Jump to content

The A-Grade Ladder

Demonland
Demonland
in Melbourne Demons

Featured Replies

Posted

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.

  • Quote
    •  

    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.

  • Quote

    No love for Jake Lever?

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

    Edited by Moonshadow

  • Quote
    • Haha 1
     
    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

    Edited by picket fence

  • Quote
    • Like 2
    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

     

    unnamed_(7).gif

  • Quote

    11 hours ago, Moonshadow said:

     

    unnamed_(7).gif

    Well done Moon, you also got my best angle!

  • Quote
    • Like 3
    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. 

  • Quote
    45 minutes ago, Watson11 said:

    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. 

    How the feck they got Membrey as an A Grader?

  • Quote
    • Like 2
     
    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.

  • Quote

    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.

     

     

     

  • Quote
    1 hour ago, Roger Mellie said:

    And Josh Kelly (GWS) is not.

    Lol

    Josh Kelly is behind Jade Gresham, who’s only elite stat is clearances which ranked him 50th in the afl last year!

  • Quote
    • Like 1

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

  • Quote

    Maybe I don’t watch enough Eagles games but I had to triple check that he had listed Lewis Jetta as an A grader.

  • Quote

    • Join the conversation

    You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

    Guest
    Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
    Reply to this topic...
    Go to topic listing

    Featured Content

    • CASEY: Geelong

      There was a time in the second quarter of the game at the Cattery on Friday afternoon when the Casey Demons threatened to take the game apart against the Cats. The Demons had been well on top early but were struggling to convert their ascendancy over the ground until Tom Fullarton’s burst of three goals in the space of eight minutes on the way to a five goal haul and his best game for the club since arriving from Brisbane at the end of 2023. He was leading, marking and otherwise giving his opponents a merry dance as Casey grabbed a three goal lead in the blink of an eye. Fullarton has now kicked ten goals in Casey’s three matches and, with Melbourne’s forward conversion woes, he is definitely in with a chance to get his first game with the club in next week’s Gather Round in Adelaide. Despite the tall forward’s efforts - he finished with 19 disposals and eight marks and had four hit outs as back up to Will Verrall in the second half - it wasn’t enough as Geelong reigned in the lead through persistent attacks and eventually clawed their way to the lead early in the last and held it till they achieved the end aim of victory.

      • 0 replies
      Demonland
      Demonland

    • REPORT: Geelong

      I was disappointed to hear Goody say at his post match presser after the team’s 39 point defeat against Geelong that "we're getting high quality entry, just poor execution" because Melbourne’s problems extend far beyond that after its 0 - 4 start to the 2025 football season. There are clearly problems with poor execution, some of which were evident well before the current season and were in play when the Demons met the Cats in early May last year and beat them in a near top-of-the-table clash that saw both sides sitting comfortably in the top four after round eight. Since that game, the Demons’ performances have been positively Third World with only five wins in 19 games with a no longer majestic midfield and a dysfunctional forward line that has become too easy for opposing coaches to counter. This is an area of their game that is currently being played out as if they were all completely panic-stricken.

        • Thanks
        • Like
      • 0 replies
      Demonland
      Demonland

    • PREGAME: Essendon

      Facing the very real and daunting prospect of starting the season with five straight losses, the Demons head to South Australia for the annual Gather Round, where they’ll take on the Bombers in search of their first win of the year. Who comes in, and who comes out?

        • Thanks
      • 202 replies
      Demonland
      Demonland

    • NON-MFC: Round 04

      Round 4 kicks off with a blockbuster on Thursday night as traditional rivals Collingwood and Carlton clash at the MCG, with the Magpies looking to assert themselves as early-season contenders and the Blues seeking their first win of the season. Saturday opens with Gold Coast hosting Adelaide, a key test for the Suns as they aim to back up their big win last week, while the Crows will be looking to keep their perfect record intact. Reigning wooden spooners Richmond have the daunting task of facing reigning premiers Brisbane at the ‘G and the Lions will be eager to reaffirm their premiership credentials after a patchy start. Saturday night sees North Melbourne take on Sydney at Marvel Stadium, with the Swans looking to build on their first win of the season last week against a rebuilding Roos outfit. Sunday’s action begins with GWS hosting West Coast at ENGIE Stadium, a game that could get ugly very early for the visitors. Port Adelaide vs St Kilda at Adelaide Oval looms as a interesting clash, with both clubs form being very hard to read. The round wraps up with Fremantle taking on the Western Bulldogs at Optus Stadium in what could be a fierce contest between two sides with top-eight ambitions. Who are you tipping this week and what are the best results for the Demons besides us winning?

        • Thanks
      • 273 replies
      Demonland
      Demonland

    • PODCAST: Geelong

      The Demonland Podcast will air LIVE on Monday, 7th April @ the all new time of 8:00pm. Join Binman, George & I as we dissect another Demons loss at Kardinia Park to the Cats in the Round 04. Your questions and comments are a huge part of our podcast so please post anything you want to ask or say below and we'll give you a shout out on the show. If you would like to leave us a voicemail please call 03 9016 3666 and don't worry no body answers so you don't have to talk to a human.

        • Thanks
      • 52 replies
      Demonland
      Demonland

    • VOTES: Geelong

      Captain Max Gawn leads the Demonland Player of the Year in his quest to take out his 3rd trophy. He leads Christian Petracca and Clayton Oliver who are in equal 2nd place followed by Kade Chandler and Jake Bowey. You votes please. 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 & 1.

        • Thanks
      • 30 replies
      Demonland
      Demonland
    View All