Welcome to the Bulldogs James O'Donnell (CAT B ROOKIE)

[Smiley Boy]

thought his attack on the footy was second to none!

Give him a year in the system and i think he’ll become a player

 

[weltschmerz]

He's got the traits. Just needs the training.

 

[TiAn_]

Can’t be easy playing forward at AFL level after never playing any proper competitive footy there. Hope he gets a go in a different role.

 

[dogwatch]

Can’t be easy playing forward at AFL level after never playing any proper competitive footy there. Hope he gets a go in a different role.

And what harder, more chaotic forward line to be thrown into than ours!

 

[doggies ftw]

thought his attack on the footy was second to none!

Give him a year in the system and i think he’ll become a player

All his attributes point to defence IMO, his kicking, marking and willingness to attack both defensively and offensively will be weapons. Play him in defence though.

JOD/Buss look like bloody great 2nd/3rd defenders. I’m crying at the thought of replacing Jones at FB though

 

[hatescaptcha]

Bevo seemed happy with James’ game. Said he’ll be an influential player for us. Got the vibe that we really want to fast track his development. Mentioned again how versatile he is, he’s definitely the type of player Bevo will love having in the side.

Really excited about what he could become.

Sent from my iPhone using BigFooty.com

 

[Golden_6]

You can see he’s got the attributes but he was really put in a position to not succeed last night by the coaching group.

 

[Testekill]

All his attributes point to defence IMO, his kicking, marking and willingness to attack both defensively and offensively will be weapons. Play him in defence though.

JOD/Buss look like bloody great 2nd/3rd defenders. I’m crying at the thought of replacing Jones at FB though

Yeah I think he'll be a real weapon coming off of a flank, he plays with a lot of aggression and is pretty athletic.

 

[cherrypie]

Quite happy with his debut. Was put in a tough role but looked composed when involved, don’t think he lost any contests after his first.

In the last quarter he was free inside 50 but someone missed him which was unfortunate.

At some point in the next 18 months, I expect him or Buss to take Keath’s role.

 

[Dannnnnnnnnn]

You can see he’s got the attributes but he was really put in a position to not succeed last night by the coaching group.

I actually think the opposite. Listening to Bev speak, they put him in the position where his errors would be least noticeable and backed in the idea of getting him exposure with very few expectations. Of course, his actual influence on the game probably suffered for it, but that was never the goal. I think where we as fans see a player being pushed out of position for no apparent reason, the coaches see us having gotten a future player great exposure to the speed of AFL football without sacrificing the result.

Not saying that we all have to agree that it's the right approach - but I certainly don't think he was set up not to succeed. The bar for success was getting exposure without destroying the team's chances and he passed with flying colours.

 

[Sharkey66]

I actually think the opposite. Listening to Bev speak, they put him in the position where his errors would be least noticeable and backed in the idea of getting him exposure with very few expectations. Of course, his actual influence on the game probably suffered for it, but that was never the goal. I think where we as fans see a player being pushed out of position for no apparent reason, the coaches see us having gotten a future player great exposure to the speed of AFL football without sacrificing the result.

Not saying that we all have to agree that it's the right approach - but I certainly don't think he was set up not to succeed. The bar for success was getting exposure without destroying the team's chances and he passed with flying colours.

Agree with this, it was as much to keep stucture and allow Lobb to play further up the ground

 

[doggies ftw]

Agree with this, it was as much to keep stucture and allow Lobb to play further up the ground

Yeah I get this point of view, and I’ve been a massive advocate of a tall forward line and keeping ‘structure’ but I think that’s the whole point of a 3 tall fwd line - you can roll one up the ground and still keep 2 fwd of the ball. 3 + 1 seems overkill for mine, we never really need 3 inside 50 at once, and the forward line was a trampoline again with the extra tall.

 

[Dannnnnnnnnn]

Yeah I get this point of view, and I’ve been a massive advocate of a tall forward line and keeping ‘structure’ but I think that’s the whole point of a 3 tall fwd line - you can roll one up the ground and still keep 2 fwd of the ball. 3 + 1 seems overkill for mine, we never really need 3 inside 50 at once, and the forward line was a trampoline again with the extra tall.

To be frank, I wonder how much of it is borne out of just having so few smalls in good form. We aren't marking the ball inside 50 particularly well, so you can add height for more marking prowess or go smaller to lock the ball in and get cleaner air. Aside from Jones, who's playing well, and Weightman, who has been well held, there aren't really a lot of contenders for those roles - let alone ones that are playing well.

I suspect that Khamis/Hannan/West/McComb are all in with a shot of replacing JOD next week with a good performance today.

 

[doggies ftw]

To be frank, I wonder how much of it is borne out of just having so few smalls in good form. We aren't marking the ball inside 50 particularly well, so you can add height for more marking prowess or go smaller to lock the ball in and get cleaner air. Aside from Jones, who's playing well, and Weightman, who has been well held, there aren't really a lot of contenders for those roles - let alone ones that are playing well.

I suspect that Khamis/Hannan/West/McComb are all in with a shot of replacing JOD next week with a good performance today.

Gotta be McNeil for mine, he’s in pretty good form and sort of the ideal no-fuss pressure type we need when the rest of the fwd line are goal kickers. Deserves a full game IMO - but I suspect being sub if one of the above do play well they will leapfrog him into the team.

 

[Nat Fyfe]

His dad did not look happy when he got subbed lol

 

[Dannnnnnnnnn]

Gotta be McNeil for mine, he’s in pretty good form and sort of the ideal no-fuss pressure type we need when the rest of the fwd line are goal kickers. Deserves a full game IMO - but I suspect being sub if one of the above do play well they will leapfrog him into the team.

I've liked his work too but the MC seem less sold. Not sure what the limiting factor is TBH.

 

[Mr. Walker]

I've liked his work too but the MC seem less sold. Not sure what the limiting factor is TBH.

My guess is lack of possessions but who knows. I hope he gets an extended run at it.

 

[dergert]

Thought he kicked that banana in the pocket.

 

[dogwatch]

Thought he kicked that banana in the pocket.

Naah, we were just pleased to see him debut.

 

[The Slitherin' Snake]

You can see he’s got the attributes but he was really put in a position to not succeed last night by the coaching group.

Absolutely spot on... bizarre use of him. I thought when he was forced into the play he did some ok things and am excited for his uture. But the coaches did him no favours tonight

 

[Dazb86]

Hopefully gets used in the right position at some point this year

 

[Philthy1]

Hopefully gets used in the right position at some point this year

As a junior he was primarily an inside mid until he shot up, so what is his right position? 3 VFL games as a HB doesn’t tell us anything

 

[dogwatch]

Hope JJ took him aside to give him a quiet word of advice about not expecting to play in the position he is best at and has been playing all his football in.

“I know it’s weird sh*t mate. It’s just how we do things around here. Just hang in there and one day if you’re lucky the penny might drop for MC. Look, you could even win a Norm Smith Medal and it wouldn’t guarantee you keep your position.”

 

[geoffjennings79]

Hope JJ took him aside to give him a quiet word of advice about not expecting to play in the position he is best at and has been playing all his football in.

“I know it’s weird sh*t mate. It’s just how we do things around here. Just hang in there and one day if you’re lucky the penny might drop for MC. Look, you could even win a Norm Smith Medal and it wouldn’t guarantee you keep your position.”

Are you quoting JJ.... or Mrs JJ?!