mackay rising star

[Deaneus!]

So much class, that he even bamboozles himself sometimes - I'm thinking of his snap at goal in the goal square in the second half yesterday hahaha

That was a great shot. The thing for me is, when he had the ball there, i instantly though, "here's a goal" - not like when Gill or Burton have the ball that close and try to snap and you know it could go anywhere. Even though he missed, he's total class. Pick 48!!!!

 

[Lets Beyblade]

The selectors have shown that possessions really don't play a huge part in the nominations. Dalziell had over 30 in his first 3 matches and is still waiting. Consistency is the key.

On MacKay, he has really impressed me so far this year. Has alot of poise for a young player and kinda reminds me of Edwards

 

[Crow-mo]

dont know about that one. To me he looks like one of the quiker players on our list. Ill never forget the instance against freo in the nab cup where he intercepted a 5 meter hand pass without the freo players realising what happened. That being said he is a star and the only reason he hasnt got a nomination is that he hasnt had the same publicity as players like palmer

he is not overly quick.

 

[King Elvis]

The selectors have shown that possessions really don't play a huge part in the nominations. Dalziell had over 30 in his first 3 matches and is still waiting. Consistency is the key.

On MacKay, he has really impressed me so far this year. Has alot of poise for a young player and kinda reminds me of Edwards

I cannot believe how few games Mackay has played.

 

[bus24]

he is not overly quick.

He does have decent pace. I think he's quite quick over a short distance, but won't sustain that pace for too long.

Thing is with Mackay. He doesn't need elite pace. He's smart enough to get out of tight situations. Then when he does, he can consistenly hit a target by hand or foot. That's something a lot (probably most) of our players are not capable of doing.

 

[jackster83]

D-Mac doesn't really seem to get noticed by the media or commentators that much but that is more of a result of them being too AFC-ignorant to tell our players apart. There is a lot to like about the way he plays: he moves well and is one of our best by foot. Since coming back into the side, his decision making has really stepped up and he is starting to take opposition players on and run the lines. Also is not afraid of a contest, whether in the air or at ground level. If we can have him, Vince and Reilly fit and firing at the same time, our forwards will be drooling in anticipation of precise delivery into the forward line.

Vince reminds me a helluva lot like Kane Johnson at that age. That Bernie "Sugar" Vince banner going around shows that someone agrees with me.

 

[Punchy Bassett]

Who really cares if he doesn't get one? We know he can play and thats the main thing, when you look at some of the hacks that did get one and where they are now its not really that important in the scheme of things.

 

[dplggr47]

It scares me that you rate guys who haven't even played for the Crows at all yet as potential Brownlow or 300 game players. It's way too early to tell.

Our reckon our first pick in the this year's draft will be an Brownlow winning, All Australian Captain and Norm Smith Medalist.

The step up from SANFL to AFL is huge. Lets wait until these guys get 30 to 40 games under their belts. Not many players looks awesome before that.

nah, i see something like that coming from left of center, like a rookie player, ie, Petrenko. nah, but seriously, 300-games...? that's a long time in football, especially with increase rate of injuries and players retiring/delisted earlier than before.

 

[Vader]

nah, i see something like that coming from left of center, like a rookie player, ie, Petrenko. nah, but seriously, 300-games...? that's a long time in football, especially with increase rate of injuries and players retiring/delisted earlier than before.

Not sure where you get this idea from.

Injuries have been on the decrease for years. The AFL proudly trumpet each year that their players are suffering fewer injuries, most notably soft tissue injuries (hamstrings, calfs) and knee injuries (particularly for those involved in ruck contests). More significantly, the number of games lost due to injuries has decreased - due to improved rehabilitation programs.

There's also nothing to indicate that players are retiring any earlier than they would have previously, if anything the opposite is the case.

Last weekend Andrew McLeod became the 56th AFL/VFL player to play 300 games. Of those 56 players, 26 are either still playing or finished their careers in the 2000s, 11 more finished in the 1990s. In a competition which has been going since 1897, almost half the players ever to have reached the 300 game milestone did so in the last 10 years.

Adelaide fans have been proud to own the fact that the Crows now have three 300 game players after just 18 years in the competition, with Edwards likely to become the 4th in 2009. In contrast, David Neitz is Melbourne's only member of this elite club. I put it to you that Adelaide's high strike rate is no coincidence, given the era in which we joined the competition.

The reason for this is the same reason why the Australian Cricket Team currently resembles Dad's Army - professionalism/money, improved training techniques and improved medical/rehab facilities. Most important of these (IMHO) is money. With more money available to the players they are hanging around a lot longer than was previously the case, not retiring young to focus on their off-field careers.

Delistings on the other hand may well be happening earlier because of smaller list sizes, but the players getting delisted are not the players who are/were ever going to get to 300 games in the first place.

Getting to 300 games is still a remarkable achievement. Only 0.5% of all players ever reach this milestone. It is impossible at the start of a career to predict just which players will get there - it requires prolonged good form over many years and a remarkably good run with injuries throughout the entire career. These things are just too hard to predict in advance.