Player Watch Brayden Maynard

[Bianconeri]

He’s playing himself out of a midfield spot.

 

[magpies42]

He’s playing himself out of a midfield spot.

He needs a run of games through the middle. If we are any hope of beating the quality sides in finals we need big bodies around the ball…

 

[jmac70]

He will play where he best helps the team win.

 

[Albert Parker]

He needs a run of games through the middle. If we are any hope of beating the quality sides in finals we need big bodies around the ball…

Crisp, Adams, Lipinski, DeGoey, Pendlebury (with pinch hits from Billy when fit and Carmichael as another genuine option) not enough?
Hasn't that problem been addressed?

 

[magpies42]

Crisp, Adams, Lipinski, DeGoey, Pendlebury (with pinch hits from Billy when fit and Carmichael as another genuine option) not enough?
Hasn't that problem been addressed?

Big bodies win big games of football is what we’ve seen of late. Adams and Degoey fit that mould, Lipinski is not a contested ball player. Maynard would provide much needed aggression around the ball.

 

[sr36]

Big bodies win big games of football is what we’ve seen of late. Adams and Degoey fit that mould, Lipinski is not a contested ball player. Maynard would provide much needed aggression around the ball.

Is this based solely on Melbourne? I suspect the Tiges would have collectively weighed in a fair bit under every team they beat.

 

[Albert Parker]

Big bodies win big games of football is what we’ve seen of late. Adams and Degoey fit that mould, Lipinski is not a contested ball player. Maynard would provide much needed aggression around the ball.

The team saw a need to bolster the midfield with bigger, harder bodies. They added Crisp and DeGoey accordingly and took Steele, the Browns and to a lesser extent Pendlebury out of there.
You also need leg speed to create separation and an ability to hit targets once you stream forward - De Goey, Elliott, Lipinski and Elliot adds that in combination.

Lipinski is 190cm and 86kg. His hands are excellent in traffic, he hits targets by foot and he has a good tank.
He's plenty big and skilled enough for the job.

There is more than one way to skin a cat. Big bodies and aggression alone probably isn't the answer.
And given Pendlebury and Nick Daicos have rotated into our backline, we need someone with lockdown defender capability back there.
Maynard could be a quick, hard-bodied midfielder, but his value to the team is probably, on-balance, best placed in defence taking on bigs or smalls.

 

[biggiemediums]

Geez this guy is as underrated as it gets. 27, 1-1 contests in 2022. 89% win rate. #3 in the AFL.

He's unreal and gets almost no kudos.

 

[DopeMaster]

Crisp, Adams, Lipinski, DeGoey, Pendlebury (with pinch hits from Billy when fit and Carmichael as another genuine option) not enough?
Hasn't that problem been addressed?

We’re still a sub-par centre clearance team, which is a major area where we can seek improvement IMO.

Maynard with his white line fever, contested style and booming kick may indeed add more as a mid than a back man.

Only way to find out is to play him through there for 4-5 weeks to see if he ‘thickens the soup.’

We bat a bit deeper in the backline compared to the mids, so I think he can be covered reasonably well.

 

[DopeMaster]

The experiment has worked brilliantly with Crisp, and I think Maynard could be similarly successful. Could help us go to the next level.

 

[Albert Parker]

We’re still a sub-par centre clearance team, which is a major area where we can seek improvement IMO.

Maynard with his white line fever, contested style and booming kick may indeed add more as a mid than a back man.

Only way to find out is to play him through there for 4-5 weeks to see if he ‘thickens the soup.’

We bat a bit deeper in the backline compared to the mids, so I think he can be covered reasonably well.

True re our centre clearances. He has some attributes (size, speed) as you note but his defensive skills are elite. I'm less convinced about his ability to find the pill in traffic, which to me is more about nous, and even to a lesser extent hit leading forwards by foot when streaming out of the centre, than his ability to close down space, out body opponents etc as an elite defender.

 

[DopeMaster]

True re our centre clearances. He has some attributes (size, speed) as you note but his defensive skills are elite. I'm less convinced about his ability to find the pill in traffic, which to me is more about nous, and even to a lesser extent hit leading forwards by foot when streaming out of the centre, than his ability to close down space, out body opponents etc as an elite defender.

I actually think his skills and proclivities as a defender could round out our midfield and compensate for those with a more exclusively attacking mindset (ie DeGoey). I think our current midfield lacks a hard-nosed defensive edge, and Adams needs help winning that first touch contested ball which I think Maynard could excel at.

We can leave the streaming through the centre delivering to forwards to those better equipped.

I think you want a rounded mix of skills and attributes through the midfield than everyone bringing similar qualities to the table. That’s when a midfield group becomes greater than the sum of its parts and starts operating like a machine.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[DopeMaster]

As a further example, Adams isn’t the kind of player you want streaming through the middle kicking into the forward line, but without him our midfield would crumble.

Tackling, closing space, big bodies and contested possession is equally important as linking play, forward delivery and accumulation IMO.

 

[sr36]

We’re still a sub-par centre clearance team, which is a major area where we can seek improvement IMO.

Maynard with his white line fever, contested style and booming kick may indeed add more as a mid than a back man.

Only way to find out is to play him through there for 4-5 weeks to see if he ‘thickens the soup.’

We bat a bit deeper in the backline compared to the mids, so I think he can be covered reasonably well.

Games are the only thing that most of us supporters have to judge from but my assumption is that he spent a fair bit of time through the midfield in pre-season and didn't perform there as well as he does in defence.

 

[DopeMaster]

Games are the only thing that most of us supporters have to judge from but my assumption is that he spent a fair bit of time through the midfield in pre-season and didn't perform there as well as he does in defence.

Could well be. But could also be that your assumption is off the mark given the injuries to the backline we’ve had thus far and the need for an iota of stability down there. Time will tell.

 

[The Phantom]

Congratulations on getting to 150. Should be more talk about this and less about other rubbish.

Let’s hear ya!

 

[OniAu]

Maynard to Toby Greene

4

Toby Greene

Age

32

Ht

182cm

Wt

85kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

22.7

5star

K

12.5

5star

HB

10.2

5star

M

4.8

5star

T

3.0

5star

G

1.2

4star

D

17.5

4star

K

9.5

4star

HB

8.0

4star

M

4.8

4star

T

1.0

2star

G

2.3

5star

D

26.6

5star

K

12.4

5star

HB

14.2

5star

M

4.8

5star

T

3.6

5star

G

0.0

1star

? Looking forward to it

 

[sideswipe]

Maynard to Toby Greene ? Looking forward to it

Left field call. Put Ginny on Toby for the first 5 minutes just to get under his skin and get the free kicks going.

 

[Stoods]

Not sure if Maynard will get Greene or Quaynor

 

[The Royal Sampler]

Left field call. Put Ginny on Toby for the first 5 minutes just to get under his skin and get the free kicks going.

Put De Goey on him, because at least then he’s playing and you can shift the magnets whenever you want!

 

[ant22]

Love this bloke so much. Really hope he plays on Toby in his 150th. Toby will know he has played a game if he does.

 

[swoop42]

If our next captain was decided purely on the capacity to show courage and hunger for the contest week in week out then Maynard would beat all comers.

Our hardest player since Millane.

 

[Chrispiesssss]

The Nard Dog.

 

[Rorzza]

Had a really good game!

 

[Demonalke]

Guy is a champ on and off the field. I would love to see him play 150 more!