Saturday, February 17, 2007

Andrew Mackie: What to make of thee?

With the 7th overall pick in the 2002 AFL draft, Geelong surprised everybody by selecting an Adelaide schoolboy footballer who had not played in the national under-18 competition, who had not been invited to the pre-draft camp, (where all hopefuls are tested, measured, interviewed and then stared at by Kevin Sheedy) and who was a virtual unknown to the general football public.

The then eighteen year old was selected largely on potential, with the club’s hierarchy telling us all about his football smarts, his athletic capacity and his key-position potential. I thought, ‘they must know what they’re doing, we might have a draft coup here’, but then I remembered this was the same group of people that traded for Brett Spinks. Now, 5 years on, Andrew Mackie is still an unknown commodity.

Indeed, in 5 years, Mackie has produced more questions than answers, with each unanswered question only yielding more questions. Here are but a few:

1. What position does he play? Half-forward most likely, yet at times he has played on a wing and off half-back. When originally drafted I was led to believe he would play deeper in attack. In the VFL he was also used in the midfield at times, perhaps he should be used there more often, the VFL that is, not the midfield.

2. What is he physically best suited to? He’s 6’ 3” but in 5 years of close AFL club supervision, no doubt including dieticians, weight-trainers and various other sports science experts, Mackie still appears ‘junkie’ thin. Perhaps he’s best suited to a catwalk career.

3. What is his skill set best suited to? He was drafted as a forward yet doesn’t seem to possess the timing, explosiveness or goal sense of any true forward. Is he a marking player, a leading player, a running player, a crumbing player, does he do anything well, or a number of things just ok? And, is that enough?

4. Is there really room for him in Geelong’s best 22? Think about the team’s structure, its forward balance and think about Mackie’s lack of development. In 2001 Geelong drafted the then known Jimmy Bartel with the 8th overall pick. In only one more season than Mackie, Bartel has gone on to establish himself as one of Geelong’s, and possibly the leagues, best ‘in-and-under’ midfielders, last season averaging 23 disposals a game and finishing runner-up in Geelong’s Best & Fairest. Can we keep carrying players like Mackie? Surely there’s no room for him on a team already featuring Chas Gardiner, ‘Bobo’ Kelly and Hank Playfair.

5. Has the club wasted a top 10 pick and 5 years? Someone at Geelong must have glimpsed something during a Glenelg schoolboy’s game, and I’m not making a Catholic priest joke here. There must have been some hunch, some spark of potential, to warrant his top ten draft position, his subsequent contract extension and his continual selection ahead other worthy players. Would you rather have Mackie or any of the following players all taken after Mackie in the ’02 draft; Melbourne defender Jared Rivers, running Carlton midfielder Kade Simpson, Port Adelaide goal-kicker and plastic surgery patient Brett Ebert, Kangaroo big man due-for-a-break-out-year Hamish McIntosh, hell, how about Troy or even Adam Selwood?

6. Do we give up on him now? You can’t keep hoping for someone to turn the corner, I mean, eventually he’s got to perform. On the other hand, there’s nothing worse than investing time and money in a player who seems destined to under perform then watch as he flourishes at another club. I call it the ‘I just needed a change of scenery’ law. (And while we’re on the subject a note to Melbourne News media: enough with the feature articles about the redemption of Nick Davis, we get it already.)

Watching him in last weekends intra-club match, and reading the subsequent reports afterwards, I take little heart from the fact he seemed one of the best on ground. And even during this seemingly impressive display he still managed to shank a kick near side after strolling into what seemed a certain goal.

So where does that leave us? Well, someone who is still at the club (I’m guessing Lips) was the person responsible for his drafting and thus will continue to play him in an effort to prove themselves right. One of two things needs to happen now; one, Mackie proves me wrong and has a break-out year, surpassing all expectations and causing Bomber Thompson to give the first ever post-game coaches conference with an erection, or, two, we need a repeat of his late night ‘title holder’ antics. This would guarantee a late night, drunken, violent debacle, otherwise known as ‘the Carlton Captaincy’. The GFC could then consciously cut all ties with him while still looking like good guys for taking the moral high road. A win-win situation. All we need is to get him out nite-clubbing, completely drunk and involved in violence… Of course! I knew there was a reason we kept Steve Johnson.

Thursday, February 01, 2007

Surviving the Game

Thanks to the genius of modern day sports scheduling, just after Australia’s international cricket calendar comes to a close, the AFL pre-season competition begins. As one door closes another door opens, and on February 25th Geelong’s door swings wide frickin’ open and has a brick shoved up against it as the Cats host Richmond on a Sunday arvo at KP.

However, before the comedy styling of a Kingsley-Richardson forward line gets underway, we need to establish some ground rules. That part of the brain that has been dormant all summer, you know, the one that thinks it’s a good idea to start drinking at 9am on a game day, and has sub-consciously come up with a litany of awful, awful things to yell out about Richmond’s newest recruit, needs time to come out of its hibernation naturally. After all, it’s only February, you gotta pace yourself. So take a break from the Aussies pounding whoever bothers to play and study up so as not to be surprised, as I present to you my NAB Cup survival guide, 2007.

Winning doesn’t mean a thing
A lesson we all had to learn the hard way last season. Granted, Mrs. Watson did warn us to keep a lid on things, but I don’t think too many of the players read that particular blog. (And I hope not too many read some of his other, more slanderous efforts. It’s a small town, you know.) Pre-season form rarely translates into form during the season proper; there are just too many variables. In March ‘06, Joel Corey kicked a 9-pointer late in the final quarter to bring the Cats all the way back and reclaim the lead. In May, that’s just another goal, and Adelaide wins the game, which leads me to my second point…

Losing doesn’t mean a thing
West Coast and Sydney were deserved grand finalists in ’06 yet were both out early in the NAB cup. Adelaide, however, probably the third rated side last year, made it all the way to the pre-season Grand Final only to lose a close one. All three teams had excellent years. What does this all mean? I’m not entirely sure as I seem to have lost my point… Wait, oh yeah, the results don’t matter. Win, lose, whatever. Just try and avoid having to play in Echuca or Swan Hill this year; think Telstra Dome has a dodgy surface? Try the Ouyen community reserve, which hasn’t seen rain since Shane Crawford had natural coloured hair.

The skills will be sloppy
I don’t know why this always seems to be the case, but invariably the first weeks of pre-season competition are marred by ugly skill errors. What do these guys do all pre-season, just run up and down sand-dunes, I mean, is there any ball work at all? Compounding this problem is the AFL’s insistence on trialing new and ridiculous rules. What is this, It’s a Knock-Out? Personally I’d like to see several wild boar randomly introduced to the field of play during the 3rd quarter, and a 50m penalty awarded each time a player used the incorrect plural expression “boars”.

The kids will get a run
Especially in the first week. As teams advance, particularly ones in precarious financial situations, more regular team players will be included in the line-up. So when Denis Pagan says he wanted to give Anthony Koutifides a proper hit-out before the season, it means the president said to play him because we need the coin. Personally I can’t wait for a look at the latest bunch of Geelong draftees, plus the inevitable 2nd year player who looks like he spent all summer drinking protein shakes and becoming well acquainted with the skin between his toes, if you know what I mean. Seriously, what are the odds Charlie Gardiner comes out looking like ‘The Ultimate Warrior’? Terry Wallace and Richmond are taking a unique approach by declaring all 22 spots up for grabs and available to the best players over the pre-season; those who reach certain training goals and targets etc. Let’s hope for our sake that somewhere on that pre-requisite list is “part-owner of shitty pub in Geelong”.

An average player will astound
Need I cast your minds back to the Kent of Kingsleys 9 goals against Carlton? The pre-season is littered with competent players destroying younger, inexperienced opponents. Look for another average forward to kick a bag in the first couple of weeks. Some early contenders are; Drew Petrie, Daniel Merret, Toby Thurstans, Troy Simmonds, and of course, The Kent himself. (Note: If this happens to a Geelong player this is not simply a case of good fortune or a bad match up. Said player is the answer to all Geelong’s forward line prayers.)

A veteran will be dealt a devastating injury
As we wait for the remaining body parts to fall off Aaron Hamill and turn to sand, during the pre-season comp another already established player will suffer a serious, possibly season ending injury during a seemingly meaningless NAB cup game. It’s fate. Call it the Luke Darcy rule. The odds on David Neitz simultaneously blowing out both knees while being manned up by an 18-year old rookie have never been shorter.

You will forget all this until your team loses
The ball is bounced and no matter who is out there, or what’s at stake, you just want them to win. It’s inevitable, but that’s alright. Personally I can’t wait, and just talking about the up-coming season with Mrs. Watson over the last couple of weeks has brought my annual, if not misguided, Geelong hopefulness to the surface again. The key is not to look to far ahead though, take it one game at a time. Richmond. February 25. Kent. Outstanding.