Player Watch #13 Oliver Florent

[Kennedy Parker]

Oliver Florent
Young speedster Oliver Florent

13

Oliver Florent

Age

25

Ht

184cm

Wt

84kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

16.7

4star

K

9.9

4star

HB

6.8

4star

M

3.0

3star

T

2.2

4star

MG

350.0

5star

D

18.3

4star

K

11.7

5star

HB

6.6

4star

M

3.0

3star

T

2.1

3star

MG

350.0

5star

D

9.6

3star

K

6.2

3star

HB

3.4

3star

M

1.0

1star

T

2.2

4star

has become a crucial element of coach John Longmire’s team since the Sydney Swans secured him with their first selection at the 2016 AFL Draft. The Victorian has shown glimpses of exhilarating footy on a wing, most memorably when he jagged a runaway goal in Round 4, 2018 to seal a gripping victory for the Swans over the Bulldogs. But Florent, who’s also spent time on the inside of the contest, is determined to continue to grow his game as a hybrid midfielder in 2020.

Oliver Florent

13

Oliver Florent

Age

25

Ht

184cm

Wt

84kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

16.7

4star

K

9.9

4star

HB

6.8

4star

M

3.0

3star

T

2.2

4star

MG

350.0

5star

D

18.3

4star

K

11.7

5star

HB

6.6

4star

M

3.0

3star

T

2.1

3star

MG

350.0

5star

D

9.6

3star

K

6.2

3star

HB

3.4

3star

M

1.0

1star

T

2.2

4star

DOB: 22 July 1998
DEBUT: 2017
DRAFT: #11, 2016 National Draft
RECRUITED FROM: Beaumaris (Vic)/Mentone Grammar (Vic)/Sandringham U18

Oliver Florent | AFL

Follow Oliver Florent's progress through AFL

www.sydneyswans.com.au

 

[The King!]

Florent gets marked too hard at times , he looks flashy so maybe people expect a superstar, he is a good player b plus level or whatever , that's fine

 

[Jewelsbon]

Florent gets marked too hard at times , he looks flashy so maybe people expect a superstar, he is a good player b plus level or whatever , that's fine

It's those kinds of players that win flags.

 

[the hypnotoad]

Florent gets marked too hard at times , he looks flashy so maybe people expect a superstar, he is a good player b plus level or whatever , that's fine

right now he's going better than b plus
i understand the rating after the years of up-and-down stuff but there's a real quality and assurance to his game at the moment
and there's no doubting his class with the ball, as the goal showed (again)

 

[The King!]

right now he's going better than b plus
i understand the rating after the years of up-and-down stuff but there's a real quality and assurance to his game at the moment
and there's no doubting his class with the ball, as the goal showed (again)

rate him whatever but he isn't a superstar elite player and shouldn't be held to that standard

he is going well imo

 

[the hypnotoad]

rate him whatever but he isn't a superstar elite player and shouldn't be held to that standard

he is going well imo

one of the biggest issues i have with this board is that so many want to give their definitive ratings of players right now
florent and blakey are good examples ... 12 months ago, there were plenty who wanted both players banished ... right now, they're key elements of the team, so putting a ceiling on them is misguided

 

[Kiama Chris]

one of the biggest issues i have with this board is that so many want to give their definitive ratings of players right now
florent and blakey are good examples ... 12 months ago, there were plenty who wanted both players banished ... right now, they're key elements of the team, so putting a ceiling on them is misguided

I reckon you look at how a player is going, where they could improve and the value that might bring.
Blakey is easy. You see that as his defensive anticipation and body work improves he could be a real gun third tall defender, perhaps a unique mix of Lever and Saad. Surely AA squad next year if his trajectory is maintained in this position.
Florent is tougher to judge. His skills right now are more subtle and harder to judge. Likewise, his ceiling, either in this position (hbf) or another. He's definitely best 22, will most likely improve, but to what level?
I don't know, and I don't think anyone else on this board does either.

 

[the hypnotoad]

I reckon you look at how a player is going, where they could improve and the value that might bring.
Blakey is easy. You see that as his defensive anticipation and body work improves he could be a real gun third tall defender, perhaps a unique mix of Lever and Saad. Surely AA squad next year if his trajectory is maintained in this position.
Florent is tougher to judge. His skills right now are more subtle and harder to judge. Likewise, his ceiling, either in this position (hbf) or another. He's definitely best 22, will most likely improve, but to what level?
I don't know, and I don't think anyone else on this board does either.

fair point on florent
blakey is a long way ahead of whatever saad's best was

 

[Kiama Chris]

fair point on florent
blakey is a long way ahead of whatever saad's best was

No disagreement here but someone paid a lot for him!

 

[BloodySwan]

Last night was amongst his best. Looks real good coming out of defence but he's got enough flair to push further up the ground. His goal was something special as well

 

[Kapers]

Isn’t he only averaging 12 a game the lowest of any of his seasons

That's right, don't let anyone get ahead of themselves!

 

[Millky95]

From Sydney v St KIlda - HB's Loves and Hates - The Mongrel Punt

The Swans are 4-1 when Florent has 20+ disposals this season. When he has under 20, they’re 5-4.

Keep him at half back please

 

[dosser]

Do my eyes deceive me or has his kicking improved exponentially?

 

[Jewelsbon]

Do my eyes deceive me or has his kicking improved exponentially?

I honestly never thought his kicking was that bad, I always thought he simply rushed things. Perhaps his kicking has improved because, with maturity, he's thinking it through better and not rushing so much.

 

[Deccas]

I reckon you look at how a player is going, where they could improve and the value that might bring.
Blakey is easy. You see that as his defensive anticipation and body work improves he could be a real gun third tall defender, perhaps a unique mix of Lever and Saad. Surely AA squad next year if his trajectory is maintained in this position.
Florent is tougher to judge. His skills right now are more subtle and harder to judge. Likewise, his ceiling, either in this position (hbf) or another. He's definitely best 22, will most likely improve, but to what level?
I don't know, and I don't think anyone else on this board does either.

A few players with similar games to Florent seem to have thier best years in thier late 20s and I think he will too. I'm thinking gaff sidebottom etc. He is on a slow steady build I think. He still has the odd very good or very innocuous game bus his baseline is slowly but steadily improving. His average game doesn't see him in the bests at this point but if he keeps improving he will be the sort of player who is good for playing a dependable role with 2 or 3 really big contributions a game.

Same goes for Blakey. I think he is still a ways away from AA. I love what he brings in terms of creativity, line breaking, and really precise kicking but he is still good for 2 or 3 really silly decisions a game. I think that will always be there to a degree simply because he really tries to make things happen and you wouldn't want to coach that out of him. But I think in 4 years in defence he will be less liable for those mistakes and a better defender as well. Looking forward because I think Blakey at the peak of his powers is going to be a really unique and really effective match winner

 

[caesar88]

From Sydney v St KIlda - HB's Loves and Hates - The Mongrel Punt

The Swans are 4-1 when Florent has 20+ disposals this season. When he has under 20, they’re 5-4.

Keep him at half back please

Whilst I agree that he should stay at half back, our performances when Florent does or doesn't get 20+ disposals is a greatly overrated discussion point, and seems to only rear its head when he has a good performance. I mean, when he had 12 disposals in both of our best performances of the season just before the bye, it wasn't so relevant then?

 

[caesar88]

In regards to disposal counts, I think they are irrelevant to quite a few of our players, particularly our younger ones, and Florent would be included. We've seen they can have a massive impact on games without even needing to clock 20 touches. This wasn't the case for Florent on the weekend - though it won't be very often he will be able to run around getting 23 uncontested possessions - but I think it could be his path forward. Low possession, big impact games where he may only need 10-15 touches but if they are silky, attacking and creative off half back, then job done.

 

[the hypnotoad]

Do my eyes deceive me or has his kicking improved exponentially?

might be a couple of reasons
playing off halfback, rather than scrapping in the middle, he has more time and space to look ahead to consider his options
and as he's improved into that position, teammates are able to provide those better options
he's definitely not a bad kick, and he's outstanding eluding/dodging defenders ... things just seem to be clicking for him at the moment

 

[Kirkswan]

Do my eyes deceive me or has his kicking improved exponentially?

I think your eyes are deceiving you... he's always been a pretty reliable ball user.

The knock on him on this board is that he doesn't get enough of it... although that's not been my opinion, I have thought the move down back has spot-lighted his skills.

 

[Olian]

I think your eyes are deceiving you... he's always been a pretty reliable ball user.

The knock on him on this board is that he doesn't get enough of it... although that's not been my opinion, I have thought the move down back has spot-lighted his skills.

His average disposals fluctuates between the mid to late teens over the last 4 years.

What has really improved is his disposal efficiency which has gone from the mid 50’s in 2020 to mid 70”s this year. His ball use has improved steadily in the last few years.

 

[caesar88]

I think your eyes are deceiving you... he's always been a pretty reliable ball user.

The knock on him on this board is that he doesn't get enough of it... although that's not been my opinion, I have thought the move down back has spot-lighted his skills.

IMO he used to be a dodgy kick in the front half, especially going inside 50, but I also thought he copped it unfairly. Sure, they were often technically awful and failed to hit targets, but they were always deep entries that gave us a high chance of creating scoring opportunities, because of those extra few steps he was able to take with his acceleration. I recall hearing a few seasons ago that we scored more from his inside 50s than anyone else in the side, even when he was launching chaos balls in.

 

[S120]

I think HBF just suits him more than midfield. He's like Blakey in that regard imo; they're both athletic, have a quick turn of pace (Blakey moreso), and are willowy which means they don't want to get into too much close combat with big midfielders. That was always one of my big gripes with Florent is that he'd get monstered regularly by athletic big midfielders who would take his space away and he'd have no answer. Across HB, Florent gets more space to evade tacklers and take ground. I love his play across HB and hope he stays there, and I hope it solidifies that McInerney, Stephens, and Gulden are our long-term wingmen/sometimes midfielders.

 

[wills2g]

I think HBF just suits him more than midfield. He's like Blakey in that regard imo; they're both athletic, have a quick turn of pace (Blakey moreso), and are willowy which means they don't want to get into too much close combat with big midfielders. That was always one of my big gripes with Florent is that he'd get monstered regularly by athletic big midfielders who would take his space away and he'd have no answer. Across HB, Florent gets more space to evade tacklers and take ground. I love his play across HB and hope he stays there, and I hope it solidifies that McInerney, Stephens, and Gulden are our long-term wingmen/sometimes midfielders.

The fact he has experience against those big midfielders, which is a huge bonus, is that when he plays on small forwards, he can start monstering & being physical against them. I'd back him in to win a contested ball against any small fwd.

 

[Citrus22]

Played a great game last night and was one who kept us in it in the first half. Nearly 600 metres gained and close to 90 percent time on ground shows he was really feeling it. With Blakey being quieter than usual I thought he stepped up on the attacking front. With the kind of role he plays I really think we'll do better as a side when he has around 20 touches, as he generally uses the ball really well these days.

 

[MF]

It's taken the coaches a while to completely reshuffle the deck chairs in Dawson's absence but I feel like they've got our entire defensive unit spot on now.

 

[Jewelsbon]

It's taken the coaches a while to completely reshuffle the deck chairs in Dawson's absence but I feel like they've got our entire defensive unit spot on now.

It's taken a while to click but it certainly seems to have now, or at least be very, very close to it.