Moondog in the centre

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Thread starter #1
Only players in the centre/midfield win brownlows now days so I think if Moons is ever to get the one he deserves he should move onto the ball :p

Seriosuly though, tore it up in the centre at the end of last year. Should be working on his aerobic capacity again. With Rooke showing he can tag GREAT midfielders I think mooney should be playing on the ball, let him loose to do as he pleases. He is dangerous in centre square situations and if he learnt when to drift forward would outmark most of his midfield counterparts.

Kind of reminds me of Hamil or Downo Browno when they go on the ball, gets that crazy look in his eye and will run through anything to get at the ball.
 

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chapmanmagic35

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#2
Yeah, he plays very good football when he's in that 'follower' role. Although he doesn't win alot of the tap-outs, he beats the ruckmen around the ground so he's useful as a back-up option.

His last few games in 2005 were awesome. BOG against Melborne for mine in the EF.
 

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#3
Fair call, yo just need to look at his two finals performances to show his worth on the ball. Was BOG against Melbourne and Played a great game on Goodes against Sydney. It helps the smaller guys too, becuase they know they have some protection around them.
 
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Thread starter #8
I definatly want to see him in the centre though, maybe no Brownlow but he is hard as hell to match up on. His endurance is getting better and he lays MASSIVE tackles.

Also he needs to run free, his is a free spirit*




*CrAzY as hell!
 
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#9
shouldn't be in the ruck as he'd get monstered but should definitely be in the center as a big rover. Plays his best football when given a license to roam around the ground so is a natural to play in the center and float across half back.
 

davey_magik

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#10
BlueNWhite said:
also has more passion for his club than the entire team of the red and the blue have for theirs davey :D
I made a fair judgement. No need for trolling, since Geelong have been unsuccessful as long as Melbourne have. I would love tos ee both teams win a flag in the next three years.
 

Turbocat

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#11
davey_magik said:
I made a fair judgement. No need for trolling, since Geelong have been unsuccessful as long as Melbourne have. I would love to see both teams win a flag in the next three years.
Yes , 63 and 64 were life times ago.Its amazing to look at the success of the Demons in the 50's, I mean they could have 6 in a row if not for the Pies, and the to look at their support base and say,"where the hell did they go wrong". They should have been knee deep in kids following them from that period, boy talk about lost opitunities.

Yes, it would be fantastic to hog the GF between the the two of us for the next 5 years or so. Id be even willing to give you one.
 

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davey_magik

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#13
Turbocat said:
Yes , 63 and 64 were life times ago.Its amazing to look at the success of the Demons in the 50's, I mean they could have 6 in a row if not for the Pies, and the to look at their support base and say,"where the hell did they go wrong". They should have been knee deep in kids following them from that period, boy talk about lost opitunities.

Yes, it would be fantastic to hog the GF between the the two of us for the next 5 years or so. Id be even willing to give you one.
Very true. However if you look at a lot of our supporters these days they were kids around then, except the two decades following the club struggled and only in the late 80's, early 90's and now is the club any sort of chance of producing success again.
I reckon we might be in for an all-Vic GF next year anyway. Most likely between the Cats and Saints, because as much as I like to think how good Melbourne is realistically we are still a year or so behind the Cats and St.Kilda.
 

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#14
kriso182 said:
Fair call, yo just need to look at his two finals performances to show his worth on the ball. Was BOG against Melbourne and Played a great game on Goodes against Sydney. It helps the smaller guys too, becuase they know they have some protection around them.
Linger tagged Goodes against Sydney i'm pretty sure :confused:

Sure Mooney is good in the middle, but who do u take out? - around the clearances Bartel, Corey and Kelly and more effective ... running ability, defesiveness, leadership and ball-winning ability ensures Linger has a spot there every week ...

all of the above players can find the footy better - not to mention a fit Enright back next season, and then Ablett and Chapman spending time in there also at times next yr

Im not saying Mooney shouldn't b in there - but he certainly isn't worthy of a certain starter in there each week, for me Ling, Corey and Bartel should be our prime on-ballers, with rotations consisting of Kelly, Enright, Chapman, Ablett and of course ... Mooney
 

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#15
Stoney said:
Linger tagged Goodes against Sydney i'm pretty sure :confused:

Sure Mooney is good in the middle, but who do u take out? - around the clearances Bartel, Corey and Kelly and more effective ... running ability, defesiveness, leadership and ball-winning ability ensures Linger has a spot there every week ...

all of the above players can find the footy better - not to mention a fit Enright back next season, and then Ablett and Chapman spending time in there also at times next yr

Im not saying Mooney shouldn't b in there - but he certainly isn't worthy of a certain starter in there each week, for me Ling, Corey and Bartel should be our prime on-ballers, with rotations consisting of Kelly, Enright, Chapman, Ablett and of course ... Mooney

All part of the rotation. The guys you mentioned are all very good at their own area, but none of them are prepared to go the man and inspire fear into the opposition. Geelong's midfield seemed more free once Mooney started playing in the centre and I believe that this is because of the physical presence that Mooney provided. All our current midfielders are ball players, we missed a headcase in the middle who would run through a few players since Beemer left. Mooney is that headcase.:D
 

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#16
going the ball rather than the man is what wins games, brisbane lions won 3 straight with a ball-winning midfield rather than a head-hunting one

and i dont think there is any player in the AFL who would go out and think "oh ******** not cameron mooney" - in fact his big bumps get played alot, but what about the times he gets shut down - like opening qtr against melbourne skinny man nathan brown put moons down with ease to get holding the ball after mooney went to run throu him

if its the fear element ur looking for by running throu players and exerting physical presence - have him on a wing running in off the line (Brent 'tosser' Guerra style) or from CHF like Aaron "cheapshot" Hammil

all im saying is Mooney does not and should not deserve to take one of Ling, Corey or Bartel's spots in the centre at the opening bounce - through a rotation system sure - but he isnt worthy to have in there when the critical footy is there to be won!
 

WestCat

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#17
Stoney said:
going the ball rather than the man is what wins games, brisbane lions won 3 straight with a ball-winning midfield rather than a head-hunting one

and i dont think there is any player in the AFL who would go out and think "oh ******** not cameron mooney" - in fact his big bumps get played alot, but what about the times he gets shut down - like opening qtr against melbourne skinny man nathan brown put moons down with ease to get holding the ball after mooney went to run throu him

if its the fear element ur looking for by running throu players and exerting physical presence - have him on a wing running in off the line (Brent 'tosser' Guerra style) or from CHF like Aaron "cheapshot" Hammil

all im saying is Mooney does not and should not deserve to take one of Ling, Corey or Bartel's spots in the centre at the opening bounce - through a rotation system sure - but he isnt worthy to have in there when the critical footy is there to be won!

I agree with you about players going for the ball, but even Brisbane had it's angry players like the Scotts, Chris Johnson, Brown and Lynch. They may not have been in the middle the whole time, but they did wander up there to cause some mischief.

I think our midfield got used to having Beemer in there laying a few bumps and doing the 'thug' things which, even if it didn't particularly scare the opposition, made our players walk a little taller. I could be way off the mark here, but it's the only conclusion I can make for the huge lift in form of our midfield towards the end of the season.
 

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#18
Stoney said:
going the ball rather than the man is what wins games, brisbane lions won 3 straight with a ball-winning midfield rather than a head-hunting one
and i dont think there is any player in the AFL who would go out and think "oh ******** not cameron mooney" - in fact his big bumps get played alot, but what about the times he gets shut down - like opening qtr against melbourne skinny man nathan brown put moons down with ease to get holding the ball after mooney went to run throu him

if its the fear element ur looking for by running throu players and exerting physical presence - have him on a wing running in off the line (Brent 'tosser' Guerra style) or from CHF like Aaron "cheapshot" Hammil

all im saying is Mooney does not and should not deserve to take one of Ling, Corey or Bartel's spots in the centre at the opening bounce - through a rotation system sure - but he isnt worthy to have in there when the critical footy is there to be won!
Stoney , I agree to a point. concentration on the body above all else negates your football objective but..

Think back a couple of years, possibly one of the best players Ive ever seen , Michael Voss cleaned up Joel Corey. To do the deed when the deeds there to be done is part of the best makeup. To have a totally ball focused group without some of the physical is less than the best.

Once a peputation has been established, eg Mooney, (Its not all bluff with this guy, he is just crazy enough to really do it) he doesnt need to go all the way to have an effect on the opposition. He makes our midfield better and scares the lighter framed, highly talented types.
 
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Thread starter #19
Look what Rooke did to Judd in the WC game. Kept POUNDING him into the ground and Judd wasnt scared off but he was negated because everytime he got the ball he was PUNISHED.

You shouldnt have brought up the Melbourne game if you want to argue against Moondog in the centre. He was probably BOG that day and yes he got caught trying to run through a player once, but he did it numerous other times and the crowd lifted, the players lifted and Moondog went up another gear.

Moondog and Rooke both have spots in our midfield. Rooke should aim to become our new number 1 tagger this year. Linga hasnt been a "real" tagger in a while but he still does get negating rolls. Rooke showed last year he can match it with the best, he is hard, tough and DEFINATELY wont shirk the issue. He is also capable of winning his own ball.

Downo Browno, Pavlich, Carey, St Nick amongst others are all big boys that have been thrown into the middle with great results. Now I am not trying to compare Moondogs with the guys is it is obvious to all he has more talent than them all combined and more anger in his little finger. But he is a large bullocking player who is hard to tackles, tackles very hard, can lay a bump, take a bump, be third up in the ruck and most importantly IS VERY HARD TO MATCH UP ON.

He is a wild man Moondog, he needs to run free, unhindered. He shalt not be tamed.
 

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#20
I agree. Commented on in at ages maybe just before the WCE game or the finals that Mooney should play a more permenant role as a wingman or ruck rover. His agility for someone his size is outstanding and gives us alot of grunt in the engine room. But I doubt if he could play a whole game there.
 

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#21
WestCat said:
I agree with you about players going for the ball, but even Brisbane had it's angry players like the Scotts, Chris Johnson, Brown and Lynch. They may not have been in the middle the whole time, but they did wander up there to cause some mischief.

I think our midfield got used to having Beemer in there laying a few bumps and doing the 'thug' things which, even if it didn't particularly scare the opposition, made our players walk a little taller. I could be way off the mark here, but it's the only conclusion I can make for the huge lift in form of our midfield towards the end of the season.
Im not (and never said) there shouldn't be physical presence like some ppl are insinuating *spelling* - sure u need players who can lay the big bump, players who can get under the oppositions skin and take their mind off the footy - and Mooney is great at doing so - however ...

not in the midfield ... brown, scotts, CJ and Lynch never ventured into the midfield when Brisbane had their success - JB went into the centre for the first time in 2005, the Scotts were Half Back specialists, as was CJ in the backpocket, and Lynch never left the goalsquare

we have so many natural midfielders who can get the pill 30 times a game, Mooney does not have this ability, in the Melb game he had 26 possies (his best ever?)

he doesnt get enough of the footy, he shouldnt be a midfielder - he wont win the crucial footy when the game is up for grabs, and he doesn't have the silky skills of a joel corey or james kelly, the running ability of ling or the ball-winning ability in close of bartel

all Mooney adds is grunt and this can be added in 15 other positions, but he is not worthy to be a starting centre square player when we have so many better options in there

the fact Geelong started playing well when Mooney was in the middle is purely coincidence, r u telling me that our beloved team was incapable of producing that footy before Mooney had the occasional run in the midfield? what about in the second half of 2004 - Mooney wasn't in the midfield then yet we played the best football this club has seen for years

i honestly cannot grant Mooney the instant stardom that everyone else seems to have given him - its almost as if he's our best player all over a sudden, there is no way i can see the logic of running big cam through the middle when we have 5-6 better options

by the way, im actually a fan of mooney, i have nothing against him - i just dont think he should be in the top dozen choices to slot into our centre square
 
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