Tom McDonald (and Oscar) SIGNS.

[Ricky P 757]

9 minutes ago, Satyriconhome said:

 I am sure we have enquired lots of players as well  Hibberd  we know of, Hurley probably and  Prestia etc, clubs do it all the time, it doesn't necessarily equate that the player moves

What did he actually say? Did he say "if I get offered more money by a club closer to a premiership I will leave" or just "no, it is not true that I am angry at the amount of cash being offered Hurley"?

[Satyriconhome 10,880]

1 minute ago, Ricky P said:

What did he actually say? Did he say "if I get offered more money by a club closer to a premiership I will leave" or just "no, it is not true that I am angry at the amount of cash being offered Hurley"?

No he just said discussions are ongoing, he is happy at MFC, don't forget there is another side to this, the club, the deal has to be right for both sides, just looking forward to playing Hawthorn, not concerned about all the talk, same with Jesse Hogan.....the managers do most of the talking these days

[Ricky P 757]

19 minutes ago, Satyriconhome said:

No he just said discussions are ongoing, he is happy at MFC, don't forget there is another side to this, the club, the deal has to be right for both sides, just looking forward to playing Hawthorn, not concerned about all the talk, same with Jesse Hogan.....the managers do most of the talking these days

Fair enough. Thanks for that.

[Ron Burgundy 8,588]

On 3 August 2016 at 2:32 PM, jnrmac said:

Thanks Pollyanna

Okay - happy for you to keep boxing at every rumour-shadow that some 16 year old comes up with on FB each morning. 

 

[Cheap Seats 3,310]

4 hours ago, Satyriconhome said:

No he just said discussions are ongoing, he is happy at MFC, don't forget there is another side to this, the club, the deal has to be right for both sides, just looking forward to playing Hawthorn, not concerned about all the talk, same with Jesse Hogan.....the managers do most of the talking these days

So what's the deal with his brother? Waiting to see what hogan decides as well?

I am just having a laugh saty but it is strange no word on this contract. In theory the 2 brothers contracts should be unrelated and what Tom decides you wouldn't believe should affect any decisions..

Does seem.weird 

[stuie 7,374]

Ted Richards set to announce his retirement, TMac yet to re-sign...

Just saying.

 

[Devil is in the Detail 883]

Is T-Mac for T.Mitchell a Fair trade??

[ArtificialWisdom 4,045]

4 minutes ago, Devil is in the Detail said:

Is T-Mac for T.Mitchell a Fair trade??

No. Not even close

[Members' Wing 1,106]

42 minutes ago, Devil is in the Detail said:

Is T-Mac for T.Mitchell a Fair trade??

Not when we've already got a surfeit of inside midfielders and a dearth of decent KPD's

[Demons11 7,128]

1 hour ago, Devil is in the Detail said:

Is T-Mac for T.Mitchell a Fair trade??

Mitchell is a good player but we need some pace.  

[drdrake 3,203]

1 hour ago, Devil is in the Detail said:

Is T-Mac for T.Mitchell a Fair trade??

Yes, but it might not be T Mitchell to the Demons.  T-Mac to Sydney, Mitchell to Hawthorn pick 18 to MFC.  That is about his value on the trade market, flick that to Essendon for Hurley maybe a swap of 3rd round picks

[old55 23,848]

16 hours ago, Satyriconhome said:

No he just said discussions are ongoing, he is happy at MFC, don't forget there is another side to this, the club, the deal has to be right for both sides, just looking forward to playing Hawthorn, not concerned about all the talk, same with Jesse Hogan.....the managers do most of the talking these days

So he didn't say he'll move if

" ... he is offered more money, he thinks another club has a better shot at a premiership, he likes the coaching setup at another club better or has links with the coaches."

 

 

[John Crow Batty 8,886]

5 minutes ago, Fifty-5 said:

So he didn't say he'll move if

" ... he is offered more money, he thinks another club has a better shot at a premiership, he likes the coaching setup at another club better or has links with the coaches."

 

 

"The managers do most of the talking these days"

Good way to fob off difficult questions. 

[ArtificialWisdom 4,045]

21 minutes ago, drdrake said:

Yes, but it might not be T Mitchell to the Demons.  T-Mac to Sydney, Mitchell to Hawthorn pick 18 to MFC.  That is about his value on the trade market, flick that to Essendon for Hurley maybe a swap of 3rd round picks

I wouldnt take pick 18 for TMac he is a young KPD who hasnt even reached his prime and is already performing at an high level. He is perennially underrated on this forum, a late first round pick for him would be an unmitigated disaster. Regardless Essendon would laugh hysterically at you if you offered pick 18 and a swap of later picks for Hurley. Carlisle essentially went for pick 5 remember, I rate Hurley above him I suspect they will too.

[stuie 7,374]

1 minute ago, ArtificialWisdom said:

I wouldnt take pick 18 for TMac he is a young KPD who hasnt even reached his prime and is already performing at an high level. He is perennially underrated on this forum, a late first round pick for him would be an unmitigated disaster. Regardless Essendon would laugh hysterically at you if you offered pick 18 and a swap of later picks for Hurley. Carlisle essentially went for pick 5 remember, I rate Hurley above him I suspect they will too.

Agree with most of that, though the difference is Hurley can walk for nothing if he goes through the legal process. Carlisle couldn't.

 

[stevethemanjordan 6,952]

Again, not pot-shotting the bloke, but T-Mac or no T-Mac I'm not going to be bothered.

Out of any key position on the ground, it's his that is most expendable providing we are to bring in a direct replacement. 

Hogan and Gawn are untouchable because they're clearly streets ahead of T-Mac in regards to how well they play their positions. 

T-Mac has major flaws and therefore can be replaced more easily with a like-for-like player and one that we wouldn't necessarily have to pay huge amounts for.

Jaded and co. have banged on about the 'importance' of keeping players like Frawley and T-Mac, refusing to see or believe that they have major flaws in their game and are therefore easily replaceable players. I don't buy in to the fact that Tom McDonald is 'elite' in any facet yet. He has patches of really good form and he also has patches of shocking form. You don't need to be an amazing player to be able to kill a contest in the air. There are so many key defenders out there who can provide that. 

All I know is that a combination of two McDonald's and Frost going forward is not going to cut it. Especially come finals time where there is a frenzy of pressure at every second of the game. They all make absurd errors at times where there is no pressure. Imagine them kicking out of our defensive-half during a high pressure final.

It's a nightmare in my head.

 

[nutbean 8,838]

49 minutes ago, stevethemanjordan said:

. They all make absurd errors at times where there is no pressure. Imagine them kicking out of our defensive-half during a high pressure final.

I have maintained that it is not the quantum of  TMac's error that is the worry but the very high quality of the errors ! 

Most players will make errors but the ones he makes, as you pointed out, are under little pressure and blow my mind. The kick across the ground last week when under zero pressure ( which fortunately did not cost us) is a prime example.

What I do wonder is the impact on the team ? When the ball is turned over under little or no pressure and costs us dearly - do the players drop their heads - you would hope not but I can't help but think it is a confidence and momentum killer.

[John Crow Batty 8,886]

1 hour ago, stevethemanjordan said:

 

Jaded and co. have banged on about the 'importance' of keeping players like Frawley and T-Mac, refusing to see or believe that they have major flaws in their game and are therefore easily replaceable players. I don't buy in to the fact that Tom McDonald is 'elite' in any facet yet. He has patches of really good form and he also has patches of shocking form. You don't need to be an amazing player to be able to kill a contest in the air. There are so many key defenders out there who can provide that. 

 

 

I have been paying particular attention to Frawley now that he is at Hawthorn. Last season he was wobbly until he shook off the bad habits he had whilst he was here. This season he has made few errors and is now the cornerstone of their defence. The sum total is that we had lost our best key defender and experience we sorely lack because he just was not interested in playing for us.  Losing TMac will be the same loss doubled up. Sure  he makes errors but by appearances it has not stopped elite clubs from having an interest in him because they know his value.  He will be very hard to replace.

[drdrake 3,203]

Would love to see the AFL ladder on Players turnover which results in a score.  T McDonald will almost be sitting on the top of that ladder, his turnovers over the season will average out a 2-3 scores per game.  Granted some of this is due to his location on the ground but unfortunately for us as soon as he turns the footy over it will be a score.  He will stay at Melbourne and do a good job, but he is one player that has trade value

[stevethemanjordan 6,952]

1 hour ago, america de cali said:

I have been paying particular attention to Frawley now that he is at Hawthorn. Last season he was wobbly until he shook off the bad habits he had whilst he was here. This season he has made few errors and is now the cornerstone of their defence. The sum total is that we had lost our best key defender and experience we sorely lack because he just was not interested in playing for us.  Losing TMac will be the same loss doubled up. Sure  he makes errors but by appearances it has not stopped elite clubs from having an interest in him because they know his value.  He will be very hard to replace.

This is the theme posters seem to stick with and it seriously confuses me. It's as if ya'll assume that if he was to leave, we'd pick up nobody in the off-season as a replacement. Why is that assumed on here?

Obviously if he left us and we didn't bring in a like-for-like defender then yes it may be problematic next year.

Tom McDonald isn't Alex Rance or Michael Hurley. He is a young defender who possesses some great qualities but who also is limited in areas of his game. 

My preference is for Tom to stay but for us to also bring another key defensive player in. However, I most certainly won't think that it's the end of the world if he decides to go unlike some on here who thinks it'll push as back 'X amount of years'. That is complete nonsense. 

 

[rjay 25,358]

5 minutes ago, stevethemanjordan said:

This is the theme posters seem to stick with and it seriously confuses me. It's as if ya'll assume that if he was to leave, we'd pick up nobody in the off-season as a replacement. Why is that assumed on here?

Obviously if he left us and we didn't bring in a like-for-like defender then yes it may be problematic next year.

Tom McDonald isn't Alex Rance or Michael Hurley. He is a young defender who possesses some great qualities but who also is limited in areas of his game. 

My preference is for Tom to stay but for us to also bring another key defensive player in. However, I most certainly won't think that it's the end of the world if he decides to go unlike some on here who thinks it'll push as back 'X amount of years'. That is complete nonsense. 

 

Alex Rance wasn't Alex Rance at the same age, he was the turnover king of the AFL. As an anti Richmond person I used to laugh myself silly when Rance had the ball in hand. Couldn't believe his poor decision making and skill errors.

[John Crow Batty 8,886]

6 minutes ago, stevethemanjordan said:

This is the theme posters seem to stick with and it seriously confuses me. It's as if ya'll assume that if he was to leave, we'd pick up nobody in the off-season as a replacement. Why is that assumed on here?

Obviously if he left us and we didn't bring in a like-for-like defender then yes it may be problematic next year.

Tom McDonald isn't Alex Rance or Michael Hurley. He is a young defender who possesses some great qualities but who also is limited in areas of his game. 

My preference is for Tom to stay but for us to also bring another key defensive player in. However, I most certainly won't think that it's the end of the world if he decides to go unlike some on here who thinks it'll push as back 'X amount of years'. That is complete nonsense. 

 

Hurley and Rance had relatively slow starts to their careers. There were also questions asked about their chances of making it. Both have a season on TMac for experience and games played.  They are all closer than you think.  And there are few if any like for like big defenders on the market.

[ArtificialWisdom 4,045]

1 minute ago, stevethemanjordan said:

This is the theme posters seem to stick with and it seriously confuses me. It's as if ya'll assume that if he was to leave, we'd pick up nobody in the off-season as a replacement. Why is that assumed on here?

Obviously if he left us and we didn't bring in a like-for-like defender then yes it may be problematic next year.

Tom McDonald isn't Alex Rance or Michael Hurley. He is a young defender who possesses some great qualities but who also is limited in areas of his game. 

My preference is for Tom to stay but for us to also bring another key defensive player in. However, I most certainly won't think that it's the end of the world if he decides to go unlike some on here who thinks it'll push as back 'X amount of years'. That is complete nonsense. 

 

My big consern is I'm not sure where you are going to find this "like for like defender". There isnt many KPDs on the market which is exactly why other teams are going after Tom. I rate Tom as a B+/A- grade defender with potential to be among the elite within the next 3 years. Yeah you're right if we get a B grade defender to replace him the world wont cave in, but who?

[whatwhat say what 23,650]

Rance has three seasons and Hurley two on T Mac.

 

Yes he has flaws. Most players do.

 

He remains our most experienced and best key defender.

 

Pick 18 in a pretty weak draft would not cut it. We would need to bring in like for like, and I can't see that happening.

 

At least three clubs are rumored to be in the mix - all offering him $700k over 5 to switch clubs.

 

Our sole saving grace here is that he's not a free agent and it will require a trade to get it done.

 

Personally I do not want to lose him.

 

23 year olds who have played 100 games as yr key defensive pillar do not grow on trees.

 

Going at 83% disposal efficiency this year for what it's worth, and averaging nearly 19 a game. Leads our 1%ers by a country mile.

[Redleg 42,052]

Tom needs to be re signed as a priority.

To get a draft pick,  which if used on a young player and not a trade, puts us years back, until the player, if good enough, is experienced and developed physically.