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Tom McDonald - How long do we wait?

Pates
Pates
in Melbourne Demons

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Going to start this by saying I think he still has the goods in him to get back to being a good power forward. Perhaps not the 50+ goal a year forward we need but still capable of 30-40+.

Having said that Tom has been poor for a while now. Like others he had injury issues coming into 2019 which made him start slow and aside from the Carlton game which he subsequently got injured, he never really played a game worth noting. Now in 2020, with a full pre-season of fitness under his belt, he has started with two poor games. The question in the title says it all: how long do we wait for him to turn it around?

This could potentially tie in with Weiderman and how he isn't being played, where if Tom's poor form continues and maybe if Sam is banging down the door, perhaps Sam takes on the full mantle of the FF role. 

I have long believed that Tom's form is massively linked to our ability to compete with the best, without a key forward target taking grabs, we look really lost as a team.

Edited by Pates

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    We've spent so much in draft picks and dollars fixing our backline that we've now got an issue with our forward line. TMac is not really a natural power forward in the same way Hawkins or Lynch are, and while I Still think Weid can come good, we are very light on for KPFs.

    Richmond might have won a flag with one, but he was a very good one who regularly kicked big numbers of goals. 

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    The MFC rolled the dice on Tom Mac after his 2018 form, they got rid of Hogan and replaced him with an expensive defender. That’s how confident they were in him.

    Tmac hasn’t fired a shot since 2018.  He looked as agile as cruise ship on Saturday night.  He has 1-2 matches to turn it around or he’ll be sitting next to his brother on the sidelines.

    Play him as a goal square forward with Fritta and Bennell Delivering the ball, that’s his only hope.

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    7 minutes ago, Mickey said:

    We've spent so much in draft picks and dollars fixing our backline that we've now got an issue with our forward line. TMac is not really a natural power forward in the same way Hawkins or Lynch are, and while I Still think Weid can come good, we are very light on for KPFs.

    Richmond might have won a flag with one, but he was a very good one who regularly kicked big numbers of goals. 

    And the following year, could not come back against the Pies in the prelim because he had upwards of 3 players on him. Needed to recruit Lynch. He wasn't a cherry on top, but a crucial structural piece.

    Edited by John Demonic

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    3 minutes ago, BrisbaneDemon said:

    The MFC rolled the dice on Tom Mac after his 2018 form, they got rid of Hogan and replaced him with an expensive defender. That’s how confident they were in him.

    Tmac hasn’t fired a shot since 2018.  He looked as agile as cruise ship on Saturday night.  He has 1-2 matches to turn it around or he’ll be sitting next to his brother on the sidelines.

    Play him as a goal square forward with Fritta and Bennell Delivering the ball, that’s his only hope.

    Not sure this needs to be said again, but maybe it does: we didn't "get rid of Hogan", and when he wanted to leave we cashed in for what was available and what we needed (a KPD in a year where we'd scored heavily but lost games through a poor defence).

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    5 minutes ago, titan_uranus said:

    Not sure this needs to be said again, but maybe it does: we didn't "get rid of Hogan", and when he wanted to leave we cashed in for what was available and what we needed (a KPD in a year where we'd scored heavily but lost games through a poor defence).

    Agree with this, I'm not sure if it was the desperate plea of a homesick player as has been in the past but clearly the club got the impression he wanted to return to Perth and felt it was the right time to pull the trigger. I think they also recognised he was damaged goods a bit at the time. He would barely have played a game for us last year, if at all.

    But the club also did roll the dice that Tom would continue his form and Sam would improve as a footballer. So far both gambles have failed. So far.

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    It would be interesting to see his time spent inside our forward 50. What’s his role? Looks like  a ‘CHF’ role to me from the first two games and Fritta as the ‘stay at home’ forward. Hard not being at games and looking at set ups.

     I remember seeing T Mac get separation maybe twice on Weitering and take a mark on the wings/HF. At the moment most of us have no confidence he can beat his man one out and take marks. 

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    2 minutes ago, TheKozzieExperience said:

    What we wouldn't give for a Neitz, Schwarz Lyon or Jakovich these days .

    TMac

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    45 minutes ago, BrisbaneDemon said:

    The MFC rolled the dice on Tom Mac after his 2018 form, they got rid of Hogan and replaced him with an expensive defender. That’s how confident they were in him.

    Tmac hasn’t fired a shot since 2018.  He looked as agile as cruise ship on Saturday night.  He has 1-2 matches to turn it around or he’ll be sitting next to his brother on the sidelines.

    Play him as a goal square forward with Fritta and Bennell Delivering the ball, that’s his only hope.

    In fairness he did find some form before getting injured last year. 

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    He did look heavy last week. However his best games as a forward were playing a deeper role than he has been asked to play so far. He is also a massive confidence player and I suspect will given at least a few more to get in the groove. I just want to see him apply himself more and at worst halve more contests this week. 

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    Correct me if I’m wrong but during that period in 2018 didn’t he start on a wing regularly to get himself into the game and then after about 5-10 he’d go forward. 
    It could be worth swapping Tomlinson to the forward line them rotate after the first 5 mins.

    I feel if he gets a bit of the ball early he generally plays pretty well. 

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    I’d play him every week regardless of form because we don’t have anyone else.

    He’ll build into the year. He needs to play closer to goals to utilise his elite set shot for goals.

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    Has been completely shot for a while. No athleticism at all. Can only run in a straight line. One more week before Brown and weids take over. 

    Edited by Gouga

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    48 minutes ago, Megatron said:

    Correct me if I’m wrong but during that period in 2018 didn’t he start on a wing regularly to get himself into the game and then after about 5-10 he’d go forward. 
    It could be worth swapping Tomlinson to the forward line them rotate after the first 5 mins.

    I feel if he gets a bit of the ball early he generally plays pretty well. 

    Correct

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    1 hour ago, BrisbaneDemon said:

    The MFC rolled the dice on Tom Mac after his 2018 form, they got rid of Hogan and replaced him with an expensive defender. That’s how confident they were in him.

    Tmac hasn’t fired a shot since 2018.  He looked as agile as cruise ship on Saturday night.  He has 1-2 matches to turn it around or he’ll be sitting next to his brother on the sidelines.

    Play him as a goal square forward with Fritta and Bennell Delivering the ball, that’s his only hope.

    Why not try OMc up forward as a target,  to contest and bring the ball to ground for our small forwards.?   He wouldn't have to mark a lot to do the job.

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    1 hour ago, titan_uranus said:

    Not sure this needs to be said again, but maybe it does: we didn't "get rid of Hogan", and when he wanted to leave we cashed in for what was available and what we needed (a KPD in a year where we'd scored heavily but lost games through a poor defence).

    MFC were more then happy to move him on to get May.  Goodwin has made a habit of getting rid of players that have off field issues (Watts, Hogan).  I agree with everything you have said above, the thought Tmac was the way of the future (maybe we thought Weid would come on as well) but it clearly hasn’t works over the past 1.5 years.  We need to trade in a decent forward next year to ease that pressure.

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    2 hours ago, Pates said:

    Going to start this by saying I think he still has the goods in him to get back to being a good power forward. Perhaps not the 50+ goal a year forward we need but still capable of 30-40+.

    Having said that Tom has been poor for a while now. Like others he had injury issues coming into 2019 which made him start slow and aside from the Carlton game which he subsequently got injured, he never really played a game worth noting. Now in 2020, with a full pre-season of fitness under his belt, he has started with two poor games. The question in the title says it all: how long do we wait for him to turn it around?

    This could potentially tie in with Weiderman and how he isn't being played, where if Tom's poor form continues and maybe if Sam is banging down the door, perhaps Sam takes on the full mantle of the FF role. 

    I have long believed that Tom's form is massively linked to our ability to compete with the best, without a key forward target taking grabs, we look really lost as a team.

    At the moment...Jeremy Cameron says hi ?it is & will be a bizarre season ...let’s give the players a bit of leeway for a few weeks ...

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    Play him out of the goal square this week with Fritsch and Melksham pushing up to half forward and Kozzie and Hunt buzzing around his feet and Hannan as a second target. If he can't hit the scoreboard or create opportunities for the other guys I'd be considering giving him a stint on the sidelines.

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    13 minutes ago, Deestar9 said:

    At the moment...Jeremy Cameron says hi ?it is & will be a bizarre season ...let’s give the players a bit of leeway for a few weeks ...

    Difference is the JC has a lot more seasons backed up, Tom has one outstanding season and half a season where he started his swing forward.

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    2 minutes ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

    Play him out of the goal square this week with Fritsch and Melksham pushing up to half forward and Kozzie and Hunt buzzing around his feet and Hannan as a second target. If he can't hit the scoreboard or create opportunities for the other guys I'd be considering giving him a stint on the sidelines.

    I wanted to put a double like on this...software doesn't allow.

    ...but spot on 'Gonzo' on all counts.

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    • Like 1
    1 minute ago, Pates said:

    Difference is the JC has a lot more seasons backed up, Tom has one outstanding season and half a season where he started his swing forward.

    You could have had 100 goal seasons in the past  but that means nothing if you’re not kicking them in the  present season. If anything it’s even more unacceptable for Cameron because of his past history! 

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