I think they would have told him he is only a chance to play if a really specific role can't be filled by someone younger than him of roughly equal ability. Similar to Grimes. Is a good mark for his height so imagine he might be a good replacement for Watts but its not going to happen. In any case its better he doesn't get selected in the squad if he isn't going to play. Don't need him travelling to WA again to sit on the bench like they did in the JLT.

Media should ask or club should explain in the VFL reports what he needs to work on to make AFL

Edited June 22, 20178 yr by Demons1858

44 minutes ago, Red and Blue realist said:

??? Kennedy kicked 5 that night, plus we were within a couple of kicks with 5 minutes or so to go when they kicked a couple of cheap ones. From memory we also restricted the game time of our key players, while they ran pretty close to normal.

I wouldn't be taking too much notice of the JLT game at all.  

Just had a look. Our major goal scorers... Spencer with 3, hogan with 2. Eagles had 7/10 major ball winners. Gaff was super. I think that's why I'm having gaffmares.

Love the guy, love his perseverance and fortitude.

But I'm in the camp that says he has no future at the Dees beyond this year. He might get another chance or two, but the game has gone past him IMO. People talk about Sam Mitchell, Priddas, Hodge etc being slow yet fast in mind and good with disposal. However, they are all close to the end of their careers and the game is getting faster and faster and Jack is not at their level. That type of player will likely struggle in the future. VFL is miles slower than AFL, Jack is 25 and should be at the peak of his skills and speed.

I'd love to be wrong, would be wrapped to see him on any AFL list next year, but it saddens me to say I cannot see a playing future for him at MFC.

Edited June 22, 20178 yr by Moonshadow

11 minutes ago, Moonshadow said:

Love the guy, love his perseverance and fortitude.

But I'm in the camp that says he has no future at the Dees beyond this year. He might get another chance or two, but the game has gone past him IMO. People talk about Sam Mitchell, Priddas, Hodge etc being slow yet fast in mind and good with disposal. However, they are all close to the end of their careers and the game is getting faster and faster and Jack is not at their level. That type of player will likely struggle in the future. VFL is miles slower than AFL, Jack is 25 and should be at the peak of his skills and speed.

I'd love to be wrong, would be wrapped to see him on any AFL list next year, but it saddens me to say I cannot see a playing future for him at MFC.

Harsh... but not unfair. I reckon if we did drop him off the list, and he went off, say, to Gold Coast to replace Barlow. And he found a Mitchell type role... would any of us be saddened or [censored] off by that? Would any of us say of the footy department that they didn't do their jobs? I reckon no. He's 25. He's been persevered with. The MFC list is in drastically different shape now... and may actually be the hardest list in the AFL to get onto. Circumstance is partly the culprit.

"'Pedo' will play. He's been in exceptional form and we want to be a club that rewards players in good form," Goodwin said on Thursday. 

...

 

Former co-captain Jack Trengove was not in the selection mix to replace key midfielder Nathan Jones (calf) as he continues to improve his game playing as a half-back in the VFL.

"He's still got a little bit of stuff we want to see from him," Goodwin said of Trengove, who hasn't featured at AFL level since round 13 last season.  

"He won't be a selection option for us this week, but he's starting to really push his claims over the next few weeks." 

 

 

Here is some more info but still lacking clarity. 

1 hour ago, Dappa Dan said:

In the same presser that Goody says he's not being considered this week, he says he'll be looked at in the weeks following. Jones is out 4-6. This thread will be revisited til he's back.

I wonder if this is indication that there will be no unforced changes after the win? Ie Gawn for Jones only.  

14 minutes ago, deanox said:

I wonder if this is indication that there will be no unforced changes after the win? Ie Gawn for Jones only.  

No because it has been reported by various sources that Watts didn't complete training as he had to leave track early after appearing to have issues with his hamstring again.

14 minutes ago, deanox said:

I wonder if this is indication that there will be no unforced changes after the win? Ie Gawn for Jones only.  

Yeah I see your thinking. You might be right. I love the unchanged side technique. When Roos won the flag with the swans he used something ridiculous like 28 players all season. He'd have to be weighing that up against the 6 day break worries he has.

Still. Watts and Jones. That's not just a simple forward pocket you're replacing. Those guys do that much heavy lifting. Structurally we could line up completely differently yet again.

57 minutes ago, Dappa Dan said:

You might not. I reckon the coaching department will. They're not the same kind of info you get as in season games... but they're not dead useless. Take us for example... if we played jkh and they wanted to know the role he plays, they only have his mid season games to look at. They'd be checking what he did in jlt definitely. It's usable tape.

And yeah I remember the game. They looked a lot better than us when the game was up for grabs. Yeah Kennedy is a big out, but they got the ball to him. I really rate their mids. Shuey, gaff, priddis, hutch is a great negator. Gaff in particular worries me. If I'm goody I get our quickest mid and tell him to run with gaff. Melksham maybe? I'm not sure how you shut down shuey. I would suggest maybe viney. At some point they're going to target olly. And when they do, we'll start to see a drop off. Unbelievable production regardless of age. I worry hutch goes to him.

The football department would get something out of most games, but in reality we've played 12 games since then plus it was JLT, so game styles, player positions etc. will be mostly irrelevant. 

I also think their mids are better than most rate, it's just that they have a few who are very similar (Mitchell and Priddis) so when not playing on their terms then they can be made to look ordinary. I think we go to Shuey with Melk, Gaff thrives on being feed the ball and if our inside mids (Viney, Oliver & co) can largely nullify the easy ball to Gaff then he becomes way less effective or has to do the heavy lifting himself which again makes him less effective (not saying he can't do it).

For years Jones has been targeted, so wouldn't be surprised if they go to Clarry, might be god for him to get that sort of attention because long term he will be targeted. 

 

Just now, Red and Blue realist said:

The football department would get something out of most games, but in reality we've played 12 games since then plus it was JLT, so game styles, player positions etc. will be mostly irrelevant. 

I also think their mids are better than most rate, it's just that they have a few who are very similar (Mitchell and Priddis) so when not playing on their terms then they can be made to look ordinary. I think we go to Shuey with Melk, Gaff thrives on being feed the ball and if our inside mids (Viney, Oliver & co) can largely nullify the easy ball to Gaff then he becomes way less effective or has to do the heavy lifting himself which again makes him less effective (not saying he can't do it).

For years Jones has been targeted, so wouldn't be surprised if they go to Clarry, might be god for him to get that sort of attention because long term he will be targeted. 

 

That whole post stresses me out.

re: JLT. I'm interested in matchups mostly. Who played on Darling. How did they play him. Was it successful. That sort of thing. Jetta (WC version) is a real concern too, especially cos I dunno if anyone besides HIbberd and maybe Jetta have played next to him. If we leave him be he could carve us up. Nothing you can do about disposal like that.

Aside from that, yeah. Those are interesting matchups. Jones has been in the midfield but also elsewhere... the amount he does including kicking a couple of sausages... we're gonna struggle to replicate that.

I like your matchups... and TBH, you're as aware as I am that no one player plays 100% game time on another. Having said that, the man-on-man stuff that will define the game will be what gets us the win in the guts...

I don't like Melksham on Shuey. Too heavy and too much breakaway speed. Heavy too. I'd love to see a Tracca-Shuey head-to-head. Trac is due a prolonged run in the middle like he had against Crows. Generally though, I hope Viney gets the job 50% or more of the time. Heavy enough to smash him. Quick enough to curtail him.

I reckon Melksham on Gaff. Will run all day with him. Only negative there is how well he did on JJ. He even popped up for what should have been 2 goals. Might be an idea to have him tail Hurn? Or Yeo? Cut off their rebound. Agree generally with Gaff though. Cut them off at the source and he'll run around like a headless chook.

Priddis interests me too. Vince? Someone mature and heavy? Or again... a younger kid like Oliver that can beat him at his own game. I have no idea... but I can't wait to see which way we go. I'm leaning towards Oliver. You always see Priddis plant his feet somewhere the ball will end up, then stand up in the tackle and distribute. That's Olly's game. And when he has a rival there, he generally tackles with great technique.

I'm pumped about this week. We're gonna find out a whole lot about the team. And best of all, even if we lose, we have players coming back in all sorts of positions.

6 hours ago, binman said:

I had a similar thought yesterday. I reckon he'll get a game in tbe next 2-3 weeks

Jack is now a mature footballer, not some kid with significant upside. He's played most of last year and all of this year (from memory).  I fail to see what he is going to "learn" that is going to make him into a MFC AFL footballer.

Half back?  How many have we got?  Lots. 

I hope you're right Bin but I can't see a path for Jack.  He was very slow preseason when I saw him and was the only one doing specific training to increase his speed off the mark and agility.  He couldn't get a kick in the preseason practice match that I saw and he looks slow at VFL level to me.