I tend to agree Ivan however I like the flexibility that Green coming in would bring. Picking the 22 for Round 1 is going to be a tough gig for the coaches.
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Green on Rioliā¦ marking, speed, strength
Gleeson vs Breustā¦ marking, height, agility
Dea vs Puopoloā¦ strength, marking
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Green on Rioli?
Tippa on Rioli?
Colyer on rioli?
Il forgive you blitz. Itās Monday. YIKES
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Hahaha yeah 
Surely Wannabe Jnr has to come in.
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I havenāt seen one concerning aspect to his play in any of the three games.
I reckon he looks awesome, and heāll play round 1.
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Bring him in. try to outscore hawthorn, our last 10 years of trying to limit them has barely worked.
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I donāt really care who plays on Rioli, put Draper on him ffs. Rioli will beat ANY defender in the leagueā¦ After all 3 JLT games, we need to limit the supply Rioli and that Hawk forwards see. Especially the clean take aways from the centre clearance. Must beat their midfield, and itās do-able without S.Mitchell, Lewis and Hodge in there.
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Sheeds wouldāve played him Rioli.
Sheeds wouldāve played him on Roughead
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No, knights would have played him on roughead
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I would too. Through him in the deep end, I donāt care if he gets beaten, Rioli will beat anyone so why not just give him the experience. Id even tell him to run off him if he thought the time is right and make Rioli be accountable. Play McGrath on the best small fwds in the comp until (hopefully) bags is back in form. The learning experience will be invaluable.
He strikes me as the sort of kid who wont drop his head when beaten, and it would only drive him try even harder. Thats a lot of the reason he was a number one pick.
I think in time the kid has the ability to shut down dangerous opponents, Rioli, Betts etc, then have them worried about him running the other way. That is every bit as valuable as a 40 possession mid in my book. Take there best small fwd out of the game then damage going the other way. Not many players in the comp can do that.
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Worked for Bolton and Kepler who were top picks as well. Threw them into the deep end at the start as well
And if we really have picked a bloke at #1 to play him in a shutdown role them we really do need to sack either the recruiting staff or the coaching staff because one of them are drunk at the wheel.
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He is ready to go, his a small not a tall. I completely disagree, he has shown enough that he can play at the level, by all means manage his load like we did with Parish and langas last year.
Nothing wrong with a player who can lock down there number one small fwd and make them accountable the otherway. 16 to 20 damaging possessions and a couple of runs down the wing to set up goals. Most attacking backs lack a bit defensively, having a player that can do both is invaluable, and a farking nightmare to play on. I farking despise this mentality that the number one pick has to be a mid or KPP, and I know how many on here disagree with me. I think that is every bit as valuable as an ellite mid. Which he may also become anyway. Where did Wanga start? he is the player that McG reminds me the most of.
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I must admit though, McGrath doesnāt strike me as the player you take at 1. I think he will be a very good player, but was he the best option at 1? Iām not sure. Time will tell
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Great call before he has even played 1 senior game.
I might wait on any sort of judgement, until he has actually played.
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Out of interest, given how insistent you are about the overrating of the importance of midfielders and key forwards, who would you say is the best small/medium lockdown defender in the AFL at the moment, and where would you put him in your overall top player rankings?
This isnāt baiting or anything, I just donāt have a sense of where or how you rank these types of players.
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Rampe is a very, very good player. Heath Shaw in his prime, Hibbo at his best id rate as valuable as anyone in our side, yes including Jobe and Hepp. Pearce Hanley at his best. Most of these players give away a bit in defense for attack though. and none of these players could play on a Rioli or Betts. The ones that I can think of that can are shutdown players (Nick Smith, Bagley) and do little damage running the other way. But still are very valuable. and no I would not pick a Nick Smith or Bagley at one.
I cant think of one player ATM that can lock down the likes of a Betts or Rioli, then be damaging the otherway. This is exactly what could make McG unique and as valuable as any pure mid.
I am not saying he will even be able to do this, he did show a lot of ability to suggest that one day he could though (in the under 18 champs).
One player who I think didnāt get enough recognition last year was Aliir Aliir he has the makings to be a gun. He was missed badly in the GF.
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McNiece had an injury in the week or 2 to the lead up to JLT#1, thus he has only just got back in the last 2 weeks. He may have got a game JLT#1 had he not been injured, but seems to have missed his chance for the time being. It would have been great to see how he went against AFL level small forwards. He is decent one on one, great kick, I think only average pace so not sure he would keep up with Cyril, Bruest or Puopolo, I could be wrong.
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Dea on Breust
Gleeson on Poppy
Baguely on Rioli, and told to not leave his side.
Ambrose on gunston
Hurley on Roughead
Kelly on whoever is resting forward.
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