Player Watch #11: Luke "Two Dogs" McDonald (Part II) - Steps down from Co-Captaincy for 2025

[Mav]

Driving into oncoming traffic to pwn Chad.


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with my feet on the dash!

 

[DocSholl]

No it isn't.

Our defense is a dog's breakfast but if you see the necessity or the opportunity you have to take it and trust your team mates will back you up and cover for you. Our backline doesn't do that. Its a dog's breakfast.

I agree you can't necessarily trust "goals kicked on" stats but you need to base your judgement on the individual goals.

Suspect that's more because our senior players aren't capable of playing the system being implemented. Luke is a leader out there - if the backline is a "dog's breakfast" then that is largely on him.

 

[the big lebowski]

My criticism has little to do with his defending. Because there is nothing else in the cupboard.

But his inability to execute simple handballs in the first half was eye catching. He also dropped a few easy marks, but had plenty of mates there.

 

[shintemaster]

My criticism has little to do with his defending. Because there is nothing else in the cupboard.

But his inability to execute simple handballs in the first half was eye catching. He also dropped a few easy marks, but had plenty of mates there.

He was bad, particularly when we were in the game which hurts us. Ultimately developing players can have bad games, established players in their prime need to justify their position in more ways than simple list demographics though. I've always been of the view that JZ, Corr, Lmac is way too many of the same type with similar weaknesses, not looking obviously better than JZ on his last legs is not a great look for the co captain though.

 

[TheBuzz]

Luke a few weeks ago on Toby Greene

4

Toby Greene

Age

31

Ht

182cm

Wt

85kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

22.7

5star

K

12.5

5star

HB

10.2

5star

M

4.8

5star

T

3.0

5star

G

1.2

4star

D

17.5

4star

K

9.5

4star

HB

8.0

4star

M

4.8

4star

T

1.0

2star

G

2.3

5star

D

26.6

5star

K

12.4

5star

HB

14.2

5star

M

4.8

5star

T

3.6

5star

G

0.0

1star

was like watching a car crash. I was screaming at the TV to get anyone but him on Toby, then watching the horror show unfold & unable to look away.

Every time I see him line up on an opposition gun small/med forward, its head in hands. Has been a liability for a long time, if we were a big club it would have been exposed long ago but he has flown under the radar.

 

[Johnny99]

He is not fair dinkum.
Not hungry enough to do whatever it takes to improve.
He is just happy to go through the motions, get paid well and retire having played 250 games.
Doesnt hate losing enough....

How long has he been in the system ? 6 or 7 years?
Yet you look at his upper body, and he looks like he has never seen a gym.

He deserves to get dropped and made an example of. But he wont....

That's why this rebuild is moving at snail speed....

 

[shimaburnsgrieg]

Suspect that's more because our senior players aren't capable of playing the system being implemented. Luke is a leader out there - if the backline is a "dog's breakfast" then that is largely on him.

We have LMac and JZ down there plus Corr, BMac and Logue - all experienced campaigners. It is probably the most experienced defence in the AFL! Yet it's a complete balls up re skill, zoning and one on one match ups at all levels (other than BMac who does that well.)

The only bloke who actually performs his role properly is Sheezal - and he has played less than 20 games.

The idea that 'we need experienced guys to show the young guys how to do it '- has been shown to be a complete farce at North. The last thing we need is the older blokes showing the younger blokes anything at all to do with football.

 

[ferball]

Suspect that's more because our senior players aren't capable of playing the system being implemented. Luke is a leader out there - if the backline is a "dog's breakfast" then that is largely on him.

I think its more than that.

Luke is captain but JZ is playing the same role as last year and just stepped down as captain. In his position the last thing he needs is the old captain standing there looking over his shoulder (figuratively even if not literally.) McKay and Logue have a similar thing going on as well.

There are no clear lines of authority on the backline and there should be. This isn't just on Luke either. Its the situation he's in. His authority is limited anyway - he's "co captain" not captain. And even on here people talk about Jy like he's the real captain. That vibe would be everywhere if we can see it.

All of this is added to the shit show of our backline structure since Noble. Clarko hasn't even had the real clear air to implement it. We started well but we went backwards as the media noise around the racism scandal got louder. It was obviously affecting him.

So the dog's breakfast is really on everyone.

But he is the captain so he's the one who needs to take charge and get things under control. And his form isn't great, tho its not as bad as everyone here seems to go on about. Mav has a point about people seeing what they want to see instead of what's there.

Big month coming up for Luke I reckon. It could make or break him as a player and captain.

 

[Gasometer]

…today in the LMac thread

 

[ferball]

Let's not hold the contract against Luke. I might be overestimating our adminstration, although I reckon the last three years he won't be on much.

Also Corr and him were always going to be in a good spot given we have a black hole in our list demographics between Cunnington and Simpkin.



The promising aspect of Perez is that he is strong and can lay a tackle. I do worry he has the same issues with his disposal that lmac has. Run 10m and roost it 50m straight down the ground. Like Luke, he needs to improve his decision making to be effective out of defence.

He's a much better kick than Lmac imo. They're similar players but imo Perez is much silkier when attacking. His kicks look better and more effective when he kicks long. But his short kicking can go horribly wrong. McDonald is scrappier and when he is at his best they would complement each other well. Perez is tough and can compete and tackle but McDonald is more like Archer with that mad attack on the ball. Even now he doesn't deserve the "disgracing the no 11" stuff I've read on here, he's just having a horror run in terms of things not bouncing his way and his form being down.

 

[Gasometer]

And to think Corne Francis on the Sunday FS said to us fans that we shouldn’t accept it

Corne Francis should come in here

 

[shintemaster]

He's a much better kick than Lmac imo. They're similar players but imo Perez is much silkier when attacking. His kicks look better and more effective when he kicks long. But his short kicking can go horribly wrong. McDonald is scrappier and when he is at his best they would complement each other well. Perez is tough and can compete and tackle but McDonald is more like Archer with that mad attack on the ball. Even now he doesn't deserve the "disgracing the no 11" stuff I've read on here, he's just having a horror run in terms of things not bouncing his way and his form being down.

Agree. FWIW Perez looked to have some grunt in him before injury and also coming back via VFL which is good to see. Perez is also much more mobile than LMac. Ultimately I agree on your take, I don't blame Luke for not being the best player in the league - but I also expect changes. He is one of at least 3-4 players in that backline who I wouldn't bank on being there in 18 months. It is up to him to change that with the clubs help.

 

[Lomas]

And to think Corne Francis on the Sunday FS said to us fans that we shouldn’t accept it

Corne Francis should come in here

Are these the same fans who bullied little Jason?

 

[blackshadow]

He needs to be trialed somewhere else.

He might get a game in the VFL if he finds some form.

 

[Psicosis]

My issue with Luke is the same issue I have with all our leaders. They are incapable of executing basic fundamentals. It is unacceptable for leaders to regularly miss basic handballs/kicks/spoils if you want to win games.

We have lost multiple games this year we would have won if they were able to do this.

It is completely inexcusable.

 

[ferball]

Agree. FWIW Perez looked to have some grunt in him before injury and also coming back via VFL which is good to see. Perez is also much more mobile than LMac. Ultimately I agree on your take, I don't blame Luke for not being the best player in the league - but I also expect changes. He is one of at least 3-4 players in that backline who I wouldn't bank on being there in 18 months. It is up to him to change that with the clubs help.

I think he's a bit of a whipping boy ("Derr!!" says the world) so he is viewed thru a skewed lens. His good stuff is worth less and his bad stuff is viewed as worse than it is, altho lately he's been so bad that's not actually true.

All of that is irrelevant tho. He's captain. He needs to take charge. Especially on the back line. He needs to understand the defensive gameplan and make it happen (or direct those that understand it better to make it happen.) Its not happening now and its his responsibility cos he's the captain.

If the backline turns itself around over the next month then he's done well. If not you have to question his position.

 

[Zondor]

McDonald should be dropped. Bottom Line. If it is O.K. to drop Cunnington it is good for McDonald. :stern look

1 goal was kicked on him. Crows kicked 21 goals and 1 of those was kicked on LMac. 1.

And? His game was not "O.K." :stern look

 

[shintemaster]

I think he's a bit of a whipping boy ("Derr!!" says the world) so he is viewed thru a skewed lens. His good stuff is worth less and his bad stuff is viewed as worse than it is, altho lately he's been so bad that's not actually true.

All of that is irrelevant tho. He's captain. He needs to take charge. Especially on the back line. He needs to understand the defensive gameplan and make it happen (or direct those that understand it better to make it happen.) Its not happening now and its his responsibility cos he's the captain.

If the backline turns itself around over the next month then he's done well. If not you have to question his position.

Exactly how I feel. I don't blame him for us losing or the state of the team as a whole, but I do expect him to be a big part of the solution to that problem - or gtfo for somebody else to do so. Prime age senior leaders of the club need to stand and deliver or else make way. I've been on the record for quite a while that I think we - and he amongst other players - would look a lot better with some quality around them. Put 2 good, experienced attacking defenders in there and subtract any 2 of JZ, Lmac, Corr, Bergman and the one or two lucky enough to keep their spot would probably look a lot stronger than they do now. Not every player needs to be a world beater in a good setup, every average player looks worse in a bad one though.

McDonald should be dropped. Bottom Line. If it is O.K. to drop Cunnington it is good for McDonald. :stern look

And? His game was not "O.K." :stern look

Agree on that. Cunnington made way because he was not fit enough and we have midfield runners, backline is struggling big time and replacements are a touch younger but that's not a free pass. Personally I think a lack of change in the backline is hurting everyone. We need to rotate some bodies, even though we are struggling. For mine we looked better with flaws earlier in the year when we had a bit more creativity out of the backline, even though the clangers were worse. Rather go down fighting than die a slow death by a thousand cuts of nothing.

 

[northbergs]

Can we just make him Captain of the twos for the last 3 years of his contract?


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[zoomba23]

Agree. FWIW Perez looked to have some grunt in him before injury and also coming back via VFL which is good to see. Perez is also much more mobile than LMac. Ultimately I agree on your take, I don't blame Luke for not being the best player in the league - but I also expect changes. He is one of at least 3-4 players in that backline who I wouldn't bank on being there in 18 months. It is up to him to change that with the clubs help.

Is Perez much more mobile than LMac? The fact that I haven't watched any VFL in about five weeks is squarely on me, but last time I saw Perez in the seniors, he'd have struggled to outpace my arthritic great aunt. I notice a lot was said about his disposal last week, which is promising, but not much about his physical movement

 

[FootySmartSimpson]

His awareness is horrific. No idea about on coming traffic or what is around.

Put this together with how fumbly he is at the moment and is a recipe for disaster.

If you don't want to drop him at least rest him.

Let this sink in: Lazzaro is cleaner with the ball in hand. In fact I would much rather Lazz playing off HB, at least he applies decent defensive pressure.

 

[DuckYeah]

We can never be taken seriously unless we drop players who have stinky shit performances. We dropped Hall, we dropped Taylor, its time for this guy to be dropped. Captain or not, the hammer must come down on him.

 

[ChopChopDigDig]

He is not fair dinkum.
Not hungry enough to do whatever it takes to improve.
He is just happy to go through the motions, get paid well and retire having played 250 games.
Doesnt hate losing enough....

How long has he been in the system ? 6 or 7 years?
Yet you look at his upper body, and he looks like he has never seen a gym.

He deserves to get dropped and made an example of. But he wont....

That's why this rebuild is moving at snail speed....

That's not true or fair at all.

LMac has a dip, and works his arse off for the club.

Problem is he doesnt have AFL level skills, speed or size. He gets enough of the ball, but butchers it, and is beaten 1:1 by bigger players and beaten in the open by smaller players.

 

[Merlin007]

For me, the most telling moment in that footage is the dropped mark; whatever his attributes or lack of them, Lmac was always a reliable mark, so when that fades, it's a pretty clear sign his game is in a poor place. Co captain or not, you can't have this standard

 

[shintemaster]

For me, the most telling moment in that footage is the dropped mark; whatever his attributes or lack of them, Lmac was always a reliable mark, so when that fades, it's a pretty clear sign his game is in a poor place. Co captain or not, you can't have this standard

Fumbles and getting outbodied aren't great signs either. He is not 18, needs to be stronger over the ball. Needs to stick tackles. This is basic stuff at his age.