Opinion Is Jack Macrae Overrated?

[Substance]

Macrae is quite heavily out of form right now and was towards the end of last season. It's the first time he's really faltered across a very consistent career since a short period in 2015.

However that does not make the premise of the thread, originally posted in 2021, correct.

I agree, however I also think the game will continue to go past Macrae unless he & the dogs can adapt a better game style. I think he has peaked as a footballer 2016-2021. Hopefully proves me wrong but he doesn't have the speed & power attributes the best mids have now.

 

[iBeng]

No Dunks no Dog midfield apparently.

 

[Bald]

I agree, however I also think the game will continue to go past Macrae unless he & the dogs can adapt a better game style. I think he has peaked as a footballer 2016-2021. Hopefully proves me wrong but he doesn't have the speed & power attributes the best mids have now.

People said the same about Tom Mitchell.

Small sample size but a change of coach can do a player wonders.

 

[the dog's kennel]

No Dunks no Dog midfield apparently.

I reckon we wouldn't have been too flash this year even with Dunks. But him leaving sure hasn't helped!

 

[sr36]

I agree, however I also think the game will continue to go past Macrae unless he & the dogs can adapt a better game style. I think he has peaked as a footballer 2016-2021. Hopefully proves me wrong but he doesn't have the speed & power attributes the best mids have now.

He'd slot very easily into any midfield in the comp. He's as clean as a whistle. The issue is team system. The mids spread too much, try to over control the footy and get very little run from behind the ball. He'd kill it at the Pies as he would have blokes running dangerous lines and he'd flick it to them in space.

 

[WillHayward]

I think the issue is just style of play.
Dogs play a lot of ring a ring a Rosie.
Sideways sideways dinky handballs. One twos ..run in little circles.
By the time they give it fwd the opposition have had all the time in the world to get set.
A lot of little handballs.
+ 30 for handballs against Melbourne.

Why kick to a leading fwd now when I can do a 30 cm handball and get a handball receive and then kick it and pump up my stats?

 

[My Tilly]

I think the issue is just style of play.
Dogs play a lot of ring a ring a Rosie.
Sideways sideways dinky handballs. One twos ..run in little circles.
By the time they give it fwd the opposition have had all the time in the world to get set.
A lot of little handballs.
+ 30 for handballs against Melbourne.

Why kick to a leading fwd now when I can do a 30 cm handball and get a handball receive and then kick it and pump up my stats?

It's all on their backline. It's so bad, I seriously believe any SANFL team would put up 70 points on them.
It completely deflates the rest when you know majority of opposition forward entries are resulting in scoreboard pressure.
I have no idea why they went for Liam Jones. 32 year old whose best years are well and truly behind him.

They may have to rob Peter to pay Paul.
Naughton is their only chance at correcting that backline but you lose 50+ goals for the season in doing so. Tough decisions ahead for Bevo.

And Macrae is a gun. Reminds me of Joel Corey. Never going to be superstar but a workhorse till the end and linchpin to team success.

 

[00Stinger]

If Bont, Macrae and Smith are such "superstars" why is the Dogs midfield so s**t?

Seems contradictory.

Smith isn't. Gets alot of it but just boots the ball to no one

Macrae has no hurt factor

Bont I'd a star but has been off the last 12 months

Also not much defense in those guys so the give up big runs

Plus Bevo doesn't hep. His insistance on playing mids as rucks is mind boggling

Sent from my SM-S908E using Tapatalk

 

[mattwa]

Macrae is a 3 time AA who's has a down patch. He led the league or in the top 5 in score assists consistently for years. This thread bump is ridiculous. He's due to drop in form but when this thread was created he was an absolute gun

 

[Dan]

Macrae is a 3 time AA who's has a down patch. He led the league or in the top 5 in score assists consistently for years. This thread bump is ridiculous. He's due to drop in form but when this thread was created he was an absolute gun

 

[WillHayward]

Macrae is a 3 time AA who's has a down patch. He led the league or in the top 5 in score assists consistently for years. This thread bump is ridiculous. He's due to drop in form but when this thread was created he was an absolute gun

He's cooked

 

[rocker_oz33]

He's been Bevvoed...
Pushed out of middle at times this year.

 

[Dan]

What’s happened to the messiah?

Can’t get easy stats no more when the rest of the mids aren’t doing the heavy lifting?

You have to go back 6 years for when his SC points avg was under a hundred.

Let’s hope he can bounce back

 

[PieLebo87]

The whole Doggies midfield is abit of an enigma.

Imagine having Bont, Macrae, Libba, Treloar and Smith being rucked to by English, and not being hands down the best midfield group in the comp.

 

[The Dougster]

L

The whole Doggies midfield is abit of an enigma.

Imagine having Bont, Macrae, Libba, Treloar and Smith being rucked to by English, and not being hands down the best midfield group in the comp.

Looks great on paper.

 

[kreuze_missile]

Jack Mcrae is a poor mans Andrew Carazzo.

 

[Elmer_Hauser]

L

Looks great on paper.

Sure but not on Litmus (paper)

Dunkley was better than all of those players bar Libba and Bont (obviously) and the Dogs haven't really drafted for the future, mid field wise, in the past 3 or 4 years
.
Not enough class in it to truly challenge for a flag imho

 

[_Mike_]

What’s happened to the messiah?

Can’t get easy stats no more when the rest of the mids aren’t doing the heavy lifting?

You have to go back 6 years for when his SC points avg was under a hundred.

Let’s hope he can bounce back

don’t hold your breath, he’s spent on average 60-70% tog in games this year, has lost his pace and struggled. Unlike Matthew Boyd who was able to switch to an effective defender, Jack does not have that versatility in his game IMO.

 

[Dazb86]

Sure but not on Litmus (paper)

Dunkley was better than all of those players bar Libba and Bont (obviously) and the Dogs haven't really drafted for the future, mid field wise, in the past 3 or 4 years
.
Not enough class in it to truly challenge for a flag imho

The #1(Jamarra) and #2(Darcy) picks took all our draft currency 2 years in a row. Left a bit of a hole in the list.

 

[Back One Out]

It spins me out a little when I see that Macrae is a 3-time All Australian like his old teammate Matty Boyd.
The AA selectors never missed with those two. If they were half a chance... Bam! They got selected.

It just seems wrong to me they have the number of AA's as two Hawthorn champs who carried my club through one of its greatest decades.


All Australian
Jack Macrae....... 3
Matthew Boyd

Matthew Boyd

Age

43

Ht

184cm

Wt

88kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

25.0

5star

K

13.5

5star

HB

11.6

5star

M

5.1

5star

T

3.4

5star

MG

452.0

5star

No current season stats available

D

7.0

2star

K

3.4

2star

HB

3.6

3star

M

1.6

2star

T

1.0

3star

.... 3
Luke Hodge....... 3
Sam Mitchell...... 3

Brownlow votes
Jack Macrae...... 106
Matthew Boyd

Matthew Boyd

Age

43

Ht

184cm

Wt

88kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

25.0

5star

K

13.5

5star

HB

11.6

5star

M

5.1

5star

T

3.4

5star

MG

452.0

5star

No current season stats available

D

7.0

2star

K

3.4

2star

HB

3.6

3star

M

1.6

2star

T

1.0

3star

... 108
Luke Hodge...... 131
Sam Mitchell..... 227

Premierships
Jack Macrae...... 1
Matthew Boyd

Matthew Boyd

Age

43

Ht

184cm

Wt

88kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

25.0

5star

K

13.5

5star

HB

11.6

5star

M

5.1

5star

T

3.4

5star

MG

452.0

5star

No current season stats available

D

7.0

2star

K

3.4

2star

HB

3.6

3star

M

1.6

2star

T

1.0

3star

... 1
Luke Hodge...... 4
Sam Mitchell..... 4


Sort of confirms my view that Hodge was robbed of at least 1 or 2 AA's and Mitchell was robbed of 2 or 3

 

[Gift]

Has had a bad role for his skillset all year.

 

[WillHayward]

Macrae is a 3 time AA who's has a down patch. He led the league or in the top 5 in score assists consistently for years. This thread bump is ridiculous. He's due to drop in form but when this thread was created he was an absolute gun

BUMP

Not even your own coach rates him.

 

[WillHayward]

Anyone who thinks he’s overrated doesn’t know football people who criticise his games consistently can’t comprehend nor appreciate good football.

Too stuck up on enjoying attractive players styles.

Really? Even Bevo doesnt rate him.

 

[Dan]

Good numbers in the VFL.

 

[WillHayward]

Good numbers in the VFL.

Yep but if hes so elite whats he doing in the VFL?
Also plenty of blokes get good numbers in the VFL every week.
Also - his problem has never been getting numbers. He knows how to get numbers. He loves a loopy handball to someone facing away from goal and stationary which always gets him a double stat "one-two". Hes a master of it. Been doing that for 15 years.