AFL Player #15: Jayden Laverde

[Beerfish]

Contract Status: Unrestricted Free Agent 2025
My Boy Draft 2024: Pick 7, Nuggs Bunny

 

[Kyptastic]

I know he’s got the extra trigger year, but probably worth giving him a three year deal in the back of his performances

 

[Vander18]

It doesn’t surprise me that he’s finally playing good footy. The guy is a specimen and clearly has talent.

What surprises me is the toughness, discipline and team first attitude. It’s not that I though he was the opposite of that…..just that I never saw them as really big parts of who he was as a footballer.

 

[Lance Uppercut]

He's finally arrived

 

[TheGreatBarryB]

Not just the toughness but just judging a mark. Remember as a forward one of his flaws was he’d run under the ball a fair few times from what looked like poor judgement. Massive turnaround

 

[BrunoV]

Is no one even curious to see what he would do forward now?

 

[Megabattimus]

Does no one want to see what he would no do forward?

Nope. Keep him back forever.

On Pixel 3 using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[Zach Package]

Does no one want to see what he would no do forward?

 

[Yoda_]

Is no one even curious to see what he would do forward now?

Why fix something that ain’t broke?


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[Vander18]

Is no one even curious to see what he would do forward now?

I know what he’d do…..an ankle.

 

[JayJ20]

Massive year from him. Obliterated King yesterday.
Imagine being told a year ago that Laverde would be leading our defence to finals (if we make it)?

Rutten completely turned his career around.

 

[Kakkle]

Has every right to crack the shits at the midfield due to zero team defence and leaving him out to dry time after time, but he doesn't, and just gets on with the job week in week out with zero fuss. I've been waiting for the cracks to show, but they haven't. Remarkable season.

 

[Vander18]

Has every right to crack the shits at the midfield due to zero team defence and leaving him out to dry time after time, but he doesn't, and just gets on with the job week in week out with zero fuss. I've been waiting for the cracks to show, but they haven't. Remarkable season.

What’s that Truck? You need me to me take on the most freakish talent the game has seen in the last 30 years…..with a dodgy shoulder? No problems mate.

How tall is Ben King again? 202 cm……not an issue, I’ve got this boys.

I imagine Merret and Parish will go 1 and 2 in the B&F but he would be pushing very hard for a podium finish. Coaches would absolutely love him.

 

[The Devils Advocate]

He's turned into Michael Hurley

18

Michael Hurley

Age

33

Ht

193cm

Wt

94kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

18.3

5star

K

12.1

4star

HB

6.2

4star

M

6.4

5star

T

0.9

3star

MG

389.3

5star

D

16.5

4star

K

11.8

5star

HB

4.7

3star

M

6.3

5star

T

0.3

1star

MG

301.2

4star

D

15.0

4star

K

7.6

3star

HB

7.4

5star

M

5.0

5star

T

2.0

4star

, it's been so strange. I love it.
They're the same height too, which a lot of people wouldn't realise.

 

[BrunoV]

Has every right to crack the shits at the midfield due to zero team defence and leaving him out to dry time after time, but he doesn't, and just gets on with the job week in week out with zero fuss. I've been waiting for the cracks to show, but they haven't. Remarkable season.

It's been a bit like this. Thought he would be taken apart by someone like King with the speed to test him on the lead and the size to expose him above head but he keeps backing up.

He's almost playing too well in the role. We've got a stacks of options to play lock down roles on talls over the next few years. We could use Laverde on small and medium sized forwards and even in more of a half back role. I still have a lot of faith in his ability to kick the ball despite his ball use being largely unimaginative and been a bit messy at times this year. He can weight a pass to perfection even if he doesn't kick with the classic trajectory and ball spin of players who are great kicks.

 

[Darealrath]

Is no one even curious to see what he would do forward now?

I remember when Harves kicked a goal vs Carlton in '93 (think it was the second home and away game) and all the old timers were like "he used to be a forward, son" - that's going to be us when Laverde kicks his next goal in 2025.

 

[BrunoV]

Nope. Keep him back forever.

On Pixel 3 using BigFooty.com mobile app

View attachment 1207172

Why fix something that ain’t broke?


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I'm not saying we should move him. I just think it would be interesting as I suspect this year has more than likely given him that hit of confidence required to be something much closer to the player I thought he would be and that certainly 12 to 24 months ago I no longer thought was possible (I genuinely thought he could be Hird level good).

He started a brash, confident kid who could basically do what he wanted. It's a long time ago now but it's also hard because of how trying 2015 and 2016 were for the team (and when injury started to hit). It leaves us with a small sample size and he also never got the opportunity to put sides away and pad out goal kicking stats. His 2015 was seriously good playing half forward in a bad team, it was better than Perkins has been this year at his best. In 2016, he had 8 touches and a goal in quarter against the Cats before getting injured that same quarter the second time that year. I also recall kicking goals and taking contested marks on Rance and a very good game against the Crows in another belting. The bad run of injuries then sapped everything before he was stuck playing as a key forward, exposed to an opposition's best defenders in 2019 and 2020 essentially used a battering ram and unable to capitalise on the few scoring opportunities he had.

I don't think his story is the usual story of players who ended up coming good in defence. I think circumstance robbed him of the opportunity to covert the play of the powerful, brash kid into that of an adult. The list of players he has been able to outpoint on the lead and in contested marking duals this years is starts with Hawkins, Casboult, Rohan and Ben King. That's ridiculous for someone who is 191cm and probably 90kgs. It puts him in league with Stringer, Danger, Fyye, Petracca and De Goey in terms of his physical ability. That's pretty special even if it says nothing about his ability to match the forward and midfield feats of those players.

 

[Blind Turn]

I remember when Harves kicked a goal vs Carlton in '93 (think it was the second home and away game) and all the old timers were like "he used to be a forward, son" - that's going to be us when Laverde kicks his next goal in 2025.

His goal against Collingwood is still fresh in my mind. Maybe one next week is not out of the question…

Not sure how I managed to leave him out of my votes but he was very close. Ben King didn’t really get much service though to be fair. Lav has become a much better than 50/50 chance though these days of not only killing a contest but taking the ball forward from a contest. He is a weapon, and I don’t say that lightly.

 

[TheGreatBarryB]

I'm not saying we should move him. I just think it would be interesting as I suspect this year has more than likely given him that hit of confidence required to be something much closer to the player I thought he would be and that certainly 12 to 24 months ago I no longer thought was possible (I genuinely thought he could be Hird level good).

He started a brash, confident kid who could basically do what he wanted. It's a long time ago now but it's also hard because of how trying 2015 and 2016 were for the team (and when injury started to hit) because the sample size is small and he never got the opportunity to put a side away and pad out goal kicking stats. His 2015 was seriously good playing half forward in a bad team, it was better than Perkins has been this year at his best. In 2016, he had 8 touches and a goal in quarter against the Cats before getting injured that same quarter the second time that year. I also recall kicking goals and taking contested marks on Rance and a very good game against the Crows in another belting. The bad run of injuries then sapped everything before he was stuck playing as a key forward, exposed to an opposition's best defenders in 2019 and 2020 essentially used a battering ram and unable to capitalise on the few scoring opportunities he had.

I don't think his story is the usual story of players who ended up coming good in defence. I think circumstance robbed him of the opportunity to covert the play of the powerful, brash kid into that of an adult. The list of players he has been able to outpoint on the lead and in contested marking duals this years is starts with Hawkins, Casboult, Rohan and Ben King. That's ridiculous for someone who is 191cm and probably 90kgs. It puts him in league with Stringer, Danger, Fyte, Petracca and De Goey in terms of his physical ability. That's pretty special even if it says nothing about his ability to match the forward and midfield feats of those players.

He never really looked comfortable and was looking a bust. Injuries didn’t help obviously. There were signs I thought last season where he started to show a couple of signs. Was starting to go for some marks more comfortably but got injured again.

 

[Ambrosia]

Is no one even curious to see what he would do forward now?

He seems to have lost a lot of athleticism though. Think he’d struggle to get separation as a forward.

Stewart is the one who may not be done as a forward for mine. OP hasn’t robbed him of any of his pace from what I’ve seen.

 

[Towno78]

Is no one even curious to see what he would do forward now?

Absolutely. Suspect he has been far too good in defence for us to ever see it though.

Most here seem to believe the move down back is what turned his career, whereas I'm firmly in the camp of him finally getting a full year and continuity that did it. Could've been a bit of both.

 

[BrunoV]

He seems to have lost a lot of athleticism though. Think he’d struggle to get separation as a forward.

Stewart is the one who may not be done as a forward for mine. OP hasn’t robbed him of any of his pace from what I’ve seen.

As surprised as I am to be thinking it, I don't think he has lost much athleticism. A bit of ability but no speed.

He has run past players on the lead this year and run with Rohan (admittedly that was pre-season) to get a fist on the ball.

 

[Ati Tude]

Laverde has been one of the stories of the season for Essendon this year. A lot of attention goes to what Stringer has done, Parish, Draper as a future AA, Zach, even 2MP after the 7 goals and so on, but very little said of the season Laverde has had. His ability to position his body against bigger and well credentialed players has been terrific. Remember back to the job he did on Darling. Same against King on the weekend.

Have loved his work this year.

 

[Kyptastic]

Never played more than 10 games in a season before this year. It's amazing what continuity of games and a clear role in the side can do for a player.

 

[Ambrosia]

As surprised as I am to be thinking it, I don't think he has lost much athleticism. A bit of ability but no speed.

He has run past players on the lead this year and run with Rohan (admittedly that was pre-season) to get a fist on the ball.

Maybe but he also doesn’t seem to be anywhere as dynamic at ground level as your Stringer, Petracca, DeGoey types.

It’ll be interesting to see what they do with Reid. I’m of the opinion that every super talented KPP sized player should be trialed as a forward as it’s a much more valuable position.

 

[Keystone agony]

If he was a name he'd probably be in the 40 man AA squad and still might be. Who's taken him apart?