Prior Year recruiting

[FrediKanoute]

On the Drafts Board there has been some discussion about Wiseby's profiles. Interestingly he highly rated Harbrow and had him listed as a good pick up. Now Wiseby's profiles are not without flaws, but I thought it would be interesting to revisit some of his comments re player we have previously drafted:

2001 - Queries Good chance of making it but I have concerns whereas everyone else would call them "definite":

*Power (10) Very cool outside player with absolutely superb left foot. My concern is that he is one sided and a receiver only.

Davidson could be a 100+ gamer because he has all the skills and athleticism and incredible versatility but needs to a 100 minute, 22 week player instead of just a burst player who disappears in between). Could be a Saddington or a Mark Kinnear but it's up to him.

2002 EARLY PICK QUERIES (in draft order) – I wouldn’t be that surprised if they make it but I have concerns whereas many people would label them "definite":

WALSH, Tim (4) [WBD] 6'5" athletic, stylish, versatile, tall. Lacks intensity. Almost universally highly rated and I’d also be really positive about him if I could be sure he would address my concerns re intensity. That’s the “if” though. Won’t be AFL-ready in ’03.

UP AGAINST IT (in draft order) – I’d like to see almost every draftee succeed but these would surprise me

MURPHY, Brad (33) [WBD] 6’1 outside goal-kicking utility. Not clean and kicks don’t hurt.

WIGHT, Cameron (49) [WBD] Skinny ruck project. Improving, but poor decision-maker

VEALE, Lochlan (65) [Haw] 6’3” lion-hearted accountable goer. Improving project but NQR.

2003 Will be TOP SHELF i.e. household names (in draft order):

COONEY, Adam (1) [WBD] 6'1" dynamo match winner. Not flawless but has range of attributes.

Will be AT LEAST GOOD (in draft order):

RAY, Farren (4) [WBD] “Flower Power comes to AFL”. Courageous but unaccountable will of the wisp 6' speedy winger. Despite skinniness, would be in top category if I knew for sure that he could improve his kicking.

2004 Uncategorised

WILLIAMS, Tom (6) [WBD]. Tom is a virtually untested newcomer whose '04 was disrupted by injury. Promises to be special. May be. Went much earlier than the sort of drafting risk I'd be prepared to take. I have excluded Tom from my lists as anyone's assessment of him is based on only about 20 possessions. He has done literally a handful of very special things and is a conscientious, quick learner but I need to see more than a tiny number of cameo flashes before I could feel confident enough to categorise him.

Will be TOP SHELF i.e. household names

GRIFFEN, Ryan (3) [WBD] Complete footballer. My top pick - in a heartbeat.

2005 These players caused me MUCH ANGST in assessing their AFL potential (in draft order) –

HIGGINS, Shaun (11) [WBD] "Read well, get own ball, dispose quickly and usually reliably with good vision". That's good but is it enough? Bottom-age, very highly rated and will certainly play AFL but is not blessed with pace, plays a mainly short game, and is unaccountable. Forced to call, I think he will be a handy player who will play some very good AFL quarters.

UP AGAINST IT (from National & Preseason drafts, in draft order) – I’d like to see every committed draftee succeed but these would surprise me:

ADDISON, Dylan (27) [WBD] Nice size, moves quite well but doesn't impact enough.

Now Wiseby is no recruiter and he's not officially affiliated with a club, but I thought it would be interesting to post his thoughts on some of the guys we have recruited (they were the only ones he mentioned) and compare them to how we see/rate players and what flaws he identifed in them that we now see or not see. Comments??

[Dry Rot]

Interesting read. By all accounts he got Walsh and Power right. Ditto Ray.

[Anja_Nees]

Wiseby gets it right more often than not. I think he's sold Higgins a little short because he hasn't really recognised his goalkicking ability, but it might well turn out that he's never a gun midfielder. He really might just be a clever forward who pinch-hits in the midfield.

I think Wight's decision making has improved a fair bit in his time with us and I think he has a future. Walsh's documented lack of intensity annoyed the crap out of me before he did his knee. Hope he sorts that out but is anyone holding their breath?

Looked at his profiles from this year. I don't think they're all out yet, but the only one I noticed he rated was Harbrow. Thought he was a good pick and should at least be good. No mention of Everitt, Stack, Lynch, O'Shea, or Hill.

[FrediKanoute]

Interesting read. By all accounts he got Walsh and Power right. Ditto Ray.

My take on reading it was that per Wiseby, Clayton has a tendency to select borderline players (Cooney and Griffin aside). He punts a little on guys who have a potential to make it and develop. Ray, Power, Williams as top 10 picks were no certainties (Minson and Faulkner weren't even mentioned). Higgins has question marks which will tell over time whether he can step up into a midfield role. Also interesting I thought was his comments on Wight - poor decision making - I don't think that has changed.

Its not a criticsm of Clayton, b/c I personally think that he has picked some quality players for us, its just interesting that thre is a "type"!

[the Dogs Bollocks]

Interesting. Seems about right on a few. We will have to see what happens over the next few years with some of our selections. Maybe we could this back out at the end of next season and see how it is stacking up.

[FrediKanoute]

Interesting. Seems about right on a few. We will have to see what happens over the next few years with some of our selections. Maybe we could this back out at the end of next season and see how it is stacking up.

A lot of people have criticised Wiseby's comments, but I think the only way to judge them is to wait 3 or 4 seasons to see how they play out.

[Woof]

Pardon my ignorance, but who is Wiseby?

[FrediKanoute]

Pardon my ignorance, but who is Wiseby?

He's a guy who does in depth analysis of potential draftees and typically posts his findings. He's an amatuer, but is well regarded by many people! If u look on the Drafting Board you can find threads about him and his comments on draftees.

[scooter600x]

Pardon my ignorance, but who is Wiseby?

Colin Wiseby writes very detailed and comprehensive (usually 2-3 page) reports on prospective draftees. Like all recruiters, he gets some wrong but the ones I've read have just about all been spot on. They are always a fantastic read when you've just drafted a guy you know nothing about.

Unfortunately some d*ckheads on here gave him plenty of grief (including tracking him down as he uses his real name) so he has stopped posting them here, much to the detriment of real footy lovers.

You can still get bits off 'extreme black and white'.

From memory he thought Brock McLean was no good and some Melbourne supporter(s?) went after him.

[Go_Dogs]

That's pretty low re: hunting him down.

[Doggies05']

Where did you guys get the link to Wisbey's past predictions etc?
I wanna have a look over them.

[scooter600x]

Where did you guys get the link to Wisbey's past predictions etc?
I wanna have a look over them.

I tried to get onto 'extreme black n white' and it told me I didn't have permission. They must have added in some security.

[angry steve]

I`ve followed a lot of this guy`s stuff since the 2000 Draft.
Interestingly before the 2004 Draft his profile on Griffen was ridiculously positive ie. rated him easily the best player of that particular draft (including Franklin, Deledio etc) and higher than anyone since the 2001 Draft (on a par with Hodge and Judd for memory).
(Again) for memory he said something along the lines of that he thought Griff was the closest thing to a "sure thing" he could remember "Pre Draft".
Rated him as almost a certain 300+ gamer/ AFL Champion.
I`ll try and find his full review and will post it here.....

[stefoid]

Wiseby gets it right more often than not. I think he's sold Higgins a little short because he hasn't really recognised his goalkicking ability, but it might well turn out that he's never a gun midfielder. He really might just be a clever forward who pinch-hits in the midfield.


Any potential midfielder that is running towards the 50m arc and you can say 'put down your glasses, this is a goal'? that is an elite player, right there. even if he was purely a reciever, which he most definately isnt, he would be an elite player with that skill. Only a handful of current AFL players can reliably dob one on the run from 50m, and higgins looks like one of them. gamebreakers.

[Dog Town]

He usually does far more detailed reports than those on this thread. A huge shame that he doesn't post them here anymore. If you do a bit of a search then you will find the longer version of Cooney, Walsh, Ray and Griffens profiles. Pretty sure I have posted them myself at some stage.

[scooter600x]

Tim Walsh (Northern Knights)

194+/81 bottom-age right-footer (dual-sided). Style like early Chris Grant.

Bottom-age athletic, stylish versatile tall. So much to offer but very seriously lacking in intensity.

U18 CHF and part-time ruck who can run, jump, catch, kick both feet, and pick-up like a rover ..... but is too often a spectator. Has good character, good ability. If he had half-decent intensity he would be worthy, in a draft like this, of a top 10 pick as many suggest. I’ve seen players conquer a host of weaknesses but I can’t recall too many players turning around a distinct lack of instinctive intensity. Tim’s almost complete lack of intensity scares me to the extent that, for that reason ALONE, I rate him worthy of no higher than a 2nd round pick at best. Some will argue that I’m putting too much emphasis on his intensity but its the one problem he has in which I am not confident of him being able to make sufficient improvement to allow him to fully utilise his otherwise impressive attributes.

As with Johnson, I acknowledge that this puts me out of sync with mainstream thinking. He seems a great kid and certainly has a lot of very appealing attributes and I hope he proves me wrong, but to be honest I would not be in a rush to draft him as a potential key position player. He will definitely get drafted and definitely early. I think that is a shame as I suspect another year of U18s would have helped him learn to take more responsibility during a game and stamp his authority on a game.

I first noticed him in a game against Dandenong last year and I instinctively formed the opinion that “this kid could be anything – he has the lot”. I posted the same on the internet at the time. Subsequently, however, I have become more and more uneasy and disappointed in his continuing lack of intensity.

Broke collarbone early in game 1 of the 2002 U18 Champs and ran out of time to be ready for 2002 finals.

? Athleticism, Mobility:
Has a huge leap, even from a standing start, but particularly when he has a run-up. He’s a bird.
He does move very stylishly – smooth running style, nicely-balanced. Generally looks agile.
Sometimes looks to have quite good pace but occasionally looks a bit slow. I have trouble getting a handle on his pace. I am not sure about his stamina either, despite his athletic appearance. Sometimes he appears to run out of puff (and when he does he can look a bit slowish).

? Marking:
Can take a very big grab, especially over the top. Can mark from in front also but his best is possibly on a lead (his leads are good and tend to be quick, direct and purposeful) or coming from behind. Generally has good hands overhead. Can rise high enough to take a chest mark where others might have to mark it overhead.

? Hands:
Very clean hands generally but exceptional off the carpet for one so tall.

? Disposal:
Is dual-sided.
Is excellent with the hands – quick spotting, quick reaction, sharp decision-making, excellent accurate powerful feeds short or long, clear air or through traffic. As soon as he hears the call, he usually spits it out straight to the caller – even if the caller is not in his line of vision. (Is primarily a right footer but seems to handball mainly with his left?) In general, I would describe his kicking as a mixed bag. I definitely believe it does need work but I am confident it can be improved and that ultimately he can become a reliable kick.
Has nice style kicking on the run. His kicking often looks quite good off the boot but his kicks too often drop short – especially attempted passes less than 30m.
For set kicks, sometimes tends to get too close to man-on-mark or try a too-cute dinky pass off virtually just one step. With some of his set shots for goal, he tends to have a stuttering run-up – almost like a medium-pacer in cricket who runs 20m to the wicket then virtually stops before bowling the ball off virtually one step. (He can look on such occasions almost as if he is kicking off the wrong foot, although he isn’t).
He is also capable of fairly regular pin-point passes and some long kicks. Some of his short passes that drop too short tend to be stabbed.

? Intensity:
Woeful. Often he just doesn't seem to really want to make the ball his own or even go for it – all too often he seems to adopt a wait and see attitude.
If he contests a mark and the ball spills free, he too often just stands there and spectates.
If he is bumped off a contest, he too often just stands there and spectates.
He too often stands back leaving a small team-mate to go in for the ball while he spectates..
If he doesn’t think he will be able to mark the ball he too often just stands there and spectates while an opponent takes the uncontested mark under no pressure.
If he is forced to the ground he too often just stays there and spectates instead of quickly getting back to his feet and involving himself.
He very often fails to commit his body to an awkward marking contest or oncoming pressure.
He will feed to a team-mate but then spectate when he should instead move on to lay a block for the team-mate.
He often doesn’t chase.
In fairness, every so often I get a pleasant surprise. Eg in a trial game, I had been noting (for not the first time that day even) his lack of intensity. Shortly after, he put in a big effort to keep chasing Brennan and throw himself at him and effect the spoil. (However, soon after, he was easily bumped off the ball and he then just stood there).

? Work ethic:
Other than the above, he actually has quite good on-field work ethic in some ways. He always presents as a target for his team-mates. As a CHF, he straightens the team up as they go forward.
Covers a lot of ground.

? Poise under pressure:
When he happens to find himself in traffic or under great pressure or even outnumbered or any combinations of these, he typically shows good poise, evasion skills and traffic management skills generally – he doesn’t panic, he does look for options. He moves very well through traffic. Ironic, and frustratingly so, given his general lack of intensity.
Occasionally he lacks a bit of awareness and seems to think he has more time than he actually does. On these occasions he can be inclined to not know what to do – but he is probably smart enough to get on top of that in time with more experience in games at a predictable tempo.

? Ruckwork:
Can do some part-time ruck work. Some of his hitouts are very well targeted. A fair few are Stynes-like though i.e. where he gets clear purchase but just taps it to his feet thus not giving a team-mate an advantage. Has genuine potential as a 6’5” -ish part-time ruck though.

? Versatility, build:
Handy height (nudging 6’5” and possibly still growing). Only 81kg but is bottom-age and has a frame which should furnish into a really nice footy build.
Has the height for a key and at least adequate enough pace and agility for a wing/flank. Frankly, the latter is where I suspect his AFL future may lie – as a tall, hard-to-match up “HFF” (although most would presumably argue that he is suited to CHF instead). Technically he even has a lot to offer as a “ruckrover” but, unless he can completely turn around his lack of intensity, his traffic management attributes are likely to be more than offset by failure to pressure the opposition when he doesn’t have the ball.

Query:
- Intensity (!!!!!)
- Hard to gauge his physical strength because of the way he currently plays. I’ve no reason to be overly concerned. I just don’t have a handle on it.
- Doesn’t yet take a game by the scruff of the neck. Sometimes threatens to but can then go missing.
- Stamina? Occasionally looks like he is unduly puffed-out. In such circumstances he can look surprisingly slow. I don’t have a handle on whether this is even a pattern or whether I just noticed a couple of random occurrences that don’t mean much. Regardless he is naturally athletic so, at worst, he probably just needs some conditioning.

Some TAC stats:
8 games 2001, 4 2002, so not statistically a great sample for this season. FWIW though, double-digit disposals in only 4 of those 12 games, and nothing over 16. Max marks 6.

Other stuff:
- Son of Geoff Walsh (Kangaroos Football Mgr).
- I think he was also a basketballer until recently when he decided to concentrate on footy

[scooter600x]

Farren Ray (Peel Thunder)

183/75 bottom age left foot (dual-sided) will of the wisp wing.

With his speed, dash, clean hands, ability to find the ball, courage and surprising overhead ability, and at bottom-age and 183cm (although skinny) he is definite AFL but he has flaws to work on. Major concerns are accountability and disposal. Probably top 10. I've got him at 9. Ready year 2.

*STYLE LIKE: wingman version of Wanganeen (or, for older readers, picture Ken Hunter on a wing).

*TRADEMARK:

- Swoop on the ball outside traffic, dart off, run 30, then run out and kick across his body on his (theoretically) non-preferred left foot (though not quite hitting the target).

*SUMMARY ASSESSMENT, RECOMMENDATION:

Definite AFL. Bottom-age 183cm who looks even skinnier than 75kg.

Speed and stamina to burn. Lightning otm & over ground. Compulsive dasher.
Excellent overhead.
Disposal a worry.

Ex soccer player and brings to his footy the dexterity and skills associated with that sport.

He's one of those "inside outsiders" - doesn't tend to sit under packs much. Tends to get a relatively low percentage of his possessions from being initially stationed inside traffic. Instead, he prefers to either receive out wide or swoop in and through the traffic. However he is definitely not outside in the usual sense of the word. Has courage to burn. Takes unbelievable risks to life and limb and doesn't shirk a contest. Tends to be regularly adjacent to play but seldom at the ball per se.

Poor kicking action and poor results from it but gets plenty and shows great dash before during and after. Always accumulates high stats but disposals don't hurt nearly as much as stats suggest. He is very clean but disposal is often dinky or wobbly. Loose kicking style which needs work.

Even though not an accurate kick, with his run he is an 80m player.

Runs on immediately.

Always looks flashy but sometimes doesn't involve himself enough.

He is not accountable to his opponent. Doesn't necessarily play wide of his opponent as such but shows no accountability for his direct opponent either - just gets his own ball, albeit a stack of it. Because Ray's disposals don't hurt as much as they should, an opponent who uses the ball well is capable of hurting the opposition more than Ray from half the disposals that Ray may get. I'm talking mainly disposal there - Ray carries the ball, and usually fairly direct, so often and over so much ground in a game that disposal is only one part, albeit important, of the value of his possessions.

*DISPOSAL, DECISION-MAKING, SMARTS:

- Excellent vision.

- Always seems cool, never panics.

- Decision-making and accuracy need improvement. However, he is very clever. A creative quick thinker.

- Is seriously dual-side although, in general, his kicking is unbalanced, not quite accurate.

- Is he left or is he right? He is theoretically a right footer and everyone I have queried seems adamant he is a right footer. He himself says he is a right footer. However, in every game I saw in '03 (all U18 Champs plus WAFL senior games on tape), he kicked left foot all day except for a relatively few times. In determining which is a player's preferred foot, I usually go on which foot he elects to use for a set kick where he has an equal choice, and in particular a set kick for goal from straight in front. In Ray's case, the latter (from a very select sample) might indicate right foot but the former still indicates left foot. He invariably plays on when he has the chance to take a set kick but almost always play son to his left foot. Frankly, I'm confused - was his right leg injured from July on? I struggle with that as an explanation because it didn't affect his running at any time and he did do some right foot kicks.

- Regardless, he mainly goes long with kicks and mainly runs to the left into space and not straightening up before kicking, regularly kicking when off balance, across his body or around corners, soccer goalie style (as per his background). This narrows his options and chance of accuracy and regularly results in big hang-time. Buckley regularly runs out and kicks across his body or around corners and gets away with it. Few other players can do so regularly though. The problem with kicking "around" is that it very much narrows the margin for error. Such a kick has much more likelihood of accuracy if long rather than short and I believe that is why Buckley can routinely hit a target lace up over 55m but has been much less accurate (especially in his early years) in his short passes. Ray would be well advised to work on this aspect of his kicking.

- Looking at concerns re his kicking styles:-

Left: (Over-stretched, loose). Low take. Bent arms drop. Plants bent & short. Sometimes high release and virtually always double-handed early release, dropping the ball close to his body. Right arm goes up & over across his chest, left arm swings behind or hangs down. Bent plant (right) knee on contact. Sometimes finishes off balance tilting lhs. Regularly kicks across his body.

Right: Sometimes runs out right. Bent arm release. Exaggerated lean back. Left arm goes fwd & right arm gets tucked in. Jump. Sometimes only a 1/2 follow through. Sometimes finishes off-balance 60deg lhs.

- Handballing is also inaccurate. Mainly kicks long and on the run. Part of his problem is that he is on the run a lot and plays on instinctively even when there is no reason to. He occasionally inexplicably squeezes out an awkward left hand feed as if he has no right hand (although he does).

- Is good at plucking then quickly disposing.

*HANDS:

- Ultra clean hands. Just doesn't fumble. Routinely gathers cleanly at top pace and/or under pressure. Collects the spill very cleanly - he really swoops onto traffic, even oncoming traffic.

*OVERHEAD MARKING:

- Is extremely good oh for his size. Surprisingly strong, great leap, judgement. Tends to take his marks jumping straight up and stretching up, often back, instead of in front of face.

*ATHLETICISM, INTENSITY, ETHIC, CONSISTENCY:

- Is lightning quick - initial quick steps then lengthens out nicely, in very much a heel - foot - pushoff action. He has speed in all regards - off the mark, over the first 15, over distance. One of his biggest assets is how quickly he gets to the next play and how quickly he gets away from it, with the ball typically gathered at pace.

- Huge leap, even from a standing start.

- Excellent evasion.

- Runs and runs and runs. Will run hard and far to spoil. Runs hard from play to play.

- Great courage. Keeps eyes on the ball, even at top pace with the flight, or backing back, into danger.

- Except for general lack of accountability to his own opponent, has very good ethic.

*SCI (SCOPE FOR CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT):

- More weight.
- More footy experience (having come from soccer).

*AFL VERSATILITY:

- Probably limited. Is arguably meant to play wing. Could certainly play HFF and FP but you would want to waste his running ability.

*QUERY:

- Accountability
- Disposal

*SOME STATS:

- Stats summary '03 U18 Champs:
Averaged 24 disposals and 4.0 marks in 3 U18 Rep games.
Kicks vs feeds: mainly kicks and mainly on the run. reasonable % feeds tho.
Gets own ball?: definitely. only 15/71TD were HR. 11 hbg.
Kicks long vs short: 25-9.
Kicking accuracy: poor for such a quality player. 13/47 kicks were ineff/clang incl 7 clang.
Handball accuracy: poor for such a quality player. 9/24TD ineff/clang incl 3 clang.
Marking: x for his size. 5/12m were cont (4 in game 3).
Tackles: only 5 tk.
Clearances: n/a (mainly ran in off the wing). 5 incl 2 cbc.
Frees: ok

*OTHER STUFF:

- All Aust TY.
- AIS
- Soccer til 14yo.

[scooter600x]

Adam Cooney (West Adelaide)

186/81 mid age right foot (dual-sided) midfielder / utility.

The real deal in terms of skills and athleticism. Just as good in close as he is at running the lines. Not as failsafe a bet as a Judd or Goddard but a top 3 pick. I have him No.1 despite a concern or two. Ready year 1.

*STYLE LIKE: Judd

*TRADEMARK:

- Charge 10m through traffic, wrest the ball, burst away, a bounce then a long kick.
- Fierce HBG in traffic then quick feed, keeping his feet while being tackled.

*SUMMARY ASSESSMENT, RECOMMENDATION:

- Plays tall, can take a big grab.

- "Impact. player" normally suggest someone who only plays in bursts. Cooney is more than that - hits pack hard, hits ball hard, bursts free from traffic, accelerates quickly.

- One of his main selling points, if not the main one, is that he is extremely difficult to tag. He has the explosive ability to break a game open in just a few minutes but that's only part of it. When Cooney makes a contest he is extremely difficult to stop. And he goes to contest after contest. Any tagger on anyone needs great concentration. Anyone who wants to tag Cooney had better have great pace, good endurance, great physical strength, smarts and be strong overhead. Players with that range of attributes are not normally taggers. Cooney is the type who is not inclined to disappear for 3 quarters and bob up in just a burst. He'll make you work and he'll hurt your team most times he gets it and help his own team most times he gets near it even if he doesn't get it himself. In the '03 U18 Champs he stitched up every opponent, and each was simply trying to tag him - Neville, Rochford, Adams and Richardson, 3 of whom have draft credentials. (I was really looking forward to Cooney versus Dunn, which would have answered a number of questions, but unfortunately Cooney got injured early).

- Usually plays like there is no tomorrow.

- Was a bit all over the place last year. Always showed potential and won SANFL U17 B&F that year but was very raw, inconsistent at the higher level of U18 Champs (although there were excuses). Very good intensity one game, very poor intensity the next. Some great grabs and some surprising fumbles. Some clever stuff and some dumb stuff. Has improved greatly since.

- Very purposeful, no dithering. Impressively, gets bugger-all cheapie possessions. Almost all his gets are hard-ball, many under very great pressure.

- Played SANFL seniors '03 including the GF. Played just about everywhere that day and struggled for 3 qtrs. Started wing on an old hand then went to HBF where IIRC 19yo Sansbury got some goals on him, then kicked two good goals in 3 minutes in the last qtr as a FP. So, yes, he is capable of a bad game but, no, there are not many games at all in which Cooney fails to have an impact at some stage.

*DISPOSAL, DECISION-MAKING, SMARTS:

- Excellent decision-maker, even in close and under great pressure. Gets his own ball and is very clean. Spots well. Quick, reliable decision-maker who can feed quickly but doesn't panic dispose - hangs on as long as it takes to spot an option, even in heavy traffic or while being tackled.

- Does a lot of very clever stuff (tap ons, tap backs, etc).

- Is seriously dual-sided but my only query is occasional inaccuracy (which seems to be typically when under no pressure, so it may be just a concentration / too-casual thing).

- Dangerous around goals, especially running through the 50m.

- Generally feeds well but an occasional tendency towards dinky nothing handballs can let him down.

- Park under ball (a bit forward or behind) at ball ups.

- He gets to the ball quickly and bursts away quickly. I mention that in this section because it is more than a pace/acceleration thing. He is mentally a step ahead of many others with his anticipation and instinctive assessment of pressure, space and options.

- In summary, good vision, poise, smarts and disposal.

*HANDS:

- Very clean in all types of situation

*OVERHEAD MARKING:

- Huge leap.

- Doesn't take as many overhead marks as his reputation might suggest but is strong overhead for 186cm. A big proportion of his marks are big grabs, some very big, some screamers, some courageous, some breathtaking, and this may account for why his overhead ability is always highlighted. Certainly he can take a big grab from any position, any angle, any degree of difficulty and I do describe him as strong overhead. However, eg in 5 games in the last 2 U18 Champs (injured in the 6th) his marking stats were 4, 2, 2, 3, 4 - total 15. Those are handy numbers but Dunn and Sylvia, for example, had virtually as many each from just their last 2 full U18 Champs games. I mention them because all 3 play similar games and take similar marks. Having said all that, I do anticipate that Cooney will justify his overhead reputation once he settles into AFL.

*ATHLETICISM, INTENSITY, ETHIC, CONSISTENCY:

- Most of his key Screening Session results were very disappointing. I don't know how well prepared he was (although he was in SANFL finals at the time) or how stuffed he was, given that the finals robbed him of the chance to freshen up that many others had, but he is way better than that. Certainly his beep test (beat 70% of all other DC/SS attendees) was quite good, albeit a little worse than I believe he is capable of.

- Despite the DC/SS results, has very good pace and good acceleration off the mark. Good athleticism, and endurance. Last year he had very good speed but not the acceleration off the mark to match it. This year he seems much quicker off the mark.

- Huge natural leap.
- Good evasion.

- I was very disappointed with his intensity, balance and accountability last year. I still query his accountability but he has improved markedly in the other two aspects. Still has his moments but much of my concern has dissipated.

- Excellent on-field ethic. Runs hard to present, chases hard, runs on, and does the 1%s including blocking. Attacks ball and man with ferocity. Works as hard when opposition has ball as when his team has it.

- A good tackler but occasionally goes for the macho bump when he should tackle.

- Generally good balance. Usually keeps his feet, rides a bump, shrugs a tackle and is not easily brought down.

- Cat-like recovery.

*SCI (SCOPE FOR CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT):

- High. Has good frame but undefined shape. Is not the hardest worker off field at the moment and has a deplorable skinfold. This suggests he has great SCI if only by shaping his body and getting him fitter. There are other reasons though.

*AFL VERSATILITY:

- A match-winner who is probably suited to AFL wing or onball but could also be used as a run the lines half back or a dangerous playmaker half-forward or pocket. At 186cm and with such a combination of pace, evasion and aerial strength, opposition coaches will find him hard to match up on and Cooney could be even left one out in the goal-square to create such a mismatch.

*QUERY:

- Off-field work ethic.
- Accountability to his opponent.

*SOME STATS:

- Stats summary '03 U18 Champs:
Averaged 19 disposals and 2.3 marks in 3 U18 Rep games.
Kicks vs feeds: mixed but usually even (incl '02). slightly favouring H/B.
Tackles: 6
S.P. clearances: 6 incl 3 cbc & 3 other b/u.
Gets own ball?: Yes. 20/55 TD were HR. 11 HBG
Kicks long vs short: mixed
Kicking accuracy: 5/23 were ineff/clang incl 1 clang
Handball accuracy: 5/32 were ineff
Marking: 7 (incl 4 contested)

*OTHER STUFF:

- All Aust TY.
- All Aust LY.
- AIS
- Won SANFL U17 B&F '02.
- SANFL seniors '03.

[stefoid]

Tim Walsh (Northern Knights)

U18 CHF and part-time ruck who can run, jump, catch, kick both feet, and pick-up like a rover ..... but is too often a spectator. Has good character, good ability. If he had half-decent intensity he would be worthy, in a draft like this, of a top 10 pick as many suggest. I’ve seen players conquer a host of weaknesses but I can’t recall too many players turning around a distinct lack of instinctive intensity. Tim’s almost complete lack of intensity scares me to the extent that, for that reason ALONE, I rate him worthy of no higher than a 2nd round pick at best. Some will argue that I’m putting too much emphasis on his intensity but its the one problem he has in which I am not confident of him being able to make sufficient improvement to allow him to fully utilise his otherwise impressive attributes.



reads like doogs, doesnt it? we have two of these guys now.

eade does not like players who display no intensity. he'll give them a chance, but if they dont perform...

[The Coon Dog]

Thanks for those posts Scooter. Gee, they were pretty accurate I reckon.

[Remember Stanlake]

Maybe we could get this bloke a gig at the club...

[FrediKanoute]

*TRADEMARK:

- Swoop on the ball outside traffic, dart off, run 30, then run out and kick across his body on his (theoretically) non-preferred left foot (though not quite hitting the target).

My favourite bit about Ray :rolleyes: haven't we seen a bit of this!

[Go_Dogs]

Cooney's profile just re-affirms exactly why I'm looking forward to the second half of his season. He seems to be moving freely and building his fitness every week. Going to be a big last half of the year for Adam I think.

[angry steve]

Ryan Griffen (South Adelaide)

187/85 mid-age right foot (has other foot if nec) midfielder / utility

*STYLE LIKE: Buckley

*HURT FACTOR (Offensive/Defensive/Negative):

- High / High / Low.

*TRADEMARK:

- I can't come up with a single trademark, such is his across the board, right play for the moment, flexibility. Any attempt to nominate a trademark would have to include balance, clean hands, poise, smarts and delivery.

*SUMMARY ASSESSMENT, RECOMMENDATION:

- Complete footballer. My top pick - in a heartbeat. A well-built 187cm midfielder who could also play with quality anywhere down the flanks and can play short or tall.

- I think he is the complete package, the consummate modern day footballer. Smart, quick-thinking, excellent disposal, vision and decision-making, good overhead, very clean, very good pace and athleticism, very cool. Is not spectacular but, at Draft time, he presents as good a number one pick as I have seen, at least since 2001. Given my high regard for Judd, Hodge, and Ball, that's really saying something. Not saying he will necessarily be a better player but he will be in their bracket.

Deledio seems locked in as the #1 pick come Draft Day and I hold him in very high regard and acknowledge he is 9 months younger than Griffen. Deledio plays a sexier style (plays a bit taller routinely, carries the ball more, more spectacular, etc) but, despite Deledio's kicking reputation and kicking ability, Griffen is more reliable at this stage. I would put my last dollar on Griffen to hit a target. Both will be quality AFL long-termers but I think Griffen is slightly the more complete package, at least at this stage.

- If you listed all the boxes you'd like to be able to tick in the ideal player, I'd have no box unchecked after doing Griffen. Importantly, everything he is capable of, he is routinely reliable doing, regardless of pressure. Very impressive Hurt Factor in all 3 aspects (Offensive, Defensive, Negative) - possibly the best I've seen, at least in recent years.

- Links well. An unusually high percentage of his possessions at the U18 Champs this year were receives but that is not quite indicative. (See below). He gets plenty of hard ball and is good at and inside stop plays. Good clearer from stop plays.

- Not routinely as spectacular as some but he screams "class". Very balanced and assured in whatever he does. One of the features of his play is his ability to create his own time (see below).

- He's regularly Teflon. Has such a combination of anticipation, quick brain, balance, strength and evasive ability that tackles (on him) regularly fail to stick.

- Is often a "reverse hurt" guy. eg Not only chase and catch an opponent, but strip him, take possession himself, carry it 20m then hit the leading forward on the chest.

- Restricted by rib(?) injury game 2 of U18 Champs. (Played as virtual permanent FF). Also seemed a bit restricted game 3.

- Good form SANFL Reserves then ditto Seniors '04. 8 SANFL seniors games '04 but knee bothered him last few months of '04 so operated on late '04. (Minor). DC came right on top of that, so not at peak at DC.

- Ready year 1. Will be not only a 200 gamer but a gun ... and probably an AFL club captain at an early age.

*DISPOSAL:

- Very reliable, hand or foot, regardless of pressure, and with a high hurt factor. Very rarely does a clanger. Weights his deliveries very well indeed.

- Good mix of kicks to feeds and long kicks to short.

- Quick hands.

- Good depth and power in kicks and feeds.

- "Guided, soft foot" kicking style. Almost "aboriginal" deftness.

- Excellent kick to the lead.

- Right footer but can use his left.

- Opens up play quickly by hand, including accurate look-aways.

- Dangerous and reliable around goals. Is a reliable shot himself but, in particular, he can weight or thread a worm pass to a team mate in the hot spot even when the play initially looks too congested for such a possibility.

*DECISION-MAKING, SMARTS:

- Serious footy smarts. Probably the best decision-maker, regardless of pressure, in the draft. Vision, quick brain, footy smart.

- Excellent poise. Has that routine coolness that top players often have - usually looks in complete control and with plenty of time. The right decision with the right timing

- Exceptional reader of both play and ball. Excellent anticipation and reflexes.

- Knows where to run and, a la Rob Harvey, creates his own time - slips into space quickly and coolly, even when initially under great pressure. That ability to be sharp and creative under pressure allows him to diffuse the pressure and buy himself time. Harvey over the years is as good as anyone I've seen at this. Griffen has those qualities.

- Clever and instinctively creative.

- Links well.

- Excellent traffic management. Good evasion, including side-step.

- Very good body use.

*HANDS:

- Very clean, all levels.

- Good gatherer on the run, even under pressure, and often without breaking stride.

*OVERHEAD MARKING:

- Very reliable overhead. Attacks his marks and can play tall.

- As a midfielder, contested marking is not a huge feature of his game but he is good. You'd back him with real confidence to take at least a 50/50 mark.

*ATHLETICISM:

- Very good pace. Usually doesn't play quick but finds that extra gear whenever needed. I remember seeing him last year and at one stage queried his pace in my notes. A few minutes later he came from nowhere at excellent speed. Very good acceleration off the mark. Very good closing speed.

- Excellent build. Combination of very attractive height, athleticism and strength.

- Good recovery agility.

- Excellent balance. Balance is a feature in much of what he does.

- Deceptively strong. Shrugs tackles, keeps arms free when tackled.

*INTENSITY, ETHIC:

- Good ethic. 1%ers, 2nd efforts, runs on.

- Attacks the man, chases hard, tackles hard and usually effectively. Some very talented players are not big on accountability around the ground. Griffen is. Applies pressure and is prepared to work to do so.

*CONSISTENCY:

- Very consistent. Game-to game and within a game. You can also count on him to rise to the occasion when all around him are falling or at a crunch time in a game.

*AFL VERSATILITY:

- Natural midfielder (in or out) but he could also be a quality performer routinely (not just able to pinch hit) anywhere along the flanks. Won't be exposed if he gets dragged to the last line one-out and, conversely, would expose many opponents if he dragged them to his own goal-square one-out.

*SCI (SCOPE FOR CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT):

- No special factors.

*QUERY:

- Nil

*SOME STATS:

- Stats summary '04 U18 Champs:
Averaged 18 disposals and 1.7 marks in his 3 games. (Best TD 25).
Kicks to feeds: 34-21 (1.6:1).
Kicks long vs short: 16-11 (1.5:1).
Kicking accuracy: 5/34 ineffective incl 0 clangers.
Handball accuracy: 3/21 ineffective incl 0 clangers.
Total accuracy: 8/55 ineffective incl 0 clangers.
Gets own ball?: 31/55TD were HR. 8 HBG.
S.P. clearances: 5 incl 1 BU incl 0 CBC.
Tackles: 7
Marking: 2 of 5 were contested.

- Stats summary '03 U18 Champs:
Kicks vs feeds: slight favouring kick. 32-20
Tackles: 7
S.P. clearances: 12 incl 3 cbc & 3 other b/u.
Gets own ball?: Yes. 14/52 TD were HR. 6 HBG
Kicks long vs short: even
Kicking accuracy: 7 (5 in one game) / 32 were ineff/clang incl 3 clang
Handball accuracy: 3/20 were ineff
Marking: 8 (incl 0 contested)

*OTHER STUFF:

- All Aust TY.
- AIS
- Restricted by rib(?) injury game 2 of '04 U18 Champs. (Played as virtual permanent FF). Also seemed a bit restricted game 3?.
- 8 seniors games '04 but knee bothered him last few months of '04 so operated on late '04. (Minor). DC came right on top of that, so not at peak at DC.
- Good form SANFL Reserves then ditto Seniors '04.

[#1 Dogs Fan]

Actually very interesting read to be honest.

He said some great stuff but i would have liked a full in depth detail on Cooney to see how accurate he is but neither less that was pretty good.:thumbsu:

[shammersting]

I wonder for Cameron Faulkner if he said he was the next Andrew McCleod?

[ErnieSigley]

I wonder for Cameron Faulkner if he said he was the next Andrew McCleod?

It was possibly the Adelaide recruiting manager Fantasia.

[divvydan]

Actually very interesting read to be honest.

He said some great stuff but i would have liked a full in depth detail on Cooney to see how accurate he is but neither less that was pretty good.:thumbsu:

Check out scooter's post #18 on this thread for full in depth detail on Cooney.

[Go_Dogs]

Any chance we could get some others posted up too - I'd be interested to see the rest for our players if they're available.

[#1 Dogs Fan]

Check out scooter's post #18 on this thread for full in depth detail on Cooney.

Yep just had a read thanks

[scooter600x]

Any chance we could get some others posted up too - I'd be interested to see the rest for our players if they're available.

Not too many others are available. Higgins might be but it's not complimentary - too slow, no accountability from memory.