Quigley's 2013 Mock

Sep 25, 2005
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Good read as always Q.

Obviously we have a lot of the sames names but as usual the order if very different. I am starting to wonder if you enjoy the 'shock' selection a bit to much and your joy for polarising is becoming clearer bc you have nabbed me this year.

I am a bit confused by a couple of selections and the weight you are putting on DC results. YOu have marked Lennon well down and seems largely off the back of his testing which was ordinary for sure but at the same time you have a guy in in the early teens whose 20m was a shocker. It was real bad. Then there are blokes like EWB who have tested ok but has had a shocking year but you have him around 30 or so.

Just a bit confused what it is you rate. Eg, I tend to put a lot of weight in consistency of performance, results in big matches, senior footy, scope and then testing for me really is just a snapshot of his athletic ability. It can be binary for me but only when its bad enough you just have to conclude the kid doesnt have the athletic talent to make it.

Again, I always enjoy your PHantom and the write ups are the feature. None of us get the order right but the bio's are the key.
 

Quigley

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Good read as always Q.

Obviously we have a lot of the sames names but as usual the order if very different. I am starting to wonder if you enjoy the 'shock' selection a bit to much and your joy for polarising is becoming clearer bc you have nabbed me this year.

I am a bit confused by a couple of selections and the weight you are putting on DC results. YOu have marked Lennon well down and seems largely off the back of his testing which was ordinary for sure but at the same time you have a guy in in the early teens whose 20m was a shocker. It was real bad. Then there are blokes like EWB who have tested ok but has had a shocking year but you have him around 30 or so.

Just a bit confused what it is you rate. Eg, I tend to put a lot of weight in consistency of performance, results in big matches, senior footy, scope and then testing for me really is just a snapshot of his athletic ability. It can be binary for me but only when its bad enough you just have to conclude the kid doesnt have the athletic talent to make it.

Again, I always enjoy your PHantom.

I actually thought there was a lot less controversy this year than usual. Outside of my dislike of Taylor, Hartung and to a lesser extent Lennon and my liking for Crouch I thought it was pretty stock standard.

On the athletics I do put more weight on them the professionals do. With that said I really only bump guys up or down a lot though if I think the results really influence a players ability to play the position or alternatively there is great athleticism that is a bit untapped atm.

EWB I do not think was as bad as many think he was. He still managed to play better in senior company than Cutler did at junior level and like Cutler was also affected by injury. EWB is a superior athlete and his skill set intrigues me. Interesting that you give us Impey around the same area. Where was the consistency with him? Averaged only about the same against juniors and was very poor as a rule with the ball. If you put EWB and Impey up against each other both are pretty similarly performed this year and yet you seem to have a problem with EWB and not Impey. They play at different ends but I am happy to go with the guy who is 4 inches taller.

With Lennon it is a combination of very poor athleticism that could see him struggle to play as an efficient HFF at AFL level and quite frankly me not really rating him as a player as highly as most. What does he do at an elite level? I have not really seen anything and I rated him accordingly. Crouch's results scare the bejesus out of me as well but being an inside mid high levels or athleticism are not as required and I admit leaving him that high a bit for bloody mindedness.

I weight:

Performances at the Champs
Performances in senior company
Elite skills
Positional skills
Athleticism above or below the norm required to play the position
Performances in junior company
Development potential
Gut

Depending on the circumstances I give weight to some factors more than others. That can make things confusing from the outside admittedly.
 

swans83

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61 Gold Coast

Okay time to go with a run of Qlders. Not so much need just an excuse to put the Qlders forward.

Jarred Ellis
DOB 18/4/95 Ht 189 Wt 77

If I am honest I did not have Ellis on my radar at all but when it was mentioned to me that he was rumoured to be a strong chance to get picked up in the draft I felt duty bound to include him in my mock. The expectation seems to be that if he is not taken in the national draft he will get picked up as a rookie and there is every chance he could be the first Qlder off the board. Anyone who has read my mocks before knows that I need very little excuse to include a Qlder even in this case when the Qlder actually lives in NSW and has his whole life. I am not sure how he gets to play for Qld and be part of the Suns academy when he actually lives at Lennox Heads over the NSW border but far be if from me to let such technicalities get in the way.

Ellis missed about 6 months with a full shoulder reco and only got back during the Champs. He played 3 games at the Champs off a HBF and was really quiet averaging only 8 disposals per game. He continued to play NEAFL for Broadbeach in the second half of the year and ended up playing 6 games (or 7 depending on which source you believe) with an average of 11.6 disposals per game. These figures were boosted by a great round 22 game against the Suns where he finished with 21 disposals. It was this game that I think has gotten him the late attention which might see him get drafted. The attention did get him a late invite to Combine where he returned decent but not great results.

Ellis plays with good pace and agility and I had expected his test results to be a bit better than they were. They were not bad but I had expected him to go faster than 3.06 in the 20m and 8.66 in the agility test. The 26.03 in the repeat sprint was poor. All the Queenslanders seemed ill prepared for the testing this year and that was the case with Ellis as well. He is better than he tested and was not prepared by his academy to show his abilities to best advantage. He did run over 14 in the beep and a solid 3km time that shows there is enough to work with endurance.

There is some talk of him playing midfield at the next level but personally I see him as being best suited for a role off half back. At HB he will be able to best utilise his marking and defensive abilities which I see as probably his two big selling features. He reads the ball very well in the air and if anything actually plays bigger than his 189cm frame. He has a key position type style of defensive play even when matched up on small or medium targets. He can get in front and mark the ball but most often tends to play from behind if he is matched up on a dangerous forward. He backs his pace and height and that confidence is usually well founded. He has good closing speed and a knack for getting his fist in to spoil and times his attack on the ball really nicely. When he attempts to mark the ball he shows strong hands and he is an excellent stretch mark of the ball.

I have heard he is very good at mopping up at the back but I am a bit unsure about whether I agree with that. If they meant he is good at collecting from a spillage in his area then I am inclined to agree. If they meant he shows good judgment about dropping off his man to help out and clean up resultant spills then I am not sure I agree. He tends to be quite focused on his man defensively and is not the most team oriented defender available this year.

The defensive focus of his game might be one of the reasons his disposal count is so low. He does not get to space and present as an option going forward nearly enough. He tends to stay behind the ball and with the current trend against going backwards he tends not to get much ball. He needs to work harder offensively when his team has the ball and realistically his endurance is solid enough to allow that.

With the ball in hand he is composed and doesn't panic when under pressure. He is conservative with his option taking and plays within himself often looking to take the short to intermediate open targets. I haven't really noticed him go long much at all. When he gets the ball he brings an air of calm competence which does settle things down a bit for his teammates under pressure. He is not a back that I would be worried about giving the ball to albeit he is not going to be a zone buster with his run and carry like some others in this draft.

I have seen him play onball a little bit and he does not really attack the ball from taps. He tends to sit back and let the ball come to him and being a receiver more than a ball winner. I would suggest that generally teams would prefer if he had shown more ability to win of his own ball. Although he is not much for attacking the ball he does attack any opponent who gets the ball. He is a good tackler and nails anyone who comes within his extended reach. For such a lean guy he is surprisingly strong in the tackle.

As mentioned he is very lean and with his frame I doubt he is ever going to be a particularly big unit. He does have good height though for a flanker and many flankers in the AFL have the similar tall wiry frame. His attitude and athleticism all seem good enough to warrant a spot and if someone gave him a chance he might go alright.


62 Western Bulldogs

The Bulldogs do not really need a ruck, I am just putting him here because I have done the write up for him.

Archie Smith
DOB 19/7/95 Ht 200 Wt 96

I will be up front about this and say I am not the biggest fan of Archie Smith but it looks pretty certain that he will get picked up either in the National Draft or failing that in the Rookie Draft most likely by Brisbane. He is getting a little bit of hype around the place given he has been playing the game such a short time and people are latching onto the possibility of him being the next Nick Natanui. Yes he is 200cm, yes he has black skin, yes he has a great jump but that does not make him the second coming of Natanui.

Smith is a good story and I figure I may as well repeat it. He is the son of former Brisbane Bullets great Andre Moore and has played basketball like his dad his entire life. In the middle of last year the Lions approached him about giving AFL a try. He had never even watched a full game let alone played. He kicked a football for the first time in August and decided to train over the preseason in order to help improve his strength and fitness for basketball. He played his first game of AFL football in January this year and has liked the physicality of the game and seems like he is willing to give it a crack. In the background though are 8 college scholarship offers from the US.

So he has extremely limited experience and is still a massively raw prospect. I accept that it is very likely that I am being overly harsh for expecting more from him but I just have not seen enough hints for me to get enthusiastic about. I don’t really need much for a guy with this little experience but really I have not seen anything glimpses of anything that would indicate he could be even an average AFL ruck.

Smith got an invite to Combine which is an indication there is a fair bit of interest in him out there and he did pretty well in the tests he completed. One of the big areas for improvement for him is his endurance and I note that he did not do any of the endurance testing. The repeat sprint has a bit of an endurance component and he did do that finishing in the bottom 15% which was midtable for the ruck group and in the same range as Nankervis and ahead of the likes of Apeness, Conlon and Cameron. His jumps were the feature which got most attention with him winning the running jump and finishing in the top 10% of the standing leap. He was not quite at the same level as Natanui but it was still very impressive for a 200cm guy. He went 3.10 in the 20m sprint which was midtable amongst all prospects and again decent for a ruck.

Despite having a good leap I don’t think he really brings that to his game. He is a big powerful guy with good height and an excellent leap and realistically he should be dominating the hit outs. He did average 18 hit outs per game at the Champs which was solid but most of those would be marginal wins and not many were too advantage. He does not time his jump particularly well in the centre of the ground nor at bounces around the ground and smaller and less athletic rucks have every chance to neutralise the contest. He will occasionally put a tap down him midfielders throat but that is the exception rather than the rule. At the Champs I watched the Qld v NSW game which Qld came back strongly to win. The game turned when Qld brought on Will Kristelly, a bottom aged ruck, in the last quarter and he dominated the ruck where Smith had not been able to. The quality of the ruck work was like night and day compared with what Smith had been offering up until that time.

Now to be fair I think I should also comment on his work in the NEAFL at the end of the year. He played for the Lions in quite a few games and teamed up the Billy Longer. Smith did not get much game time but he was not far behind Longer in his ruck effectiveness. Again not a heap of taps to advantage but he was winning quite a few in the short time he was out there. Smith is most effective when he can get to the front at bounces or for throw ins. In those situations he finds the body of the other ruck well and seals his opponent away from the ball and protects the space where the ball is going to fall into. It is very much like blocking out in basketball and he has brought that skill across with him to the AFL.

In the ruck contests he recovers quickly and will involve himself in the play. He seems to be a willing tackler and showed reasonably technique. Below the knees his hands are clean and certainly better than most ruck prospects out there. His skills though once he gets the ball are not the best although they have shown improvement over the year.

Somewhat unsurprisingly his skills need a lot of work still. He tends to get his head over the ball a bit too much when he kicks and he is a bit of a hit and hope merchant. He will occasionally chip it short but more often he will just get it long and hope for the best. His handball technique is probably more awkward than his kicking and it still looks a long way from natural for him.

After the ball leaves the contest he is really a nonfactor at the moment and his focus seems to be just getting to the next ruck contest. He averaged only 5.8 disposals per game at the Champs and 4.9 disposals per game in the NEAFL. For a guy with such natural advantages he is not a good mark of the ball and does not judge the ball in the air well. He mistimes his jumps and the fall of the ball and much smaller opponents will often outmark or spoil him. He really does need a lot of work on making the most of height and jumping ability.

He is so raw I am not even going to attempt to take a stab at making a comparison. As I mentioned above I am not seeing a lot at the moment but realistically it is so early in his development he could be anything. If he does get a chance though do not expect to see him in the AFL for at least 3 years. That is the kind of commitment a team that takes him will need to make.


63 Brisbane

Jonathan Freeman
DOB 27/4/94 Ht 198 Wt 95

Okay I have to be honest here and say that I have seen a grand total of one game Freeman has played and even then he was not on my radar so I paid him little attention. Most of what I say here comes from other sources or the snippets of vision given to us. Freeman was certainly not the guy I was expecting the Lions to take from the academy this year ahead of more credentialed players like Conway or Tickner but the Lions were obviously taken by his height, his ability to go forward as well as do some time in the ruck. He is currently all potential and is very much a development prospect.

When trying to work out who to watch for Qld I looked at who was doing well in the NEAFL as an indication and Freeman was not one who stood out with his performances in senior company. I started getting the NEAFL stats in early April and he only played two games leading into the Champs, one being for Aspley and one for the Lions reserves. In each game he played mainly up forward with some light relief in the ruck. In each game he managed only 7 disposals, 8 hit outs and a goal (same stats for both games). Given he was already a 19 year old I did not peg him as one to watch.

At the Champs though he started off really well against the Div 1 sides and these two games probably got him picked. Against Metro he managed 3 goals and against SA he finished with 17 disposals, 8 marks and a goal. In both cases he was clearly the best forward option for Qld and the Div 1 key defenders looked outmatched. Having made a name for himself he was then closed down for the season with OP. Conspiracy theorists might say he was given a promise from the Lions who might not have wanted his value to go up with greater exposure. He was invited to combine but didn’t test and in the academy bidding process, Adelaide bid their first pick (3rd round) for him. The Lions matched and will take him at 63.

As mentioned he was not on my radar at the start of the year mainly because he showed nothing last year as an 18 year old. Sure he had size but he just did not impact games. Reading an article it seems that he had eye problems that meant he was tracking behind the ball in flight and was running under it a lot. He was given some exercises by a specialist and it seems to have made a significant difference. His marking this year seems to have improved a great deal as a result. From what little I have seen of him this year he looks confident to run at the ball and loves to take a mark. He has pretty good spring and now seems to judge his arrival at the ball pretty well.

Being a Brisbane supporter a player I would compare him to is Jordan Lisle and like Lisle one of his big weaknesses is that he is pretty soft in his approach to play. He does not really use his size to crash packs and if a defender can get a body on him he is much less effective. If he is given a free run at the ball he looks good but put a body on him and he is lost. This is something which he is going to need to work on a lot. When he does get his hands on the ball it sticks more often than not.

He moves nicely around the ground for a big guy and when he is up the field and green lighted he does seem to have a decent feel for where to run to receive. I do not think his endurance levels are particularly high but that may have been influenced by the OP he had this year. Although he didn’t test at Combine he has tested before and I am reliably informed that his 20m time was very slow. I am a bit surprised about this as he looks sharpish on the park and does seem able to get separation. It is possible that that time was a rogue and is not actually reflective of his speed. He certainly has great height for a forward and seems agile enough. He has a good frame for putting on muscle and already has a bit of bulk about him. I would suggest he needs to tone up a bit from when I saw him in the middle of the year.

As far as skills go he has pretty good feel on his field kicking but does tend to wind into things a bit which takes a bit of time and he could be pressured and smothered in AFL company. Going for goal he is a pretty accurate kick and he has good penetration being pretty comfortable from 50. He pulls the ball up a bit high in his approach to his set shot but the release is not too bad and his technique seems consistent from one shot to the next.

Overall it’s a bit hard to make any firm judgments given how little I have seen of him. With his height he certainly makes an interesting package and if he comes good it is in a position of need for us.

Footage of Jarred Ellis
 
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Fair but not everyone is going to be looking at him through rose coloured glasses like the North supporters are. FWIW I did not think I was overly harsh with McDonald. He is a pretty good prospect and I expect him to jump out of the blocks from day one next year. I have some doubts whether he will be a champion of the game but he should certainly be a fine AFL player as a floor.

I did run my review past one of the North board's better posters who has seen him quite a lot as well. He didn't have a problem with it.


Not sure about my glasses, Who knows if he will be a Champion, as long as he plays his roll with the skills that I have seen him play with in the AFL. I will be very happy.

But I do like your work.
 

Richo83

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Crouch's results scare the bejesus out of me as well but being an inside mid high levels or athleticism are not as required and I admit leaving him that high a bit for bloody mindedness.


Inside midfielders don't need as much athleticism as say outside midfielders, but they need some athleticism. For instance, it helps that they have some agility to be able to dodge and weave in contests. The midfield is being flooded with midfielders as teams stack the midfield hoping to negate the opposition meaning space is reduced. It also helps to have some endurance, to be able to get to contests, especially with the interchange cap.

There's a few inside midfielders with poor endurance in this draft, and that's a big issue for me. They say that a tank can be built, but that's not true for anyone. Plus, if you lack any athletic qualities, such as agility or any sort of pace, you start to wonder whether you're too limited even as an inside midfielder. I wouldn't be surprised if some of these athletically limited midfielders turn into mere depth players who can play a role inside at times but exist on the fringes of their teams' 22s given their limits as footballers. I honestly thought the likes of Crouch and Cripps would've been given the traditional quigley flogging due to their lack of footskills and athleticism, but they were spared.
 
Sep 25, 2005
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I actually thought there was a lot less controversy this year than usual. Outside of my dislike of Taylor, Hartung and to a lesser extent Lennon and my liking for Crouch I thought it was pretty stock standard.

On the athletics I do put more weight on them the professionals do. With that said I really only bump guys up or down a lot though if I think the results really influence a players ability to play the position or alternatively there is great athleticism that is a bit untapped atm.

EWB I do not think was as bad as many think he was. He still managed to play better in senior company than Cutler did at junior level and like Cutler was also affected by injury. EWB is a superior athlete and his skill set intrigues me. Interesting that you give us Impey around the same area. Where was the consistency with him? Averaged only about the same against juniors and was very poor as a rule with the ball. If you put EWB and Impey up against each other both are pretty similarly performed this year and yet you seem to have a problem with EWB and not Impey. They play at different ends but I am happy to go with the guy who is 4 inches taller.

With Lennon it is a combination of very poor athleticism that could see him struggle to play as an efficient HFF at AFL level and quite frankly me not really rating him as a player as highly as most. What does he do at an elite level? I have not really seen anything and I rated him accordingly. Crouch's results scare the bejesus out of me as well but being an inside mid high levels or athleticism are not as required and I admit leaving him that high a bit for bloody mindedness.

I weight:

Performances at the Champs
Performances in senior company
Elite skills
Positional skills
Athleticism above or below the norm required to play the position
Performances in junior company
Development potential
Gut

Depending on the circumstances I give weight to some factors more than others. That can make things confusing from the outside admittedly.

I have Impey a lot further down than others. My final selections will be later today but he is around 40 or so for me. I have him higher than EWB simply bc I thought he was average in senior company this year and that was in a league that is Tier 2, his form at the champs were nowhere near what I was hoping for which to be fair to him was a lot and his ball use and decision making at times were not AFL standard. IMpey on the other hand I thought had some v good moments at the champs but agree he didnt dominate. Re Cutler.....again I see him at 40 or so.

Crouch is one where the testing just cant be ignored and whilst I agree wtih you testing is a bit down the order the reality is in his case it has to push him down to the bottom of that tier 1 of players - circa 20-25.
 
Haha - anyone who disagrees with you is biased. Turn it up.

Not "anyone". Just specifically North supporters who jump on anyone who doesn't consider Luke McDonald the second coming, which they do. Case in point.
 

Quigley

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I have Impey a lot further down than others. My final selections will be later today but he is around 40 or so for me. I have him higher than EWB simply bc I thought he was average in senior company this year and that was in a league that is Tier 2, his form at the champs were nowhere near what I was hoping for which to be fair to him was a lot and his ball use and decision making at times were not AFL standard. IMpey on the other hand I thought had some v good moments at the champs but agree he didnt dominate. Re Cutler.....again I see him at 40 or so.

Crouch is one where the testing just cant be ignored and whilst I agree wtih you testing is a bit down the order the reality is in his case it has to push him down to the bottom of that tier 1 of players - circa 20-25.

I criticised people for having Cutler high based on last year's form and opinion and I have to admit to doing that with Crouch. I really liked him as a prospect last year and I just don't want to be wrong on that one so I am hanging in and taking him high nws the very big concerns with his game. I really do like him long term but the bust risk would be very high.

See with EWB I have made allowances for his somewhat poor Champs. He inadvisably put on weight and had shin splints during the Champs both of which adversely affected his game. Early in the year he looked much better and in senior company. He was playing a new role and doing it well. Impey I am having trouble with him being a 177cm flanker who goes at 50% DE%. He flashes some nice things but as far as consistency goes he does not have it.
 

Quigley

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Inside midfielders don't need as much athleticism as say outside midfielders, but they need some athleticism. For instance, it helps that they have some agility to be able to dodge and weave in contests. The midfield is being flooded with midfielders as teams stack the midfield hoping to negate the opposition meaning space is reduced. It also helps to have some endurance, to be able to get to contests, especially with the interchange cap.

There's a few inside midfielders with poor endurance in this draft, and that's a big issue for me. They say that a tank can be built, but that's not true for anyone. Plus, if you lack any athletic qualities, such as agility or any sort of pace, you start to wonder whether you're too limited even as an inside midfielder. I wouldn't be surprised if some of these athletically limited midfielders turn into mere depth players who can play a role inside at times but exist on the fringes of their teams' 22s given their limits as footballers. I honestly thought the likes of Crouch and Cripps would've been given the traditional quigley flogging due to their lack of footskills and athleticism, but they were spared.

I pretty much agree with all of that. Inside mids do not just have to go from contest to contest nowerdays they actually have to work hard defensively. Brisbane are one team who has been very strict in recent years with bringing in only guys with above average endurance. Harwood is one of the last to be below average for endurance and he was never given much of a chance at all in the middle nws we have a big need there.

I have to admit I like my inside mids and give them more leeway than small medium types mainly because they often do take some time to come on. I also usually have them higher than they end up going. Grigg is one who springs to mind but whilst he was no great athlete he does have a pretty bloody good kick.

I do think you are overestimating how poor Crouch's testing was and Cripps to a lesser extent. Both tested very badly for pace (only slightly slower than Bontempelli and Lennon fwiw) but that is a bit of a lesser concern for an inside mid and I note both tested about the same as Sidebottom and Rockliff did when they were juniors iirc.

In the agility both were in the top half of those tested and Crouch just below the top 3rd. Given their speed results this was pretty good. In the beep Crouch was just below 50% and Cripps was just above the bottom 25%.

One thing which I think also needs to be considered for both was that both were in the bottom 20% for skinfolds so they were probably not in the best of shape perhaps indicating some upside once they get into camp and they are forced to do a lot of miles. Both are risks though and their athleticism has to be factored in.
 

Klang

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No plenty of people disagree with me for perfectly valid reasons. I am not always right but always opinionated ;)

Anyway perhaps some of the North supporters would tell me why I am wrong.
comparing Luke wit shortstepell was where you went wrong for a start
 

Quigley

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comparing Luke wit shortstepell was where you went wrong for a start

FM here I was thinking I was being generous. You realise the guy you have a problem with by way of comparison is coming off a year where he averaged 24 disposals a game (his third year out of three where he has averaged over 20) playing as a key element of an Essendon side who should have been playing finals.

Both are in the 189cm range, both are rangy and should develop some bulk over time, both a good long kicks, both are mainly outside but should develop a decent complementary inside game, both have good but not elite athleticism and both are likely to start their careers as HBFers before moving into the midfield as they develop. No comparison is going to be exact but if McDonald plays as well as Heppell has done his first three years you should be cheering.
 

GarnerSmash

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No plenty of people disagree with me for perfectly valid reasons. I am not always right but always opinionated ;)

Anyway perhaps some of the North supporters would tell me why I am wrong.
Not nitpicking as I respect the amount of work you have put into your mock, year after year, but as you request, here is some feedback. I've seen a fair bit of Luke in the VFL this year and a little at TAC level.

You say he is not that quick, but I disagree. He is pretty damn quick and brings it onto the field with him. He gets to top speed pretty quickly too given he takes pretty short strides, which is not what you describe. Apparently he was part of a 4 x 100m relay team for Trinity that broke a 60 year old AGSV record so one would think that he would be quick enough.

I also disagree with your contentions that he does not possess much of an inside game. He is very solid in that area despite playing predominantly off a half back flank and wing at VFL level. When in a stoppage situation at VFL level he has performed quite well against the bigger bodies and is more than capable of performing that role. I would envisage as he develops his upper body, which is quite small, he will be a more than capable inside player.

I also find it strange that he is marked poorly for having a quiet champs this year whilst carrying a knee injury, yet averaged 20 touches at 83.25%. Playing under duress seems to be somewhat overlooked in the case of Billings (though it appears he was restricted moreso than McDonald) but McDonald doesn't get this latitude?

Endurance wise he continues to push hard late into games so I don't think that this is much of an issue.

You are correct with his kicking. Some can be fantastic but he can rush his kicks and make some poor decisions, trying to do too much. For a player with a boot like his he needs to learn to make it a genuine weapon at the next level.

Anyway, some may call him over rated, but I think North have a bargain in McDonald. He has been regarded as in the top handful of his age group for the last few years and nothing I have seen in 2013 has changed my opinion on that. I think that physically he has a lot of development left in him, has excellent speed and strong endurance, loves the hard stuff, is a natural, smart footballer who can kick like a mule but he certainly has areas for improvement and refinement.
 

getgaff

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Cheers Quigley. Really interesting write ups also. Some real bolters and sliders from the mocks I've read to. Aish would be fantastic to get at 11, if it does happen i think i can overpass that he is still raw and remember instead that he has already played in 2 senior SANFL premierships
 

Quigley

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Not nitpicking as I respect the amount of work you have put into your mock, year after year, but as you request, here is some feedback. I've seen a fair bit of Luke in the VFL this year and a little at TAC level.

You say he is not that quick, but I disagree. He is pretty damn quick and brings it onto the field with him. He gets to top speed pretty quickly too given he takes pretty short strides, which is not what you describe. Apparently he was part of a 4 x 100m relay team for Trinity that broke a 60 year old AGSV record so one would think that he would be quick enough.

I also disagree with your contentions that he does not possess much of an inside game. He is very solid in that area despite playing predominantly off a half back flank and wing at VFL level. When in a stoppage situation at VFL level he has performed quite well against the bigger bodies and is more than capable of performing that role. I would envisage as he develops his upper body, which is quite small, he will be a more than capable inside player.

I also find it strange that he is marked poorly for having a quiet champs this year whilst carrying a knee injury, yet averaged 20 touches at 83.25%. Playing under duress seems to be somewhat overlooked in the case of Billings (though it appears he was restricted moreso than McDonald) but McDonald doesn't get this latitude?

Endurance wise he continues to push hard late into games so I don't think that this is much of an issue.

You are correct with his kicking. Some can be fantastic but he can rush his kicks and make some poor decisions, trying to do too much. For a player with a boot like his he needs to learn to make it a genuine weapon at the next level.

Anyway, some may call him over rated, but I think North have a bargain in McDonald. He has been regarded as in the top handful of his age group for the last few years and nothing I have seen in 2013 has changed my opinion on that. I think that physically he has a lot of development left in him, has excellent speed and strong endurance, loves the hard stuff, is a natural, smart footballer who can kick like a mule but he certainly has areas for improvement and refinement.

Thanks for taking the time to put together a really good post.

On pace - I said I thought he was fine and was not going to be caught at AFL level but maybe lacked a bit of explosiveness. When he was up and going I thought he got along nicely. That was something that I had put in my notes. I could be wrong and I bow to your greater knowledge on that point.

On his Champs performance he averaged 16 disposals a game against the Div 1 teams. I saw his last two games live and the Geelong game where he only managed 10 disposals whilst playing mostly onball coloured my thoughts of him and where he was at both as an onballer and regarding his Champs performance in general. You are right though that I probably could have cut him some more slack for being injured but I had no way of knowing the extent of the injury.

Endurance wise he has done a lot of work with North and it is pretty good because of that. I still don't think he will be an elite endurance athlete but he finishes games well and I am sure he will have enough functional endurance to play both down the back and through the middle.

I don't think I have ever said that I thought North got a dud. I am sure he will be a fine player and if I was a North supporter I would be glad to have him.
 

GarnerSmash

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Thanks for taking the time to put together a really good post.
No worries and thanks for your response.
I don't think I have ever said that I thought North got a dud. I am sure he will be a fine player and if I was a North supporter I would be glad to have him.
Nor have you called him a dud at all. Everyone is entitled to their opinion and I obviously rate him a bit higher than you do.

Thansk again for taking the time and effort to put together your mock. It is always a good read.
 
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Great read as usual Quigs. I must say though from reading the North Board's opinion of Mac the following is a better assessment of his prospects:



#8 North Melbourne – Luke McDonald (VIC – Util) F/S
Height: 188cm, Weight: 80kg, DOB: 09/02/1995
Recruited from: Oakleigh Chargers
Style: Michael Jordan/Pele
Player comparison: Will set a new benchmark.
Range: 1st round

Profile: How many "a's" in aaaaawwesomme!!! Five? Imagine Thor had sex with Xena the warrior princess, well that child would be the 2nd best player at North. That's how awesome.

Strengths: McDonald is a really elite kick of the footy and can hit any target at will, which comes in handy when Donald has misplaced the Foxtel remote. From the comfort of the couch, Luke can change the channel on his right and adjust the volume on his left with precision. He does tend to favor his right foot, but as he can only kick it 70 on his left, you can't really blame him. McDonald has some real versatility to his game with the range to play down back, midfield or as a forward. As a small forward he is probably worth 7-8 goals a game, however it would impact his possession count and limit him to the low or mid 30's.

Luke is not the quickest athlete and he wouldn't win the 100 metres at the Olympics. He would be in the photo and most likely round out the trifecta after Bolt and Blake.

Luke is a strong character and a fantastic leader. There is some concern that he might have to do some work with the UN, but I am confident he will be a able to bring peace to the middle-east in between his BOG in the Grand Final and pre-season the following year.

Luke also has strong lineage and a high sperm count. I think we can all safely say he will be the father to triplets, who although they might not live up to Luke's standing they will all be 300 game players with 4-5 AA's each. The daughter might only play 225-250. The real shame is that the kids won't get to play their 100th game with their dad who will retire in their 3rd season of AFL football. Finding a woman with a strong enough uterus to carry the triplet's to full term might be North's biggest problem.

Weakness: Luke can tend to be that awesome that his teammates can often get caught out watching how awesome he is. It's not a big deal, as he doesn't need them anyway, but it can make them look a little bit silly.

The kid will end up with it all. I reckon by the time he retires he will have won 12 McDonald Medals*.

*The AFL will rename the Brownlow after his 7th
 

GarnerSmash

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You're an idiot.
 

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comparing Luke wit shortstepell was where you went wrong for a start

Averages as many contested possessions as Luke Ball, Lenny Hayes, Keiren Jack, Sam Mitchell and Callan Ward.

Calling Heppell soft is where you went wrong for a start.
 
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