AFL Player # 1: Andrew "Pidge" McGrath (Vice-Captain)

[Beerfish]

Contract Status: Restricted Free Agent 2024
My Boy Draft 2024: Pick 13, Vindicater

 

[Bombermania]

Frozen out of the middle too much.

He's much more likely to hit a target than Pairsh and Shiel and should be playing much higher midfield minutes.

Kind of feels like we're just treading water.

If he's a mid, play him there in the first rotation.

Not sure about the whole match but McGrath seemed to be playing out the back. A few times when the ball was locked in our forward half he was out the back playing a sweeper type role.

 

[BrunoV]

Not sure about the whole match but McGrath seemed to be playing out the back. A few times when the ball was locked in our forward half he was out the back playing a sweeper type role.

Hard to see that on TV.

Completely bizarre use if that's the case.

There is only so much ball to run out (even with our combination of "inside midfield" and turn overs)

We can hardly get the ball into Redman's hands as it is.

 

[vaughany]

McGrath is on the panel of The Oval Office tonight

Sent from my SM-G960F using Tapatalk

 

[JayJ20]

He really has a tendency to lift at crucial moments. Was impressive when the game was in the balance.
Very clean hands under pressure today.

 

[Pweter]

He is starting to become quite the player is this lad. His balance and decision making are incredible, and he is learning that his acceleration is better than most and is using it to great effect.

 

[naraku]

He has quietly been building up and tonight was just impressive!

 

[doug85]

Thought this was cool

 

[Paul_Barnard]

Worst performance of his career, expect better from a number 1 pick. Just made up the numbers

 

[qwertyboy]

Worst performance of his career, expect better from a number 1 pick. Just made up the numbers

Had a stinker today. Think he is gonna be a good player still but so very worrying is his ability to tackle or apply defensive pressure. His tackling especially is so piss poor for a bloke that wants to play midfield.

 

[eDPS]

For the love of god get him away from the wing

 

[BrunoV]

It concerns me that he doesn't seem to play with any acceleration or speed.

He's not slow but if I was watching him in isolation this year, knowing nothing else about him, I wouldn't say he is really quick either.

There has been little to nothing seen this year of the acceleration and speed that could make him a pretty special player.

If I was to hear that we bulked him up to play inside...well...let's just say, it's a good thing that I am not a resident of Texas and I do not own a gun.

 

[LB#16]

I am hearing a lot of talk (mainly from social media mouth breathers) about McGrath not being as good as McCluggage and Taranto and how Essendon stuffed up by drafting him. He had a shocker today but it would be great if we stopped blaming the obviously talented player and instead focused on the club being inept at developing players to meet their full potential.

 

[JayJ20]

I am hearing a lot of talk (mainly from social media mouth breathers) about McGrath not being as good as McCluggage and Taranto and how Essendon stuffed up by drafting him. He had a shocker today but it would be great if we stopped blaming the obviously talented player and instead focused on the club being inept at developing players to meet their full potential.

To be fair, McCluggage and Taranto are both guns. They've both had an outstanding year. McGrath hasn't quite reached those heights so far.

 

[carnthedons]

I am hearing a lot of talk (mainly from social media mouth breathers) about McGrath not being as good as McCluggage and Taranto and how Essendon stuffed up by drafting him. He had a shocker today but it would be great if we stopped blaming the obviously talented player and instead focused on the club being inept at developing players to meet their full potential.

In fairness, they can both be right. I’m sure if you went back there were plenty on here questioning drafting a 5’10 back pocket cum midfielder cum small forward, myself included. He may have been the right choice, don’t think I thought so at the time but would need to check (I was pro Hugh I think). He’s going to be a fine player for a long time but given our questionable development record, I’m not sure what we can reasonably expect.

Similarly I’d be fascinated in the type of player the club had/has him projected to be. Given his physical attributes there’s a certain campaigner who played us today he could model himself on.

 

[BrunoV]

I am hearing a lot of talk (mainly from social media mouth breathers) about McGrath not being as good as McCluggage and Taranto and how Essendon stuffed up by drafting him. He had a shocker today but it would be great if we stopped blaming the obviously talented player and instead focused on the club being inept at developing players to meet their full potential.

It's part of the reason I hate the Rising Star. It's just about the most irrelevant award in the game (I don't have a list of awards in front of me to confirm my suspicion that it is clearly the most irrelevant award).

The defining factor of a career is the number of high quality games played, not whether you jump out of the box as a first year player.

As third year players and midfielders it is clear to me that Taranto and McLuggage have surpassed McGrath. It's much more significant for them to be playing adult midfield footy as third year players than anything which has happened previously.

There is no disgrace in the current position as the opposition are great young players, though I would prefer to have the best player from that draft, but the concern is, what I've already posted above, that the speed and acceleration on which McGrath would rely to close the gap and end up the better player seems to have deserted him.

Hopefully it's just a fitness issue and a matter of building a midfield tank.

 

[LB#16]

To be fair, McCluggage and Taranto are both guns. They've both had an outstanding year. McGrath hasn't quite reached those heights so far.

I'd say Essendon are a big reason why that is so. McCluggage and Taranto are in much better hands under Fagan and Cameron. Brisbane have moved onto being a solid club while Essendon remains in the abyss. GWS is also a class above.

 

[JayJ20]

I'd say Essendon are a big reason why that is so. McCluggage and Taranto are in much better hands under Fagan and Cameron. Brisbane have moved onto being a solid club while Essendon remains in the abyss. GWS is also a class above.

Genuine question. What would you do differently when it comes to McGrath's development?

Merrett, Shiel and Parish obviously have a better claim to midfield minutes than McGrath at the moment.

 

[MightyDons4]

Moving him to his customary back flank and putting Redman on a wing would be beneficial for both parties and the team overall.

 

[Zach Package]

I am hearing a lot of talk (mainly from social media mouth breathers) about McGrath not being as good as McCluggage and Taranto and how Essendon stuffed up by drafting him. He had a shocker today but it would be great if we stopped blaming the obviously talented player and instead focused on the club being inept at developing players to meet their full potential.

I’m not sure that’s the case. It took him 4 months to genuinely clock small defence as a string to his bow and find consistent two way impact on games, something that’s far more rare than a 3rd year midfielder getting a shitload of the ball mind you.

He ticked that off so early in the piece we’ve already moved onto phase two of his development. McCluggage and Taranto are 12 months of real time midfield development ahead of him because of that shift in position.

 

[kelvin_sheedy]

I think he has another cog to go and it'll take another preseason or two. I'm just not sure he's a natural born midfielder at this stage and will have to learn a bit of craft as he builds up his base.

I think he has all the tools to be an elite player but at this stage I'd kill to have McCluggage.

 

[Darealrath]

I think he's on course to be a consistently good to very good player for a long time but I don't see him taking the next step and becoming someone who is regularly in AA consideration. Never looks like he has time, even when he's playing well. Everything looks so rushed.

 

[Milanista28]

For the love of god get him away from the wing

Exactly!! Clug and Taranto are 1st rotation mids while we play Andy exclusively off the wing.

Fantasia and Tippa get more center square time, why are we so conservative with him?

It's dumb.

 

[Zephyr Effekt]

IMO, McGrath is the victim of the club's fundamentally flawed youth development program.

They invest a disproportionate amount of time in developing a players all-round game which directly impairs the development of a players acknowledged strengths.

This preliminary development cycle is more likely to produce a 'jack of all trades, master of none' prototype of a player.

 

[Red Black and Blue]

IMO, McGrath is the victim of the club's fundamentally flawed youth development program.

They invest a disproportionate amount of time in developing a players all-round game which directly impairs the development of a players acknowledged strengths.

This preliminary development cycle is more likely to produce a 'jack of all trades, master of none' prototype of a player.

Preach brother. I think it stems from the fact we haven't had an elite inside ball winning brigade for 15 years, which causes a flow on effect everywhere. The wings roll in to support with numbers, the half backs have to do the heavy running to make up for the lack wings, the forwards have to roll up high to meet the half backs. So everyone is performing multiple roles all the time.

 

[carnthedons]

IMO, McGrath is the victim of the club's fundamentally flawed youth development program.

They invest a disproportionate amount of time in developing a players all-round game which directly impairs the development of a players acknowledged strengths.

This preliminary development cycle is more likely to produce a 'jack of all trades, master of none' prototype of a player.

Probably a bit of both though, Andy was seen as a Mr Fixit of sorts as a junior. Agree with this more broadly with our development though and our recruitment which for the longest time seemed centred around recruiting flankers and trying to turn them into mids rather than pure mids. It’s really only Parish we’ve taken early in drafts in living memory who’s a full time mid as a junior and even then we’ve tried to turn him into a flanker. Our first picks 2006-2016 are Gumby, Myers, Hurley, Melksham, Heppell, Kavanagh, Daniher, Merrett, Langford, Parish & McGrath. Only Kav and Parish (2/11) were genuine mids as juniors and Kavanagh was taken 19 in a heavily compromised draft. The picture looks even worse with 2nd picks. We need to think seriously as a club around who we recruit and why, we haven’t looked like having a genuine star of the comp inside mid since Watson and it was JJ/Smokin Joe before him.