Yeah but, he’s a better player than most of the other NAB rising stars. I was a huge fan of McClug, but now I’m a McGrath man all the way.
Yes! JoeDan lives!!!
@Bomb_Doe wins, even if he failed to notice (for example) CAS is getting a case of MuMPs and multiple cases of MS.
Be a McGrath man, absolutely, but have balanced realistic expectations. A Grade midfielder is AA calibre. He’s not even had a break out season in the midfield yet, he’s not going to AA calibre in 6mths. Consider how many A grade mids there are in the competition as a whole and think how likely it is that we’ll have 5 of them by middle of the year?
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I was being a little bit silly, but i’d argue that Merrett became an A grade in his 3rd season and McGrath, a number one draft pick & rising star is certainly not a pipe dream. You’d be well advised to take the lid off.
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4th season, AA in 2017.
Yes but i rate his 3rd season just as well. That’s when he went to the top level in my opinion.
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We have 5. Smith, Shiel, Heppell, Zerrett, Zakka.
In 6 months Parish and McGrath…well maybe the saga was a blessing indisguise. But I think you’re right we shouldn’t pushem too hard.
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■■■■ i forgot about Zaka. I know people have mixed opinions on him but gee he was having a blinder last season before Richmond shattered him.
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A grade gets bandished around a lot here. Zaka is no where near it.
I’d say we have 3 genuine A grade mids.
Zerrett, Shiel and Heppell
Parish and McGrath certainly have the ability to get into that echelon
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I don’t think Hep kicks the ball well enough to be A-grade.
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Smith is A Grade, for sure. Best pressure/defensive midfielder in the comp, and still wins his own footy.
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Does a ■■■■ tonne of other stuff that makes him an A grader though.
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Heppell is, Smith is, Zaka not quiet. Obviously everybody has their own definition of what an A Grade player is though. We could split hairs until blue in the face and still not agree.
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Folks get carried away with labels without thinking about them in context. The greatest side of the modern era, the Lions of 2001-04, had 4 A Grade mids (Voss, Black, Lappin, Power) and Aker who played half forward and into the midfield. Geelong’s dominant side of 2007-2011 had 4, Ablett, Bartell, Selwood, Chapman.
When you consider that sort of context you quickly realise we aren’t going to have 5 or 6 A grade mids at any stage this year. and that’s fine, we don’t need to.
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For me, you are A-Grade if you are a genuine shot at making the All Australian side.
Zaharakis isn’t getting to that level in my opinion.
Smith, Shiel, Heppell, Zerrett… I have no problem thinking they are every chance of earning a position in that team this year.
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Dangerfield relegated to B-Grade.
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To add to that… what is really exciting is that the players I’m really looking forward to seeing this year are the 2nd tier players. We have so much young talent sitting in that 2nd tier.
Langford / Parish / McGrath are an abundance of talent just waiting to go boom.
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which is exactly what the internet is for! NOW ■■■■■■■ AGREE WITH ME!!!
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Indeed. If things go well for us it should be a year that we really enjoy watching this side play. We should be about to see some genuine success. And there are a lot of exciting players to get us there. Cannot wait to see what happens in 2019.
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