Past Niall McKeever (2010-2013)

[Lionwest]

A team high 9 spoils not too mention the last qtr effort vs darling. Great game given where he has come from in the last couple of years. Keep it up Niall!

 

[weevil]

I reckon McKeever had his ups and downs today. A terrible spoiling effort on Darling where it was 3 on 1 and a dodgy looping handball or two in the middle of the ground, that said the defence worked really well as a unit and he was part of that so he was definitely doing something right.

One of the handballs was not his fault, he was on the receiving end of a hospital handpass himself; there was nowhere to go and he had to get rid of it instantly.

Reckon he is going along okay, needs more time. If Rodger can become a guy who can play all over the ground then Niall has a shot.

 

[Grimreepah]

Link ....

"Where he touched it on the line was incredible," Polkinghorne said. "Just the effort that late in the game with the quarter going for 38 minutes, it was incredible."

McKeever said he definitely got a touch on the ball but modestly described it as "pretty lucky".

"It was a long run but that's what pre-season is all about," he said.

"[Physical performance manager] Brett Burton has us doing 150m sprints during pre-season so that's what it's all about in the end. It was just a good chase and lucky enough I got there."

 

[Ironmonger]

Did some good things, but still looked a bit lost at times.

Seems like he was brought in specifically to play this game so it'll be interesting to see if he keeps his spot against the Hawks.

 

[Grimreepah]

Lions hail defender after heroic AFL win
Laine Clark
June 4, 2012 - 2:39PM

"The boys acknowledged it at the end which was nice but it was a massive team win," said McKeever on being swamped on fulltime.
"Without that touch it was game over really," Green said.
"It just showed how desperate we were to win it.
"That probably got us up in the end.
"It's gone under the radar. He's an unsung hero, old Niall."
Green dismissed any suggestion that McKeever failed to put a finger on the Darling kick.
"He's a very honest person, a good Irishman," Green smiled.

photo courtesy of Jorgo

 

[Caiphus]

He seems like he has cut the time that it takes for him to go through his kicking motion in half now. His DE% has been pretty good for how ungainly he can look, I think that is why most people seem to get scared when he gets the ball. I don't care how you look if you can get the ball where you want it to go. Nial!

 

[Bucking Beads]

He will only get better. I think he is certainly a mainstay down back for us in the future.

 

[Grimreepah]

Video: Michael Voss

Polks gets the credit. He'll be the one on the back page of the Courier Mail, but also his team mate at the other end, Niall McKeever, with that last lunge on the line that prevented the goal. So certainly some individual heroics there.

photo courtesy of Jorgo

 

[Grimreepah]

McKeever - a true competitor
3:22 PM Thu 07 Jun, 2012

Irishman Niall McKeever might still be relatively raw in terms of his football development, but his competitive instincts are unquestionable.

McKeever will now be hoping to find a more regular spot in the Lions’ backline, which is currently being held together by the likes of Matt Maguire, Joel Patfull, Josh Drummond and Mitch Goby while regular full-back Daniel Merrett plays up forward.

“We’ve got a pretty tight defensive unit, and ‘Goose’ (Maguire) and Joel (Patfull) are going so well,” McKeever said.

“I suppose West Coast played a bit taller, which allowed me to get in the team. But hopefully I can get another game.”

 

[Grimreepah]

Kate Stevens

Wish there was a "chase from 50m and touch the ball on the line" of the year, @nmckeevs would have that one in the bag.

Michael Whiting

@KateStevens35 @nmckeevs A 'one percenter of the year' Kate? Clubs would eat that award up!

 

[POBT]

But the Lions Coach said that it would prove a valuable learning experience for young defender Niall McKeever who was constantly under pressure.

“As coach, you’ve got to put belief in these guys that they can do the job, and also fight back,” Voss said.

Josh Drummond, meanwhile, believed that McKeever didn’t receive sufficient support from his fellow defenders.

“You saw how well Sydney defended as a group against Browny, but we unfortunately weren’t able to get that same support (for Niall),” Drummond said.

Link

It raises an interesting question about whether the individual is at fault or the group. I tend to think that McKeever was well beaten but, given the same match up and perhaps one or two more experienced defenders alongside him, he may have been able to better limit the damage.

 

[Haso]

Lions Get Defensive
11 Jul, 2012
Michael Whiting

"They've (St Kilda) got a lot of dangerous forwards, [so] our plan is to try and stop it a bit more at the source and not let it get inside 50 as much."

Hanley's fellow Irishman Niall McKeever manned Reid last week, and with Matt Maguire facing a fitness test to overcome an elbow injury, is still a chance to stand alongside Riewoldt on Saturday. "We're going to do better on not making the ball come down as good," Hanley said.

"We've put things in play that'll help Niall. I'm sure Niall will get up for the game if he's on Riewoldt.

"He was obviously a bit upset about his performance [against Reid] although he didn't get much help, so he couldn't help it too much.

"He's a very good character, he'll bounce back and he'll come back stronger without doubt."

Looks as though Niall will be selected, and will go to Riewoldt if Maguire fails his fitness test.

 

[Happy_Neale]

"We're going to do better on not making the ball come down as good," Hanley said.

They speak English over there?

 

[Grimreepah]

Premierships:

Hanley = 0
McKeever = 1

 

[Bucking Beads]

McKeever got a fair wrap from the commentators today.

 

[ZoBlitz]

McKeever got a fair wrap from the commentators today.

He was very solid in general. If he can just cut out that one time a game when he gets run down from behind because of his lack of awareness then he'd be a much better player.

 

[ZoBlitz]

So, considering he wasn't in the initial round of delistings I'm guessing that his chances of being elevated to the main list permanently would be pretty reasonable now (seeing as he can't stay on the rookie list).

 

[jackess]

I guess it depends on what the club gets in trade week and what they expect to get in the draft. Niall could at this stage be plan B or C.

 

[chopperduck]

He is and always was a project player, you do tend to give them some extra time because they aren't native to the game. I think he has shown enough to persist with, we don't have a lot of depth for key defenders, and McKeever is ready made to play seniors, so gives us some depth. Still very much a work in progress, but will get promoted you would think. I'd still expect us to use maybe a pick 23 or 30 on another key defender.

 

[Bucking Beads]

We know his body is ready for AFL level it is just a matter of him learning the game a bit more. He is ok one on one with defenders and his fitness for a big guy is boarding on elite. More upside than downside IMO.

 

[Grimreepah]

I thought he went a little bit backwards this year. He was looking a better prospect in 2011.

 

[Haso]

Nial McKeever 2012 End of Season Review
POBT

2011 review

Senior games: 9
Goals: 0
Dreamteam: 390
Supercoach: 477
Club Best and Fairest votes: 5

Image (2012 preseason) courtesy of Mr Ripper

Niall McKeever was retained as an international rookie for 2012 after playing 10 senior games last year as a defender and occasional 2nd ruckman. McKeever had a productive off-season, finishing second in the time trial, a credible effort given he is genuinely of key position height. He looked to have put some weight on although is still underweight as far as key defenders go. Brent Staker's knee injury meant that McKeever was promoted to the senior list before round 1.

McKeever started the season well, having a good day in round 1 against Melbourne which, somewhat surprisingly, earned him a Brownlow vote. In that game, McKeever showed a capacity to get off his opponent and take intercept marks, as well as provide an option coming out of defence. However, McKeever was used sporadically at senior level over the rest of the year. He had a 5 game run in the seniors in the middle of the year where his form could best be described as mixed. He showed some really positive signs in the match against West Coast where he famously got a touch on a goal bound kick after outpacing the West Coast's Jack Darling. However, after young Swans forward Sam Reid kicked a bag on him, McKeever was dropped and played only 1 more senior match for the year.

McKeever finished the season as a key part of the Lions reserves side which won the NEAFL Comp. He showed that he is more than capable of competing at that level. At the time of writing, it was not clear whether he would retain a list spot for 2013 although he was not included in the club's announcement of delisted players.

McKeever remains a project player. He has improved this year but not significantly. This has been a slight disappointment although not totally unexpected given how little football he has played. McKeever's kicking remains ungainly looking but is largely mistake free. He showed an increased willingness to take the game on this year and seemed to understand where to run better than last year. However, he needs to work on his physicality in one on one contests as he was beaten badly on occasion. He is unlikely to get too much stronger given his age (24 at the start of next season) so he will need to develop smarter ways to play on good forwards.

A long term AFL future is not beyond him. But if he survives on the list, next year will be make or break. He will start the season behind 3 seasoned performers in Merrett, Maguire and Patfull and will likely rely on injuries to get a run at senior level. When he gets that chance, he needs to show that he can hold down a key position against AFL quality forwards. If he can, the Lions can afford to take some time in developing the the next cohort of defenders, safe in the knowledge that McKeever "fills the gap" between Merrett and co and generation next.

 

[Grimreepah]

He has improved this year but not significantly.

Agree with most of the preview POBT, but I actually thought he went a bit backwards. Perhaps my judgement is clouded by a change in expectations, but he seemed to lose a bit of game sense, and not have as much influence in games. Last year he was like a bull out of a gate, but this year he was more a deer in the headlights.

 

[Quigley]

He was caught out a few times but overall I thought he did pretty well. He struggled with a couple of match ups and won others. He is still young for a KPD in terms of experience and personally I would rather him then Schoenmakers from the Hawks who made similar mistakes week after week after week. Rance is another one who looked lost a year or two ago but suddenly looks much more confident and competent. I could definately see the same happening with Niall. He is slowly working it out and a jump could be very close. He has the tools to be very solid at the back and I would definately be sticking with him.

 

[POBT]

Agree with most of the preview POBT, but I actually thought he went a bit backwards. Perhaps my judgement is clouded by a change in expectations, but he seemed to lose a bit of game sense, and not have as much influence in games. Last year he was like a bull out of a gate, but this year he was more a deer in the headlights.

I think expectations skews things. I expected more and so I was more disappointed in him this year than last. But, going back over the season, aside from a couple of match ups where was completely out of his depth, he looked more comfortable as a defender in 2012. He was able to influence the play in games, as opposed to performing a very defined, limited role. I don't think modern footy allows a defender to play a one on one game - they need to be able to operate as part of a defensive unit and that requires game sense and the ability to influence contests other than your own. He did that in a few games.

He made large strides forward in 2011 just to play senior footy. He needed to make similarly large stride in 2012 to turn himself into a best 22 player....and he didn't. But I don't agree that he went backwards.