AFL Player #49: Jaiden Hunter - Back on the track! - 1/5

[VelvetSledge]

Contract Status: Out of contract 2024
2024 My Boy Draft: Who dares wins

 

[Hamez]

hotspot in his back.

Key forward from WA comes to the club and we immediately uncover a previously unknown back injury?

How do medical work for draftees?Is it done by the AFL or club?

 

[footyfanatic111]

The question has to be asked, is there something wrong with our training turf?

Ridiculous amount of stress injuries happening to our players, and this one to hunter (could be conincidence or an old injury that has just flared up) but gee, it doesn’t look great at all from the outside.

 

[Yoda_]

hotspot in his back.

Key forward from WA comes to the club and we immediately uncover a previously unknown back injury?

Is there a club with more ****ed key position players than ours in the last 5 years? I’d hazard a guess there wont be, if any

genuinely lol for Adrian as a guy renowned for wanting to build a spine first then a midfield, he can’t even get lucky with a healthy and firing spine.

 

[Yoda_]

The question has to be asked, is there something wrong with our training turf?

Ridiculous amount of stress injuries happening to our players, and this one to hunter (could be conincidence or an old injury that has just flared up) but gee, it doesn’t look great at all from the outside.

Begs the question that perhaps the state of the art training facility is costing as much in medical rehab as it is in $$$’s

 

[jmoo wan]

Eseendon talls and back injuries.

name a more iconic duo

 

[Bunk Moreland]

This is amazing

 

[TheFrenchCut]

How do medical work for draftees?Is it done by the AFL or club?

It would be nice to know the answer to this. Particularly as Hunter has been managing a back complaint all year.

 

[IggypopsTshirt]

Part of our medical involves confirming the incoming player has a spine made of chalk.

 

[Dudoro]

Seems recruiting/ medical team issue as he had this issue before he arrived. Got to wonder if it was known or not to work out whose fault it is.

 

[Dudoro]

How do medical work for draftees?Is it done by the AFL or club?

Reckon it would be like any sport in world where each club has access to medical records. Then performs there own assessment using the various physical tests they have

 

[yodellinhank]

Seems recruiting/ medical team issue as he had this issue before he arrived. Got to wonder if it was known or not to work out whose fault it is.

and sack them

 

[andleanback]

Here we go again

 

[The Devils Advocate]

The fact that half the thread picked it was a back injury before we knew, speaks volumes.

 

[Vander18]

Surely the facility can’t have created a back injury in what….3 weeks?

But far out….how’s the luck?

 

[Lore]

This bit:

He had managed a back complaint through the start of the season playing in the WAFL competition after returning from his knee reconstruction that saw him miss the 2022 season.

He cleared an AFL medical ahead of the mid-season rookie draft and was selected by the Bombers with pick No.9.

So the AFL conducts the medical.


I think for the normal national draft, players who attract interest from multiple clubs attend the combine and do the medical screening there so that they don't have to do 18 medicals.

Since there isn't a combine for the mid-season draft though, I'm not really sure how that is supposed to work exactly. Presumably the process of doing a medical is pretty much the same regardless.

 

[yodellinhank]

This bit:

So the AFL conducts the medical.


I think for the normal national draft, players who attract interest from multiple clubs attend the combine and do the medical screening there so that they don't have to do 18 medicals.

Since there isn't a combine for the mid-season draft though, I'm not really sure how that is supposed to work exactly. Presumably the process of doing a medical is pretty much the same regardless.

Brad would still have enough pull at AFL House to get people sacked though, wouldn't he?

 

[Dudoro]

This bit:

So the AFL conducts the medical.


I think for the normal national draft, players who attract interest from multiple clubs attend the combine and do the medical screening there so that they don't have to do 18 medicals.

Since there isn't a combine for the mid-season draft though, I'm not really sure how that is supposed to work exactly. Presumably the process of doing a medical is pretty much the same regardless.

Interesting if Essendon was aware he had any issues earlier in year? If AFL cleared him they probably don’t even worry about it. A player is never going to say they have any issues or are sore when it could be their last chance at making it

 

[Vindicater]

A back injury.

Of course.

 

[Lore]

 

[Vander18]

“The scans revealed he has a back stress fracture and could miss the remainder of the AFL season.

The injury was sustained prior to joining Essendon despite clearing independent AFL medical assessment ahead of the AFL Mid-Season Rookie Draft.”

So it is a stress fracture. Like Reid, Cox and Jones. But again, it’s only been 3 weeks….even we couldn’t do that. Right??

Club seems very keen to point out that it was acquired before joining us!

 

[Yoda_]

“The scans revealed he has a back stress fracture and could miss the remainder of the AFL season.

The injury was sustained prior to joining Essendon despite clearing independent AFL medical assessment ahead of the AFL Mid-Season Rookie Draft.”

So it is a stress fracture. Like Reid, Cox and Jones. But again, it’s only been 3 weeks….even we couldn’t do that. Right??

Club seems very keen to point out that it was acquired before joining us!

Weird how quick they were to jump to this defence.. heck, they knew about it but took him anyways

 

[Hamez]

“The scans revealed he has a back stress fracture and could miss the remainder of the AFL season.

The injury was sustained prior to joining Essendon despite clearing independent AFL medical assessment ahead of the AFL Mid-Season Rookie Draft.”

So it is a stress fracture. Like Reid, Cox and Jones. But again, it’s only been 3 weeks….even we couldn’t do that. Right??

Club seems very keen to point out that it was acquired before joining us!

Probably why he (was told to) deleted his social media post, so the club could set the narrative?

 

[Kong]

Eseendon talls and back injuries.

name a more iconic duo

Ethan and Keystone Agony

 

[Lore]

Interesting if Essendon was aware he had any issues earlier in year? If AFL cleared him they probably don’t even worry about it. A player is never going to say they have any issues or are sore when it could be their last chance at making it

I wondered about that too.

This site (of dubious reliability) reckons they do height, weight, handspan and arm length, plus in the past they did skinfolds and some sort of flexibility test. There's also a personality test and a medical check, eye tests, medical photographs(?), and medical screening(?)

In 2016 each club was allowed to have 4 people in the room to observe medical testing at the combine. I dunno how it works for the mid-season draft except to say that 12 players were tested by the AFL this year, including Jaiden Hunter. Surely the clubs get the full results and make their own decisions based on how much risk they want to accept.

I also just found this research paper that interviewed the national recruiting managers from 12 clubs. It's really long so I haven't read all of it yet, but the bit below suggests that there is some sort of genetic component (dunno if this is just asking questions about family or if it's an actual genetic test) and the player's medical history that are also part of the due diligence that clubs do.

Assessment
The FOT assessment comprises 8 SOTs and 60 third order themes (TOTs) relating to assessing a myriad of attributes of prospective players; risk & reward (9 TOTs), player interviews (7 TOTs), physiological (8 TOTs), technical (7 TOTs), tactical (3 TOTs), psychological (11 TOTs), game (9 TOTs) and decision-making (6 TOTs). One recruiter succinctly summed up the importance of assessment; “we tend to assess each player individually similar to a balance sheet, their assets and their liabilities and can the liabilities be improved and how strong is the asset.”

The SOT risk and reward relates to the perceived assets and liabilities of a player when selecting. The common industry perception is that players touted as high draft picks are ‘safe’ options, with later picks perceived to be ‘riskier’ options. Recruiters talk about mitigating risks by assessing character, medical and injury history, social media. For example, “there is more pressure on the first picks, and they tend to be a lower risk anyway because there are less flaws in their game” and “we shy away from someone who is going to come in and cause a lot of trouble for the coaches and off-field staff.”

Regarding athlete selection, recruiters highlighted the importance of the player interview. This SOT demonstrated that often 2–3 interviews were conducted with each potential or shortlisted player to develop an understanding of the player, their background and family. For example, “the family background, the history with parents and the family dynamic can sometimes impact.” Coupled with interviews are also the standard practice of “references from coaches and player managers.” Some recruiters also talked about contacting school teachers to provide references.

The SOT, physiological are focussed on physical attributes that influence recruitment decision-making. Typical TOTs were the anthropometric, athleticism, genetics, endurance, medical history and scope to improve. One recruiter remarked, “for example [player name removed], his time trials and stuff, it’s good, but it’s not great. But you look at his GPS and game stuff and it’s through the roof, it’s elite” and “I think what initially maybe draws you to, or they come to your attention, is they’ve normally got one or two athletic or skill qualities that are quite good.”

Further to this point, the SOT technical highlight the importance of game-based technical skills on the recruitment decision-making process. Typical TOTs are; ball winning, kicking, marking, and the assessments that are less relevant or valued depending on the recruiter’s preferences. For example, “Yeah we place enormous emphasis on kicking, but that doesn’t mean they have to be a great kick right now.” Conversely, “kicking is one that stands out a lot more because it’s a little bit harder to master and if you're a poor kicker there’s not much you can do about it sometimes, so kicking is critical.” Some recruiters also questioned the validity of assessment methods, for example, “the kicking test at the AFL combine would have no influence at all on our decision making”.

The SOT tactical attributes also provided evidence of the type of skills recruiters looks for when identifying a player. TOTs included game sense and being able to get involved at the right time of the game, which highlighted the importance of game understanding for a player. For example, “have an ability to just, read the cues … know that the ball is going to be in a certain spot at a certain time and they’re there when it gets there” and “More than ever you need to know and understand set-ups and systems and multiple ones because the game changes all the time.”

The SOT, game refers to aspects of game performance that contribute to the recruiting decision-making process. Typical TOTs are; consistency of performance, versatility, ability to influence the game, and team orientation. For example, “A player who can do everything…the actual skill level, footy-smart, and the athletic ability, ground and air and you know versatile.” and “he mightn’t be best on the ground,… but those 10 possessions might influence the game.”

The SOT decision-making relates to both on-ball and off-ball game decision-making, with this process contributing to the effective execution of skills. TOTs included decision-making under pressure, execution of skills, ‘ball in hand’ decisions and ‘off ball’ decisions. For example, “place a bit more emphasis on the decisions in critical moments … does he do the same under pressure as he does when he’s not under pressure?” and “You can be technically the best kick or hand-baller or executor of any skill, but if you make the wrong decision then it’s totally flawed.” Recruiters also discussed the importance of decision making in running patterns and game sense, “their game sense in the game, knowing where to run. That is a big one for us because that is a pretty hard thing to coach”

Finally, the SOT psychological highlighted how recruiters liked players who have a strong work ethic, determination, drive and attitude to compete at AFL level. Without exception, recruiters indicated the psychological assessment is a vital piece as “there are really talented players they can do most of the skill facets really well, but mentally they are not going to handle the pressure of elite competition there is no point even bringing them in” They also highlighted the possible “red flags” that may influence the decision-making process. Typical TOTs included resilience, work ethic, attitude, determination, character and competitiveness. For example, “So players that are competitive, they’re driven, love the game, love to train, love to work. When the heat is on they stand up and they’ve got good values, good people, fit in well in a team environment” and “we defer it to the experts to say there’s a red flag here or there’s nothing to worry about, and if there is a red flag let’s interpret it.” The psychological assessment can be a make or break assessment for some recruiters, “I will never pick a kid if I didn’t think he was mentally up to it, even if he was an enormous talent.”

 

[MiguelM]

lol, still listed as "in the mix" on AFL latest!