GC - Andrew McQualter upgraded to senior list

[Legendary]

In fairness to Lyon, he gave him a pretty good run at senior level ... McQualter played every game in 2009 virtually, and ditto in 2010 ... his 2009 year was excellent, and he was a vital cog in the Saints forward pressure & the "press" that we took to a new level ...

Ross Lyon described him internally as the "best 9 possession player in the competition".

He is a smart footballer, and would have been a very worth premiership player for St Kilda in 2009. Good luck to him.

[Zed]

if you could transplant Milera & Saad circa 2012 into the 2009 & 2010 GF teams (For Mini & Eddy), would we now be kicking back with another 2 flags ?

[IluvHarvey]

if you could transplant Milera & Saad circa 2012 into the 2009 & 2010 GF teams (For Mini & Eddy), would we now be kicking back with another 2 flags ?

Don't believe so.

Our game plan was completely different and who knows if Milera and Saad could have played it?

Both Mini and Eddy were used as tie down players.

A fairer comparison would have been for someone like Peake for instance. But who knows?

[Old Mate]

if you could transplant Milera & Saad circa 2012 into the 2009 & 2010 GF teams (For Mini & Eddy), would we now be kicking back with another 2 flags ?

Both would have been defensive forwards averaging 0.5 goals, 5 disposals and 5 tackles per game.

[The Redeemer]

saw some really positive comments on mini by one of his team mates in a recent article.......the guy captained his state at both under 16 and under 18 level.......never saw the best of him under that prick who used to coach us.........seems he burned a lot of careers to further his own......oh well...we have a real attacking coach now......all good....hope mini becomes a really good footballer for the gold coast....

What about GT? GT gave him opportunities or did we just have two prick coaches in a row by pure luck?

[IluvHarvey]

saw some really positive comments on mini by one of his team mates in a recent article.......the guy captained his state at both under 16 and under 18 level.......never saw the best of him under that prick who used to coach us.........seems he burned a lot of careers to further his own......oh well...we have a real attacking coach now......all good....hope mini becomes a really good footballer for the gold coast....

What about GT? GT gave him opportunities or did we just have two prick coaches in a row by pure luck?

Lets not forget that he played under GT for his first 2 seasons. Played only a total of 17 games.

When was the last time we drafted someone straight out of under 18's that played that many games?

We were a strong team in those years and still managed to find his way into our midfield. GT saw him as a midfielder not a defensive forward.

[skeptic]

Ross Lyon described him internally as the "best 9 possession player in the competition".

He didn't say that surely!!!!

To me that just says it all

[Dr Spaceman]

Ross Lyon described him internally as the "best 9 possession player in the competition".

He didn't say that surely!!!!

To me that just says it all

And yet didn't pick him up for Freo

[Hurricane]

I also wish Mini all the best. As has already been said he is a top bloke and while he was never going to be an elite footballer he did a job and I thaught did it quite well.

BANG BANG

[Eastern]

Good luck to Mini.
I really mean that, I'm not just saying it to impress P76

So, Plugger's surname is LEYLAND? The plot thickens

Back on Topic. Good Luck to Mini. He gave his all to our club when he was with us !!

[spert]

He is a talented footballer who would have developed as he matured under a smarter coach than Lyon, who always had the process as the driving force at the expense of player development.

[plugger66]

He is a talented footballer who would have developed as he matured under a smarter coach than Lyon, who always had the process as the driving force at the expense of player development.

Not sure there are too many smarter coaches than RL in the AFL at the moment. Matter of fact are there any.

[Legendary]

Ross Lyon described him internally as the "best 9 possession player in the competition".

He didn't say that surely!!!!

To me that just says it all

http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/s ... 1yb4r.html

I still hold Andrew McQualter (ex-Saint now with Gold Coast) in very high regard for this. Some people may not even know who he is, but I saw 'Mini' on a weekly basis put his body on the line and play a selfless role for our footy club. His pressure on the opposition made the job for us midfielders a little easier.
I still remember our Monday morning review footage showing Mini's highlights. Suffice to say, they were a bit different to Nick Riewoldt and Milney's.
Our coach at the time Ross Lyon would openly say Mini was the best nine-possession player in the game.

McQualter got plenty of opportunities at the Saints, and to a certain extent he took them. In 2009, with Ball and Hayes, did we really need another inside midfielder? Winning contested footy was never our problem ... but forward pressure was ... and he did that brilliantly.

[Megsie]

who cares. He's not a "saint" anymore!

[IluvHarvey]

Clearly quite a few people do!

[BigMart]

3 premiership coaches currently in the AFL

They have bragging rights....Lyon has yet to achieve ultimate success

[plugger66]

Hooked.

[defacto]

i really hope mcqualter does well and secures a spot in the GC side. he is a top bloke and a great example for some of the younger GC players who lack a bit of grunt and hard work. would be a better example than campbell brown.

[satchmo]

Good Luck to Mini. He gave his all to our club when he was with us !!

Yes, good luck to mini ( except of course against us), I'm sure his leadership qualities will stand out like dogs balls up there.

[Bernard Shakey]

Good luck Mini.
Lucky you listened to Ross in'08 and became a tagger.

[saber]

Good luck mini! I can see him flourishing; gameplan is more fluid compared to Lyon, and as a leader of the club, he'll be looked apon to set an example.
Might be worth chucking him into my dreamteam...

[skeptic]

Winning contested footy was never our problem ... but forward pressure was ... and he did that brilliantly.

interesting comment

I wld be inclined to say a few kicks and 5 tackles in a half of a grandfinal after a quiet first half is not that useful... others see it as some kind of super advantage

people frequently say he did his role... that may be true the value we placed in that role has always been a mystery to me

[SainterK]

Winning contested footy was never our problem ... but forward pressure was ... and he did that brilliantly.

interesting comment

I wld be inclined to say a few kicks and 5 tackles in a half of a grandfinal after a quiet first half is not that useful... others see it as some kind of super advantage

people frequently say he did his role... that may be true the value we placed in that role has always been a mystery to me

Haven't watched much of Freo this year, is there a Mini in the forward half?

[Griggsy]

good luck to him. Hopefully gets a better role to play than he did here.

[Winmar]

As others have said, good luck to him. I hope he manages to have a decent career up there.