Past Joel Macdonald (2003-2009)

2008 Review

2009 End of Season Review

In a word: Departed

At the beginning of the season, it was probably on no-one's radar that Macdonald would be delisted and drafted by another club at the end of 2009. He'd come off a successful 2008 where he was a mainstay in defence, winning plenty of the ball and providing drive. And it is not as though he was totally bereft of form either. Question marks hang over why he has left - whether he was let go or whether he decided that he wanted to play elsewhere. Either way, the Lions have lost someone who could be best described as a solid citizen.

Macdonald probably spent the year as a "not quite" man. Not quite big enough to play on a tall forward. Not quite mobile or agile enough to play on the quality smalls. Unless an opponent like a Ryan O'Keefe was available, then JMac did tend to get exposed occasionally. He manfully stood up to take on elite tall forwards whilst both Merrett and Patfull were out injured. He was given a bath by both Riewoldt and Fevola when the big defenders were out, no disgrace given the size differential but certainly a sign that he wasn't a medium sized player who could easily play "tall". As a rebounding defender, he seemed to lack decisiveness, prone to an occasional turnover based on "freezing" moreso than a skill deficiency. When put up against Drummond, McGrath, Adcock and even Patfull, JMac lacked in comparison.

Macdonald finished the year out of the senior side, missing both finals for reasons that weren't quite clear at the time. There seemed to be some sort of differing opinion as to whether he was injured, out of form or a combination of both. Suffice to say, the club/player relationship probably deteriorated at that point. The common consensus among supporters seemed to be that, whilst he wasn't playing well, he was a more solid contributor than others who were selected ahead of him. Nevertheless as a player in the middle years of his career, his scope for improvement was not as great as the likes of Hawksley, Sheldon and co.

Macdonald, as a standard speed, averaged skilled half back flanker, is not exactly a rare phenomenon in senior footy. He does have exceptional endurance, reads play well in defence and is tough. But there's not a lot else there that makes you think "wow!". Certainly, he doesn't look out of place on an AFL list, particularly one like Melbourne's which is crying out for someone with a professional approach who adds solidity to a bunch of youngsters. He's a good fit at the Dees and Lions supporters wish him well.

macdonald.jpg
 
Question marks hang over why he has left - whether he was let go or whether he decided that he wanted to play elsewhere.

Don't know if you're just being tactful (and me the opposite), but I didn't think there was any doubt over this at all - between Jmac saying he was ousted and Voss saying we had too many players of his type. Otherwise well summarised. Thanks for writing these reviews.
 
Yeah, my better half was his girl friends property manager, and even she said he didn't see it coming. No doubt that Jmac didn't leave, he was pushed. I think after a list evaluation he was a good pick to let go, as he is replaceable and takes more cap space then those who will replace him.

Solid player, just no stand outs.
 
Just shows how quickly things can change. After being 2nd in the B&F at the half way point last year, he then gets delisted one and half seasons later.
 
Oct 29, 2008
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Yeah I think Hawksley just went past him at the right time, and also had a ripper final against Carlton. Jmac is replaceable but it is still unfortunate to see him leave. I remember reading he was delisted for 'salary cap concerns' somewhere as well.
 
Yeah I think Hawksley just went past him at the right time, and also had a ripper final against Carlton. Jmac is replaceable but it is still unfortunate to see him leave. I remember reading he was delisted for 'salary cap concerns' somewhere as well.


I think this is one of the reasons. As has been pointed out, Jmac is a solid back 6 player. He isn't fast enough to defend well on small forwards and not big enough to play on talls. He is all round ok but not great, and we have probably 4 players that can play his role in the team. Off those 4-5 people, no doubt his salary is the highest, so it would be logical that he be the one to be cut. He has also probably reached his full potential development wise, the other 4 players are still developing, so they still have more advantages to keep over Jmac.

Wish him all the best at Melbourne, im sure they will love having a player with a bit of experience in such a young team, and im sure he will enjoy doing that role. Teams can't have 22 superstars, all great teams need solid players, and this is what Jmac is.
 

Dylan12

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I remember reading he was delisted for 'salary cap concerns' somewhere as well.

If that is the case, then fair enough, however, it is still disappointing that we release players of his calibre and experience without any compensation, especially considering that not many other clubs did or would do the same. I share the same sentiments as others here, just wish the guy all the best and hopefully he carves out a decent career and gets the best out of himself.
 
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Voss believes that the best way to build a strong culture and retain talent is to only keep players who are 100 percent committed to the team and the cause of winning a premiership. Players are less reluctant to go home if they feel the club is absolutely dedicated to delivering them a premiership medal.

No place for work/life balance types like JMac (and Hooper/Begley/Corrie).

That is why he was considered expendable. Don't ask me to say more than that. You can end the speculation though, because it's right. ;)
 
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If that is the case, then fair enough, however, it is still disappointing that we release players of his calibre and experience without any compensation, especially considering that not many other clubs did or would do the same. I share the same sentiments as others here, just wish the guy all the best and hopefully he carves out a decent career and gets the best out of himself.

From memory, he was put on the trade table but all were offered was a 4th (?) round pick? Can anybody clarify that?
 
From memory, he was put on the trade table but all were offered was a 4th (?) round pick? Can anybody clarify that?

I remember a similar tale but the info was very sketchy in the media at the time. It could have been Melbourne who then retracted the deal when they calculated they wouldn't have anyone else for pick 1 in the PSD, or we could have thought we'd get better, or any other permutation really.
 
If only it was as simple as getting what a player is 'worth'. Players are not an item with a RRP attached to them. They are only worth what someone else is willing to spend, and its not worth spending the salary to keep a player on the list trying to hold out to get something for them. No doubt Jmac would have been shopped around during trade week, just like Hooper and a few others, if there aren't any takers it leaves you little choice.

It is a little annoying, i thought someone would have been willing to trade for Jmac, but obviously not.
 

Nuggo

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I guess that one of cons of the PSD, you can lose fairly good player for SFA. It would be interesting to see who we have lost to PSD opposed to who we have gained over the last 10 years.
 
Sarcasm?

He couldn't get a game at Melbourne. Very limited in his ability.

He also walked out with no notice after trade period. I remember it being a shock at the time. We didn't delist him.
 
I always thought he had a decent skill set, good run and was very difficult to tackle and was a decent lock down defender too. I was disappointed when he left because I rated him similar to Patfull at the time, not as tall but had more offensively.

I was surprised he did so poorly at Melbourne.
 
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IIRC, he played all 22 home and away games in his final year (2009), but was dropped for the two finals.

Drummond and Adcock missed the first final, so it wasn't as if there wasn't a spot for a back pocket/flank type player. I think it was a bit of an indication of where he was rated in the end.

Came back a better player after his ACL injury, but I fear I will always remember him for being the unlucky last defender standing, who had Fev kick 8 on him at the Gabba.
 
Nope, we had a spot for him but he wanted out.

http://www.theage.com.au/news/rfnew...lub-for-a-trade/2009/10/02/1254418714246.html

It mentions "salary cap pressures" but I think that's code for "Melbourne offered more cash than we could" since the article was written well before we got Fev that week.

I have a recollection that Voss said he was let go because we had to many of his type.

He was a much maligned player, but had some good form for a while after he came back from his knee reco.

He was pretty good with the media too (remember "mac and bunno"). A bit of a larrikan, spoke well, and seemed a nice chap.
 
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