1 minute ago, Fifty-5 said:

He was clearly either injured or sick.  Get off his back!

Why then would you not play someone who is neither injured nor sick ? 

3 minutes ago, beelzebub said:

Why then would you not play someone who is neither injured nor sick ? 

Because our next best would have probably delivered less.  With Viney out it was important he played.  Who would you have brought in for him?

Not his best game yesterday but is sitting 5th in Demonland’s running votes. 

15 minutes ago, Moonshadow said:

Jones across half back to replace either Lewie or Bernie. 

Half backs need to be able to hit targets these days.
A skill Jones struggles with.
Which is why he loves the inside 50 stat.
Huge target.

23 minutes ago, Nasher said:

Those guys were all still playing AFL grade footy - North were trying to help correct the age imbalance on their list, ie push it in the direction of youth to avoid severe pain down the track once they decided they weren’t a premiership threat. We’re still on the youthful side of perfect when it comes to that balance, although we are approaching thr sweet spot now, so there is no need for us to start cutting away experience that still has some meat on the bones at this stage. I expect Jones to be around for another 4 years at least.

Players like Vince who are clearly now on the slippery slope are a different story, but I wouldn’t put that in the category of “tough call”.

Four years might be a stretch, but after this year, he needs to change his role to become a permanent forward pocket to see out his time

27 minutes ago, Fifty-5 said:

He was clearly either injured or sick.  Get off his back!

Amen. People on here need to settle down and not be in such a rush to kill off one of the best Demons ever.

5 minutes ago, jumbo returns said:

Four years might be a stretch, but after this year, he needs to change his role to become a permanent forward pocket to see out his time

I imagine that if we land a Gaff or similar player that may just be on the horizon for Jones. 

4 minutes ago, Redleg said:

Amen. People on here need to settle down and not be in such a rush to kill off one of the best Demons ever.

Hyperbole much

Transition into a new role - you know it makes sense

Seeing the combination of Brayshaw, Oliver and Petracca dominating the centre clearances and streaming us forward in the third quarter really hit home why we were so bad for so long.

We had Jones as our only capable mid for years , and he was always at best a B grader.

We now have a fleet of young A graders in the midfield.  

So we play the sick and/or  injured now ? Irregardless ?

Strange days

40 minutes ago, Fifty-5 said:

Because our next best would have probably delivered less.  With Viney out it was important he played.  Who would you have brought in for him?

Probably Bugg

2 minutes ago, beelzebub said:

Probably Bugg

Coach killer.

 

trade to Hawthorn for 3rd rounder. When Gaff comes,Ginga ninja improves no need to rely on him. Perhaps Jones could do us a favour and retire.

1 hour ago, praha said:

He has always been a one-way runner that goes through the motions. In a poor side he stood out because he was the only one that won contested ball, clearances, and disposals. For many years, some here have lauded his commitment and effort. You cannot question either. However, he has always been a limited albeit serviceable player. He is very much our Richie Vandenberg equivalent: a favourite son, stuck around in bad times and helped with the transition into a new era.

I would argue he is still comfortably top 22 on experience and opposition knowledge alone: even when not at his best as yesterday, he is still serviceable, and opposition teams are still wary of his potential. His trade value would have been at its highest in 2015, but has now reached the point of no return and will likely play out his career at Melbourne. TBH I think he would struggle to crack a spot in the midfield of any current top 8 side.

In 2015 he was 28. I agree that was probably when his public recognition peaked and when he was aconsistent stand out for Melbourne but most players hit their prime earlier, around 25.

What do you think his trade value would have been at 25 or 28?

What is a 25 year old midfielder who averages 25 disposals and 4.5 tackles worth?

I love his effort and he'll go down as a demon legend, and as someone who stuck through with us in the darkest times, but I'm not sure he was ever AFL top line.  But that's hard to say given the lack of quality on the list at the time!

I think the trip to Darwin took more out of him than anyone would have admitted, as you get older long trips and the heat would be more taxing on the aging body.

Jones to me seems to have played exactly the same game week after week throughout his career from when we were bad to now when we are better.  Robotic player who only surprises when he does something out of character like lowering his eyes to hit up a lead or yesterday when he had an under 20  possession game. Still going OK but he can’t go on forever.

Edited July 15, 20186 yr by america de cali

1 hour ago, Redleg said:

Amen. People on here need to settle down and not be in such a rush to kill off one of the best Demons ever.

Agreed. We can’t afford to treat a club legend like Jones the way McDonald was handled.

He’s had a good year with a couple of off games recently but gee, retiring him at the end of the season is way premature 

5 minutes ago, america de cali said:

Jones to me seems to have played exactly the same game week after week throughout his career from when we were bad to now when we are better.  Robotic player who only surprises when he does something out of character like lowering his eyes to hit up a lead or yesterday when he had an under 20  possession game. 

Robot who stayed with a crap side and won 3 B & F’s.

2 hours ago, Redleg said:

Amen. People on here need to settle down and not be in such a rush to kill off one of the best Demons ever.

You've put a B grader at the top of the Best Demons Ever list.
You must be high.

3 minutes ago, Redleg said:

Robot who stayed with a crap side and won 3 B & F’s.

And was rewarded with above pay for a B grader.

I'm not sure anyone is talking about retiring him but we do need to start thinking about it.  He is nearly 31 and will slow down soon, if he isn't already slowing down. So it is prudent to prepare for replacing him. 

Our headache at the moment is that we have another inside mid on the list (Tyson) who would take his spot if he left this year.  But as he will stay another year or two we'll probably lose Tyson as he seeks opportunity. That'll be a real issue if Viney also continues on/off foot injuries. We're can't afford to play without all three of them. 

Also if next year happens to be his last, then we are looking at replacing all the of Jones, Lewis and Vince in the space of 2 seasons, and we don't currently have replacements for all of them. 

After reading the OP I was expecting some backlash, I'm quiet shocked at the amount of Jones bashing going on here. The bloke is still easily in our best 22, he still offers a lot to the team & midfield. One bad game & you all want him retired... Settle down.

1 minute ago, Fork 'em said:

You've put a B grader at the top of the Best Demons Ever list.
You must be high.

Didn’t put him at the top of the Best Demons Ever List. I said he would be on the List. Obviously you don’t. 3 Blueys doesn’t happen every day. 

I don’t understand the venom for Jones. Some on here should be ashamed to call themselves  Demon fans. 

 

4 minutes ago, Redleg said:

Didn’t put him at the top of the Best Demons Ever List. I said he would be on the List. Obviously you don’t. 3 Blueys doesn’t happen every day. 

I don’t understand the venom for Jones. Some on here should be ashamed to call themselves  Demon fans. 

 

Exactly! Now that we’re a good team, Jones can “perhaps do us a favour and retire” FMD