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The Swans have, at last, formalised the signing of Paddy McCartin: Paddy's back: Former Saint McCartin signs with Swans (afl.com.au).
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All opinions are not equal. Some are a very great deal more robust, sophisticated, and well supported in logic and argument than others. -Douglas Adams, author (11 Mar 1952-2001)
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I posted this in the off-season thread, so happy for the response to be wherever:
"So, Paddy is now official. As someone who lives outside Sydney these days, and with COVID-travel restrictions, I've never seen him play as a defender. I'm keen to get the view on those who have: what's he actually do well as a defender, and what's his actual weak spots to work on as a defender? (Looking for more than 'he was once a No1 pick', or 'his diabetes', or 'not thump people')."'Delicious' is a fun word to say -
I think this is a fantastic signing and the addition of Ladhams and Paddy takes some of the sting out of losing whatshisname. These guys are a much better fit for our needs. Paddy has the perfect age and experience profile and the versatility to play both ends of the ground. Imagine what an astute recruitment it will prove to be if in a couple of years he and Logan lead the forward line! Equally if he and his brother wind up premiership key backs for us! Sure, he comes with risk - not just injury but I'm worried about brain snaps too. But for such a modest investment we can't lose. I hope this is a win all round - for Paddy and for the club. Hopefully he can realise his potential with us and learn to manage whatever health issues he's dealing with and find some happiness and equilibrium in Sydney and it's relatively more cloistered environment that perhaps he wasn't able to do while at the Saints.All opinions are not equal. Some are a very great deal more robust, sophisticated, and well supported in logic and argument than others. -Douglas Adams, author (11 Mar 1952-2001)Comment
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All opinions are not equal. Some are a very great deal more robust, sophisticated, and well supported in logic and argument than others. -Douglas Adams, author (11 Mar 1952-2001)Comment
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I just draw on his brothers experience of starting as a forward then excelling down back.....and I see no reason Paddy can't do the same. Both have a high footy IQ. As none of us have seen him play as a defender much, answers to your questions may have to come in the future rather than now.Comment
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Can some of the more knowledgeable on here comment that as far as future concussion injuries are concerned , it is better for him to play back rather than forward ?Comment
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I watched him pretty closely in the VFL match against the Suns at Metricon last season. I thought that he read the ball very well, while playing as a loose man. That is, a few times he was further away from the ball drop than other players, but managed to either get there before them to take an intercept mark, or to effect a telling spoil. His spoiling was physically imposing, as well. As in, the players in front certainly felt him arriving at the contest. Perhaps what surprised me most was his kicking. He can effortlessly kick Malceski style darts. The probable downside from then, was that he didn't appear to have a huge tank, but I suspect that would have improved since then.Comment
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He's definitely got physical presence. He has kind of a gruff demeanour too (unlike Tom).All opinions are not equal. Some are a very great deal more robust, sophisticated, and well supported in logic and argument than others. -Douglas Adams, author (11 Mar 1952-2001)Comment
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Hopefully someone on RWO will be able to count the number of times during matches they refer to Paddy as former Saint, Paddy McCartin or variations of such.Comment
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Hmm, interesting question. I just did a quick google search, to see if there were any studies that actually statistically analyzed concussion risk by position. I couldn't find any. Which means either of two things. One: there isn't any, or two; there is, but it was beyond me to find them. Both options are probably just as likely, but if there are any, goswannies is much more likely to know about them than me.
I can make a few semi-educated guesses. I suspect that midfielders have the most concussion risk. Firstly through a numbers thing. That is, concussions are often caused by accidents in contests, so, since midfielders are usually involved in more contests, there should be a slightly higher risk of them being concussed. Also, they're encouraged to not back off when trying to win a contested ball, so that can mean that their heads are in places where they're likely to be whacked. In regards to defenders vs forwards, it's probably much of a muchness. Maybe a forward is more likely to cop a whack to the head, from a defender "making him earn it". Maybe a defender is more likely to get crunched, when filling the space in front of a leading forward. But I suspect that most concussions are caused, by things like accidental head clashes, stray arms in the contest, or falling awkwardly in a marking contest and hitting your head on the way down. And it's probably likely, that the chances of one of those things happening to a forward or a defender are much the same.
So, I guess I'm saying, that I don't really know, but it's probably about even.Comment
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Just what we need down the back, Bloodspirit. Hopefully he will be able to intimidate some monster forwards with his strength- something that no other player in our team has been capable of doing. Ramps comes close but in reality he is giving away too much height so now he should be able to play on opponents near his own size. Gould and our Irish recruit are yet to debut but potentially could also qualify- let’s hope so, as we are bound to have injuries over the season and we will need these guys to step up.Comment
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