Don't you know it's MAGIC

[NMWBloods]

Originally posted by BarneyG
When you have two shot knees, can't do any match practice, and still plays like he does is an outstanding effort......True Champion

Maybe true champions deserve graceful retirements? We'll see how his entire season is.

[Zlatorog]

In the end it will be Magic's decision when he wants to retire. Let's hope he is going on a high.

[Go Swannies]

Magic's goal kicking (and Baz' and Nicky's) is a worry. But they started last season poorly, too (how far to take that analogy for everything??). I watched Magic a lot last night (when the camera wasn't on him) and he was running and tagging and leading hard all night. The most athletic performance I've seen from him all year (and last, and the year before).

Magic is the foil for Baz - when they click their ability to work together really is magical. So it's worth keeping him in there for assists even when his kicking is poor. And MOL's ability to create space is remarkable - in a wheelchair he'd probably be more value to us that anyone we have right now to put in his place.

Ted left the Bombers because he wanted to play forward, didn't he? I presume Ted came up to have a go at filling the gap that Magic's departure would leave. That has to be a long term project . . .

[BarneyG]

Originally posted by Go Swannies
Magic's goal kicking (and Baz' and Nicky's) is a worry. But they started last season poorly, too (how far to take that analogy for everything??). I watched Magic a lot last night (when the camera wasn't on him) and he was running and tagging and leading hard all night. The most athletic performance I've seen from him all year (and last, and the year before).

Magic is the foil for Baz - when they click their ability to work together really is magical. So it's worth keeping him in there for assists even when his kicking is poor. And MOL's ability to create space is remarkable - in a wheelchair he'd probably be more value to us that anyone we have right now to put in his place.

Ted left the Bombers because he wanted to play forward, didn't he? I presume Ted came up to have a go at filling the gap that Magic's departure would leave. That has to be a long term project . . .

Well said/written....

[BarneyG]

Originally posted by NMWBloods
Maybe true champions deserve graceful retirements? We'll see how his entire season is.

Would the same thing be said, if he kicked 4.1???????

[SimonH]

I kept tally on the night, and 1.5 for mine. (There was one that might have been interpreted as touched/rushed on the line, but it was going through for a point anyway, so I credited it to him.) While it's true that he would have tried to pass off one or two of them if he was taking them in the last quarter of the GF, all were gettable and a pretty high proportion were out-and-out easy.

I agree with everything that's been said about his athletic performance, hard working (including crucial tackle that IIRC led to a 3rd-quarter goal), great marking of the low ball etc. But at the end of the day, he's in the team to score goals (or, if he feels like palming them off, to make sure the team scores goals). We cannot carry a key forward who misses more than he kicks in a tight game against a form opponent. Sat night has got to be a one-off for the rest of the year.

Raw numbers of goals and behinds for the team can be misleading. 15.17 wouldn't have been too bad if we took a lot of speculative shots from the 50 metre arc or outside. However, in a game where we created a huge number of quality chances, it was shocking. To dominate the 2nd and (most of) the 3rd in the way that we did, and not have a 5 goal quarter the whole match, was pretty disappointing. It was a continuation of the motif established in the Carlton and Melbourne games, where we don't make the opposition pay enough on the scoreboard during our periods of dominance; which makes for either an artificially close game, or a loss of a game we should have won.

[ROK Lobster]

Originally posted by BarneyG
Would the same thing be said, if he kicked 4.1???????

Isn't the point that he kicked 1.4? Meaning that he's not as valuable a player as he might otherwise be. I daresay that if he kicked 4.1 people would be saying how valuable MOL was because he was still kicking so straight.

[Carolyn]

He had 5 shots at goal. If he had got 5.0, I don't think this thread would even exist at all.

[goswannie14]

Before Saturday night he had kicked 10.1, he's entitled to a bad night occassionally.

[Bleed Red Blood]

Originally posted by SimonH
We cannot carry a key forward who misses more than he kicks in a tight game against a form opponent.

I don't see how we are carrying him. He's still kicked the second most goals in the team this year (Plus many assists)

[Go Swannies]

How does his goal/behind ratio compare to Baz'? I know it's a lot better than Davis'.

[GoBloods]

mol has a degenerative knee injury..meaning the knee will never get better/recover froom the initial injury.this has limited his kicking. where a few seasons ago 50m from goals wasnt beyond him, now it is . his range would now be 40m maximum. i am sure if he plays in a true full forward position for us he will prove his value over the current season and beyond

[ROK Lobster]

Originally posted by Go Swannies
How does his goal/behind ratio compare to Baz'? I know it's a lot better than Davis'.

It should be, he plays out of the goal square.

[NMWBloods]

Originally posted by Go Swannies
How does his goal/behind ratio compare to Baz'? I know it's a lot better than Davis'.

It helps when you kick from 30m rather than 50m.

[Go Swannies]

MOL 10 G: 5 B
Baz 17:8
Nick 5:6

By the way, kicking from 20 metres out didn't help Baz on Saturday night. And Magic seems to spend a lot of time leading up the wings to free the middle up for Baz.