I think our kicking as a whole team was pretty average on the weekend. We didn't adapt to the wind at all. McDonald seems like a real student of the game and I bet he understands and is harder on his deficiency than anyone else. 

15 minutes ago, dazzledavey36 said:

That's just a stupid question mate hence why I didn't answer the first time

Of course you wouldn't 'delist' him. No one would. But he has a big weakness that he needs to work on.

Pretty simple really.

Then if you wouldn't delisted him you'd play him. 

That's what we are doing. So you would do exactly what we are doing. 

Thanks. I now know you support his selection. 

Pretty simple really. 

22 minutes ago, Baghdad Bob said:

Then if you wouldn't delisted him you'd play him. 

That's what we are doing. So you would do exactly what we are doing. 

Thanks. I now know you support his selection. 

Pretty simple really. 

Um WTF?

No one has remotely mentioned anything about delisting him except you mate which was just a bizarre question from the very start.

And no you wouldn't delist him because he is a good defender. Again no one has questioned that at all, Do you actually understand that? He needs to learn to do the basic thing we are taught from auskick and improve his decision making or else it will get shown out come finals time!

Seriously is it that hard for some of you to actually understand the simple point im trying to make?

 

 

 

9 minutes ago, dazzledavey36 said:

Um WTF?

No one has remotely mentioned anything about delisting him except you mate which was just a bizarre question from the very start.

And no you wouldn't delist him because he is a good defender. Again no one has questioned that at all, Do you actually understand that? He needs to learn to do the basic thing we are taught from auskick and improve his decision making or else it will get shown out come finals time!

Seriously is it that hard for some of you to actually understand the simple point im trying to make?

FMD

 

 

Yes we all get your point mate, calm down.

Your point is that none of Roos, Goodwin, McCartney, Rawlings, Craig, Neeld, Bailey, Viney and McDonald himself have noticed his kicking needs improving and they needed you to point it out to them via Demonland so that the process may finally begin.

Bloke is a 23 year old key position player, let's not forget that. Feels like he's been around forever because he was thrust into the action so early, but he's only a year older than Frost whom we still consider a more raw talent.

 

1 minute ago, stuie said:

Yes we all get your point mate, calm down.

Your point is that none of Roos, Goodwin, McCartney, Rawlings, Craig, Neeld, Bailey, Viney and McDonald himself have noticed his kicking needs improving and they needed you to point it out to them via Demonland so that the process may finally begin.

Bloke is a 23 year old key position player, let's not forget that. Feels like he's been around forever because he was thrust into the action so early, but he's only a year older than Frost whom we still consider a more raw talent.

 

The big issue I have is 6 years on an AFL list to work on this and yet we have seen zero improvement. That's my biggest worry. Im sure coaches and staff are working with him I get that, But the big fear I have is that it might cost us big time in the near future when we are playing off in finals and the pressure goes through the roof.

1 minute ago, stuie said:

Yes we all get your point mate, calm down.

Your point is that none of Roos, Goodwin, McCartney, Rawlings, Craig, Neeld, Bailey, Viney and McDonald himself have noticed his kicking needs improving and they needed you to point it out to them via Demonland so that the process may finally begin.

Bloke is a 23 year old key position player, let's not forget that. Feels like he's been around forever because he was thrust into the action so early, but he's only a year older than Frost whom we still consider a more raw talent.

 

The big issue I have is 6 years on an AFL list to work on this and yet we have seen zero improvement. That's my biggest worry. I'm sure coaches and staff are working with him I get that, But the big fear I have is that it might cost us big time in the near future when we are playing off in finals and the pressure goes through the roof.

19 hours ago, AdamFarr said:

His decision making is just not improving. He consistently bites off more than he can chew. I'm surprised to be honest, because I'd expect a coach like Roos to be all over a guy like this. He's continually failed to realise his limitations. It's bewildering that they let him keep doing it. It's as if they're telling him to keep backing himself in.

With the rhetoric stripped away the common line in this thread is that Tommy needs to respect his limitations. My expectation is that that's not what he's being told at all and that the coaching staff believe he can improve on the perceived limitations and be moulded into a creative running back. Otherwise it would seem he'd be in constant breach of fairly simple team instructions. 

19 hours ago, AdamFarr said:

His decision making is just not improving. He consistently bites off more than he can chew. I'm surprised to be honest, because I'd expect a coach like Roos to be all over a guy like this. He's continually failed to realise his limitations. It's bewildering that they let him keep doing it. It's as if they're telling him to keep backing himself in.

With the rhetoric stripped away the common line in this thread is that Tommy needs to respect his limitations. My expectation is that that's not what he's being told at all and that the coaching staff believe he can improve on the perceived limitations and be moulded into a creative running back. Otherwise it would seem he'd be in constant breach of fairly simple team instructions. 

Our backline would be stuffed without him

4 hours ago, beelzebub said:

Oh....I get it...Its a practice match....we dont really play footy ...you can just kick like shlt because everyone has a golden ticket.

 

silly me

Can I like this more than once....

4 hours ago, beelzebub said:

Oh....I get it...Its a practice match....we dont really play footy ...you can just kick like shlt because everyone has a golden ticket.

 

silly me

Can I like this more than once....

Bottom line is he is a required player and we need him. He does not need to take a long hard look at himself, although some of the posters do. He needs to work on his weaknesses like we all do. How many posters have worked on their weaknesses this week?

i have a weakness for reading 300 circular posts in an argument where the opposing participants are never likely to be swayed. I had a promising off-season but I'm back to same errors week in week out. .

i have a weakness for reading 300 circular posts in an argument where the opposing participants are never likely to swayed. I had a promising off-season but I'm back to same errors week in week out. .

He has actually improved his kicking in the past couple of years. He had a really off day on Sunday and his kicking was pretty bad but last year here was ok. He has a very flawed kicking action and he rarely kicks off a couple steps but rather, he runs away from opponents and gives himself time to balance. This luxury is not always possible. He is one of those who has to kick within his limitations. Neville Jetta can't kick more than about 40 metres but he usually hits a target because he is aware that he can't kick long and accurately. Tom McDonald's problem is the weight and accuracy of the kicks.

I'd love to see him learn to kick from scratch on his left foot. Teach him from the very basics like international recruits are. There's a controversial idea. Because there's a limit to how proficient he'll ever be on his right due to his technique and lack of feel with the foot. He's rarely balance and too often shins the ball in an attempt to not sky it. 

Anyway, I was just thinking he was pretty ordinary against Freo, the Dogs and Essendon last year in the NAB challenge. I remember Pav and Daniher getting hold of him and him getting caught with the ball. 

He then played a great half season before reverting to poor form.

So now I'm not sure if he'll suddenly go from poor form to good form when the season starts like last year or if last years first half was just a mirage.

I would have liked to see us try Tom up at CHF and Frost down back for a game or two. TMac using his engine to incessantly roam up and down the forward half to create options. He is a good mark and didn't he come to us as a young forward? 

I got very frustrated with Jared Rivers. Great defender....murdered a ball.Didn't care when he went. I got very frustrated with Chip.....great defender ,master of the turnover. I didn't care when he went.

Please fix your disposals Tom..

I'm convinced that the majority of harsh critics here weren't at the ground. McDonald had a poor first quarter. He was good after quarter time. In the first quarter we kicked into a strong breeze on an unprotected ground that we had never seen before. It took a while to read the conditions and the ground. The Bulldogs were unable to kick a goal to the 'southern' end for the whole contest, so McDonald had a lot of 'mates' from both sides on the day. It is plain stupidity to use Sunday's game as a reason to ridicule one of our young guns! I do not regard those that have been hysterical in their criticism as MFC supporters.... more closely related to trolls in my opinion. 

Game 3 id like to see a back line of 

Jetta Frost Wagner

Salem Tmac Vince

and for at least the first 2.5 - 3 quarters.

I know what I'll get from Garland and Dunn, let's mix it up. 

 

OP has blown TMac's game way out of proportion. He wasn't that bad from the replay I watched and won plenty of one-on-one contests.

Good teams manage to get the ball into the hands of quality ball users (Salem, Vince etc) without making 45m passes

Complete given that he's not a suckling who can kick the ball like its a targeted missile, but suckling cant defend like Tom.

I reckon we give him the chance to knock off the ring rust and allow him to find the form that had him in All Australian form last year.

Our grunt, courage and increased midfield depth, means a lot more to me than worrying about a bloke we would die for in the draft based on last years efforts.

I'm an eternal "glass half empty" guy, but I'm not going to shoot him based on a windy day where most of his errors were via disposal.

I understand, neh, I share the pain of long term supporters that find skill errors frustrating, but with the positives of Viney (fk me), VDB, Harmes, Kennedy, Hogan, Vince, Jeffy, Petracca, Gawn (fully fit) and Oliver add to our best 22 in the last few years I think we can sympathise with a bloke that maybe isnt the best kick in the AFL and a team that has turned over more times than Paris Hilton.

Viva les Demons

Somehow posted as a quote.... such is life.

Dig deep Dee fans

I finally got around to seeing Sundays game replay. Sad to say I think Tom is a considerable liability down back at the moment. He is indecisive, he starts to look to dish it off then changes his mind and gets confused then gets run down or kicks it to an opposition player. He seems to lack awareness of the opposition players when he has the ball. The way he runs the ball out of defense reminds me a little of the way frawley used to get caught waltzing out of the backline.  Tom unfortunately is far too often a poor kick.  The concern I have that opposition coaches must see this, so all then need to do is instruct their players if melbourne looks to be winning the ball out of the backline then one of their players needs to give a free to tom, push him over, tackle him 50 yards off the ball, anything to get the ball back into his hands. The opposition team then has a reasonably high probability based on todays effort of handing it back to them in a much better scoring position.

I would strongly suggest that Tom be moved to CHF or HFF, he is big strong he can take a mark and had done reasonably well down there, put Frost of Pederson back at CHF. If he does take a mark he should go back and have a deliberate shot, if he gets a score its a bonus, better than giving goals away.

I have also been very negative about Tom with ball in hand.  Very poor disposal by both hand & feet and I think he would be found out even more with the increase in tempo & pressure of finals. 

I find it staggering that we aren't developing Frost as a KPD and get Tom to play that tall wingman or hit up forward role. 

Gee some of you "Frost lovers" go back and have a look at your great full back hope in the first quarter when Minson (Frosts man) took a mark and kicked a goal. Frost although he was right with Minson lost body contact and was nowhere near spoiling Minson. In fact TMac who left his man got across and was the closest to spoiling him. How some of you guys put Frost in the same realm as TMac is unbelievable, he's not a chance to do anywhere near as good as TMac. You'd weaken the backline way too much. Frost is a fringe player at the moment competing with Pederson and Dawes for a spot in the team and probably third in line at that. And his disposal is probably worse than TMac.