The Oscar McDonald Appreciation Thread

[old55 21,216]

Shameful question about him at last year's Members' Info night too - if you are here then you know who you are - hang your head!

[In Harmes Way 7,477]

If I had to choose between him and his brother distributing the ball from CHB, it's Oscar every day of the week.

He has the skills to execute, cool under pressure and rarely gets it wrong.

I was happy that all four inclusions on Saturday showed why they should be in the side.

[Willmoy1947 3,760]

3 hours ago, Demonland said:

 

 

I proudly want to add hard....

[binman 37,763]

4 minutes ago, willmoy said:

I proudly want to add hard....

Cue the benny hill music

[Clayton van Oliver 1,659]

2 hours ago, La Dee-vina Comedia said:

Thankyou for correcting me. He may be laconic (literally) as I don't think I've ever heard him speak, but clearly that's not what I meant. I'm not sure that "languid" is quite right, though as it means "lacking in vigour or vitality, slack or slow, lacking in spirirt or interest", etc (Source: Dictionary.com). Maybe I should just say that Oscar plays with a minimum of fuss and expression.

I think you’re going for ‘lethargic.’ Laconic denotes Lacedaemonians, being Spartans, who were known for their verbal brevity.

edit: sp 

Edited July 13, 2020 by AmDamDemon

[Hunt29 258]

I can’t remember him playing a game like that. He moved so much better than last year. Just seemed confident. Frees lever up to which was noticeable. 

Edited July 13, 2020 by Hunt29

[Pickett2Jackson 3,904]

5 minutes ago, Hunt29 said:

I can’t remember him playing a game like that. He moved so much better than last year. Just seemed confident. Frees lever up to which was noticeable. 

 When Angus hit him with that beautiful handball as O Mac came gliding out of defensive 50 and then pumped us forward...  it looked like a young David Neitz when he was playing CHB.

No pressure, Oscar.

 

[DurriePirate 97]

how good was Brayshaws handball to the outside for Omac to run onto?

[Chook 14,389]

He seems pretty awful when Lever's not in the side.  I think Lever helps him play a lot better.

[Demon trucker 1,729]

4 hours ago, Lord Travis said:

He was on Day for most of the match until Day got thrown into the ruck late in the game. He comfortably beat Day and also peeled off to assist other defenders too. Similar to Weid, not big stats but played his role well.

Oscars positioning with defensive zone was light years ahead of Smiths. He reads the play quite well and doesn't get caught out as often, which is a good sign that he and the other talls in May and Lever have better understanding of each others games and are able to stick to their roles easier. It allowed Lever to peel off and intercept more and more as the game went on.

Credit to Oscar for a decent game. He should be in the team again based on form and structure.

Everyone wanted OMac out because they thought Smith was a gun, amazing when someone's injured they become superstars, Smith has no idea how to play footy, if he was not Shaun Smith's son, and a gun basketballer he would never have got a look in.

Edited July 13, 2020 by don't make me angry

[Pates 9,536]

I was one that was really baffled by the inclusion (and continued selection) of Smith over Oscar from the start. Keep in mind I would never want Oscar as my number one, best defender, but as a second defender he usually doesn't do a whole lot wrong. In fact I've pretty much always rated him over the likes of Frost who so many on here fawn over.

What Oscar brings to the table is simplicity; he is a defender, he mostly gets himself in the right positions and when he spoils, he spoils properly.

He has been guilty of brain farts in the past (like many current and former Melbourne players) but structurally we look better with him in.

For depth I'm happy to continue with the Smith experiment in the background, but long term I think Smith's attributes suit him more to being a forward.

[Rodney (Balls) Grinter 10,569]

Was very happy to see Oscar back in the side on the weekend.  To see him play well didn't really surprise me, as my recollection is that he had looked ok during our preseason games.

Oscar doesn't generally play a flashy sort of game, but when he is in form and playing with confidence, he is pretty solid and dependable.  He held up pretty well in 2018 before we had either of Lever or May.  I think people may (pardon the pun) have thought that he would be squeezed out of the side by those two, but I think it should be pretty self evident that his role in the side complements rather than competes with those players.

Edited July 13, 2020 by Rodney (Balls) Grinter

[dieter 3,325]

Please sign me up as a fan of the mighty Oscar. For the record, I always have been.

[Rodney (Balls) Grinter 10,569]

7 minutes ago, Pates said:

For depth I'm happy to continue with the Smith experiment in the background, but long term I think Smith's attributes suit him more to being a forward.

Agree with a lot of this.

I had been critical of playing Smith as a defender, but I was actually a little disappointed to see him dropped after the Richmond game as I thought he was actually starting to show a few glimpses of what he could do and did some gutsy things going back with the flight of the ball.

While he did look lost and low on footy smarts at times, I also think that too much was asked of him to be playing on a clever experienced campaigner in Jack Riewoldt for most of the game, who he also gave up 5cm and 5kg in size to.  One of his worst moments also wasn't helped by a hospital handball to his feet from Oliver.

If/when Smith gets another go in the backline, it should be at the expense of Jetta, Lockhart or a forced injury and not Oscar.

[nosoupforme 3,085]

Oscar has been through the ringer and now  he has come out clean. Football is also a confidence game and you have to have a bit of an ego.

Amazingly he has upside and the mature years in front of him at 24.yo. Oscar will play with a bit of luck in his 100th game this year as he sits on 96 right now. It will be an achievement for him and the many fans who support him. Looking forward to that day.

[deanox 8,515]

3 hours ago, La Dee-vina Comedia said:

Thankyou for correcting me. He may be laconic (literally) as I don't think I've ever heard him speak, but clearly that's not what I meant. I'm not sure that "languid" is quite right, though as it means "lacking in vigour or vitality, slack or slow, lacking in spirirt or interest", etc (Source: Dictionary.com). Maybe I should just say that Oscar plays with a minimum of fuss and expression.

No worries: it was a mistake I made for years after hearing TJ described that way and I was surprised to learn I was wrong!

 

[Dee man 299]

Great to see McDonald come back a better player and get praise for it. Like every player, he will play bad games again and frustrate supporters. But hopefully the same people praising him today don't bring out the pitchforks when that happens.

The praise he's getting is reminding me of this article two years ago, when he was starting to get noticed by savvy football reporters as a pretty handy player: https://www.afl.com.au/news/136327/your-clubs-mid-season-all-australians. Incidentally, the weekend before this article was written Jake Lever got a season-ending injury. I wonder what impact that injury had on McDonald's form and development?

[Winners at last 4,685]

That's great that he played well on Saturday. But let's not get carried away just yet. 

[nosoupforme 3,085]

3 hours ago, nosoupforme said:

Oscar has been through the ringer and now  he has come out clean. Football is also a confidence game and you have to have a bit of an ego.

Amazingly he has upside and the mature years in front of him at 24.yo. Oscar will play with a bit of luck in his 100th game this year as he sits on 96 right now. It will be an achievement for him and the many fans who support him. Looking forward to that day.

Oops I miscued on Oscar's total of games he's  played. Has only played 74 games  and not 96 my apologies for the mistake.

Edited July 13, 2020 by nosoupforme

[Dame Gaga 2,453]

"Well done, Oscar McDonald." That must be a first for a commentator to utter those words together.?

[Go the Biff 3,124]

I used to have a theory that if Neita slotted his first shot at goal, he was in for a good game

I've a similar theory with Omac. If he takes an overhead mark early, he's in for a good game. The more he catches the pill the better because he does use it well. 

[Nasher 33,047]

11 hours ago, Chook said:

He seems pretty awful when Lever's not in the side.  I think Lever helps him play a lot better.

According to Max Gawn it’s the other way around. Ref: radio interview with Harford and Bartel posted on MFC website.

Basic claim is that Oscar is the best reader of play in the team, that he sets up the entire backline and that Lever and May both directly benefited from this directly on the weekend. Said the challenge for Oscar is to make sure he also plays well himself. Hopefully I have interpreted and paraphrased that correctly

I was surprised when I heard it, but I doubt the skipper is lying. He’s often quite insightful in these interviews.

[spirit of norm smith 12,835]

It was clearly omcd best game so far. This is now the standard. The AFL Standard. He seemed to run more freely than in a long time. To be honest, he was gifted many many games for his development.  And had a few shockers. 

I think he’s better as a second defender behind May who would get the opposition’s key forward.  And Lever as the 3rd intercept defender gives the defence a better structure. 

I agree Smith became a superstar when he was injured. He plays a small but tall role. I don’t think we can have Smith and Lever in the same defence line up. 

The test for Oscar is to maintain this now for the remainder of 2020. This is now the standard. 

Edited July 13, 2020 by spirit of norm smith
O

[Tom Dyson 1,492]

I said this in an earlier thread and I know we only have one real game to base his form on this year but I think the benefits of O'mac and Lever in the same team is undeniably true. 

"The first 6 or so rounds of 2018 when Lever had just come in to the team, O'mac shut down hawkins in round 1, he shut down Hipwood in round 2, he nullified ben brown in round 3, he didn't have a great game against hawthorn but he kept riewoldt out of it in round 5, he kept daniher goaless in round 6, he kept patty mccartin to 2 points in round 7 (which was the same round that lever got injured) and while he was alright for the rest of the season he was never as dominant."

So far people have said O'mac relies on Lever or Lever relies on O'mac but i think it's safe to say that they rely on each other to both perform well.

2016 Round 1 (two point win over GWS), O'mac injured his ankle i think in the third quarter deep in our defensive fifty, it was three on one and even though he was limping about, he still tried his best to defend. I don't know about you but someone that has that much endeavour is someone I want on my team. 

He's always been one of my favourite players, keep shutting em down O'mac. 

[Smokey 4,112]

Wow, never thought I'd see an Omac appreciation thread in this place 

What next, the Gillon McLoughlin appreciation thread?