Pavlich and Polak to play up forward

[sabre_ac]

That's the thing though, Polak is a superb contested mark in the backline- if he were just a negating player or drifted off taking uncontested marks a la cloke, fine, but it is no more difficult to take a contested mark up forward than it is down back.
As for which role is more difficult, backmen will counter the above argument by saying that a forward only has to win his contest once or twice a quarter to have a good day, a defender has to keep on negating all day long.

I hate to say it but in most cases Polak is the 3rd man up, he still gets pushed off the ball. Something highlighted by the fact he rarely gets the oppositions number 1 or 2 forward.
He is a brillant spare man in defence because of his abillity to read the ball in the air, but at the same time because more mature bodies too easily push him off.

McDougall lacks natural intensity and application, his preparedness to play out a game with a broken jaw doesn't suggest a lack of courage to me.

High tolerance to pain does not suggest courage, it suggests a tolerance to pain.
I see him flinch all the time, always hearing foot steps, he gets his touches from leading and never from pack situations.
My opinion is he chooses which contests he is going to get invovled in, and is scared more often than not.
It may be to do with his age but I doubt it considering players like Polak who are younger never flinch.

 

[Kenny_01]

McDougall lacks natural intensity and application, his preparedness to play out a game with a broken jaw doesn't suggest a lack of courage to me.

Fair enough, but telling Mark Nicoski that he wanted to walk off the ground halfway through the game against Carlton doesn't suggest a great deal of courage and toughness to me.

But seriously, watching his games this year, he does appear to be a bit soft (like a lot of our players). He didn't attack the ball anywhere near hard enough but improved as the season went on.

He will be a good forward though because of his physical attributes, long accurate kick and somewhat safe hands.

 

[Mead]

Fair enough, but telling Mark Nicoski that he wanted to walk off the ground halfway through the game against Carlton doesn't suggest a great deal of courage and toughness to me.

But seriously, watching his games this year, he does appear to be a bit soft (like a lot of our players). He didn't attack the ball anywhere near hard enough but improved as the season went on.

He will be a good forward though because of his physical attributes, long accurate kick and somewhat safe hands.

The Carlton thing disturbed me a lot when I heard it, but then I guess thats slightly different to courage. Personally, I just think he doesn't have a natural footballers mindset- he might lack mental hardness, but I don't think he has ever lacked for physical courage.

If his season had ended about rd 10 there would be huge questionmarks over him, but to his (and Sumich's) credit from then onwards his overall game and his attack on the ball improved from week to week.

 

[BB gun]

Fair comments Mead.

Polaks first season was blighted with injury too, maybe we are drafting too young!!.

.

someone else would have picked him up if we didn't

 

[masai]

someone else would have picked him up if we didn't

The drafting comment was a general comment about the AFL drafting age.

I would like to see the drafting to start a year later (at least), so if the player is any good they should have had a solid year at the secondary level (WAFL, SANFL, VFL) playing against men.

 

[YAKUZA]

McDougall lacks natural intensity and application, his preparedness to play out a game with a broken jaw doesn't suggest a lack of courage to me.

This broken jaw story has been overdone, there is a broken jaw as in one that requires surgery, some times reduction,wiring together with the other jaw and being on a fluids only diet. Then there is a broken jaw as in hairline fracture that doesn't require any surgical intervention.
If McDud had the more severe of the two he wouldn't have played out the game because it would have been clearly obvious to the medical staff that he had a problem. Lets get things into perspective.