Toast John McCarthy

[Wooljay]

Just curious to see how everyone else thought he did tonight. Personally I thought he had a great first half, was involved in a lot and his disposal looked good. Faded off a bit towards the end, but that's to be expected. Had been such a long time since I'd seen him play - definitely has promise and I'd. Love to see him play a few senior games this year!

Thoughts?

 

[mattys123]

He showed tonight, what all of us VFL watchers have been telling everyone for the last few years, that he has the talent, he just needs to stay injury free and gain some experience at senior level.

He has as much talent as anyone outside of our best 22, that's for sure, but he just needs some luck.

He has to play next week, and I'd be playing him sometime very early in the year also, for 2-3 weeks to see how he goes under extreme pressure.

If he stays fit, he will still be at Collingwood next year, that's for sure.

 

[TradeDraft]

Was Great Tonight except for his Goal Kicking and that Contested Ball he Got that Resulted in a Goal was Ball Esquire

Just want to stay injury free and don't be another Rusling

 

[The Magnificent Seven]

I remember his first game when he speared a 45-50m pass right onto the chest of a forward. Was just ripping.

The same kind of handy kicking was hinted at tonight - a lovely pass from the wing into Cloke, and then the lovely chip to hit Dawes' lead.

He's going to go alright, I reckon.

 

[The Royal Sampler]

Has the tools, probably lacks some poise at the moment but given he hasn't had anything like a consistent run at the elite level, that's to be expected. The question is; if he does get the run of games, does he settle with the game played at that top speed? I guess there's only one way we'll find out.

 

[ThePheonix]

Yeah he looked real good, until his kicking let him down, so not yet convinced.

 

[boxy2010]

J Mac showed alot of composure tonight,

I have to mention buckleys disposal and decision making was woeful!
All in all i think we only turned it on in the last quarter rest of the game we were crusing in and did what we needed to do to stay in front.

 

[TownleyTime]

Is our most naturally gifted clearance winner, when fit. Go the Forehead.

 

[Dundalis]

He looked far more involved than I've seen him before at AFL level, albeit this was just a glorified practice match.

He lacks both poise and awareness however, and I still don't see how he is going to make it. We have more well rounded and talented younger midfielders in the VFL that should go past him this season, or certainly the next.

Fasolo for one already looks like having far more potential.

Is our most naturally gifted clearance winner, when fit. Go the Forehead.

Ridiculous comment. One of McCarthy's major issues has been getting his hands on the pill. Even in the VFL it's been an issue from what I've heard and seen. Nowhere near our best or most gifted clearance winner.

 

[Stifler's mom]

Is our most naturally gifted clearance winner, when fit. Go the Forehead.

Not sure if serious?

 

[mdc]

Fasolo for one already looks like having far more potential.

Like him as well, lovely mover + kick.

As for McCarthy, I think the days of him having a shot at midfield are over, and he's not really clever enough for HFF, but I'd love for him to develop in the role that Buckley's currently butchering. He's got hardness, speed and kicks it ok, so wouldn't be a bad option as a back pocket/flanker.

 

[TheGreatGrundy]

Like him as well, lovely mover + kick.

As for McCarthy, I think the days of him having a shot at midfield are over, and he's not really clever enough for HFF, but I'd love for him to develop in the role that Buckley's currently butchering. He's got hardness, speed and kicks it ok, so wouldn't be a bad option as a back pocket/flanker.

McCarthy does seem a good option for this role. Buckley is no certainty to play senior football, not once he is competing for a spot against the players left out of the squad. I thought he was OK for much of the game despite some kicking errors.

 

[Zahki]

Looked good to me, I thought he showed enough to be a real contender to break into the 22 this year. The coaching staff certainly have enough faith in him, if he manages to get an uninterrupted string of games then who knows. He definitely needs a chance though, he's been on the list for too long for him to sit in the VFL for another year, or worse, on the injury list.

 

[Jabso]

Was Great Tonight except for his Goal Kicking and that Contested Ball he Got that Resulted in a Goal was Ball Esquire

Just want to stay injury free and don't be another Rusling

I think you've been mislead by the spell checker TD. Ball-esque.

 

[Dundalis]

Like him as well, lovely mover + kick.

As for McCarthy, I think the days of him having a shot at midfield are over, and he's not really clever enough for HFF, but I'd love for him to develop in the role that Buckley's currently butchering. He's got hardness, speed and kicks it ok, so wouldn't be a bad option as a back pocket/flanker.

The only issue with Buckley is that he seems to have a fairly limited football brain (I realise this can be a significant issue). But he has some fantastic physical attributes, ones you want in an attacking half back flank and he definitely doesn't lack confidence. I actually don't mind him as a back up to play that role, with the hope that he can improve his decision making with games, especially given he has improved in that respect considerably from the first NAB Cup game.

If you were looking for someone better to play that role, you ideally want someone with some similar attributes but better footy nous. McCarthy doesn't come close to fitting that description for mine. Perhaps if he develops his defensive game as a shutdown player, with a view to playing Toovey's role, but I doubt it. I don't see McCarthy staying on the list much past the start of Buckley's (the great one) coaching tenure. Unless all the younger more talented mids like Fasolo, Josh Thomas etc, for some reason go backwards and don't progress.

 

[Nardz]

i thought he was sub-par tonight

turned it over a bit, was caught deer-in-headlights style a few times...

i'm really suprised to see a "toast" for him on here tonight...

 

[Pera]

What game was everyone watching?

He did one or two nice things but he still is heavily overrated on the threads by the VFL watchers. His game was OK at best and i'm still hoping there is heaps more from him. His disposal looks really shoddy but he makes up with it in hardness i guess.

It still wont win him a spot in our best 25.

 

[pauly_moss]

i thought he was sub-par tonight

turned it over a bit, was caught deer-in-headlights style a few times...

i'm really suprised to see a "toast" for him on here tonight...

this for sure

 

[Harry O]

Excellent performance by McCarthy, especially since he had only played half a VFL game prior to this. Hard at it, good pace and great foot skills. Excellent depth player - just needs to keep himself fit for a whole season and he will be pushing hard for senior games.

 

[standingroomonly]

The contested ball that led to the goal was good, the rest of his game was forgettable.

The second coming of Danny Stanley, kills it at VFL level then does enough to tease at senior level but ultimately only gets one or two games, spuds it up and gets sent back to the magoos. Rinse and repeat.

In his defense injuries have robbed him of a clean run at a spot in the seniors.

 

[dunno4]

i thought he was sub-par tonight

turned it over a bit, was caught deer-in-headlights style a few times...

i'm really suprised to see a "toast" for him on here tonight...

I was shaking my head at the end of the first page wondering what game people were watching. Last night during the 4th quarter I was thinking about posting today that he would be squeezed out of contention this year.

I thought Buckley had a better chance of playing games than him and more upside.

If I had to guess I would have thought j-mac would play no more than a couple of games this year

 

[Timmy from Thomastown]

Played well but he needs to play well to stay on the list.

 

[Jelly Bean]

Was good tonight, although not enough to push into the 22. He will certainly get games this year. He is hard as a cat's head and his kicking to lead is generally very good.

 

[joefootylover]

Can play, good depth, lots of the haters are talking out their arse-holes. Him, Buckley, Josh Thomas, Rounds, Fasalo and even a few others will get plenty of time in the VFL this year to establish a pecking order before any of them break into the senior side. Krakouer is clearly best 22, so at least one Premiership player already has to make way for him, and 2 more will have to accept halved game time due to the sub rule. Add to that the fact that Dick is a walk up start in our 22 if fit and its looking like quite a queue to crack the side. Davis and Johnno would have disappointed many by playing such good footy last night, as they now look like they are assured of spots also.

One thing for sure is that as of right now McCarthy is ahead of Josh Thomas for a spot, unless Josh has learnt to play on crutches.

 

[Smoky]

Is our most naturally gifted clearance winner, when fit. Go the Forehead.

Get off the "Charlie Sheen"