2020 Player Reviews: #4 James Harmes

This was the year when Coach Simon Goodwin decided to experiment with James Harmes using him as a defender but it failed. Hopefully, we will see a reinvigorated Harmes in 2021.

Date of Birth: 5 October, 1995

Height: 185cm

Weight: 82kg

Games MFC 2020: 13

Career Total: 104

Goals MFC 2020: 2

Career Total: 58

A season's worth of development wasted by the coach experimenting. Goody should have realised early on that playing James off the half back line (?) wasn't working and moved him back to his tagging role.

Had a poor season and he and Brayshaw were a victim of Petracca taking key midfield minutes away from those two.

Doesn't play with any point of difference as a half back flanker and I can't see him being a heavily involved forward.

He played his best 2 games of footy in the round 23 2018 GWS game and Geelong final the week after, and we all know what position he played in those games.

I am in total agreement M9 we wasted a valuable year playing Harmesy in the backline, also robbed him of confidence and self belief. He is a great tagger, mid and defensive half forward, I want to see James Harmes 11 shutting star players down and kicking goals.

Get on it James..!!!!!

Harmes is a midfielder that can play various roles and can also play a strong go with player against the best .  Goody played him as a defender that did not suit and restricted his game style and his form suffered. 

He can be valuable on a wing and as a midfielder  can ,play a role on the forward line  His tackling is is of a high standard  and he makes them stick' He has many attributes in his game. That is why he is valuable.

With a strong preseason Harmes will find his way and the confidence will come back I have no doubt.

Edited November 19, 20204 yr by nosoupforme

Only Melbourne would sign a bloke to a five year contract and then play him everywhere but the position that justified the contract.

I almost wept as I watched Sparrow get monstered by Boak against Port whilst Harmes was stinking it up on a HBF.

I rate Harmes as a defensive midfielder resting forward, but I'm not sure he can do much else.

 

 

I hope we're trying to get enough endurance into him that he could play as a winger, much like Mitch Robinson at the Lions. I'd put him in as a defensive winger, with Langdon playing more offensively. Have Harmes start all around the ground stoppages on the defensive side, allowing him to stop any movements forward and then also have him attack when he does get access to the ball. 

On 11/19/2020 at 10:45 AM, M_9 said:

A season's worth of development wasted by the coach experimenting. Goody should have realised early on that playing James off the half back line (?) wasn't working and moved him back to his tagging role.

And move who of Oliver, Petracca or Viney from the centre, it would only weaken our main strength. If he can’t get in as normal non tagging mid then he doesn’t have a spot there other than maybe 2 or 3 games a year where we want to tag Neale or Martin 

On 11/19/2020 at 10:45 AM, M_9 said:

A season's worth of development wasted by the coach experimenting. Goody should have realised early on that playing James off the half back line (?) wasn't working and moved him back to his tagging role.

Goodwin or who ever is advising him is an [censored]

It didnt work early in the season did f 'all about it 

If you let him he will kill your career

[censored] dressed up as a coach 

sorry but that how it strikes me

 

Edited November 20, 20204 yr by Kent

5 minutes ago, Kent said:

Goodwin or who ever is advising him is an [censored]

It didnt work early in the season did f 'all about it 

If you let him he will kill your career

[censored] dressed up as a coach 

sorry but that how it strikes me

 

I didnt realise I*iot was censored on here so sorry for that

3 hours ago, Garbo said:

And move who of Oliver, Petracca or Viney from the centre, it would only weaken our main strength. If he can’t get in as normal non tagging mid then he doesn’t have a spot there other than maybe 2 or 3 games a year where we want to tag Neale or Martin 

Well move the ruby player and put Harmes in his place very simple answer.

Edited November 20, 20204 yr by demon3165

Move Harmes forward, he is not a defender. I can see a scenario of rotating Viney, Brayshaw, and Harmes through the middle and HFF regions. 

We really had something with Harmes in 2018, the way he's gone backwards is one of Goodwin's worst failings.

We’ve tried the square peg, round hole option. He’s just not that versatile. I get we have to try different pieces in different places but Harmesy, like most players, has a best position/role. That’s patently obvious now. Play him through the middle to negate the oppositions best player, resting forward.

13 hours ago, Garbo said:

And move who of Oliver, Petracca or Viney from the centre, it would only weaken our main strength. If he can’t get in as normal non tagging mid then he doesn’t have a spot there other than maybe 2 or 3 games a year where we want to tag Neale or Martin 

That's the thing with Harmes in the middle, he was able to nullify a opponent and still get the ball himself and have influence in attack, surely we can rotate 4 or 5 mids in the middle and half forward next year.

Frustratingly played out of position, one of the worst things to watch play out this season. 

On 11/21/2020 at 6:22 AM, Better days ahead said:

We’ve tried the square peg, round hole option. He’s just not that versatile. I get we have to try different pieces in different places but Harmesy, like most players, has a best position/role. That’s patently obvious now. Play him through the middle to negate the oppositions best player, resting forward.

Ditto. That’s the obvious change for 2021. We need a player to shutdown the likes of Martin, Merrett, Dfield, Steele, Boak. That was missing this year.  Harmes has the endurance, intensity .  He can go forward in rotation.  

Harmes has a poor year. HB didn’t suit him but I am still disappointed in his season. A midfielder with good skills and aggression should be able to play HB at least to a decent level. Hopefully he can bounce back

On 11/21/2020 at 7:34 AM, Rednblueriseing said:

That's the thing with Harmes in the middle, he was able to nullify a opponent and still get the ball himself and have influence in attack, surely we can rotate 4 or 5 mids in the middle and half forward next year.

Look at some one like Dangerfield or Martin who play mid fwd 50/50, we already know he can’t play out of the back line but if he’s tagging that’s where he will need to go half the game, or say Neale who plays almost exclusively mid, is Viney or Petracca just going to stay out of the mid every centre clearance so harmes can tag.

With the way the game is played now there isn’t room for a tagger, it’s the same reason no other teams play one either.

I’m not saying don’t play harmes in the mid, but he’s got to do it as a ball winner first and foremost. If he is the 4th or 5th Mid then his time round the ball is going to be limited and he needs to play other parts of the ground. More so if we want to use someone like Pickett or Jackson as impact players from time to time round the ball

Edited November 23, 20204 yr by Garbo

On 11/23/2020 at 4:36 PM, Garbo said:

 

With the way the game is played now there isn’t room for a tagger, it’s the same reason no other teams play one either.

The best coaches play to their teams strengths. Just because other teams don't tag doesn't mean we shouldn't.

We played our best footy of the last decade when Harmes was tagging.

Oliver, Petracca, Viney and Brayshaw are all great at getting the footy but they can't all do it at once.

I think there is room for Harmes the midfield and he has a track record of outperforming the opposition's best midfielders.

Edited November 24, 20204 yr by Wrecker45
Spelling

The fact that a proven good and integral part of our side was playing suburban QLD scratch matches by the end of the season was an epic disappointment.

Not sure who should cop the blame? Goodwin for playing him in a non preferred position or Harmes for not adapting.

1 hour ago, Bring-Back-Powell said:

Not sure who should cop the blame? Goodwin for playing him in a non preferred position or Harmes for not adapting

Both i reckon. He's proven not very versatile unfortunately and i doubt he can re-invent himself. Revert to the same role as 2018 otherwise i fear for his spot in the 22.