Vandenberg

[McQueen 17,867]

1 hour ago, Nasher said:

Did Brayshaw get caught "a couple of times"? I recall once (the HTB before 3qt), and he was totally and utterly filthy about it.

I don't count times in traffic when receiving dud handballs from teammates.

Yeah, he genuinely got done with the ball a couple of times.

The occasion you speak of looked as though nobody bothered to tell him he was under pressure.

[Gorgoroth 13,144]

Vanders uae to hunt the opposition. This year he hasn't done that.  1 tackle yesterday showed that.  

At his best he is a beast at the man with the ball.

[DeeSpencer 26,094]

Clearly wasn't right when he played early in the season.

Since he came back in I thought he played well against Collingwood, Adelaide and Freo. Scrappy with his ball use - he'll never be a sublime user - but crashed in, tackled well and played with good burst. 

The pace and pressure that the Saints play with at Etihad found him out + whatever the Darwin factor is. If he has to go back to Casey for a few weeks so be it. 

Overall though I think he'll get his body right at the end of the year he'll be the same player he was last year. Strong at the contest, excellent tackler, good in the air or on the ground. He probably wouldn't be a regular in a top 4-6 side unless his ball use improves or he becomes a truly elite pressure forward but I still think he's got a heap to offer. 

[FarNorthernD 5,861]

Yes he is a difficult one to work out. He burst onto the scene last year with pretty much no pre-season coming off shoulder surgery. He averaged 18 possessions, 3 marks and a super impressive 5.5 tackles a game over the first 9 games with his best being a 29 disposal 11 tackle effort gaining himself 3 Brownlow votes along the way. He was missed after he got injured. 

His best last season was very good

This year he has failed to develop and has gone backwards. No doubt other teams are more aware of his capabilities and there may be some of the second year blues even for a 24 year old. Without being in the inner sanctum it is also hard to know how much this years injury has hampered him. Probably a fair bit I'm guessing as he has had a few over a short time

I assume Aaron will get back to his best (which is very good), but till then he may find himself in and out of the team

[Demon_JB 1,385]

Is it a case of the contract extension curse? Do some players work rate change when they put pen to paper? 

[Bay Riffin 1,484]

2 hours ago, P-man said:

No he doesn't. Not that I've seen anyway. He's been pretty slow from the get go.

He is a bull at a gate when fully fit and he's strong overhead, but speed and skill is definitely lacking. I think many of us may have jumped the gun on his capabilities. We need better players than him to progress.

no he is pretty quick. he looks like he is lacking endurance right now.

[Adzman 2,154]

We have a surplus of inside mid, and a glaring need for quick ones.

Vanders could be on the trade table. He has value, and we have other needs.

 

[Emerald 1,744]

I'm a bit worried vanders has already played his role for the club,I hope I'm wrong.

[spirit of norm smith 16,596]

Rookie selection.

We may have seen his best.

Question remains if he is up to AFL standard. Pace a query.

[TeamPlayedFine39 8,522]

I feel he's been played out of position his entire time at MFC. He was recruited as a hard, inside, accumulating mid. He seemingly is played nowadays as a third tall.

Lets spend the remaining rounds seeing if he can do what he was recruited to do; get him in the guts.

[jnrmac 20,207]

12 minutes ago, TeamPlayedFine39 said:

I feel he's been played out of position his entire time at MFC. He was recruited as a hard, inside, accumulating mid. He seemingly is played nowadays as a third tall.

Lets spend the remaining rounds seeing if he can do what he was recruited to do; get him in the guts.

Can't have players in the middle not defending as well...Needs to do that. And if there are questions on his tank he can't play in the middle...

[Adam The God 30,542]

Said it earlier in the year. He's nothing more than a fringer. He's tough, but what are his other tools. He has been known to take a good mark. He dropped 4 or 5 sitters yesterday. His disposal is ordinary. Will probably get another contract, but I wouldn't hope for much more from him.

[Lil_red_fire_engine 11,262]

Does not have the skill or engine to be a first up mid. Lacks the aggression and impact he had as a high half forward last year. Will be good depth next year.

[DeeZee 7,445]

Has to be dropped this week otherwise selection is a farce.

[titan_uranus 25,058]

Form isn't good enough right now to warrant being selected.

I'm not going to write him off and he may not have fully recovered from his injury, but right now he's not playing anywhere near well enough to suggest he is a long-term staple of the side.

9 hours ago, Nasher said:

Did Brayshaw get caught "a couple of times"? I recall once (the HTB before 3qt), and he was totally and utterly filthy about it.

I don't count times in traffic when receiving dud handballs from teammates.

There were two times when he got caught having had ample time to get rid of it - once in the first I think, and the one in the third.

The fact he was filthy about it doesn't change that it wasn't good enough, Nasher, especially given that was the second time it had happened that game. Looked to be a step behind the pace of the game, which he'll learn from for next week of course, but did not help yesterday.

[Adam The God 30,542]

2 hours ago, titan_uranus said:

Form isn't good enough right now to warrant being selected.

I'm not going to write him off and he may not have fully recovered from his injury, but right now he's not playing anywhere near well enough to suggest he is a long-term staple of the side.

There were two times when he got caught having had ample time to get rid of it - once in the first I think, and the one in the third.

The fact he was filthy about it doesn't change that it wasn't good enough, Nasher, especially given that was the second time it had happened that game. Looked to be a step behind the pace of the game, which he'll learn from for next week of course, but did not help yesterday.

What is intriguing about this is that I'd agree he seemed off the pace on the outside, but on the inside he probably played his best game for the club. So how can a guy get the job done in the clutches, yet struggle on the outside? Unless he has poor peripheral vision. And then those concussions add up...

[Nasher 33,617]

12 hours ago, titan_uranus said:

The fact he was filthy about it doesn't change that it wasn't good enough, Nasher, especially given that was the second time it had happened that game. Looked to be a step behind the pace of the game, which he'll learn from for next week of course, but did not help yesterday.

Yes, I know it wasn't good enough. I wasn't implying that it was.

I don't agree with your assertion that he did not look behind the pace of the game though.  Besides the event in question (and I don't recall one in the first quarter, but others do so I will take your word(s) for it), I thought his ability to compete for the ball and use it cleanly and quickly was a feature of his game.  

To me he looked a totally different player to the one we saw earlier in the year, but I must have been the only one to see it that way.

[old dee 23,927]

3 hours ago, Nasher said:

Yes, I know it wasn't good enough. I wasn't implying that it was.

I don't agree with your assertion that he did not look behind the pace of the game though.  Besides the event in question (and I don't recall one in the first quarter, but others do so I will take your word(s) for it), I thought his ability to compete for the ball and use it cleanly and quickly was a feature of his game.  

To me he looked a totally different player to the one we saw earlier in the year, but I must have been the only one to see it that way.

you are not alone Nasher I agree

[Deestar9 1,712]

He will also have to manage his ankle for the rest of the season ....we need his hard body to take some of the hits & protect our younger players ....

[Adam The God 30,542]

4 hours ago, Nasher said:

Yes, I know it wasn't good enough. I wasn't implying that it was.

I don't agree with your assertion that he did not look behind the pace of the game though.  Besides the event in question (and I don't recall one in the first quarter, but others do so I will take your word(s) for it), I thought his ability to compete for the ball and use it cleanly and quickly was a feature of his game.  

To me he looked a totally different player to the one we saw earlier in the year, but I must have been the only one to see it that way.

No, I saw it. He was a lot cleaner and more desicive in tight than he was earlier in the year.

[Tough Kent 2,137]

15 hours ago, Deestar9 said:

He will also have to manage his ankle for the rest of the season ....we need his hard body to take some of the hits & protect our younger players ....

Agreed. He was clearly hobbling on that ankle again on Sunday. He's not right. I'm expecting the 'vandenBerg out for the season' email from the club any minute now.