Our recycled four

[Mitcha]

Had to laugh at Melbournes recycled rubbish over the weekend and thought about how good our pick ups were during the off season.
Brett Goodes-Stong attack at the footy with elite foot skills which has allowed Murph to go forward where he is most dangerous. Replaces Gilbee-Looks a win.
Nick Lower-Again a strong attack at the footy, came in and destroyed Rich who has in the past destroyed us. Also frees Picken up to frustrate the crap out of someone else-Looks a win.
Koby Stevens-Another with a ferocious attack on the ball, common trait so far, adds to our midfield depth-Looks a win.
Tom Young-Reasonably athletic and plays the 3rd tall defender role basically like Ryan Hargrave-Jury still out.
It's obvious we went out and recruited specific role players whereas Melbourne looks to have taken anyone who wanted to extend their careers by a season or two, Rodan, Byrnes and the like.
Well done to all involved.
Thoughts.

 

[bulldogman]

I wouldn't be calling any of them a win after one game. Goodes and Lower were both good but Goodes is 29 so hardly going to be long term proposition. Also you get worked out pretty quickly at AFL level so he won't be able to get under teams guards playing that sweeping role like he did Saturday. Lower has never shown he is anything better then an average footballer who struggled to get games at Port and Freo when they weren't any good. Stevens I thought was good and I believe will bring more to the table then the aforementioned. Young also was good first up but so was Trent Bartlett who he in a bad way reminded me off.. No knock on them thus far but we need to keep a level head after 1 game

 

[threenewpadlocks]

Lower was wanted at Freo - he rejected their contracts
Stevens was dissatisfied with limited game times
We were lucky to have Goodes as Welfare manager and see him up close before drafting him
Young was good enough to play 10 games for a finals team, not 4 or 5 like Melbourne's players.

Most players that we got were wanted at their club, Melbourne's weren't - that's the major difference here.

 

[Mutt]

I wouldn't be calling any of them a win after one game. Goodes and Lower were both good but Goodes is 29 so hardly going to be long term proposition. Also you get worked out pretty quickly at AFL level so he won't be able to get under teams guards playing that sweeping role like he did Saturday. Lower has never shown he is anything better then an average footballer who struggled to get games at Port and Freo when they weren't any good. Stevens I thought was good and I believe will bring more to the table then the aforementioned. Young also was good first up but so was Trent Bartlett who he in a bad way reminded me off.. No knock on them thus far but we need to keep a level head after 1 game

I'd hate to witness you pinning year ears back and really have a crack at them .... seems you found a few knocks.

Just as it is too early to get carried away with the new mature recruits - it is also too early to write off Goodes and Lower in the way you did.

Just my opinion ... I'm happy for you to call me a fool if Goodes and Lower prove to be one-game wonders.

 

[dogsbody]

I...... Also you get worked out pretty quickly at AFL level so he won't be able to get under teams guards playing that sweeping role like he did Saturday. ...

Agree. Goodes won't have that much space in the future.

Lower, Young & Stevens would have been chosen because
(a) all from successful clubs; and
(b) chosen because they play the McCartney way.
They'll continue to give good service.

Not many other teams will be as insipid as Brisbane but I expect to continue to win as long as the team plays to the coaches way. I'm sold on this bloke.

 

[cleveland]

I was sold on the coach from the inner sanctum night onwards

 

[100action]

I wouldn't be calling any of them a win after one game. Goodes and Lower were both good but Goodes is 29 so hardly going to be long term proposition. Also you get worked out pretty quickly at AFL level so he won't be able to get under teams guards playing that sweeping role like he did Saturday. Lower has never shown he is anything better then an average footballer who struggled to get games at Port and Freo when they weren't any good. Stevens I thought was good and I believe will bring more to the table then the aforementioned. Young also was good first up but so was Trent Bartlett who he in a bad way reminded me off.. No knock on them thus far but we need to keep a level head after 1 game

I have seen Lower play dominant games for Freo, his 2011 was super impressive.

 

[mick06]

Just wanted to say it somewhere, but Goodes reminded me of Wirrpanda. He's taller but with the bulkier upper body, the way he reads the play, covers the ground and some of his skills, especially the look away handball over the shoulder. Great to watch.

 

[dogwatch]

Look I know it's only one game but that's an outstanding result on the only opportunity they've been given so far.

I gave Lower BoG even though he got very few meaningless DT points. He held Brisbane's playmaker/dog-destroyer to 8 disposals (3 of which came from free kicks). When did that last happen? In addition he got 13 disposals himself. He was a huge factor in our dominance over the Lions.

Sure Goodes will get more attention next time but that means they have to take their eye off someone else to mind him, so we are automatically better off, even if they keep him quiet. And I'm confident he'll continue to rebound well. Love his kicking BTW. We may get 3 good years out of him (60+ games), 4-5 years if we're lucky. I'll take that for a rookie pick any day.

Stevens would probably have been in the votes if he hadn't been subbed off. As a 21yo he probably has 10-20% improvement in him yet. Enuff said.

Young seemed solid. Six weeks ago I hadn't expected he'd play many games this year or get a start in Round 1 but his PS form was good and he was quite serviceable on Saturday. Not bad for a 190cm+ 20yo who will no doubt get better.

As dogsbody noted above they also fit the BM playing style very well.

Yes they will have off days and Young (at least) may be in and out of the side as others become available (Wood, Williams, etc) but these four have already shown enough for me to believe we have recruited recycled players well this year, much better than our recruiting form of recent years prior to 2012.

 

[Kepfan]

Lower was a good player for us. I used to call him mini-Pav.
Warms the cockles of my heart to see him playing well at the Doggies hope he goes on to be an important part of the engine. Looking forward to a good game on the weekend.
All the best

 

[threenewpadlocks]

Lower was a good player for us. I used to call him mini-Pav.
Warms the cockles of my heart to see him playing well at the Doggies hope he goes on to be an important part of the engine. Looking forward to a good game on the weekend.
All the best

I bet you're hoping he doesn't have a good game in the next coming one, though

 

[HK_Bulldog]

Still early days but so far so good. At least they were all good enough to make the Round 1 side which is a great start.
Shows the value of a full time List Manager in JMac.

I shudder when I think of all the previous trades, Veszpremi, Sherman, Djerrkura that amounted to nothing. Having a go at Bate and that Collingwood HBF who went to Essendon that I can't remember the name of.

Lower and Goodes landed on our laps a little but Stevens and Young are great examples of targetting young players yet to reach their best but being squeezed out of good teams.

 

[fronkalicious]

Must admit, I'm awfully excited about Koby Stevens. He is a very very complete player, at only 21 years of age. For starters he's 187cm. We've been belted by bigger mids like Buckley, voss, hird, goodes, Bartel, Hayes, etc previously. Koby is a legit, power midfielder who can counter this type of mid.

Then the way he attacks the contest. Utterly ferocious. Attacks the man and the ball. He has cleans hands and good vision in tight. His tackling and defensive stuff are excellent.

And then the most surprising thing for mine is his ability to get on the outside. He has very good speed and is willing to use it. And his delivery by foot is excellent. He's a very penetrating kick and has an attacking mindset with the footy. The combination of size, speed, aggression, and skill make him a very unique package indeed.

He complements our future midfield very very well. Smith is the grunt man. Libba the extractor with exquisite vision. Wallis the running man who just keeps at it. Griffen and now Koby add the speed, power and polish.

Think we have a very good one on our hands in koby Stevens.

 

[Dogs_r_barking]

They all share the trade mark 'tough at it', type players that Macca loves. It makes sense to study the VFL games of the successful clubs and cherry pick the next crop coming through, kids who would be playing if their team drops off.

 

[ManOfClay]

Agree. Goodes won't have that much space in the future.

Lower, Young & Stevens would have been chosen because
(a) all from successful clubs; and
(b) chosen because they play the McCartney way.
They'll continue to give good service.

Not many other teams will be as insipid as Brisbane but I expect to continue to win as long as the team plays to the coaches way. I'm sold on this bloke.

Hate to nitpick but Lower played for 2007 era Port Adelaide, and Fremantle. Hardly successful cultures there.

 

[StringyDog]

It was pretty obvious early on that Goodes was going to be a good pickup, he reads the play so well which is something you can't teach, he has great natural instincts.

Lower's past is pretty irrelevant, at Port Adelaide they played him off back flank which he wasn't suited to, he played well at Fremantle as an inside mid extractor then as they got some better players in that role they again moved him to back flank which was a dumb move. His role at dogs is completely different, maximising his strengths and trying to minimise his weaknesses.

 

[Kepfan]

I bet you're hoping he doesn't have a good game in the next coming one, though

I hope he has a good game on the weekend was always one of my favorites and I was sad to see him go.
Lower is the kind of player that gives his all, leaves it all on the field type player. I'm fascinated seeing him played as a tagger at Freo he was more of an inside mid. Will be interesting to see who he plays on this weekend.

 

[Dry Rot]

I hope he has a good game on the weekend was always one of my favorites and I was sad to see him go.
Lower is the kind of player that gives his all, leaves it all on the field type player. I'm fascinated seeing him played as a tagger at Freo he was more of an inside mid. Will be interesting to see who he plays on this weekend.

From time to time, it's nice to see opposition fans wishing one of their players all the best at a new club. Unlike Brian Lake....

If you were our coach, who would you play him on?

 

[Kepfan]

From time to time, it's nice to see opposition fans wishing one of their players all the best at a new club. Unlike Brian Lake....

If you were our coach, who would you play him on?

Hill or D Pearce possibly Mundy but he kind of plays inside nonchalant style so he will be hard to stop. Where as Hill and D Pearce have both struggled with tags in the past and minimizing the outside speedy damage of at least one of them will be a win.
West coast tagged Fyfe last week to low/ no effect.
The smother job Lower did on Rich was something to behold I hope he can become a real negator for the doggies in the way Crowley is for Freo.

 

[Libba39]

All I can say is that this is way better than the 2011 pick-ups...

Sherman
Djerkurra
Veszpremi

 

[Mofra]

We're missing the important bit - they cost us peanuts.
Young was pick 71 or so?
Lower was free
Goodes was a rookie pick
Stevens (the one I was most excited about) was ~44, for a late first rounder/early second rounder who had a couple of injury iinterrupted years.

I'd rather all four than pay a late first & late second rounder for a guy who costs over $500k per season.

 

[Barkly St End]

I have seen Lower play dominant games for Freo, his 2011 was super impressive.

That's right, I reckon Lower is a fantastic pick up.

It's only one game in, but all four hit the ground running, seriously, how often do you see four debutants being amongst the best very first hit out? Plenty to be pleased about.

None of us expect big things this year - it's really about setting ourselves up for the next tilt at finals, and it might come earlier than we had anticipated, i.e. as soon as next season.

 

[Barkly St End]

All I can say is that this is way better than the 2011 pick-ups...

Sherman
Djerkurra
Veszpremi

We're already ahead with interest!

 

[Mitcha]

Bumped, interested in your thoughts after 9 rounds now.

 

[fronkalicious]

Goodes - ok. Not part of the big picture for mine. Like to see Pearce rotated into the team throughout the 2nd half of the year. Been good value for money though clearly.

Lower - been playing well, but the move of picken into defence hasn't been a positive one.

Young - been great. Reads the game very well and über competitive. Good player. Nice selection by j McCartney.

Stevens - kid can play. Really play. Great size. Decent speed. Tough bugger. Good hands, uses it well and kicks goals. Complements our midfield very very well.