McEVOY has a long way to go...

[WinnersOnly]

Gees KRUEZER gave him a mega touch up tonight. McEVOY didn't look like getting his hands on the ball. He even looked a bit timid in the rucking duels and didn't fight hard enough for that winning position.

Hopefully he learns from this and finds that bit extra next time around...

[Devilhead]

yeah was beaten in the ruck duels but he got a few handy touches around the ground

Still only 19 and has only played a few games but he is a big unit and he needs to be more aggresive in the ruck contests - at times he looked more worried about the other ruckman rather than going the ball

good experience though and he will only improve

[Munga]

In the first or second qtr when he had the ball, he danced through about three or four blues, sign of things to come hopefully

[doggerel]

Thought he was not too bad at al for this stage of his development.

[Buckets]

How many games has the boy played????? Gee lay off the kid! Give more time and he well get better!
Ruckman take longer to develop then other position players!

[saintsrus]

Banana Kruiser was a number on pick ffs, hes one out of the block. I remember his first game he was awesome, Give mac a chance, just not as talented

[Bernard Shakey]

Mac's got 3 more games before King's back.

Richmond, Geelong and West Coast. Will be a steep learning curve, but that's what the game's all about.

[Enrico_Misso]

I thought Mac was OK tonight.
Very pleased he is getting some games whilst the big boys rotate suspensions.
Will only improve.

[desertsaint]

he needs to be more aggresive in the ruck contests

yep!

[linz]

He can aspire to having the same talent as Kreuzer at ultimate development. At the moment he has a way to go. I'm not being critical (just stating facts!!)

[Legendary]

Was aggressive in some contests, held back in others.


Anyone who saw Dean Cox's first 20 games would have said he was one of the worst footballers to pull on an AFL jumper.

He is now one of the best ruckman ever.


Impossible to judge McEvoy this early ... has showed some signs but still a couple of years away.

[kaos theory]

Gees KRUEZER gave him a mega touch up tonight. McEVOY didn't look like getting his hands on the ball. He even looked a bit timid in the rucking duels and didn't fight hard enough for that winning position.

Hopefully he learns from this and finds that bit extra next time around...

RL made the point that mcevoy's game wasn't up to standard, and he should learn from that....

We missed King today...

[saintsRrising]

Mac's got 3 more games before King's back.

Richmond, Geelong and West Coast. Will be a steep learning curve, but that's what the game's all about.

I would not bet on that.

[mad saint guy]

McEvoy is a player who will take time (meaning 3 or 4 years) to build up physically, have an agressive mentality drilled into him and learn the finer points of being a ruckman. Only then will he have the ability and confidence to realise his potential. At the moment he's just getting a taste of AFL footy and getting a good lesson on what is required in the future.

[bjmel1]

I think Ben might be dropped. Started really well in the 1st and 2nd quarter and then just stopped. The reason why I think he will be dropped because at 1 of the last 2 centre bounces after goals (can't remember which one) when Gardiner was off, Goddard actually contested the hitout and we won the clearance.

[saintly_safes]

He was towelled up but thats a learning kerb & with more game time he will get better. He has only played a handful of games & I havent been a huge Big Mac fan but hes been thrown to the wolves a bit ,lets just see if he can fight them off

[Moccha]

He wasn't much chop, certainly not aggressive enough and looks too slow. But who do you bring in, Stanley?

[perfectionist]

Was aggressive in some contests, held back in others...Anyone who saw Dean Cox's first 20 games would have said he was one of the worst footballers to pull on an AFL jumper...He is now one of the best ruckman ever...Impossible to judge McEvoy this early ... has showed some signs but still a couple of years away.

Yep. I actually thought it was his best game so far. We have no choice but to play him. Hopefully what we think should take years might happen a little earlier, especially the mental side. He still has a lot of physical maturing as a ruckman to go to match it with the best and that will take two or three hard pre seasons. It simply can't be hurried. But a good contribution tonight I thought.

[SaintWal]

I look at the positives.

His positioning in ruck contests has improved dramatically since last year

He gives a lot more than King around the grounds

And that move he did in the first quarter for a big man was super impressive.

Lots of upside

When you think that he and Stanley, who IMO could be anything, will be rucking for us in tandem in the years to come it all looks good

[SuperSaint]

He wasn't much chop, certainly not aggressive enough and looks too slow. But who do you bring in, Stanley?

From what I have seen already in Sandy games, Stanley has significantly more "raw" upside to what McEvoy has shown to date. I also think McEvoy lumbers too much and his ground coverage is poor. Lately Stanley's ground coverage to get to a contest has been a lot better. This Stanley kid really excites me. Unfortunately nothing I have seen of McEvoy to date does the same for me.

[SuperSaint]

I look at the positives.

His positioning in ruck contests has improved dramatically since last year

He gives a lot more than King around the grounds

And that move he did in the first quarter for a big man was super impressive.

Lots of upside

When you think that he and Stanley, who IMO could be anything, will be rucking for us in tandem in the years to come it all looks good

SaintWal, I hope you are right mate in time but I don't quite see him as better than King around the grounds yet. King is significantly better at this point in time and Stanley has shown more raw talent to date for me.

[bigcarl]

ross has already said that if ben isn't ready he'll look at other options.

he might be tempted to go for an experienced mobile type such as blake or goose as second ruck while kingy is suspended.

stanley is an exciting prospect, but might not be considered ready.

[SaintDebi]

I think he's doing enough to warrant being given a fair go. Its good for him to get some testing game time. I can't think of anyone else ready to step into the role who wouldn't be more than an experiment.
Hopefully when King gets back we can keep both him and Gards fit for the rest of the season, but if not we need a third ruckman who can step up with a bit of experience and game time lf needed at the tail end of the season.

[bergholt]

I think Ben might be dropped. Started really well in the 1st and 2nd quarter and then just stopped. The reason why I think he will be dropped because at 1 of the last 2 centre bounces after goals (can't remember which one) when Gardiner was off, Goddard actually contested the hitout and we won the clearance.

yep, he did, and looked better than mcevoy.

look, let's be honest, mcevoy was pretty ineffective last night. this is undeniable.

also undeniable is that he's young and has very little experience, so has a lot of improvement left in him.

but given that ross actually said before the game that mcevoy won't necessarily play all four games while king is out, i wouldn't be surprised if he gets dropped. there are plenty of other options - at the moment, i'd rather kosi/blake/bj rotating through the second ruck, and another midfielder taking mcevoy's spot to give us more run.

[bobmurray]

I've got my fingers crossed that Barry McEvoy eventually cuts the mustard.What will be interesting is watching to see if Stanley passes him along the way,or McGrath for that matter......