Why was McLeod playing back pocket?

[ozzult]

I might be out of the loop as far as it goes with AFC, but why was McLeod in the back pocket?

I thought he was disinterested when Ayres put him in defense last year, and the news was he didn't like it at all. Then when Craig came along, apparently he was really looking forward to playing in his 'true' position (on the ball).

Why has Craig put him back there?

 

[tribey]

Some would ask "why was McLeod playing?"... at least for the wages he's on.

 

[-VC-]

I don't know about McLeod's morale, but he had an effective game by basically keeping Davey out of it.
McLeod clearly wasn't happy under Ayres, but it's often forgotten that Blight also played McLeod out of the back line a bit.
He's not in particularly good form this year (and it showed when he was moved onto the ball on Friday night) but hopefully by having a few strong games in the back line he can regain some confidence to play his best in the midfield.

 

[macca23]

The irony of it all is that Macca was playing exceptionally well from the back pocket. Not only had he kept his man touchless - Davey - but he was playing a Chris Johnson type role running off of his man straight up the ground and through the centre, setting up forward line attacks beautifully.

When he moved away from defence he did very little, and we also lost a lot of that run from defence, which was compounded with Stiffy's injury..

 

[Crowked]

Its a ploy of NC to play him in a defensive sense for large portions of games to eliminate the constant tag. He has also been given a couple of tagging roles in other games according to the coaching staff. It seemed to work for most of Friday night. He kept Davey touchless until he was sent forward to try and pinch a few goals himself. It could be an effective tactic if he can play a tight defensive role for most of a game and pinch a couple of goals in short bursts on the ball or up front. I'll be interested to see where he lines up this week and how he goes.

 

[tribey]

The problem I have with this is that McLeod is [was] supposed to be a top-notch midfielder and is paid as such. He should have the requisite talent and ability to fulfill this role at his age rather than have to defer to the likes of Skipworth.

What ever happened to "McLeod tore team-B a new arse today!"?

Has it really come to this?:

"He did a great job on Aaron Davey..."

Think about it.

 

[macca23]

The problem I have with this is that McLeod is [was] supposed to be a top-notch midfielder and is paid as such. He should have the requisite talent and ability to fulfill this role at his age rather than have to defer to the likes of Skipworth.

What ever happened to "McLeod tore team-B a new arse today!"?

Has it really come to this?:

"He did a great job on Aaron Davey..."

Think about it.

Oh, I'm totally with you on this one DT.

Secretly the club must be too. Pre mid 2003 Macca was universally regarded as being in the best 3 footballers in the AFL.

We just don't have that player any more for some obscure reason. Where did he go to?

 

[marvin]

The problem I have with this is that McLeod is [was] supposed to be a top-notch midfielder and is paid as such. He should have the requisite talent and ability to fulfill this role at his age rather than have to defer to the likes of Skipworth.

What ever happened to "McLeod tore team-B a new arse today!"?

Has it really come to this?:

"He did a great job on Aaron Davey..."

Think about it.

I see where you are coming from, but there are 2 reasons he is on the wages he's on. One is market demand - lots of other clubs would have wanted him coming off his great years. The other is back loading. You can bet in 1997 and 1998 that at least a dozen players would have been on more than he was, and the money he's getting now is, to a point, pay for what he did _then_.

I also don't think it's a question of deferring to the likes of Skipworth. Roo and Goodwin (and Thompson for that matter) are all spending far more pine time under Craig than they did with Ayres as coach, and Macca is getting some less demanding jobs (forward, back) than he used to. The philosophy of the coaching staff seems to be that they'd rather use these guys at 80% of what they are capable of this year, in the hope that they'll add another year or two on the back end of their careers.

Furthermore, McLeod's brief for Friday's 1st half seemed to be less to try and nullify Davey (which he did brilliantly) but to make it a positive match up for the team by running off him and creating wherever possible. It's not like the coaches are trying to turn him in to the next Mark Viska - they saw some weakness in Davey's game that they attacked, and thought Macca was the best weapon to do it with.

 

[tribey]

I see where you are coming from, but there are 2 reasons he is on the wages he's on. One is market demand - lots of other clubs would have wanted him coming off his great years. The other is back loading. You can bet in 1997 and 1998 that at least a dozen players would have been on more than he was, and the money he's getting now is, to a point, pay for what he did _then_.

I've never been a fan of back-ended contracts. There's a reason why Macca wasn't on much in 1997, he was just another kid with potential, who happened to win a B&F and Norm Smith yes. He was richly rewarded upon his next renewal to reflect these exploits and his talent, no reason to keep thanking him otherwise we should still have Darren Jarman and Shane Ellen under our cap.

I also don't think it's a question of deferring to the likes of Skipworth. Roo and Goodwin (and Thompson for that matter) are all spending far more pine time under Craig than they did with Ayres as coach, and Macca is getting some less demanding jobs (forward, back) than he used to. The philosophy of the coaching staff seems to be that they'd rather use these guys at 80% of what they are capable of this year, in the hope that they'll add another year or two on the back end of their careers.

Goodwin has been injury-plagued for the past few years and Ricciuto isn't young anymore, and has been carrying this side on his back for the past few years... Thompson had next to no preseason due to injury, so they should be rested or given lesser roles.

McLeod on the other hand should be in the prime of his football life. We all know about his knee problem, but the club keeps saying that's not an issue, and besides which, he had the problem way back under Blight - and that didn't stop him being robbed of a Brownlow in 2001.

It's interesting that his only stellar game for the year was against the Pies, straight after Andrew Jarman called him out... the problem seems to be above the shoulders rather than physical.

Furthermore, McLeod's brief for Friday's 1st half seemed to be less to try and nullify Davey (which he did brilliantly) but to make it a positive match up for the team by running off him and creating wherever possible. It's not like the coaches are trying to turn him in to the next Mark Viska - they saw some weakness in Davey's game that they attacked, and thought Macca was the best weapon to do it with.

Why can't he create from the midfield? It was a thrill to see him turn on the jets unhindered through the centre of the ground after running out of defence, so why can't he do this from further up the ground?

Friday night proved he's still got the pace and awareness to run through the lines, why can't he start on the ball and work from there, rather than sitting on a kid in the backpocket?

 

[marvin]

McLeod on the other hand should be in the prime of his football life. We all know about his knee problem, but the club keeps saying that's not an issue, and besides which, he had the problem way back under Blight - and that didn't stop him being robbed of a Brownlow in 2001.

The club also said that Carey's shoulders were fine in 2003, and Carey himself said at the start of 2004 that was rubbish (and that he was much better in 04). Brisbane reckon Voss has never been fitter. Essendon said Lloyd was fully fit when he came back.

No club is going to say that a star player's degenerative knee condition is getting worse. Saying that it's not an issue is one thing - chosing to play him like it is an issue suggests something different.

It's interesting that his only stellar game for the year was against the Pies, straight after Andrew Jarman called him out... the problem seems to be above the shoulders rather than physical.

I think that too much is made of the Jars comment for because, frankly, he wasn't that great against the Pies, apart from the goals. I said a few weeks ago in another thread that he had far more of a team game against the Dogs, and I thought he played better against both Port and Sydney.

Friday night proved he's still got the pace and awareness to run through the lines, why can't he start on the ball and work from there, rather than sitting on a kid in the backpocket?

I think that the fact that he's barely been on the ball this year suggests that he'sl only got a certain number of sprints per game that he's capable of. Like you, I'd rather see him as a attacking midfielder / forward than deep in defence. However, I doubt that he'll be a regular back pocket this year, but I think that it was a move to exploit a weakness in Davey's game, and that Macca was the best man to do it. (Craig tried to do it in the trial game with Johncock and later Begley, but neither have the explosive burst to do the job Macca did).

 

[Alex99]

Some would ask "why was McLeod playing?"... at least for the wages he's on.

Get down out of that ‘ivory tower’ your in about Andrew McLeod’s income DT.

Andrew McLeod earns every cent he gets paid by the Adelaide Football club FFS

 

[tribey]

Get down out of that ‘ivory tower’ your in about Andrew McLeod’s income DT

Why? I like the view.

Andrew McLeod earns every cent he gets paid by the Adelaide Football club FFS

On the whole, since his Michael Tuck Medal win, do you honestly believe that?

 

[Wood_Duck]

I'm with DT on this one. Macca is playing for career longevity and money these days. He has clearly wrapped himself in cotton wool to avoid injuries and protect his body so that he can add some time to his AFL career. If that means that he has to play out of the back pocket then so be it. He is never going to turn back time and start dominating the midfield again. We may as well stop wishing for it.

It is a very sad thing for all of his supporters that we now have to settle for a player that can shut down a second year rookie.

As for his salary..........????

 

[Markthirtytwo]

Firstly the reason Macca is playing in the BP this year and seems to be enjoying it more, is IMO Ayres didnt have the same rapport with the players as does NC. Furthermore they seem to want to play for him as against playing inspite of GA. LIke if you made a mistake with GA off you would go, get a blast about being a naughty boy and dont do it again. Plus we dont really know what was with these two either. But with the current coach, you can trust your arm, take a rise and if it doesnt come off, well try again later and no scolding from the top brass. Macca seems to like this and so would I.

Last whether his knees are playing up he still takes the best tagger from the opposition and usually they nullify his game to the detrement of their own.

I cant see the situation getting any better than it is, so I reackon just leave him be and let him get on with playing. As regarding his payment fee, well again thats between him and the club.

 

[outback jack]

jack wrote early in the yr that macca was finished when everyone was going on how great he was looking and a chance at the brownlow. Mad_dog said i was crazy, the truth is we cant expect a hell of a lot from macca these days we dont know what it would be like to have the injuries that hes experienced. To get anymore out of him these days, specialist attacking roles like he did on davey are good for him. I thought he provided excellent drive for us in the first half. He did defensive runs out of defence like that with blighty. If we want him to get 'better' i think strengthening our midfield may take a bit of pressure and focus off of him, but apart from that his magic days are over.

 

[Wood_Duck]

jack wrote early in the yr that macca was finished when everyone was going on how great he was looking and a chance at the brownlow. Mad_dog said i was crazy, the truth is we cant expect a hell of a lot from macca these days we dont know what it would be like to have the injuries that hes experienced. To get anymore out of him these days, specialist attacking roles like he did on davey are good for him. I thought he provided excellent drive for us in the first half. He did defensive runs out of defence like that with blighty. If we want him to get 'better' i think strengthening our midfield may take a bit of pressure and focus off of him, but apart from that his magic days are over.

Jack you are on fire, I'm going to have to agree with you for the second time today.

 

[The Toolman]

I have a feeling we haven't seen the last of the best of A.McLeod!