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To state the obvious, this is an unpopular opinion on here, but I think Oscar is a more naturally talented ball player than his brother. He’s also subject to the same slumps of confidence, and we’ve seen what that’s done to Tom this season. People forget very quickly that for most of last year, he was one of the first ten players picked each week, based on form, and we played in a prelim. Finals-experienced 23 year olds having form slumps don’t just get tossed aside. Yes, he could be bigger and stronger, but that can be worked on. I don’t doubt he will be groomed as a key forward over the next couple of years. Thankfully the club has a more logical perspective than Demonland, exceptions granted.

Chris Fagan. I may be biased in favour of coaches who resurrect a prologned basketcase (Lions hadn't cracked a % of 70 in the previous three season, their drafting had been a mess and they were leaking good players faster than they could be found. Since he has come in, Brisbane have stopped the bleeding of young players while also actually getting real development out of them. They've gone from 'maybe next season they might scrape some kind of respectability' to 'lurking on the edge of the top 4'. Brisbane's position just a few years ago was so bad, Fagan's achievement this year would be like Mark Neeld taking us to finals in 2014.

Imagine constantly potting a player for not developing, building his strength, having good form, and then an article comes out explaining he's been doing those very things midseason, in a club infamous for poor development no less, and you take the opportunity to pot him yet again (on the internet). Our supporter culture is often as toxic as the club culture that's been worked on so hard.

If I was Joel I'd either sue the club or seek a trade.. Just disgusting how that he now misses a year because we decided to leave him on the ground of a meaningless practise game due to no rotations. Yet none of Goodwin or Mission have taken no responsible at all when quizzed about this. Pissweak

The angst towards Omac is ridiculous. I am happy the club is investing time trying to help him recapture form.

Misson on Oscar: Key back Oscar McDonald will play VFL this weekend after undergoing a "mini pre-season". "We just feel he needed to reset physically and probably mentally, and he looks unbelievable now," Misson said. "He's done some great work in the gym, he looks strong, really fit, and he's done some really specific conditioning over and above all the footy work he's done. "We're really pleased with how he's approached it and we're quietly confident it's going to produce some really good results for Oscar." Just shows how missing a large part of preseason sets back the whole season. Hip surgery can't be easy to overcome for such a tall person. Good on Oscar for taking the program on board and putting all into it.

Wow those Hawthorn fans know how to abandon a shonky bandwagon.

As much as I don't care for the bloke, Grumpy Cat Chris Scott has done very, very well with a re-jigged side and game plan after everyone said they were gone after we knocked them out of the finals last year.

And so did we

Gee Petraccas intensity was through the roof.. Liked the look of it!!

If Lockhart supported him then there was clearly nothing in it. I’ll take integrity and good spirit of the game over a 1 week penalty for a player in a team we played the week before, making it completely meaningless to us moving forward. Would you honestly rather see minor infractions like this relentlessly pursued and prosecuted? The game is getting painfully soft enough as it is. I’m almost Glad he got off. We’re on a slippery enough slope with the MRP as is. I don’t want to see every single bit of aggression sucked out of the game I love. Why are we getting all worked up over an incident where the ‘victim’ said there was nothing in it?

[censored] OP is caused my high acute stress pressure on his groin. Which he would have felt a sharp twinge. Joel comes and complains of sharp pains in his groins, club then sends him back out and the pain worsens as the day goes on. That's where the OP would have started. Don't give me the whole going back on the ground did nothing [censored]. It worsened because he was sent back out.

Some, and I am not saying it is you, just drop the dismissive terms ‘spud’, ‘dud’ and other non constructive derogatory term for Oscar and others.

Fake news.

Indeed. But also the real issue has been the kick inside 50 to our forwards. Improve that and we will convert a lot more chances. Draft or trade in some quality outside players who can hit a target. In the meantime put fritter forward.

The thing that gets me is he plays off scratch at golf, this says some serious things to me about his skills. Basically brilliant eye hand coordination, and outstanding self control and definitely the right attitude and aptitude for hard work. I am happy for him to fill out, I reckon he will be huge like Stef Martin when he has hit his straps. For the knockers, don't let the fact that he doesn't wear his heart on his sleeve mean that he doesn't care or isn't trying, you've got him wrong, he is a different sort of cat.

Sounds like really good player management and development to me. Very reassuring.

Headbutting someone off the ball is soft. IMO things like that deserve a suspensions despite impact. Nothing tough about it. I shouldn't be surprised that the AFL said they were going to clean up these things and then not follow through with it.

Posting lots of stuff doesn’t mean you’re “engaging” or “smart”. Sometimes silence is a good quality.

A year long groin injury for Smith. Ridiculous

Lever out for 1 or 2 more weeks. Given his injury will be a mile of fitness a wise. So comes back and plays another scratchy game that he struggles to run out and struggles with his touch. Given he actually only played 2-3 decent games last year before his injury we won't have got much from him for close to two full seasons. To be clear I'm not down on him, injuries happen. More a lament on our luck. (I am down however about the pathetic comms from our club about his latest injury. Injured against the pies and fans are only told he is in doubt for the freo game 3 days before the game, some 10 odds since the injury. And when we are told they say one week, but maybe 3 or 4. I mean seriously what a joke). Here's hoping he has a great pre season And a massive 2020.

It’s still June

Here is the top ten draft picks that year - how many would you class as a success? With your "'excellent'" use of hindsight, you probably had De Goey as number one back in 2014 As Melbourne supporters well know, getting it right is very difficult for a huge number of reasons 1 Paddy McCartin St Kilda Geelong Falcons TAC Cup 1 2 Christian Petracca Melbourne Eastern Ranges TAC Cup 1 3 Angus Brayshaw Melbourne Sandringham Dragons TAC Cup Free agency compensation pick (Frawley) 1 4 Jarrod Pickett Greater Western Sydney South Fremantle WAFL 1 5 Jordan De Goey Collingwood Oakleigh Chargers TAC Cup Traded from Brisbane Lions 1 6 Caleb Marchbank Greater Western Sydney Murray Bushrangers TAC Cup Traded from Western Bulldogs 1 7 Paul Ahern Greater Western Sydney Calder Cannons TAC Cup Traded from Carlton 1 8 Peter Wright Gold Coast Calder Cannons TAC Cup 1 9 Darcy Moore Collingwood Oakleigh Chargers TAC Cup Father–son rule selection – son of Peter Moore 1 10 Nakia Cockatoo

He's been apparently doing a 'mini-preseason' according to the club. What do you know hey? Development. At the MFC no less. Coaches have been doing bits of it with him. Love it. Investing in a young player rather than 'delisting or trading' because he's down the pecking order currently. Source

At this stage I'd still give it to Stewie "where the party pies at?" Dew. Expected by many to go winless for the year. Grounded out the 3 wins with another 4 losses of 5 points or under. A percentage of 71.89 conceding less points than Carlton, Melbourne, Bulldogs, North and Saints. Could very easily be sitting pretty on 7 wins. Not bad for a side expected to be wholly non competitive.

Mate.

Maybe wait till the end of the year to make this thread? ?

Yes, it is tedious indeed. I hope this is a bit of a full stop to the barrage of posts about the matter then. Perhaps we can get onto being constructive about it? (Hence my question about this year's draftees). I'll look forward to your 2019 phantom draft in 2020 then. Cheers.

Nice to see some balanced and thoughtful posts on a thread about OMac. Refreshing.

The point is though, you're happy to be Captain Hindsight and pot decisions made by professionals, yet you're seemingly too scared to actually put forth your opinions based on future predictions. If you're not already in a recruitment role, despite apparently wanting the income, I'm not sure why you feel the need to continually bash decisions made by far more qualified people. I honestly would be really keen to hear your thoughts on whom we should draft this year. You seem to be really into it, and I've not followed the draft that closely the last couple of years.

Yeah true, did sound like he played in the middle a bit on the weekend again. Good point. I wonder if he could potentially play more forward of the ball where his delivery would have more impact where needed? From the previous link: "For the second game in a row, Jordan Lewis displayed the elite skills which have made him one of best footballers of his generation. Controlling the match from a muddy centre of Piranha Park, Lewis was immense for the Demons providing outstanding leadership, directing his younger teammates, calling out defensive coverages and setting up goals all leading to the victory."

I think Lewis has been playing a different role at Casey. Against Collingwood he was on ball and I suspect that was also the case against Coburg. In that role he is not as accountable for defending as he would need to be if he replaced Wagner. I'm not so sure Lewis's good Casey form as an onballer at Casey would be replicated if he found himself on the half back line in the seniors.

I was thinking similar thoughts, LN, but he needs some 'run and carry' skills development and some 'feed' skills (hopefully to other forwards), so I considered that bench time for Petty may be an appropriate start. He'd probably get in the way amongst the tall timbers at this point - but player development strategies are always welcome with our bank of 2nd-tier players. I see him with hope in my mind that he could be developed to play in shorter bursts like some of the Whoreform flankers with height - no-one in mind in particular - but that additional height, marking plus mobility may take him to the next level whilst still concentrating on his intercepts and marking as a backline resource.

Last year the draft wasn't that deep. After around the pick 25 it completely dropped off the cliff in my opinion. This year its hard to get a take on the depth and talent. If you are looking for KP forwards or a ruckman then this is not the draft for you. There will be genuine talent in the top 20 this year. For me if be keeping a close eye on Lachie Ash, Hayden Young and Dylan Williams.

I love that Max doesn't play for frees or conplain to umpires. In fact our players are pretty good in this respect. Compare our players to the likes of Walters, Dangerfield, Ablett etc who all winge to the umpires whenever things dont go their way.

That does not necessarily equate to looking for a tall forward - could equally be looking for a smart Eddie Betts / Charlie Cameron type crumber.

Around six weeks. Possibly longer. Making slow progress unfortunately. He's out of the boot but the foot is very stiff still. Not running yet. He's very missed in our forward line right now. His kind of clever ball-use is what we need more of.

I like that the club are willing to do this. it seems they did something similar with Weideman. If it works with Oscar so much the better. if not, well, we have lost nothing. He was a pick 53 and is only 23 yo. I would give him another 2 years minimum to develop his body and skills. When he ha the ball he is usually calm and level headed and has good delivery when in form.

He was pick 53. There have been some stars drafted after that number but not that many. Who exactly did you think you would get with 53 instead of Oscar, who was probably worth the gamble. Just hasn't worked out...........yet.

Good idea I think, I’m sure as much about mental strength and resilience as physical capabilities

C'mon Oscar

It won’t matter how big or small they make his physique, he doesn’t have the agility and athleticism necessary to succeed at this level. He is a VFL or A grade amateur footballer. There is no shame in that. Everybody needs to accept it and move on. Oscar for me is Exhibit A on why you should never just automatically draft one of your better player’s brothers. He was never going to make it as an AFL key defender with his obvious limitations. Waste of a draft pick.

From The Age "Melbourne has put young defender Oscar McDonald through a mid-year mini pre-season to try to unlock his struggling form by helping him build his light body to compete with the big power forwards. The Demons pulled McDonald out of all playing for three weeks and put him through an intensive three-week weights and agility program to build his body and confidence. The coaches, including senior coach Simon Goodwin, have joined him in doing extra weights sessions. The mini pre-season has been structured to be timed around the bye to limit the games missed as the club sought a way to lift his form. "In the first part of the season Oscar was not able to do what he wanted to do and we had to find a way to help him get back to playing the footy he knows he can play," Melbourne football manager Josh Mahoney said. "In the end it got to a stage where something had to be done to get him back playing the footy we know he can play. He did a mini pre-season for three weeks tying it into the bye round. "The role he plays he is on the biggest strongest forwards in the competition so a lot of it was around strength and weights. We have done similar programs with Sam Weideman earlier in the year when he missed a few weeks. [Rookie tall player] Austin Bradtke as well." https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/demon-does-mini-pre-season-to-find-form-20190624-p520tw.html

If he's really only 190 then I'd pass unless he shoots up this year. Too small for a KPD and while he's a good kick he doesn't seem to have a lot of pace to him to play as a flanker. Also, you have to watch the guys who have big bodies in the juniors. They often struggle to adjust to playing in an environment where they aren't the biggest strongest guy on the park.

Aha, all has been revealed: "The Demons pulled McDonald out of all playing for three weeks and put him through an intensive three-week weights and agility program to build his body and confidence. "In the first part of the season Oscar was not able to do what he wanted to do and we had to find a way to help him get back to playing the footy he knows he can play," Melbourne football manager Josh Mahoney said. McDonald did have an operation after the end of the season and missed a large portion of the pre-season which had set him back, Mahoney said." https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/demon-does-mini-pre-season-to-find-form-20190624-p520tw.html

It’s a ripping pic - pun not intended! Never seen a player so gleeful while in a fracas! I reckon Jack’s close to the toughest player I’ve seen. Proper tough, not deck someone behind play, or grow a mullet and pinch your opponent until their arm gets a bruise tough. He’s at his best when he’s dealing and receiving hurt in equal measure. Just love it.

KK played on one wing, JKH the other, they both had very slow starts barely sighted in the first quarter. JKH was the spark for the team in the 2nd quarter to get them going, he would've had double figure possessions in that quarter alone. After that he was only serviceable, same as KK was only just a game from him. Lewis was BOG by the mile of the straight, he worked tirelessly all day in and under packs and the outside with measured possessions. If he's not in for Wagner next week I'll be surprised. Speaking of Wagner his brother was also immense all day, our second best mid in terms of game impact even if the stats don't show it. Pruess was so dominant in the hitouts Coburg were just trying to read off his hands rather than their undersized under siege ruckman, around the grounds he was good but not great. It wasn't a day for big marks, conditions dictated that so he didn't dominate in the air as much. It was interesting that for the whole match we didn't have a single Melbourne listed player start in the back 6 after a goal, such are the injuries we've copped this year, so the defence never really filled you with confidence. Two Casey players both got felled behind the play today, one Coburg player at the very least #29 dropped Freeman in a cowardly act for which he was reported, plenty for the vfl tribunal to look at. Of the rest of the demons, Bedford, Spargo, Kielty and Chandler were very poor, Maynard was his usual industrious self in traffic and got better as the game went on, Dunkley was only ok and still haven't seen anything of note in Jordan. The biggest cheer of the day came from the 22 blokes sitting behind me in the grandstand who happened to play on the Mcg Saturday when bradtke attempted a huge pack mark, almost pulled it in, but instead grabbed the spillage and snapped it over his head for a goal, he's obviously a big favourite amongst the playing group. He's as raw as sushi, but the building blocks are there he looks a likely long term prospect. A bitterly cold day best forgotten, Casey did just enough against very poor opposition in trying conditions, they'll just be happy to take the 4 points and move on from this one.

Interesting discussion by Carey and Roos about the virtues of players kicking on their non-preferred side. Balancing Act Gus leads the league on non-preferred kicks with 43% on the 'wrong' side.. At that rate he won't have a preferred side soon. In front of Betts, D. Smith, Coniglio and Sidebottom. Great asset for a mid-fielder to have. And, I'm very glad he is ours: Smart, brave, talented and still developing. A keeper!