I love Nathan Jones. He tries so hard. He goes in and tries to get the ball. He wears his heart on his sleeve. BUT please Nathan practise your kicking. Your disposal today and last week was ordinary. And while I am at it - please do not try and run through 5 players. Other than that you are great and you wear the number two with pride.

I like Jones too, but I have to think, where's his improvement going to come from. He lacks pace and isnt really a lightning decision maker either. He's always in and under the packs which is great, but as you said there really aren't any damaging aspects to his game.

His problem is simple - he takes to long to dispose of the ball

it cost us about 5 times today

he'll get better

he'll get better

How? I guess it would help if his teammates got better for a start. Jones is an extractor. I'm willing to concede that he'll never be the best user of the ball.

His decision making will become quicker and quicker as he matures, and if his disposal is ok now it'll progress to "good" when his decision making improves

He WILL get better. Guys he is only 19.

He will improve his kicking for a start and his awareness.

He needs to be helped out more in the tight contests, because there a times when he has no option but to try and take them on, only to be caught.

He needs to steady for a step or 2 when kicking.

Agree he should release the ball instead of trying to break 5 tackles.

He was 20 in January. I am a massive fan and I admit today was probably his worse game but I think it is a bit harsh to be critical of him last week - he didn't have a lot of options in rounds one and two when over half the team might as well have sat in the grandstands.

He does need to work on his disposal but I think we all expect too much of him - a la Brock - and he will be around the MFC for a long time and provide us with plenty of excitement for many years.

How? I guess it would help if his teammates got better for a start. Jones is an extractor. I'm willing to concede that he'll never be the best user of the ball.

because he is still one of the youngest players on out list, miles better than many people in the AFL older than him, and with two developmental coaches and coach that says development is his forte, i think we are going to strides of improvements from our future capitane.

I love Nathan Jones. He tries so hard. He goes in and tries to get the ball. He wears his heart on his sleeve. BUT please Nathan practise your kicking. Your disposal today and last week was ordinary. And while I am at it - please do not try and run through 5 players. Other than that you are great and you wear the number two with pride.

he blazes too often... which is not a bad thing when u have robbo in your forward line... if davey was in there it would be better... i think he should look for an option more tho... and get rid of it slightly quicker at times

as for takin players on , he is the one guy in our team who can break through a tackle pretty well and looks a hell of alot faster than mclean.

i find it really hard to be critical of a 20 year old who is our hardest midfielder, and (regardless of what the stats say) best clearance player. he's still learning, he will get more composed, but i still loved his work today.

but i still loved his work today.

I like Jones too, but he didn't have a great game.

I think there's natural upside in a player that's only 20 years old.

Jones had an average and forgettable game. Those who think he was good are kidding themselves. He tried hard, but didnt get the results. I personally have been disappointed with his season thus far. Trying hard isnt enough. If it were, then we'd have a team full of triers that would win zero games a year. Jones needs to fix his kicking mainly, but also follow his opponent closer and learn when the time to run off him is. It will all come with experience, and he will be a great player for us.

His kicking isnt that bad when he takes the time to assess his options. When he ran out of defense and had a bounce then kick, he pulled off a nice low 35-40 metre pass to a lead. His problem is he gets it in the packs often, doesnt have much time to get rid of it, and so he panics and just throws it on his boot. That's why he has so many up and under kicks. His kicking is actually pretty good when he has the time. I think with more experience, he will be able to buy that extra half second, and process the surroundings that extra half second quicker, and so we'll see less and less of the up and under kicks to nothing.

Todd Viney took almost 10 years to learn how to kick properly - I think Jones is a similar type of player.

How? I guess it would help if his teammates got better for a start. Jones is an extractor. I'm willing to concede that he'll never be the best user of the ball.

A bit like Todd Viney?

Jones was wasteful. His ball drop is pretty average and he doesnt kick through the ball on the shorter kicks. These things can be improved as will his decision making as he gains experience. He is the least of our worries.

His problem is simple - he takes to long to dispose of the ball

it cost us about 5 times today

Better trade him. Jeez, he is the number 1 or 2 in the midfield, 19 Y.o and growing weekly. He should be the 7th or 8th in a good midfield and gettinga good chop out, cut the boy some slack At least his effort is a constant.

There are several obvious improvements Jones can make.

Needs to improve decision making and overall disposal.

Needs to go with he first option more often.

Needs to use poise when in space and not blaze away.

Needs to improve tackling.

All acheivable. Motor and motivation don't appear to be an issue. He should model himself on Sam Mitchell. Mitchell lacks pace and Jones has more penetration on his kicking but Sam does the small things well such as pressuring, tackling and getting to the right areas. Jones can do the same.

Jones is a fantastic player, in a good team that has a decent midfield and some defensive pressure he would dominate.

Yeah hes a bit off a lot of the times, but hopefully when we start executing the gameplans properly our midfielders will have a bit more space to work with and will start looking more like rolls royces than corrollas.

Yeah hes a bit off a lot of the times, but hopefully when we start executing the gameplans properly our midfielders will have a bit more space to work with and will start looking more like rolls royces than corrollas.

I think he'll be alright too. His 19-20 FFS so he'll have a few dirty days.

Don't know about anyone else but i reckon we've got our own little bald Robert Harvey. Has the Harvey shot on goal down pat.

It's good to have things to improve on, it means you won't fall into a comfort zone too early in your career and just get by with minimum effort.

He is never going to be the most gifted player, but he is the sort of guy that will enjoy working on different aspects of his game and learning.

Exactly, he will never have the skills of a buckley but he will get better than what he is at the moment, and once rest of the team gets better it will be a lot easier for him and brock to stamp their authority on a game.