McQualter goes for next draw

[LTN16]

McQualter goes for next draw
Sunday Herald Sun


Second time around: Former Saint Andrew McQualter.

THERE is no sense of fairness to the brutal rhythms of AFL football.

Six months after St Kilda midfielder Andrew McQualter started his third AFL season as a youngster on the rise, he was discarded as unwanted.

It took one mediocre season for the former Vic Country captain and number 17 draft pick of 2004 to be cast aside, despite the 21-year-old having another season to run on a two-year deal.

McQualter admits he failed to make ground as expected this year but was shocked to be let go by coach Ross Lyon.

Now he is determined to find a new home where he can harness the talent he undoubtedly possesses.

McQualter will nominate for the national and pre-season drafts, and is young enough to be rookie-listed by a club looking for midfield depth.

"I am very hopeful. I still think I have plenty to offer AFL footy, so hopefully I get another chance somewhere else," he said.

"It was a bit frustrating that I wasn't able to see out the contract, but hopefully I will get another spot and we can go from there."

McQualter has been training daily while living back in Traralgon with his parents and on Friday started a stint with Hawthorn.

If overlooked he is determined to thrive in the VFL to thrust his name forward.

A hard, inside midfielder, McQualter added bulk to his frame this pre-season to carry out tagging jobs but admits his season never got going.

"At the start of last season I tried to put on weight and, unfortunately, got a little bit too heavy. The first two years I had improved both times and the third year I just stagnated," he said.

"(Lyon) called me in. He was very honest and up-front and said, 'We don't see a spot in our team for you, so we are better off trying to give you a chance to go somewhere else'. I am not dirty at all.

"There have been plenty of cases when people have made it at a later age. Brett Kirk is a good example. He only started at 21 and has won two best-and-fairests. You have to stay positive and see what happens."

http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/footy/ ... 42,00.html

[Spinner]

I believe that it was a massive mistake to delist McQualter.

And actually hope he gets a chance to prove that with another team.

[Oh When the Saints]

Terrific bloke.

Hope he can make it elsewhere.

But I think it was the right call by Ross.

[Armoooo]

I would like it if he went on to be serviceable for another club but I don't see that happening, the guy only showed brief glimpses of what he is capable of and in this game potential can only get you so far....

[claystreet]

I was surprised he was still on our list so late
he wasnt going to cut it imho
Also i believe there are also some players who can think themselfs
lucky they wern't cut also

[evertonfc]

...yet RL sees a spot on the list for Clinton Jones?

McQ isn't a star, but he could contribute something and had plenty of room for improvement once he gets his body right.

I can't say the same thing for the Jones. He'll be 24 by the time next season starts. He'll be 25 the year after. Unless you're Andrew Thompson or Brett Kirk, improvement doesn't occur here.

Not a good example of list maximising every spot on your list IMO.

I use the same example of keeping Ferguson instead of Watts, when we're overflowing with running defenders - throw in Goddard's return and Dempster as well for 2008 to the 5-6 existing players - and yet we have just three players who can play KPP forward, with one of them (Allen) having never played an AFL game.

The only saving grace is that we are perhaps talking about perhaps two of the bottom four spots on our list.

Still, we need to work harder to make every spot count, and I'm not sure we've done that. A little disconcerting.

[spiral2]

McQ isn't a star, but he could contribute something and had plenty of room for improvement once he gets his body right.

totally agree evertonfc, was never going to be a dal santo but thought he had the potential to be a good second line midfielder and could have set up more dynamic/damaging players.
he was getting a bit of a knack for sneaking forward and for setting up forwards with little harvey style dink kicks. just seemed to lose his way this year, seemed to lose faith in his own ability and also seemed to lose some desire. hard to believe it was just a body issue, but it would have all tied in with his confidence probs.

hope Mini gets a go with another club, definitely has the ability to become a handy second stringer. good luck mini!

[Spinner]

...yet RL sees a spot on the list for Clinton Jones?

McQ isn't a star, but he could contribute something and had plenty of room for improvement once he gets his body right.

I can't say the same thing for the Jones. He'll be 24 by the time next season starts. He'll be 25 the year after. Unless you're Andrew Thompson or Brett Kirk, improvement doesn't occur here.

Not a good example of list maximising every spot on your list IMO.

I use the same example of keeping Ferguson instead of Watts, when we're overflowing with running defenders - throw in Goddard's return and Dempster as well for 2008 to the 5-6 existing players - and yet we have just three players who can play KPP forward, with one of them (Allen) having never played an AFL game.

The only saving grace is that we are perhaps talking about perhaps two of the bottom four spots on our list.

Still, we need to work harder to make every spot count, and I'm not sure we've done that. A little disconcerting.

Exactly...

...Do you sense that RL is just trying to put his craft on the list with players like C Jones....rather than just stick with the best players available.

[claystreet]

Also i believe there are also some players who can think themselfs
lucky they wern't cut also

C Jones comes to mind cant quite get my head around
him being retained and Gwilt was very lucky to stay,
i would have rathered Watts for another season and given him a chance
than some of the others left on the list

[n1ck]

Agree with Spinner and everton.

Mini was very unlucky to get the chop, I hope he gets picked up and shows everyone what hes capable of... except against us

[Armoooo]

Also i believe there are also some players who can think themselfs
lucky they wern't cut also

C Jones comes to mind cant quite get my head around
him being retained and Gwilt was very lucky to stay,
i would have rathered Watts for another season and given him a chance
than some of the others left on the list

Personally I am very happy to keep Gwilt on the list, IMO he is more than good enough to be a depth player that only plays 4-5 games a season depending on injuries, IMO he stepped up when he was need and while he was no superstar he did all that could be expected of him and then a little bit more, I think everyone expects too much from him because of that final against Adelaide but I think people just need to accept him for what he is, a mediocre player who is good enough for back up but little more and just need to appreciate the good memories he did give us that on game....

[claystreet]

4 or 5 games of mediocrity just dont cut it at this level,
memories are just that and 1 game is all i can remember if being honest,

I just think Watts was worth another pre season but that all water under
the bridge

[Eastern]

Suggesting who does or doesn't get cut is always good fun for us fans. Where most of our arguements fall down is that we don't have intimate knowledge of the club's drafting strategies going forward.

Having said that, I will watch mini's career with interest, wherever it takes him !!

[evertonfc]

Where most of our arguements fall down is that we don't have intimate knowledge of the club's drafting strategies going forward.

I agree.

Questioning INGSOC is just silly; how could outer party members have a clue what is going on? And how dare they have an opinion?

Take them to the Ministry of Love, I say. This forum has been a bit doubleplusungood lately.

[Dan Warna]

the proof will be in the pudding, if he gets drafted and tears it through = we made a bad, if he doesn't get another go, then we made the right decision.

i think the worst decisions were under Timmid

concur about CJ, the only thing in his favour while he was the WORST player in the seniors in 07, his form in springvale came with glowing reports in the local press.

[dcstkfc]

evertonfc wrote:

He'll be 24 by the time next season starts. He'll be 25 the year after.

how insightful

[saintsRrising]

The common thread in many of the guys who have been delisted is that they were not fully committed to be successful at AFL football in 2007......


Mini was deslisted most likely in large part due to this....


Whether Mini LATER pulls his finger out is irrelevant....as he was not prepared to give his all at the Saints....and that is all that matters.

To succeed in sport at the highest levela player himself has to have the hunger....and Mini, Watts and Brooks all did not exhibit it in their time with us in 2007.


For Minis sake I hope he can get his act together and deliver on the talent that he has.

[evertonfc]

concur about CJ, the only thing in his favour while he was the WORST player in the seniors in 07, his form in springvale came with glowing reports in the local press.

Clinton Jones reminds me a lot of Ali Dia.

evertonfc wrote:

He'll be 24 by the time next season starts. He'll be 25 the year after.

how insightful

Cheers for logging tonight, dcstkfc. Good to see people still coming on in the off-season.

The point is this: people say how he's 23. Well, by next season he'll be 24. The season after (when you might expect, as a third-year player, he could have a real impact), he'll be 25.

I just can't fathom how the bloke will improve the requisite amount to be a quality AFL player in that amount of time. Unless he makes massive strides next year, I should expect he'll be cut quicker than Nick Stone.

Although RL actually promoted him rather than delisting him, so anything is possible, I suppose.

[Spinner]

the proof will be in the pudding, if he gets drafted and tears it through = we made a bad, if he doesn't get another go, then we made the right decision.

i think the worst decisions were under Timmid

concur about CJ, the only thing in his favour while he was the WORST player in the seniors in 07, his form in springvale came with glowing reports in the local press.

Wrong Dan....We only find out if we made the right decision if he gets picked up by another team...and then goes on to star/fall.

If he dosnt get picked up, there is no way of knowing what he might of done, or what he was capable of.

[jill]

Until his shoulder injury, CJ was an exciting, enthusiastic contributor!! Would rather have had him out there than more "gifted" players who lacked heart/dedication! eg Brooks.

[evertonfc]

Until his shoulder injury, CJ was an exciting, enthusiastic contributor!!

I'm sure he was excited to be wearing a St Kilda jumper, but we were losing lumps of hair every time he was given game time.

I'm sure he's a lovely, charming man, too. But that doesn't make him a good footballer. There are plenty of jobs out there he could perform; like Joshua Kitchen, maybe being an AFL footballer isn't his calling.

the proof will be in the pudding, if he gets drafted and tears it through = we made a bad, if he doesn't get another go, then we made the right decision.

i think the worst decisions were under Timmid

concur about CJ, the only thing in his favour while he was the WORST player in the seniors in 07, his form in springvale came with glowing reports in the local press.

Wrong Dan....We only find out if we made the right decision if he gets picked up by another team...and then goes on to star/fall.

If he dosnt get picked up, there is no way of knowing what he might of done, or what he was capable of.

Spot on. If he doesn't get picked up, we'll never know.

If he does, we might have a better idea.

[Teflon]

...yet RL sees a spot on the list for Clinton Jones?

Yet again you demonstrate the often simplistic views seen at times...

Jones is no star. Mqualter is no star. Both have the ability to be good honest players. 1 slots into a side in desperate need of some run (Jones......for your benefit) the other is 2ft 10, runs like a snail and cant kick over a jam tin (or greater than 30)....

Its called horses for courses - as Lyon told him upfront -
"there no spot for YOU in the side".....that doesnt mean Mqualter is finished at AFL level what it means is he doesnt posess the capabilities required right now at St Kilda - Jones has some of these. And yes I know Jones is not Judd but I also know early last season he gave us some good dash AND some added pressure on opposition players purely through his pace and ability to get where the ball is often enough (and his kicking is not as bad as Andrew Thompsons was IMHO...and he did allright).

Good luck to mini but its time he moved on. AND if Gwilt does little this year cya later next year for him also....along with some higher profile names for mine...its time to get real about our list...as Ross has started and has been neglected for to long.

[evertonfc]

...yet RL sees a spot on the list for Clinton Jones?

Yet again you demonstrate the often simplistic views seen at times...

Jones is no star. Mqualter is no star. Both have the ability to be good honest players. 1 slots into a side in desperate need of some run (Jones......for your benefit) the other is 2ft 10, runs like a snail and cant kick over a jam tin (or greater than 30)....

Uh huh. That all pales into insignificance when you remember that Jones cannot actually kick, isn't actually all that quick, and has trouble reading the play. His tackling looks ok because he's usually second to the ball.

McQualter's not a long kick, but hey, neither is Harvey. Plenty of room for a kid who blitzed it as a junior and was sorting out a few issues with his body and is starting to enter what should have been his best development years.

As for Jones, given all the above...I'd give him a chance if he was 18. But he's not, it's as simple as that.

[CURLY]

[



[

Uh huh. That all pales into insignificance when you remember that Jones cannot actually kick, isn't actually all that quick, and has trouble reading the play. His tackling looks ok because he's usually second to the ball.

McQualter's not a long kick, but hey, neither is Harvey. Plenty of room for a kid who blitzed it as a junior and was sorting out a few issues with his body and is starting to enter what should have been his best development years.

As for Jones, given all the above...I'd give him a chance if he was 18. But he's not, it's as simple as that.[/quote]

Why would you say Jones isnt quick he may not be a lot of things but hes defanatly quick.

The point about Harvey not be a long may be slightly true but Harvs carries the ball at good pace more often than not,Mini hasnt got the pace or nous to carry the ball and seems almost stagnat when he gains possesion. Mini may have been an outstanding junior and had all the credentials to play AFL but theres a massive list of champion junior footballers that have never gone on with at all levels of football.

[rodgerfox]

The common thread in many of the guys who have been delisted is that they were not fully committed to be successful at AFL football in 2007......

Mini was deslisted most likely in large part due to this....

Really?

Is this a fact, or an outsiders opinion?

My mail is that his de-listing was because he is no good, and infact his attitude is what got him to AFL level.