direction the game is heading. 

The AFL has to ask itself a basic question. Is the game for the fans?

If the answer is yes then how much joy is enough for the Hawthorn supporters? When are they going to meaningfully intervene to share the joy of the game around to the other supporters?

Shouldn't the charter of the AFL be to create the game in such a fashion that over a ten year period we see at least 15 different teams playing off in a Grand Final? Not easy to do but shouldn't they be at least trying to achieve such an ideal?

Where is there someone, anyone in the media railing against this ridiculous monopoly.

Melbourne will never get there. Never.

Sometimes I wish they'd just fold.

Sorry about that, but it is the way I feel.

 

[mo64 5,886]

4 hours ago, deespicable me said:

Equalisation is a crock of rats entrails.

That plick Frawley said pay me $700- k or I'm gone and went to Hawthorn for about $350- k. Thanks ####!

 

TBH, I'm envious of Hawthorn. They've always had a strict payments policy. When a superstar like Franklin starts chasing the big bucks, they didn't get in a bidding war. They knew Buddy was leaving, and they just accepted it, and moved on. Same applies to Brad Hill now, although money isn't a factor.

Players stay at the club for less than their market value, and free agents in the twilight of their career are attracted by success, and are also prepared to play for less.

Hawthorn are the envy of every club in the league.

As a club, we should compare our situation with the Dogs. They've re-signed all their young guns to long term deals. IMO, that's a result of Beveridge's instant impact compared to Roos' slow burn approach to success.

[Dockett 32 1,239]

6 hours ago, deespicable me said:

Equalisation is a crock of rats entrails.

That plick Frawley said pay me $700- k or I'm gone and went to Hawthorn for about $350- k. Thanks ####!

Thats what they do. They tell the free agents they're interested in "come and play in a decent team, play finals, enjoy the glory, but don't think you can command big money. It's on our terms or don't bother."

It's all very well for Hawthorn and a couple of other big clubs but the smaller clubs having to pay their own players more money to keep them will keep the premierships in the big clubs coffers for a long while to come.

Gil (who I believe is an empty headed puppet and a political appointment that will just pay lip service to "equalisation" in the interests of Hawthorn) has done nothing to change the alarming direction the game is heading. 

The AFL has to ask itself a basic question. Is the game for the fans?

If the answer is yes then how much joy is enough for the Hawthorn supporters? When are they going to meaningfully intervene to share the joy of the game around to the other supporters?

Shouldn't the charter of the AFL be to create the game in such a fashion that over a ten year period we see at least 15 different teams playing off in a Grand Final? Not easy to do but shouldn't they be at least trying to achieve such an ideal?

Where is there someone, anyone in the media railing against this ridiculous monopoly.

Melbourne will never get there. Never.

Sometimes I wish they'd just fold.

Sorry about that, but it is the way I feel.

 

Don't believe you wish we would just fold but can understand your frustration and share it. In simplistic form the notion that top clubs can adopt the simplest  "anti Robin Hood" strategies by robbing the poor to stay rich is stupid. But don't think to say we will never get there is right. Sure, the way it is ,with clearly inadequate compensation makes success more difficult but it will in the end make it so much sweeter. I believe we have improved, our playing group and coaching staff are really trying. As Roos said when he arrived, we started a mile back and it will take time. However it is happening albeit slowly.

[Straight Sets Simon 23,113]

Put players around McDonald who can kick and he will be a much better player.

[old dee 24,028]

37 minutes ago, Clint Bizkit said:

Put players around McDonald who can kick and he will be a much better player.

Easier said than done in the way the game is played now CB.

[beelzebub 23,390]

22 minutes ago, old dee said:

Easier said than done in the way the game is played now CB.

is more a case of putting players on the paddock to release Tom from attempting the things he's less 'glorious' about  

[beelzebub 23,390]

9 hours ago, jnrmac said:

They did win a flag.....

with Mickey Mouse as coach..... how odd all that now seems in todays light

[old dee 24,028]

2 hours ago, Dockett 32 said:

Don't believe you wish we would just fold but can understand your frustration and share it. In simplistic form the notion that top clubs can adopt the simplest  "anti Robin Hood" strategies by robbing the poor to stay rich is stupid. But don't think to say we will never get there is right. Sure, the way it is ,with clearly inadequate compensation makes success more difficult but it will in the end make it so much sweeter. I believe we have improved, our playing group and coaching staff are really trying. As Roos said when he arrived, we started a mile back and it will take time. However it is happening albeit slowly.

I no longer believe the MFC will win a flag in my life time Dockett there are too many things stacked against Small Victorian clubs and we made every effort to destroy ourselves in the ten years up to 2013 so we are even worse off.

I will be happy to go to my grave supporting a club that wins more than it loses and plays finals regularly.

IMO that is the best I can hope for.