Put faith in an old man, or hold out for the young buck?

[felsty]

Don't know whether to start J.Mac or roll the dice on Neale in case he is named round 2. What are your thoughts?

[supercoach addict]

Start Jmac.  Pop Neale on the bench as hes still worth picking.

[GlassHarmonium]

isn't neale injured at the moment?

[felsty]

Only until round 2 but I think it could be a bit of a risk hoping he is named for round 2.. Starting to sway slightly to Old Macdonald

[ubeaut]

I wish someone on here knew Sheedys plans for JMac(and others for that matter)Will he play enough games in a row early? Only has to play 9 out of 12 to make enough $$.Surely...

[SydneyRox]

Just to make it more complicated, Neale may play rnd 1.

I would still play Jmac on the field and make sure Neale is named

[meow meow]

Watch McDonald make way for Scully in round 2, and come back in round 12

[Talisman]

I've said it before & seeing him named Rd. 1 only confirms it to me - J Mac is Sheedy's on-field coach, in the same way that Mark Williams is his game-day coach... They are the youngest foundation team ever to debut in the AFL & will need every bit of his experience & maturity - from where to position at stoppages, to encouragement when it gets rough (which it will). Scully has zero of that - in AFL terms, he is still a baby. Ditto Callan Ward & Phil Davis - all should be very good players, non have the experience or nous of McDonald. Chad Cornes is a selfish, selfish man (boy). Lukey Power can help McDonald out in these departments, but doing a hammy at his age isn't encouraging.

Also, why will J Mac automatically get dropped for the return of others? Don't say it's his age - Dustin Fletcher turns 37(!!) in May. Now I'm not saying McDonald is as good as Fletch, merely illustrating the fact that age is not everything. Also, McDonald's last season was more than serviceable (SC ave of 100ppg if I'm not mistaken) & that was starting the season at age 33... Did he forget how to kick overnight? Handball? Tackle?

And finally, James McDonald is fit & has been named - at this stage that's better than every player from 16 clubs... Just food for thought.

[supercoach addict]

Watch McDonald make way for Scully in round 2, and come back in round 12

Extremely unlikely. He wasn't recruited to play in the two's. One of the fringe kids would get dropped for Scully.

[4INAROW]

+1

[FonFatty]

I've said it before & seeing him named Rd. 1 only confirms it to me - J Mac is Sheedy's on-field coach, in the same way that Mark Williams is his game-day coach... They are the youngest foundation team ever to debut in the AFL & will need every bit of his experience & maturity - from where to position at stoppages, to encouragement when it gets rough (which it will). Sculpt has zero of that - in AFL terms, he is still a baby. Ditto Callan Ward & Phil Davis - all should be very good players, non have the experience or nous of McDonald. Chad Cornes is a selfish, selfish man (boy). Lukey Power can help McDonald out in these departments, but doing Jammie at his age isn't encouraging.

Also, why will J Mac automatically get dropped for the return of others? Don't say it's his age - Dustin Fletcher turns 37(!!) in May. Now I'm not saying McDonald is as good as Fletch, merely illustrating the fact that age is not everything. Also, McDonald's last season was more than serviceable (SC ave of 100ppg if I'm not mistaken) & that was starting the season at age 33... Did he forget how to kick overnight? Handball? Tackle?

And finally, James McDonald is fit & has been named - at this stage that's better than every player from 16 clubs... Just food for thought.

I am thinking along the same lines as you, and I am prepared to burn a trade if things turn sour with McDonald. If I dont pick him up now and he plays regularly and scores decently i will end up burning a trade to get him in before he booms in price, so IMO I think I am taking the safe option by starting of with him. More than likely he will play most games in the first half of season as an on field coach.
The only thing that worries me is the red vest, he might be a regular candidate for that.

[Talisman]

I'm not too stressed about the red vest, as there will be a lot of very young players getting very tired quicker than a bloke whose body is accustomed to the rigours of league football. The kids are the ones I worry about when it comes to the red vest...