Player Watch #11: Luke "Two Dogs" McDonald - Roo til end '26

[The Nostradamus]

A complete player now

could even be a smoky for next captain

 

[nicko74]

Guilty of writing him off here! Has been a shining light this year. Good on you Luke

 

[shinboner magic]

How bad a coach was bard that Shaw has turned him into Keith grieg in 6 months.

 

[speedy]

How bad a coach was bard that Shaw has turned him into Keith grieg in 6 months.

Probably as bad as turning a 60+ goal forward into Erick Lissenden.

 

[Lavy_Panther]

Excellent turnaround, big part of it seems to be him stopping trying to kick the leather off the ball every time he gets it. Got into a horrible habit of kicking around corners 100% of the time, seemingly in an attempt to generate more power. Last few weeks he's looked a lot more assured and kicking within himself.

 

[LB2Snake]

Excellent turnaround, big part of it seems to be him stopping trying to kick the leather off the ball every time he gets it. Got into a horrible habit of kicking around corners 100% of the time, seemingly in an attempt to generate more power. Last few weeks he's looked a lot more assured and kicking within himself.

Yeah this is spot on. Last year I remember it being spoken about how often he gets his kick smothered....it’s when you step out to the side you immediately invite pressure from all angles as well. He’s definitely cleaned that up a lot this year.

 

[Psicosis]

Recently he said in an interview that he had a bit of a light bulb moment over the preseason in where he thought to himself "I've been around 7 or so years and haven't achieved much" and from there really put his foot down and started working.

I was a big critic of Luke, but he has become one hell of a player. Probably the positive of 2020, along with Jy's 2020.

 

[Val Keating]

Recently he said in an interview that he had a bit of a light bulb moment over the preseason in where he thought to himself "I've been around 7 or so years and haven't achieved much" and from there really put his foot down and started working.

I was a big critic of Luke, but he has become one hell of a player. Probably the positive of 2020, along with Jy's 2020.

Yep. The ability was always there and he’s always been serviceable but it’s like he realised an AFL career goes quickly and before you know it your done without reaching the potential of your natural talent.

 

[The Warlord]

Recently he said in an interview that he had a bit of a light bulb moment over the preseason in where he thought to himself "I've been around 7 or so years and haven't achieved much" and from there really put his foot down and started working.

I was a big critic of Luke, but he has become one hell of a player. Probably the positive of 2020, along with Jy's 2020.

Yeah in the same interview he talked about working closely with his good mate Ben Jacobs.

Reckon that might have made him realise how quickly it can all end too.

 

[Merlin007]

Excellent turnaround, big part of it seems to be him stopping trying to kick the leather off the ball every time he gets it. Got into a horrible habit of kicking around corners 100% of the time, seemingly in an attempt to generate more power. Last few weeks he's looked a lot more assured and kicking within himself.

Kicking long was one of his big points of difference as a junior; I reckon kicking it 60 as a 17 year old built up some ingrained thinking that it's what he had to do every time, whether he shanked them or not. His kicking has improved out of sight this year as he concentrates on link play/quarterbacking; more elegance, less ball bursting

 

[ChoppyGun]

As I wrote previously he needed a coach like Shaw to start with.

 

[king of the road]

What a turn around. How did his kicks become so accurate all of a sudden? Used to be shocking.

Fitness. Different role.

 

[Swallow_Wood]

Prolly 2nd in the Syd right now behind Goldy. Fair turnaround.

 

[Ball Dont Lie]

30 disposals @ 90%, 9 marks, 7 intercepts, 8 rebounds, 552 metres gained. Leading the BNF for mind he has now been our most consistent

 

[Snake_Baker]

30 disposals @ 90%, 9 marks, 7 intercepts, 8 rebounds, 552 metres gained. Leading the BNF for mind he has now been our most consistent

He would be neck & neck with Goldy.

 

[Swallow_Wood]

30 disposals @ 90%, 9 marks, 7 intercepts, 8 rebounds, 552 metres gained. Leading the BNF for mind he has now been our most consistent

He's well on his way to being an out and out gun. The penny has dropped for sure.

 

[Passmore]

Leave him at hb now. He’s bossing it down there.

 

[Snake_Baker]

Leave him at hb now. He’s bossing it down there.

On a night when the Collingwood half backs had a good night out, he was still better than any of them.

Matured significantly this year. He could still end up captaining this club.

 

[Friday Night Lights]

Outstanding.

The commentators sucked off Maynard all night while this bloke was even better down the other end without mention.

 

[Snake_Baker]

.........and his kicking has gone from solid to sometimes shaky, and is now sublime.

17th in the comp for most effective disposals, and most of them are kicks considering he's ranked 13th in the league for that.

He's amongst the best handful of kicks in the league right now.

 

[Devington]

Leave him at hb now. He’s bossing it down there.

We've been crying into the great void for a highly capable half backman for years. He's first picked for that position right now, and for bloody good reason. Playing him anywhere else with our current list would almost definitely be robbing Peter to pay Paul.

Amazing transformation. From the horses mouth it's because he had a look in the mirror and questioned where he was at as a player, and then pulled his head in and applied himself off the field harder than ever. I

 

[Shermanator]

Like Goldy he should be in AA consideration and just like Goldy - he won’t be (unfortunately)..

 

[tazaa]

The best thing Shaw has done with him is taught him where to position himself to accumulate the footy.
Brilliant stuff by Rhyce and you can see how Sydney like Luke is based on where he gathers the footy. Lloyd/Rampe qualities.

 

[SMaturin]

Better than Billings.

 

[TennisPlayerAndy]

Will not be recognized as the high quality player he is because it took him 100+ games to become it.