A few anti-Oscar's still clutching at straws this week. It's been said a number of times, but bigger guys take time. Rance was a butcher two years ago and hopeless three years. Frawley was ordinary when he first started out. It's experience Oscar needs and at the moment he's getting it.

34 minutes ago, SPC said:

That missed kick was shocking, but he was so fatigued he never even wanted the ball. One thing about Oscar, his kicking action looks solid and he will become a very reliable kick with some work and maturity.

Completely agree

13 hours ago, daisycutter said:

the club has decided to fast track oscar's development by getting games into him because we have a desperate need for tall key position players, and, they obviously see potential in him

in a perfect situation he'd probably have spent another year developing at casey

so of course you'd expect basic errors/deficiencies in someone so young playing in a key position, but already you can see the strategy starting to pay dividends.

a good preseason and plenty of weights and we can hopefully see the fruits of accelerated development in 2017

I'm calling it now. In 2018 Oscar will be our Alex Rance (minus the occasional red mist). He'll build up his strength, his disposal will be very good, and his footy instincts will be honed. I reckon the coaches would be absolutely rapt with his past two weeks - not because they've been perfect & error-free, but just because of his overall improvement.

1 hour ago, AdamFphlebeb said:

A few anti-Oscar's still clutching at straws this week. It's been said a number of times, but bigger guys take time. Rance was a butcher two years ago and hopeless three years. Frawley was ordinary when he first started out. It's experience Oscar needs and at the moment he's getting it.

I wouldn't have thought pointing out his deficiencies is clutching at straws.

It's a totally valid debate as to whether he should be learning his skills at Casey or the seniors. If Garland or Dunn were better OMac would most likley not be playing.

18 minutes ago, jnrmac said:

I wouldn't have thought pointing out his deficiencies is clutching at straws.

It's a totally valid debate as to whether he should be learning his skills at Casey or the seniors. If Garland or Dunn were better OMac would most likley not be playing.

It seems to be either he's too slow (pull the other one, picket) or it's his skills and decision-making (both of which improve with experience).

6 minutes ago, AdamFphlebeb said:

It seems to be either he's too slow (pull the other one, picket) or it's his skills and decision-making (both of which improve with experience).

He completely lacks intensity, panics and puts teammates under pressure just to avoid being tackled, and individually costs us more than a couple goals a game. Should be at Casey developing, not being reassured his current effort is acceptable

From the small sample i have seen, his biggest weakness is his lack of strength. Gets brushed out of the contest by guys much smaller. Also his decision making is pretty horrible at times.

But geezus he is just a kid. I suspect he is being forced to develop quickly as insurance in case his brother leaves and we dont get Hurley. In an ideal world he would have had the majority of the season in the 2's getting a handle on the basics, but as it is we could only have replaced him with Dunn ( i would have done just that a few times this season ) or Garland. Now for some reason they are not getting games. Can only guess why, but its obvious they are not part of the future for MFC.

I am of the belief (misguided or not) that he will become a very very good defender in time. Right now he is being asked to play key roles before he is ready. That is not the kids fault.

Anyway, i rate him as a prospect. *shrug

 

 

Jay Clark Verified account ‏@ClarkyHeraldSun

Big news @melbournefc McDonald brothers re-sign Exclusive here

 

 

Fabulous news.  Can the week get any better than this!!

Edit:  to answer my own question - yes Jesse could sign but for now I'm happy to have the two Macs signed up

 

Now Official!

http://www.melbournefc.com.au/news/2016-08-10/two-big-macs-order-a-couple-more

On 09/08/2016 at 1:51 PM, tappysquads said:

He completely lacks intensity, panics and puts teammates under pressure just to avoid being tackled, and individually costs us more than a couple goals a game. Should be at Casey developing, not being reassured his current effort is acceptable

why can't anyone else see the obvious? Should be in the AFL Development League. He's re signing was probably a previso for Tom to resign.

Is it my love of everything to do with the Demons or should Oscar get a Rising Star nomination.  Pretty difficult as a defender, I guess.  But he has had a terrific year compared to some of the mid-fielders being nominated.

Would top off the year very nicely for him!

On 8/10/2016 at 8:47 PM, Lucifer's Hero said:

Is it my love of everything to do with the Demons or should Oscar get a Rising Star nomination.  Pretty difficult as a defender, I guess.  But he has had a terrific year compared to some of the mid-fielders being nominated.

Would top off the year very nicely for him!

I am quite excited to see what he produces next year with another full pre season and serious gym time to put on some size, i think he'll be better than his brother in 2 years time.

50 minutes ago, gawndog said:

why can't anyone else see the obvious? Should be in the AFL Development League. He's re signing was probably a previso for Tom to resign.

His

Proviso

Re sign

Troll

Played less than 20 games

2 hours ago, Lucifer's Hero said:

 

Jay Clark Verified account ‏@ClarkyHeraldSun

Big news @melbournefc McDonald brothers re-sign Exclusive here

 

 

Fabulous news.  Can the week get any better than this!!

Edit:  to answer my own question - yes Jesse could sign but for now I'm happy to have the two Macs signed up

 

Did anybody else notice how much taller Oscar is? Oscar is listed as 196cm and Tom at 194cm, however, surely Oscar must be taller than that. If Tom is 194cm, Oscar must be at least 200cm. Maybe he's grown?

I've been comfortable with the way we've developed him. Early on this year I did question whether he deserved to retain his spot as he was getting push around fairly easily and the easy option would have been to bring in Garland for him. Well done to the coaching staff for persisting with him, he's showing confidence and they seem to really love playing with each other.

Big Mac and Junior Mac!

Was a fairly obvious re-signing that was always going to happen. The kid is 20...

Is he an important re-signing? Sure, he is young, has shown some signs of improvement and we're incredibly low on key position players.

Will he be anything like Alex Rance as posters suggest? Not on your life. Barely anybody within the AFL has the physical attributes that Rance possesses. Rance's only weakness early days was his decision making and skill execution skills. And they are now long gone. I'm not sure why posters try to compare players who are worlds apart in their makeup from both a physical and football skill-set point of view.

I'm completely on the fence with O-Mac at this point in his career. He is a young developing player who has shown both some good and bad signs as a player. We'll see what he becomes in time.. But Rance? 

The best defender in the league? 

No.

1 hour ago, Lucifer's Hero said:

Is it my love of everything to do with the Demons or should Oscar get a Rising Star nomination.  Pretty difficult as a defender, I guess.  But he has had a terrific year compared to some of the mid-fielders being nominated.

Would top off the year very nicely for him!

Weitering got one..

On Tuesday, August 09, 2016 at 1:01 PM, Akum said:

I'm calling it now. In 2018 Oscar will be our Alex Rance (minus the occasional red mist). He'll build up his strength, his disposal will be very good, and his footy instincts will be honed. I reckon the coaches would be absolutely rapt with his past two weeks - not because they've been perfect & error-free, but just because of his overall improvement.

Good lord.. The next Alex Rance?

Whatever your smoking give us a wiff would ya.

1 hour ago, stevethemanjordan said:

Was a fairly obvious re-signing that was always going to happen. The kid is 20...

Is he an important re-signing? Sure, he is young, has shown some signs of improvement and we're incredibly low on key position players.

Will he be anything like Alex Rance as posters suggest? Not on your life. Barely anybody within the AFL has the physical attributes that Rance possesses. Rance's only weakness early days was his decision making and skill execution skills. And they are now long gone. I'm not sure why posters try to compare players who are worlds apart in their makeup from both a physical and football skill-set point of view.

I'm completely on the fence with O-Mac at this point in his career. He is a young developing player who has shown both some good and bad signs as a player. We'll see what he becomes in time.. But Rance? 

The best defender in the league? 

No.

If your reference to Rance is in reference to what I said, all I simply said was that Rance was a butcher. And no, you're being revisionist here, Steve. He was weak in the contest too and was an abject failure when thrown forward too. To put it simply, Rance was a hack early on, but he's developed into one of the greatest one on one players of his generation.

On 09/08/2016 at 9:41 AM, Lucifer's Hero said:

Maybe picketfence can redeem himself his doubts and criticism (as ProDee graciously did with Jack Watts) when Oscar has his breakout season and agree to change his avatar to Oscar.  I am happy to volunteer to choose one. 

I can guarantee it won't take 7 years for picket's new avatar to be needed!!!

 

On 09/08/2016 at 10:56 AM, picket fence said:

You are ON!

 

Good sport!

In the votes this week!!

I have bookmarked this thread and started looking for your new avatar...the day when you will need it is coming faster than I thought! 

another great game last night from a developing youngster.

 

he, tommy mac and frost are all smart footballers - they read the play so well, and whilst they don't always make the 'right' decision with the ball in hand, i back them in to get it right more often than not.

 

i'd say o mac is tracking ahead of t mac at the same age.

Just now, DemonAndrew said:

another great game last night from a developing youngster.

 

he, tommy mac and frost are all smart footballers - they read the play so well, and whilst they don't always make the 'right' decision with the ball in hand, i back them in to get it right more often than not.

 

i'd say o mac is tracking ahead of t mac at the same age.

with a bit more weight, strength and aggression to come, he has a huge upside

10 minutes ago, daisycutter said:

with a bit more weight, strength and aggression to come, he has a huge upside

What!  he is going to get taller?

3 minutes ago, old dee said:

What!  he is going to get taller?

Less sapling ... More tree