#12 Mark Baguley

Right, and Champion Data tells us that statistically Collingwood’s midfield is the best ranked one in the comp. It will also tell you Bags went at 92% efficiency on Sunday even tho he had a shocker.

Does this stat include dropped marks? slipping over? fumbles? missed tackles? bad positioning? falling over at the wrong times? does it include the fact he played forward in a lot of those games? poor disposal? I don’t think any of that is factored in so I’m sorry Windy stats can be very misleading. Looking back over his 12 games last year you could argue that 3 to 4 at most, were solid games. People forget him managing only 3 touches for a game, being invisible for entire games resulting in him being dropped and some other mistakes. He looked promising at the end of the year so I hope he can continue that but people trying to tell me he’s a better lockdown defender than any of our other options are kidding themselves. Now if people want him to play as a running back than fair enough, he has potential. Probably what Gleeson has over McKenna right now in terms of that running back spot is that Gleeson is far better overhead. Otherwise as a lockdown player he has a lot to learn.

The thing that surprised me about McKenna is that he is only 20, about to turn 21. Basically the same age as Laverde. Plenty of time for him.

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How did this become the McKenna thread?

Because he’s one of the competitors for the spot Baguley has. So in any discussion of whether Bags should hold his spot, it’s natural to discuss the alternatives.

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Weakness in tackling? Mckenna?

Sorry, yaco, but you’re kidding me.

He is a great tackler - one of the very few players last year to deal properly with Dustin Martin’s “don’t argue” and then nail Martin with a superb tackle that resulted in a free our way…Martin really gets tackled when he throws out the “don’t argue”.

If you want a weak tackler, look no further than Gleeson.

McKenna’s weakness is overhead- he reads the ball well but hasn’t mastered the art of taking a clean grab.

He is also quite good defensively - played a great game late in the year in our win against the Suns with 20+ possessions and 2 goals off a HBF and hisopponent barely touched the ball…in a game we won by 6 points.

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Wrong thread but agree 100%. He is a really promising player who has not had the same base in AFL that most recruits have.
We should be anticipating that he’ll take longer and giving him the benefit of the doubt.

Fair enough, but I don’t think Bags will be replaced yet. I really think he was made to put up with a major mismatch in size on Sunday, but had to be picked because he and McG were earmarked for the Hawk smalls for round 1.

Not saying his form is any good, but Bags was too small for Menzel.

I do like the idea of some speed off half back and think McKenna could be the answer in the medium term there.

Now that we have a more dangerous forward line, if we have backs who can run with the ball and deliver accurately that is going to make the oppositions a lot more accountable which I think should be part of a “the best defence is offence” strategy given the smalls are the ones who are most relied upon for defensive pressure. I am also curious what McNiece can do from this point of view, and I’m sure that is part of the intention for McG too.

I do agree we do need to start succession planning for Bags and the cupboard isn’t overly full of options. I’m thinking Jerrett may have a chance in this role too, given none are looking that solid and he has been showing a little in training.

I don’t mind the idea of one of our small forwards going back either, given there are 3 and this could increase our flexibility according to what evolves during a game. Raz is probably the one who has the most flexibility, but if he is kicking goals it won’t be happening in a hurry.

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I’m very worried about one of the hawks smalls tearing him round 1 but he will play. I think it will look grim for him if he gets taken to the cleaners but let’s back the bloke in and hope he can do a job

One successful tackle doesn’t make a season - I am happy with my assessment of McKenna’s strengths and weaknesses - McKenna is more than adequate in the air,especially for an Irish player - Tackling and effective work in the packs need to be addressed.

Strange that posters worry about the Hawk’s small forwards - They should worry about our small forwards.

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McKenna is the worst at the physical stuff - tackling included - on our list. Which is why I don’t like him as a defender who needs to do anything other than throw caution to the wind and create drive/run and carry. I remember that tackle on Martin, yeah it was good but it was one tackle.

Bags has gone from the Slattery upgrade to the new Slattery in record time.

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Yep. The poor bloke missed half a season and is yet to find his very high standard and has been dropped like a hot spud with barely a chance given.

Am I the only one who doesn’t really rate McKenna?

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our leading goal scorers have all been small forwards in JLT
Fantasia 4 goals v Pies
Begley 4 goals v suns
McDonald-Tipingwuti 4 goals v Cats

It’s great to have blokes kicking a mini bag. We haven’t had that for a while.

That depends on if you’re rating him on what he is now, or what he’ll become. As a 20/21 year old, with limited history of Aussie rules, I’d say he looks like a very good prospect. But he’s nowhere near a certainty, and line ball to be in the team right now.

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[quote=“SCarey, post:1149, topic:472, full:true”]
Fair enough, but I don’t think Bags will be replaced yet. I really think he was made to put up with a major mismatch in size on Sunday, but had to be picked because he and McG were earmarked for the Hawk smalls for round 1.

Not saying his form is any good, but Bags was too small for Menzel.
…[/quote]Sorry, but this sounds like rubbish. If Menzel was such a mismatch and Bags is meant to be preparing for round 1, he’d have been better off playing the VFL game and us playing Dea instead. He got played, he got beaten. Menzel’s size didn’t make him fall over when chasing the ball back to goal.

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Ambrose should have been on menzle but was instead on cockatoo - yeah, go figure