McDougal V Brisbane

[noodle]

I didn't get to watch that much of the game on sunday as i was out on sunday. i got to see parts but not the whole.

anywho, how did you good folk out there rate McDougalls game? a lot of people were happy that he was included in the side. from what i saw he didn't nothing electrifying but enough to prove that he was handy and had a future.

any thoughts?

 

[Sera]

Took a couple of good grabs and did alright in the hitouts. Will take time to develop but he won't learn the pace of AFL football in the WAFL. Still only 19 and will be a very good player.

Player K H P M HO T FF FA G B
Andrew McDougall 6 4 10 4 3 1 0 1 0 1

 

[llosis]

To be honest he exceeded my expectations.

As Sera said took a couple of nice contested grabs but what impressed me most was his mobility. His athleticism was clearly up to scrath for the AFL and worked hard on the ground too. At one stage in the last won a hard ball on hands and knees and knocked out the handball to a teammate. Which is impressive for a tall player.

A KPP definitely, but don't know about the ruck. Official stats say he only got one hit out and did look overmatched against Mclaren and Charman.

Played his best footy in the last quarter when the result was decided but I reckon it would give him a lot of confidence for the rest of the season. He actually reminded me a bit of the Kangaroos Drew Petrie. Will be interesting if he retains his place for round 13 - I think on the basis of what we saw he should.

 

[The Passenger]

McDougall did very well - anyone else think he looks a bit like Michael Gardiner. I kept getting the two confused, and was also a bit of a throw back cause he has Gardy's old number.

Anyways, he did very well - took some nice grabs, ran around abit. I think he is at the stage where he needs to spend more time in the AFL than in the WAFL.

 

[Au_Blue#24]

how tall is he ??

 

[iceman]

I was pretty happy with what i saw. Looks like he could develop into a KPP but with the slight frame he has, he'll need a good couple of years before he starts really dominating

 

[llosis]

Officially 196cm I think.

 

[Voice of Reason]

I thought McDougall did everything expected of him and a bit more. His athleticism is good and he's pretty brave too. I don't think he's any more than a pinchhitting ruckman and it was noticeable that when he went up against a more mature-bodied Lynch in a throw up on the boundary, he was thrown aside like a rag doll, but that will improve with age and experience. He broke even with the two young Brisbane ruckmen around the ground and in the centre. More of a CHF than anything else - if he can kick goals at this level.

 

[Thrawn666]

Originally posted by llosis

A KPP definitely, but don't know about the ruck.

I'd agree with that.

Quite good agility and mobility for a bloke his size, would have to be our future CHF or FF. He has been rucking against lesser players in the WAFL so should be eased into a possible back up ruckman by handling the throw ins forward of centre.

 

[chrisjudd3]

Mark Seaby as a backup ruckman??????

 

[ozzult]

Originally posted by chrisjudd3
Mark Seaby as a backup ruckman??????

Definitely.

 

[chrisjudd3]

From what I've read bout Mark Seaby this guy is a complete package in terms of rucking ability, athleticism and football brains.

Then what happens to Dean Cox? Trade bait?

With guys like Beeck, Lynch, Staker and Johnson pushing for a spot, how can we fit in Cox?

 

[The Passenger]

We have to give Seaby (and Hansen) a run soon. For both of them its their second year on the list, and it's time to at least give them a game or two to see what they can do.

I think for the game against Kangaroos, it will be a chance to give McDougall a fair bit of rucking time along with Cox, while Gardiner gets some rest.

I dont mean not playing Gardiner, I mean playing him but limiting his time on the field (and more so his time in the ruck) unless we are getting done. So we start Cox in the ruck, McDougall up forward and Gardy on the bench. If we get a flyer and break away then keep Gardy on the bench for pretty much the entire match (at least keep him out of the ruck), if the games even with about a quarter to go then bring Gardy on for the last, and if the Roos get on top early, bring Gardiner on and play our usual game.

Gardiner is clearly showing signs of fatigue the last few weeks having to share such a big ruck load, and doing it with such dominanace. And we really need him to be fresh and firing for the Swans game. If he doesn't have to do much in the Roos game then he'd have effectively had a two week break, which IMO can only be good for him.

 

[Mead]

Originally posted by Black Thunder
We have to give Seaby (and Hansen) a run soon. For both of them its their second year on the list, and it's time to at least give them a game or two to see what they can do.

I think for the game against Kangaroos, it will be a chance to give McDougall a fair bit of rucking time along with Cox, while Gardiner gets some rest.

I dont mean not playing Gardiner, I mean playing him but limiting his time on the field (and more so his time in the ruck) unless we are getting done. So we start Cox in the ruck, McDougall up forward and Gardy on the bench. If we get a flyer and break away then keep Gardy on the bench for pretty much the entire match (at least keep him out of the ruck), if the games even with about a quarter to go then bring Gardy on for the last, and if the Roos get on top early, bring Gardiner on and play our usual game.

Gardiner is clearly showing signs of fatigue the last few weeks having to share such a big ruck load, and doing it with such dominanace. And we really need him to be fresh and firing for the Swans game. If he doesn't have to do much in the Roos game then he'd have effectively had a two week break, which IMO can only be good for him.

I'm not sure I agree. The break has certainly come at a good time for Gardie, who has looked pretty buggered to say the least in recent weeks. However, 2 weeks of break might do more harm than good- if a player misses 2 weeks with injury, they generally come back rusty and not at peak fitness.
The other thing is I would have hoped that we've learned our lessons about not counting chickens before the eggs hatched. Clearly that was what happened when we were playing the dogs, and it came back to bite us.
I don't think the Kangas should be underestimated, as a matter of fact, I'm pretty worried about it. The big problem is Drew Petrie, who has been playing some outstanding footy and is just the sort of extra nippy big man who would tear Milli and Glass to shreds. Also, the Roos ruck division of Porter and Burton should not be underrated- quality players the both of them- send McDougall up against them and it might get ugly.

By beating Brisbane, we're put in a situation where we're a bonafide premiership contender- if you can win at the Gabba, you can win anywhere. What that also means, though, is from here on in, every game we drop could come back to haunt us when it gets to the business end of the season. As far as I'm concerned we have the ability to finish on top of the ladder if we play to our potential for the rest of the year. Stress the 'if we play to our potential part' because there aren't any easy games from here on in. If we go into the Kangaroos game half-interested, we'll get burnt. From here on in, the team which finishes top will be the team out of us, Port, Brisbane (and maybe Sydney) which stays focused, switched on, and at their peaks week in week out. If you ever do other than put your best fit and healthy 22 on the park with a view to playing the best football you possibly can, then you don't deserve to win, and probably won't- there simply isn't a big enough talent gap for any team to consistently eke out half assed wins- Brisbane have been trying to do that for a while, and look where it got them.

 

[Voice of Reason]

Agree - he only needs 1 week's rest.

 

[larrikin]

Originally posted by Black Thunder
We have to give Seaby (and Hansen) a run soon. For both of them its their second year on the list, and it's time to at least give them a game or two to see what they can do.

I think for the game against Kangaroos, it will be a chance to give McDougall a fair bit of rucking time along with Cox, while Gardiner gets some rest.

I dont mean not playing Gardiner, I mean playing him but limiting his time on the field (and more so his time in the ruck) unless we are getting done. So we start Cox in the ruck, McDougall up forward and Gardy on the bench. If we get a flyer and break away then keep Gardy on the bench for pretty much the entire match (at least keep him out of the ruck), if the games even with about a quarter to go then bring Gardy on for the last, and if the Roos get on top early, bring Gardiner on and play our usual game.

Gardiner is clearly showing signs of fatigue the last few weeks having to share such a big ruck load, and doing it with such dominanace. And we really need him to be fresh and firing for the Swans game. If he doesn't have to do much in the Roos game then he'd have effectively had a two week break, which IMO can only be good for him.

1 week is heaps for Gardi - he'll be back just fine. I do agree, however, that if we are in charge of games late that whoever the second ruckman is should take full ruck duties. This will make guys like Cox, Gaspar, and McDougall better players.

I see our tall talent in a different light to most however.

I personally believe that MacDougall and Hansen should be used as forwards from here on in. MacDougall is clearly our next CHF. He's not a ruckman, and should be used as one sparingly. The tremendous hands and terrfific agilty he showed this week are the perfect sign that he is part of our golden future.

Hansen is currently the best leading forward in the WAFL (outside Wilson) He is the next generation in that position(along with Haynes).

A decision needs to be made beteeen Seaby and Cox. Seaby is clearly good enough to be a back up ruckman at AFL level, and Cox to me is a very valuable trade commodity (we could be talking Lockyer/Hay if the right draft picks are included). If Seaby doesn't come up Beeck is there, so based on this I can't see Cox staying around

(Note - In my opinion Dean Cox is in the best 15 tap ruckmen in the league - his talent is actually going to cause him to be traded)

Lynch to me is FB if the future. I can not believe Woosha hasn't tried him yet. He won't be able to take the smaller FF's but seems well and truly strong enough to deal with that position.

Which brings me to the most important of them all CHB.
Travis Gaspar is close to the most important player on our list - because he will take over this role. He is an incredibly gifted footballer who will be the architecht of another strong backline. His strength, marking, leadership and determination will be an example to others and in my opinion will become our most important player on our list.

 

[jod23]

On Doogs, I thought he was pretty good. Looked a little overmatched in the ruck but he held his own alright. Was a good target up forward and took 4 marks. IMO he is definitely our future CHF and he easily did enough to be in the team against the Roos.

 

[wattie]

I don't like the idea of holding Gardie out. Remember he's a brownlow chance at the moment. I know personal honours aren't as important and all that, but I think he'd be pretty annoyed if he missed out because of not getting game time.

On Mcdougal, I thought he rucked better than Gardie early on, but Gardiner got better as the game went on.