Review Dogs 107 defeated Suns 59

[yebiga]

Stringer will hit his most dominant self in 3-4 years 25 possessions and 5 goal games to look forward to - if he could turn it on sooner - well we can win a flag anytime he does.
It is big call but it's entirely in that mans range
Unfair but that is what it is

 

[Yojimbo]

I watched the replay today.
I wouldn't call it a convincing win given GC's injury list (they have almost as many injured as they have available) but a win is a win. I know we have some good players out and that conditions were not conducive to sexy football but we'll need to do better than that to beat the Saints.

As noted elsewhere it was an even performance with not much separating our best 6-8 players. I just want to comment on two of our players, Stringer and Macrae.

These two were taken at picks 5 and 6 in the 2012 draft, both of them being picks that Dalrymple can be proud of. After both impressed for the first couple of years and Macrae finished in the top 3 for the Sutton Medal in his second year, it's been Stringer who has had everyone excited, including me. He had a slashing season in 2015 kicking nearly 60 goals while Macrae slipped back in prominence when the Bont arrived as the new wunderkind and we recruited a 200cm forward who a year earlier was touted as the best No 1 draft pick in 10 years.

I really thought Jake Stringer was going to tear the comp apart this year but he's only starred in maybe 2-3 games all year. At times he has appeared disinterested or unmotivated or ... something, I don't know what. He has shown in short bursts that he has what it takes to be the most damaging player in the competition. And the most exciting.

At times his best form has been shown not up forward but in the midfield, where he has sprinted clear of packs, swatting off fully grown tacklers as if they were mosquitoes. However he goes for lengthy periods in games not doing much. When up forward he seems to think that his main weapons (strength, agility and speed) will do the trick every time, so he aims for getting goals out the back, which were very profitable for him earlier in his career. He doesn't seem to use his nous in other plays, like trying to mark on his chest when he should have arms extended, or using his speed to lead at the ball carrier instead of hovering at the back, or using his considerable leap and bulk to take contested marks.

Is it arrogance? A hangover from his stellar 2015? Team strategy? Lack of application? Fatherhood? A nagging injury? I really don't know. All I know is we are only seeing about 60% of what he's capable of. It worries me.

Meanwhile the Bont has consolidated his early promise and our "million dollar forward" has remained controversial. No need to discuss them here. They are both works in progress and there are dedicated threads elsewhere with thousands of posts in each of them.

All this time Jackson Macrae has continued to play under the radar, including mine. He gets a few desultory pats on the back and a few votes here and there but overall not much commentary, and when there is commentary it's usually about his reluctance to take a shot at goal.

I think he's being undersold here. Against GCS Macrae just kept bobbing up everywhere and I started to pay attention to what he does. He runs all day. He is a link man in so many of our possession and scoring chains. He seldom fumbles. He regularly delivers into the forward 50. He's not just "outside" but can get the ball when the heat is on and apply pressure when we don't have possession. His delivery is usually very sound. He seems to be a thinking and extremely consistent player. He has also applied himself to use his right foot more than he used to, although his first-year trademark sidestep to get onto his left seems to have faded.

A quick look at his stats shows he's 4th on our list for Kicks, first for HBs, 2nd for Disposals, first for Frees For, 4th for CPs, 2nd for Tackles, 6th for marks. For what they are worth he's 2nd in fantasy points but 9th in the CD rankings (whichever you happen to believe in). He's just not flashy or exciting or flamboyant, so he doesn't get much media attention and not even much attention on this board. However I think he's an integral part of our game plan.


I didn't think I'd be saying this but if either player has to miss games through injury, on current form I'd rather it was Stringer than Macrae. I'm hopeful the penny will drop for Stringer at some stage, whatever is required to make that happen. Maybe when his latest child is sleeping through the night, or when he stops thinking about his next contract, or when he ponders in the off-season why 2016 didn't go as well for him as we all expected, or when he gets Crameri and McLean alongside him in the forward line, or when Bev takes him aside for a man-to-man chat. Who knows? I just hope it happens sooner rather than later.

Maybe - just maybe - the week or two off with injury will be enough time for Stringer to work it all out and come back with fire and confidence and he'll produce what he's capable of more often and more consistently.

The careers of these two will always be linked, having been taken with consecutive top 10 picks in the same draft. The ceiling is still much higher for Stringer than for Macrae IMO. It's just that we're getting more value out of the quiet one at the moment. Well done, Jackson!

Maybe Macrae needs a cool nickname.

 

[Northern Dogs]

Maybe Macrae needs a cool nickname.

What about Jack Mack?

 

[Mofra]

The ongoing Lin Jong discussion round #7,894 has been moved to the Lin Jong thread

 

[dogwatch]

Seriously folks, can we take it to the Jong thread please?

It's a valid topic for discussion but it doesn't have to poison every second thread.

If it's in one dedicated thread those of us who have had enough of the tediously repetitive arguments and the barely-disguised baiting can steer a wide berth.

However when it crops up in every match review thread - and numerous other threads as well - it becomes a serious turn-off. I reckon there would be quite a few who have already decided to give BF a break. Before we know it the only active posters left on this board might be those who want to participate in the Jong debate. Will they even notice when everyone else has left the room?

Surely a tiny bit of unilateral self-discipline in this matter is not too much to ask.

 

[dogwatch]

The ongoing Lin Jong discussion round #7,894 has been moved to the Lin Jong thread

Hallelujah!

 

[Mofra]

Seriously folks, can we take it to the Jong thread please?

It's a valid topic for discussion but it doesn't have to poison every second thread.

If it's in one dedicated thread those of us who have had enough of the tediously repetitive arguments and the barely-disguised baiting can steer a wide berth.

However when it crops up in every match review thread - and numerous other threads as well - it becomes a serious turn-off. I reckon there would be quite a few who have already decided to give BF a break. Before we know it the only active posters left on this board might be those who want to participate in the Jong debate. Will they even notice when everyone else has left the room?

Surely a tiny bit of unilateral self-discipline in this matter is not too much to ask.

Way ahead of you

 

[timtamWB]

Way ahead of you

Well roughly 2 minutes ahead of him.

 

[Ant_]

Well roughly 2 minutes ahead of him.

WAY ahead