McCafferage

[magicpants]

I still am undecided on whether McCaffer is going to be the player we want him to be or just an average, run of the mill player.

He seems an ok field kick and goal kicking can be good when he doesn't over think it, he is not quick but isnt slow, isn't short but isnt tall, isn't skinny but is not a battering ram (good muscle def though)

His best attribute to me seems to be his overhead mark and he is hard at it from what I've seen.

My question is - how good can he be? What sort of player and in what position is he best suited as he develops?

I'm just not sure, seems to be getting a guaranteed game without doing anything great!

What do you guys think?

 

[Bay Pie]

Has similar attributes to Cameron Ling who also got drafted as an U18 full forward.

Would like to see him developed as a tagger.

 

[mdc]

Cam Ling isn't a bad comparison physically, but Macaffer doesn't have the same mentality.

The comparison I like (and have liked for a long time) is Matthew Boyd. Can play all over the ground, rarely beaten in a contest, and never makes mistakes with the ball. Boyd finally made the transition to full-time midfielder a couple of years ago, hopefully Macaffer can do the same down the track.

It's a lofty comparison, obviously, so even if he's only 80% as good, he'll still be a damn good player.

The only thing standing between Macaffer and real succeess right now is fitness and a greater self-belief on the field.

 

[HFF]

I like the Caff but jury is still out.

The Boyd comparison is odd considering Boyd is way better athletically than Caff and his footskills are impressive too- capable of hitting 50m+ bullets. Have not seen the Caff's penetration in his kicking much but his goal kicking technique is just woeful. He is a solid field kick though in terms of decision making.

 

[Zahki]

Funny, I always thought Macaffer would be an eventual Medhurst replacement. He's played mostly as a forward but really has got some monkeys on his back this season. Dunno where he'll end up if he can't get his accuracy right, but I'm of the opinion that if he can't make it as a forward he won't be best 22 ever, period.

 

[mdc]

I like the Caff but jury is still out.

The Boyd comparison is odd considering Boyd is way better athletically than Caff and his footskills are impressive too- capable of hitting 50m+ bullets.

Boyd is not better athletically, he's a very average athlete in terms of speed and explosiveness (good strength though, like the Caff). Boyd's built up his fitness to the point that he can run all day now though.

Macaffer's field kicking is very good too, would be top 6-8 in the team. Similar kick to Burns (later years)

 

[knightwheelrqr]

I like him up forward more than anything. Down back we have enough depth with even Tom Young comming onto our list next season to go with Goldsack and Buckley who are also depth.

In the midfield with Sidebottom, Beams Thomas, Wellingham and Barham all developing well, then Josh Thomas comming through nicely also.

I consider Macaffer's ideal position to be up forward. He can take marks, tackle. Used to be a dead eye both at u18 level and in the VFL. Just needs to get more opportunities and keep going for them. He is also a not a bad user of the footy and a reasonable decision maker so ultimately I think he can set up goals quite reasonably also.

Looks likely to become a utility/ Tarkyn Lockyer replacement but I see most value in him playing forward.

 

[knightwheelrqr]

Cam Ling isn't a bad comparison physically, but Macaffer doesn't have the same mentality.

The comparison I like (and have liked for a long time) is Matthew Boyd. Can play all over the ground, rarely beaten in a contest, and never makes mistakes with the ball. Boyd finally made the transition to full-time midfielder a couple of years ago, hopefully Macaffer can do the same down the track.

It's a lofty comparison, obviously, so even if he's only 80% as good, he'll still be a damn good player.

The only thing standing between Macaffer and real succeess right now is fitness and a greater self-belief on the field.

Don't mind that analysis.

And agree.

 

[itwdandy]

Didnt he win the VFL coleman medal a few years back? I remember one game he kicked 7-8 goals. I think Bucks needs to work on his kicking for goal. I dont think i ever saw any better kick for goal than bucks.

 

[Heater39]

Macaffer has some good attributes, but has been pretty vanilla so far this year.

Imo, he needs more confidence to back his abilities.

 

[Optimax]

He was an elevated rookie lister, so the fact he has developed into a solid semi realiable utility is a win.

I hope he gets developed into a tagger/defensive mid, but a solid, good disposing utility is more then helpful

 

[ralu]

Boyd is not better athletically, he's a very average athlete in terms of speed and explosiveness (good strength though, like the Caff). Boyd's built up his fitness to the point that he can run all day now though.

Macaffer's field kicking is very good too, would be top 6-8 in the team. Similar kick to Burns (later years)

Really??

Id have Didak, Davis, Shaw, Pendlebury, Beams, Lockyer (when playing), Medhurst, Dick all far ahead of him.

 

[mdc]

Really??

Id have Didak, Davis, Shaw, Pendlebury, Beams, Lockyer (when playing), Medhurst, Dick all far ahead of him.

I meant in the 22, so that gets rid of Lockyer and Dick.

I'd also have him comfortably ahead of Shaw and probably ahead of Medhurst (field kicking, not goal kicking obviously).

Reid's also better, Harry and Sidebottom probably on par.

 

[knightwheelrqr]

Really??

Id have Didak, Davis, Shaw, Pendlebury, Beams, Lockyer (when playing), Medhurst, Dick all far ahead of him.

He's not a bad kick.

The only kicks I'd have ahead of him: Didak, Pendlebury, Thomas, Shaw, Davis, O'Brien, Medhurst. He is probably on parr with Lockyer, Swan and Beams. I would probably go with top 10 kicks in the side.

Dick is a quick thinker and a good decision maker, but not an elite kick, could do with some more penetration still.

 

[StillWaiting5689]

He's not a bad kick.

The only kicks I'd have ahead of him: Didak, Pendlebury, Thomas, Shaw, Davis, O'Brien, Medhurst. He is probably on parr with Lockyer, Swan and Beams. I would probably go with top 10 kicks in the side.

Dick is a quick thinker and a good decision maker, but not an elite kick, could do with some more penetration still.

How did Thomas get on that list? I'd have the Caff comfortably ahead of Thomas and Shaw. On par with Swan? Much better than Swan, Swan is the king of the mongrel punt (granted it works for him but still).

Caff is a solid kick, don't think he will turn it over very much though I don't see him ripping teams to shreds with it either. similar to lockyer IMO, reliable is an apt word.

 

[knightwheelrqr]

How did Thomas get on that list? I'd have the Caff comfortably ahead of Thomas and Shaw. On par with Swan? Much better than Swan, Swan is the king of the mongrel punt (granted it works for him but still).

Caff is a solid kick, don't think he will turn it over very much though I don't see him ripping teams to shreds with it either. similar to lockyer IMO, reliable is an apt word.

It is subjective.

But why Thomas? Fantastic kick in the wet, as good as anyone. Great at hitting targets and can kick the incredible goals. I'd rate him in the top 3-4 at the club to be honest.

Shaw. Can get over confident which we have been seeing recently but at his best hits targets no problem, even under pressure.

Swan I thought I'd include. Personally I think his disposal by foot is under rated and it has certainly seen much improvement, particularly over the last 12 months. Regardless of position and how pretty or not his kick is he still hits targets 9/10 and also kicks goals. Still plenty of room for improvement but certainly is one of the better kicks in the side now, even if not recognised for it yet.

 

[Heater39]

Just another point- his name is spelt Macaffer, not McCaffer not MacAffer not McAffer or any other possible combination you could come up with. Just plain old Macaffer, thought I'd get that off my chest

 

[Invigoration]

Thomas and Medhurst are both average field kicks, although Daisy has improved somewhat this year. Caff pales both those boys.

Ben Reid would be in the upper echelon at the club.

 

[comeonpies]

i think he is an average player and should be playing in the VFL to get more experience

 

[knightwheelrqr]

i think he is an average player and should be playing in the VFL to get more experience

I disagree. I think he has a bright future ahead of him.

Also it was his kicking that was being discussed which I must agree would be amongst the best at the club. Top 15 easily, possibly top 10. Excellent when it comes to finding targets out of defence. Can hit targets from 40-50m perfectly which is a great element to his game.

To progress further he needs to become much stronger through the chest and core, while also probably adding a little more strength through the legs also. Certainly needs to become stronger body on body still, but at this stage he is in our best 22 because of the rebound he can create from defence along with his nice skills and athleticism.

 

[sr36]

I think that he is ok now, has a lot of improvement left in him and will play 200 games for this club. When you include decision making, I think that his kicking is well above Shaw and Lockyer, level with a few others and only really behind Davis and Didak.

 

[hellfire]

Thomas and Medhurst are both average field kicks, although Daisy has improved somewhat this year. Caff pales both those boys.

Ben Reid would be in the upper echelon at the club.

I think Medhurst is only behind Didak for the cleverness [thanks Brucey]of his field kicking, in the sense that he can create something out of absolutely nothing with a gorgeous little chip around the body etc., but sometimes his execution lets him down. I still think he is quite a good field kick.

Thomas kicks too much like a sand wedge... needs to hit it low and hard.

 

[Invigoration]

I think that he is ok now, has a lot of improvement left in him and will play 200 games for this club. When you include decision making, I think that his kicking is well above Shaw and Lockyer, level with a few others and only really behind Davis and Didak.

It's funny that he is the most inexperienced player that is getting regular games for us right now, but he judged far more harshly than others were at the same point for some reason. I imagine it's because he has been on the list for awhile now (rookie list) and so people think that he should ultimately be able to come straight in and perform better at AFL level? Bit of a fallacy if you ask me, Wellingham's first 30 games were very inconsistent for example but he is proving what a bit of persistence results in.
Sidebottom (with the exception of the Adelaide final, a game which Caff played really well in), Daisy or even Beams didn't perform to far greater levels than he has with the same amount of AFL experience, yet I don't ever remember them being so harshly graded.

He started this year with 7 AFL games, I don't know why he isn't judged with that in mind. For a 13 game player I think he is playing extremely well, if Daisy had played that game Caff did in his 13th game (close to BOG in the first half) the response would have been far different.

It's a strange occurrence I must say. People seem to have a lot more leniency for players that were taken early in the draft.

I think Medhurst is only behind Didak for the cleverness [thanks Brucey]of his field kicking, in the sense that he can create something out of absolutely nothing with a gorgeous little chip around the body etc., but sometimes his execution lets him down. I still think he is quite a good field kick.

Thomas kicks too much like a sand wedge... needs to hit it low and hard.

Probably a fair point, he can be quite creative but he is also extremely erratic. I'm not so sure it's that his field kicking is actually bad (like technique wise or anything), but I find his mind seems to work a lot faster than his body sometimes i.e. he'll have something special in mind, but the result will be far from what he intended.

Overall I don't really find him that reliable which is why I've always been content to keep him instead the 50.

 

[Krueger]

No freakin way Macaffer is in our best 22. All Malthouse is doing is giving him games to see how good he is. If he doesnt improve soon its back to the VFL. Needs to improve his form to stay in the seniors as he is a borderline player at best.

 

[hellfire]

No freakin way Macaffer is in our best 22. All Malthouse is doing is giving him games to see how good he is. If he doesnt improve soon its back to the VFL. Needs to improve his form to stay in the seniors as he is a borderline player at best.

Had an outstanding first half last week. Just needs to keep that form up, as he was probably our second or third best to half-time.