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The A-Grade Ladder

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Demonland Legend

Demonland   70,334

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15th MELBOURNE – 8 points

CURRENT A-GRADERS

Clayton Oliver, Max Gawn

POTENTIAL A-GRADERS

Bayley Fritsch, Angus Brayshaw, Steven May, Christian Petracca

DOWNGRADED

Tom McDonald, Jack Viney

The world seemed to be at the feet of the Demons after 2018, didn’t it? Gawn and Oliver were at the peak of their powers, but it was the next wave coming through that seemed to buoy their hopes. Angus Brayshaw finished third in the Brownlow and looked to be the next great Demon mid.

How times change. Jack Viney returned to the midfield full time and seemingly accomplished two things in 2019; he got sat on his ass by Sydney Stack, and he took the spot of Brayshaw in the guts, stifling the young bloke’s development, whilst posting his own lowest statistical return for five years.

We all heard about the hardness of Viney, and the way he plays the game… the commentators rammed it down our throats every time he went near the footy. The problem was that Viney went near the footy substantially less than Melbourne expected him to. It’s a slide he needs to arrest immediately in 2020.

The other slide was more like an avalanche. That was the velocity of Tom McDonald’s decline in 2019. After taking on the role of number one forward, TMac’s goals per game average dipped by more than half, and had it not been for his six goal bag in his final game of the season, he would have been clocking in at under a goal per game.

I’ve yet to read a valid reason for TMac’s sudden inability to hit the scoreboard, and one would hope that 2019 was the anomaly for him… not 2018.

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poita Redleg

poita   3,877

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I'm not sure Oliver is a genuine A grader in terms of being a match winner and dragging a team along with him, but he is a very good player nevertheless. Hard to disagree with anything else in that analysis. I think McDonald is still potentially an A grader, but he needs a lot more support in the forward line.

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picket fence Legend

picket fence   16,705

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22 minutes ago, Moonshadow said:

No love for Jake Lever?

Meanwhile, Rich and WC both rated as having 8 x A graders

Thanks why Richmond were Premiers and we were an abysmal 17th!

Bloke is right on the money!

Its Simon Goodwins job to develop players... If he has another Shizen start to 2020 he will be gorn by about round 8-10

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Moonshadow Legend

Moonshadow   17,558

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1 hour ago, picket fence said:

Thanks why Richmond were Premiers and we were an abysmal 17th!

Bloke is right on the money!

Its Simon Goodwins job to develop players... If he has another Shizen start to 2020 he will be gorn by about round 8-10

 

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Watson11 Mighty Demon

Watson11   2,220

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On 10/30/2019 at 10:25 AM, poita said:

I'm not sure Oliver is a genuine A grader in terms of being a match winner and dragging a team along with him, but he is a very good player nevertheless. Hard to disagree with anything else in that analysis. I think McDonald is still potentially an A grader, but he needs a lot more support in the forward line.

Oliver is an A grader.  I think he needs to bulk up to do what you hope and really dominate games so he take more tacklers when he wins contested ball. Also to use his pace out of stoppages more when he can.  He’d go from A grader to multiple Brownlow medalist if improved a few things like that but he is already more impactful than all the A grader mids listed bar 2 or 3.

Some of the A graders listed in other teams are baffling.  Maybe I don’t watch other teams enough, but is he serious that St Kilda have 3 A graders. 

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nosoupforme Redleg

nosoupforme   3,085

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On 10/30/2019 at 10:55 AM, poita said:

I'm not sure Oliver is a genuine A grader in terms of being a match winner and dragging a team along with him, but he is a very good player nevertheless. Hard to disagree with anything else in that analysis. I think McDonald is still potentially an A grader, but he needs a lot more support in the forward line.

Oliver can be rusty at the best of times by hand he is elite however he can do better by being cleaner.  A  young man  with the greatest of potential. IMO his kicking looks wobbly when belting it high into the forward 50 sometimes. Like playing kick to kick in the school yard.

He just knows how to get that ball like a hungry bear looking for a feed.  He is an A grader in my eyes however you have your opinion.

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Mel Bourne Redleg

Mel Bourne   4,393

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On 10/30/2019 at 5:23 PM, Moonshadow said:

No love for Jake Lever?

Meanwhile, Rich and WC both rated as having 8 x A graders

Don’t get me wrong, I hold a lot of faith for Jake Lever. 

But his highlight reel at the MFC thus far would be very short, and pretty underwhelming. 

He was edging towards elite/A-grader/whatever-you-wanna-call-it at the Crows. Some might say he even got there. But he does not have that kind of status now. He’s currently in no-man’s land between past and (hopefully) future form.

 

 

 

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Thehardtackler Mighty Demon

Thehardtackler   785

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May and Lever are both A graders. Watch their attack on the ball and their intercept marking and it is obvious.

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