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

[Beerfish]

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

 

[Red Black and Blue]

He start to have composure the second our other mids are capable of blocking for him. To call them weak is an insult to invalids.

 

[boncer34]

Agree completely I have been one to be a bit harsh on him at times. But I just don’t think people are understanding the role he is playing and how team orientated it is. His role allows shiel to be Shiel (which he definitely wasn’t last night).
I agree he has another level to go but I just think people are underrating how hard his role is right now and how good a job he is of doing it.

Yeah you're probably right too.

 

[ScrappyCoCo]

We always taught our kids in junior footy to avoid doing U turns if you can. If you get the ball and you are facing the wrong way....give it to team mate that is running up from the defensive end. They are facing the right way....they can see what is unfolding ahead...they can see space...they can see a good lead...they at least have the chance to try and kick to a team mates advantage. Around the body is kick and hope. Maybe it as simple as going back to basics for a bit.

It's hard enough to win the ball so we really shouldn't be doing things that are a fair chance of handing it straight back.

Would not be surprised if opponents know this is a weakness in his game and set their structures, when he is on ball to be in position to cut it off.

 

[citizen-erased]

I'd like to see what happens with his kicking/rushed disposal when we get ourselves a gameplan that buys him space to operate in. We still crowd the drop of the ball at stoppages and contested balls, meaning every play is coming out of a phone box.

Good midfields create space to spread and operate in.

Hard to criticise him despite the dump/turnover kicks.

That said, we had a couple of passages last night where we laced out a forward and they dropped it anyway, so maybe not so big a deal at the moment.

It was an odd decision to go pay a premium for Shiel to come in at the same time mcgrath is moved onto the ball.

A middle of draper, parish, merrett mcgrath and a couple of bigger mids is a better balance

 

[NAB777]

McGrath is being McGrath. Gradually improving, but still not really hurting teams. Will be a good player for years, though.

He is not our problem.

 

[Milanista28]

Stringer and Heppell will help so much, His workrate is elite. I'm still happy to have him over Hugh and Timmy, I also think he's having a better season than Hugh.

 

[srobbo]

I'm not sure these two things match up.

Murphy’s had a very good career & was probably overshadowed by Judd in his prime years. Pidge has got a long way to get to the heights Murphy ever did.

 

[NAB777]

Murphy’s has a very good career & was probably overshadowed by Judd in his prime years. Pidge has got a long way to get to the heights Murphy ever did.

Yet weirdly, McGrath is a better kick than Murphy.

 

[srobbo]

Yet weirdly, McGrath is a better kick than Murphy.

I beg to differ. Murphy’s has dropped off in the twilight of his career but McGrath’s is far from convincing. What are you basing it on?

 

[NAB777]

I beg to differ. Murphy’s has dropped off in the twilight of his career but McGrath’s is far from convincing. What are you basing it on?

I'm basing it on the fact that Murphy's ball drop has always been too high & he kicks a lot of floaters

 

[FlyingV]

McGrath is a gun, in an amazing draft. Mclug, Taranto, Simpkin, SPS, Setterfield, Logue, Florent, Perryman, English, Berry, Ridley ... probably looking like one of the best drafts ever. And McGrath is performing as well if not better then all of them.

 

[windyhill]

Have they played on each other since the selections were made ? Fleetingly. But what has happened in Ess v Briz games is that McGrath has performed better than mccluggage in these games.

 

[Shane Heard]

He’s an absolute gun.

Continues to displays non stop, relentless attack on the ball and busts his guts to get to the contest.

Just like Parish, Smith and Saad.

 

[katana]

getting pretty tired of seeing him at stoppages. needs to be freed up to play wing or half back where he can use his strengths. offers very little when the pressure is on around clearances.

 

[windyhill]

S.M.O.T.H.E.R
and we’ll just leave it at that.

 

[TheGrizz]

Was so good in the first half that Gold Coast sacrificed their midfield balance and sent Touk Miller in to tag him.

Progressing well.

 

[HirdyLannister]

Really Really good footballer, I feel alot of people here mark him harshly. Has improved leaps and bounds since moving into the guts.

 

[Kakkle]

I wish I could find the gif of Adam Treloar imitating Tom Mitchell's awful handballs when he got 50 disposals against Collingwood.

 

[jmoo wan]

I don't care what anyone says - no one can fire off a 1 metre handball to someone standing still and under immense pressure better than our Andy.

 

[andleanback]

We are ruining him. Our player development is shocking.

 

[TheFrenchCut]

His second half was fantastic. Cuts angles in traffic as well as anyone.

 

[eDPS]

32 Disposals
15 Contested
10 Clearances
400m Gained

Pretty good for a back pocket

 

[eth-dog]

Best on

 

[citizen-erased]

that was some second half
if he can do that for more of most games, he's gonna be streets ahead of his draft class.

 

[Zach Package]

The second half was far more impactful than the first. He plays like that he can genuinely crack games open