Kennedy Parker
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Logan McDonald
[Player Profile TBA]
Player Watch #6 Logan McDonald - Pick 4 - welcome
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Logan McDonald
[Player Profile TBA]
Lynch doesn't play most of 2018. Tigers win 2019. Lynch kicks 60+. I'd call that recent
Yes Lynch's injury isn't the same and didn't spend like 4 years not playing but let's not doubt Daniher's ability when he has had big goal years before.
Ticky009
Premium Gold
- Jun 2, 2014
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Bombers would have wanted our pick 3 and that's just no. Best of luck to him, providing he plays his usual not so good games against us I don't mind.
Rustedonhawk
Premium Platinum
- Dec 12, 2020
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Seriously this is another chapter our rivalry with our young guns that we have selected will hopefully go head 2 head again in the big league, something 2 look forward to don't you think.
Me too! I really like the look of our coaching team now...
Both the playing teams and the coaching teams appear to me to be nearing completion, and will be very settled over the next few years with only minor changes here and there. I personally think we are about to head into another extended period of playing finals... Woohoo!
Grand Uncle Horace
Brownlow Medallist
While allowing for WA bias, Peter Sumich thought Logan should be number 1 in the draft. Heard him on SEN pre draft.
Kiama Chris
Club Legend
I think Gardiner, with Harley before him, and Horse have really thought about the skills and personality characteristics required for a gun coaching team to develop a young team to the next level and bring home a premiership or two.
IMO all our coaches now share:
High standards
Burning determination
Experience
Empathy (maybe)
Bloods like ethics
I think people who've had a shot at Gardiner should take a look and reconsider their views about "Corporate Charlie".
swansfan51
Moderator
- Jun 3, 2007
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Logan McDonald (Perth Demons)
196cm, 85kg [I have seen him listed as various heights including 196cm on the Swans site and 193cm on the WAFL site. Same as my profile for Elijah Taylor last year, I have never walked up to him with a tape measure but I have gone with 196cm. The WAFL site does list Denver Grainger-Barras at 188cm so I expect the figures may be out of date]
For those of you keeping track, Logan comes from the same club as Elijah Taylor and they were Colts teammates in 2019. Some context on the Demons, they are not a powerhouse. They have been mid-table for the past few years but before that they were the St Kilda of the competition, won a bunch of wooden spoons and finished low all the time. I saw Logan play a bit in 2019 and I watched a lot of him in 2020 where he played in the Demons' league side.
Logan did not really impress me that much last year as a colt. He was clearly a draftable player and a good prospect, but he didn't do much to separate himself from the pack or to deserve a lot of hype. In 2020 he played seniors in the 3rd best league in the country (behind the AFL and VFL), where you have to match up against players like Chad Pearson and Grainger-Barras. This year he was far more impressive playing at the higher level of competition, delivering high level and consistent output.
One elephant in the room to address early on. Grainger-Barras played on him and absolutely spanked him in what was Grainger-Barras' best game of the year. McDonald could barely get near it, I think he had 1 touch after Grainger-Barras moved onto him after half time, while Denver racked it up and impacted going the other way. McDonald already had 3 goals in the 1st half on another opponent so it was an obvious matchup to change.
This will happen once he moves into the AFL - McDonald will get beaten, sometimes very comfortably, by some of the top key defenders. He lacks speed and explosiveness and his reliance on bodywork and leading will be tougher against the larger and classier opposition he now faces. But taking him over Grainger-Barras was the right decision. Those who read List Management 101 will know that you can't consider a tall defender ahead of a key forward who you consider to have elite potential (which obviously the Swans do).
Strengths and weaknesses
McDonald is a generally one-sided player, I have only seen him use his left foot a few times and it is not something I would want to encourage. He is a huge kick off his preferred right foot and can send the ball 60m. His goalkicking accuracy is average, I expect him to have a career percentage of around 60% (this is mid-tier for key forwards, and comparable to Lance Franklin. That is hopefully the last time anyone will compare him to Lance Franklin.)
His field kicking is pretty good and he can spot up a target and execute over 40-50m. This is important because he plays a lot up the ground and I see him initially needing to earn his keep as a mobile player because he simply doesn't have the ability to consistently beat the guys like Harris Andrews in the goalsquare at this stage of his development.
Logan's style as a forward is a very mobile and leading forward who wants to run straight lines and have himself between the ball and the defender. He lacks Lockett's speed and skill but he wants to kick goals in the same manner, creating space on the lead and taking strong marks in front. He is a very reliable mark, generally clean and regularly takes the ball in one grab. This does not mean he isn't willing or able to take pack marks, he can and has done so against senior opposition in the WAFL. I do not expect him to be elite in this area, he does not have a great vertical leap (despite what his testing results said, which is why I believe certain people need to actually watch games).
McDonald is very good at protecting the drop zone, he has strong hands and uses body work well when caught static. He is able to position himself well in one-on-one contests and take strong marks in contested situations. McDonald is not particularly strong at ground level.
McDonald has good work rate and is able to move up the ground, has excellent endurance, and can get high possession numbers for a key forward in the style of a TT Lynch or Nick Riewoldt. I expect this will be critical to his success at AFL level as he will need to find another way to impact the game when there is an unfavourable key defender matchup. Running is McDonald's elite athletic attribute and he does not demonstrate explosiveness.
Summary
We are very lucky that Kinnear Beatson has been banned from making selections in the 1st round and we now have someone competent doing it.
I see McDonald able to command a spot in the team immediately as a mobile half-forward who can present a marking target around the ground and go inside 50 as a marking target when someone like Franklin is taking the main defender. McDonald will ideally develop into a more traditional leading key forward who can outwork the larger defenders up the ground. He consistently and regularly impacts the scoreboard and is extremely competitive inside 50, able to kick goals from long distance. He is a team-first player who has demonstrated the willingness and ability to push up the ground and onto the wings to present a marking target when is being kept quiet inside 50. I give him a potential upside comparison of Nick Riewoldt as a hard running key forward equally able to take strong marks inside 50 and kick goals. I give him a potential downside comparison of someone like Paddy McCartin as a similarly sized player who was unable to transfer junior dominance into success against the top AFL defenders. I see Logan's endurance strength and ability to outmatch players between the arcs as a significant advantage that derisks him as a prospect, and I look forward to watching him for a 3rd year, his 1st as a Swan.
196cm, 85kg [I have seen him listed as various heights including 196cm on the Swans site and 193cm on the WAFL site. Same as my profile for Elijah Taylor last year, I have never walked up to him with a tape measure but I have gone with 196cm. The WAFL site does list Denver Grainger-Barras at 188cm so I expect the figures may be out of date]
For those of you keeping track, Logan comes from the same club as Elijah Taylor and they were Colts teammates in 2019. Some context on the Demons, they are not a powerhouse. They have been mid-table for the past few years but before that they were the St Kilda of the competition, won a bunch of wooden spoons and finished low all the time. I saw Logan play a bit in 2019 and I watched a lot of him in 2020 where he played in the Demons' league side.
Logan did not really impress me that much last year as a colt. He was clearly a draftable player and a good prospect, but he didn't do much to separate himself from the pack or to deserve a lot of hype. In 2020 he played seniors in the 3rd best league in the country (behind the AFL and VFL), where you have to match up against players like Chad Pearson and Grainger-Barras. This year he was far more impressive playing at the higher level of competition, delivering high level and consistent output.
One elephant in the room to address early on. Grainger-Barras played on him and absolutely spanked him in what was Grainger-Barras' best game of the year. McDonald could barely get near it, I think he had 1 touch after Grainger-Barras moved onto him after half time, while Denver racked it up and impacted going the other way. McDonald already had 3 goals in the 1st half on another opponent so it was an obvious matchup to change.
This will happen once he moves into the AFL - McDonald will get beaten, sometimes very comfortably, by some of the top key defenders. He lacks speed and explosiveness and his reliance on bodywork and leading will be tougher against the larger and classier opposition he now faces. But taking him over Grainger-Barras was the right decision. Those who read List Management 101 will know that you can't consider a tall defender ahead of a key forward who you consider to have elite potential (which obviously the Swans do).
Strengths and weaknesses
McDonald is a generally one-sided player, I have only seen him use his left foot a few times and it is not something I would want to encourage. He is a huge kick off his preferred right foot and can send the ball 60m. His goalkicking accuracy is average, I expect him to have a career percentage of around 60% (this is mid-tier for key forwards, and comparable to Lance Franklin. That is hopefully the last time anyone will compare him to Lance Franklin.)
His field kicking is pretty good and he can spot up a target and execute over 40-50m. This is important because he plays a lot up the ground and I see him initially needing to earn his keep as a mobile player because he simply doesn't have the ability to consistently beat the guys like Harris Andrews in the goalsquare at this stage of his development.
Logan's style as a forward is a very mobile and leading forward who wants to run straight lines and have himself between the ball and the defender. He lacks Lockett's speed and skill but he wants to kick goals in the same manner, creating space on the lead and taking strong marks in front. He is a very reliable mark, generally clean and regularly takes the ball in one grab. This does not mean he isn't willing or able to take pack marks, he can and has done so against senior opposition in the WAFL. I do not expect him to be elite in this area, he does not have a great vertical leap (despite what his testing results said, which is why I believe certain people need to actually watch games).
McDonald is very good at protecting the drop zone, he has strong hands and uses body work well when caught static. He is able to position himself well in one-on-one contests and take strong marks in contested situations. McDonald is not particularly strong at ground level.
McDonald has good work rate and is able to move up the ground, has excellent endurance, and can get high possession numbers for a key forward in the style of a TT Lynch or Nick Riewoldt. I expect this will be critical to his success at AFL level as he will need to find another way to impact the game when there is an unfavourable key defender matchup. Running is McDonald's elite athletic attribute and he does not demonstrate explosiveness.
Summary
We are very lucky that Kinnear Beatson has been banned from making selections in the 1st round and we now have someone competent doing it.
I see McDonald able to command a spot in the team immediately as a mobile half-forward who can present a marking target around the ground and go inside 50 as a marking target when someone like Franklin is taking the main defender. McDonald will ideally develop into a more traditional leading key forward who can outwork the larger defenders up the ground. He consistently and regularly impacts the scoreboard and is extremely competitive inside 50, able to kick goals from long distance. He is a team-first player who has demonstrated the willingness and ability to push up the ground and onto the wings to present a marking target when is being kept quiet inside 50. I give him a potential upside comparison of Nick Riewoldt as a hard running key forward equally able to take strong marks inside 50 and kick goals. I give him a potential downside comparison of someone like Paddy McCartin as a similarly sized player who was unable to transfer junior dominance into success against the top AFL defenders. I see Logan's endurance strength and ability to outmatch players between the arcs as a significant advantage that derisks him as a prospect, and I look forward to watching him for a 3rd year, his 1st as a Swan.
Kapers
Club Legend
- Sep 25, 2019
- 1,637
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Thanks so much for this,
just as a question, what role does his rapid rate of improvement play in him being picked? My view is that he wasn't especially different except for his rapid improvement, and we are betting on future improvements.
What areas did he improve at and can you see similar improvements being made in future years?
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GoTheSwannies
Premiership Player
My understanding was that he was posting average stats and pretty much improved across the board when he stepped up a level in the WAFL (disposals, marks, goals per game), so he went from average in a lower league to a solid performer when stepping up (e.g. going from 1 goal per game to 2.5). So on that basis, you'd expect he'd be capable of taking another step up in the AFL.
It is the worry of 2020 though as we basically drafted McDonald on the back of 10 games he played this year. Not a huge sample size, but I suppose bigger than any the Victorians got.
Absolutely! It's my opinion that the whole club is run that way... (including the medicos) and I still think it a really great club to be part of.
I find it difficult to believe that people can speak so highly of their predecessors, and yet then think those legends are going to shrug their shoulders, say I'm done, and happily hand over the club to whoever just happens to rock up!!!
GoTheSwannies
Premiership Player
True, it's much easier to string together strong performances over a 10 game stretch than it is to maintain that consistency over a season where youre likely to experience peaks and troughs. So there are definitely question marks remaining, but I guess you can only judge on available evidence.
At least he has shown improvement, which is a promising sign, and he did it against men, so it's not like he was rag-dolling under developed teenagers the whole way through.
Kapers
Club Legend
- Sep 25, 2019
- 1,637
- 2,880
- AFL Club
- Sydney
Watch us turn McDonald into a half back flanker to spite you
Heeney2Franklin
Brownlow Medallist
Eagles/Dockers probably already in his manager ear.
Bonz
Insert something witty here
His a country WA boy, was a few hours out if the CBD.
The go home factor may not be as bad as a we think
caesar88
Brownlow Medallist
- Apr 26, 2016
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As I imagine we are too. Working on an extension on top of the two years he already has to feel accustomed to life in Sydney.
momentbymoment
Premiership Player
- Jun 9, 2014
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The new Stoddart?
exciting ...
NEW SWAN: Logan McDonald
SwansTV caught up with Logan McDonald who has landed in Sydney to begin pre-season training as an AFL footballer.
LukeParkerno1
Post-Human
The kid I can't wait to seeing play. Can't believe he slid to 4.
Yep. WA closed its borders, and even with Sydney letting the interstate guys go today I am not sure the WA guys are going to make it back in time.
