i didn't see the game completely, gotta watch tape tonight, but i thought mcveigh was again shown up by almost all our young midfield types, he looked indecisive and weak
am i being too harsh?
i thought bird, jack, o'dwyer, moore, beckmans and meredith all showed more potential than mcveigh has shown in 5 years with the club
Saw the whole game and thought McVeigh did okay to good (won some clearances, some good switches of play).
I'm not as sold on O'Dwyer and Brabazon - they won some footy (and O'Dwyer kicked a goal), but I thought their foot skills and decision making skills were fairly average (sometimes outright poor). Same for Beckmans, Terlich etc.
Of the younger guys, Moore should be in the starting 22, I think - his work off the ball was outstanding and he showed a good footy brain as well as evasive skills, especially now that we've lost Schneider...and Malceski for the season

He will definitely be on the bench and maybe play more as a small forward - now that Mattner will take up a HBF spot, I think Barlow will probably spend a lot more time as a flanker.
I would put Bird right into the mix as well, especially if Ablett is not fit. Definitely looks like an AFL level player with clean skills and good vision (and since he's as good as a second-year player). I don't think Meredith had done a lot. Jack showed some really encouraging signs (though again kicking let him down), but he definitely has the pace and agility to go past his man, so I really hope he doesn't get turned into a Matthews/Crouch like tagger.
And I like Thornton's game - not necessary his performance today, but the skills he showed, would be a handy player in the senior level in my opinion.