- Jul 6, 2017
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Thanks KMCCJ does as per your observation have that combo of contested marking and that mobility and ground level capability. He just can't jump over a sheet of paper as one of the more ground-bound players you'll see.
Coleman-Jones has had his 4 years in the system and still isn't quite that best-22 piece. Maybe it's just a regular run of games required and given he is that big taller, that additional leeway is possible, but for me I think he could remain on that fringe and I continue to worry about him off-field. If there are off-field question marks, long term deals are a no-no.
It's like if Collingwood signed Jordan De Goey to a 6 year deal let's say. I'd be calling them out for that. If it's a two year deal, that's fine, but when you have someone at risk of being stood down, it's not playing the percentages and it can get you from a salary cap perspective in a lot of trouble.
Melbourne fans are welcome to be fully on the Jackson bandwagon.
I'm expecting a very strong career, 250 games and he can be one of the best ruckmen in the competition.
I can't say I'm going to make any too the moon projections on him though. I know all too well the history of ruckmen taken early draft and how they tend to stop developing sooner and tend to have their careers cut shorter. Being protected by Gawn being the no.1 greatly helps him in this respect, but still we've had others still have their time early days playing more as key forwards and still fail to keep improving later.
Nic Nat is the most successful of those early picked rucks, but the vast majority of others have really been sad stories of shortened careers and bodies falling apart too soon where by 30 they're often shot, whereas those taken later tend to have started to really come good at 24/25 and have those prime years out the back end.
I'm more than happy to be on record that at pick 1 or pick 3, I'm passing on Jackson. Both because of how cheaply good ruckmen can be acquired, and my expectation that there will be several midfielders who will have better careers. My expectation remains both Green and Serong have the better careers of those still available at 3.
Being early stages, it could well go either way, but I'm more than happy to be the contrarian if others believe Jackson will be the best from his pool.
Max will qualify as his father played 200 games for Norwood before 1991 which is the requirement.
The official rule is as follows:
"The Adelaide Football Club may include a person on its Primary List if that person’s father played 200 or more Senior Matches (being either home and away or finals series matches) at one of the following clubs prior to but not including, 1991: (A) Norwood Football Club; (B) Glenelg Football Club; (C) Sturt Football Club; or (D) South Adelaide Football Club"
That would be strange if preseason games are counted in his officially listed 211 played. I haven't heard of a competition counting preseason games as part of total games played. Maybe the SANFL did at that time? I'll leave answering that to those more familiar with how the SANFL counted games played during those times.
Jackson should be just as competitive through the ruck if not a touch better through there even, but I don't ever see him developing that forward of centre game to that McKernan level. If he does though, he'll needless to say be a problem as McKernan was.
From that booming kick, to that contested mark, to that scoreboard impact. I don't see Jackson touching any of that.
I do respect Jackson at ground level just as I do McKernan though, both are those not just athletic, but smart footballers.
Just following on, we think that to get to 200 games, Jim played some escort cup games (night games) so the tally of H & A games and finals is less than 200 games - and we only go by this because Darryl Borlase played 201 games for Port Magpies in the same period of which a number were escort cup and as such his son James - who is now a crow ironically, missed out on eligibility as a father son for port.
I hope you and the herald sun writers are correct, but I get a feeling that it won't pan out that way which will be a shame as Max projects as a very good footballer and would be great to think he could be a crows Father son pick in 2022