AFL Player #15: Jayden Laverde

[Beerfish]

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

 

[eorl]

7th in the league for GA bro

**at the club for GA. 1st for average GA at the club

 

[Mercurial89]

I think keeping Lav and moving Townsend on is the play.

That id be open to as at least Laverde has some pace vs Townsend.

AC joint during the Geelong game in his second year, like round 3? Then a rare ankle injury after he landed on it funny pretty much as soon as he got back from the AC joint. I think that was also against Geelong. This year was a high ankle sprain (syndesmosis ). In between I think there's been some soft tissue with hamstrings or something as well.

The hamstring was a contentious one because he did it, then they played him when they seemingly shouldn't have and he made it worse and missed time.

 

[Lore]

The hamstring was a contentious one because he did it, then they played him when they seemingly shouldn't have and he made it worse and missed time.

I know that players play through injuries all the time, but idk why you'd risk Jayden Laverde

15

Jayden Laverde

Age

28

Ht

193cm

Wt

92kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

11.8

3star

K

6.3

2star

HB

5.4

4star

M

3.9

4star

T

2.8

4star

MG

152.8

2star

D

8.8

2star

K

5.0

2star

HB

3.8

3star

M

3.3

3star

T

2.5

3star

MG

116.5

2star

D

11.2

3star

K

5.4

2star

HB

5.8

4star

M

3.2

4star

T

3.6

5star

MG

141.2

3star

, with a soft tissue injury, for a regular season game...

Like this isn't a highly paid core member of your team trying to play finals by doing something silly, like highly unusual surgery to pin your ankle back together and play 4 weeks later (Joel Selwood), or strapping a heat pack on a hamstring strain so you can play rather than icing it (Buddy Franklin).

It was interesting listening to Cooney talking about his knee on tradio last week, he fractured his patella, played on it and the bone fragments got underneath, sheered away all the cartilage, and then when he got surgery on it they shaved away the side of the bone rather than pinning it back together so it could heal. Also said he'd like to have seen a fracture specialist at the start of the injury. He said there was some sort of newfangled tech where they're trying to regrow cartilage but it's a long way off as they can't get the new cartilage to stick to the bone. Lost all of his pace after that. Goes to show how badly playing through injury can * you up long term though.

 

[Schnitzengruben]

really like Laverde. He's shown glimpes. Hopefully this is the year his body stays healthy and he puts it all together.

Maybe a username switch to JayDON Laverde?


I think he showed enough for another year, but geez, how many players have a 7th year breakout season? Odds are against him and I am a betting man. Still showing glimpses at 24 usually tells you something.

 

[Mercurial89]

I know that players play through injuries all the time, but idk why you'd risk Jayden Laverde

15

Jayden Laverde

Age

28

Ht

193cm

Wt

92kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

11.8

3star

K

6.3

2star

HB

5.4

4star

M

3.9

4star

T

2.8

4star

MG

152.8

2star

D

8.8

2star

K

5.0

2star

HB

3.8

3star

M

3.3

3star

T

2.5

3star

MG

116.5

2star

D

11.2

3star

K

5.4

2star

HB

5.8

4star

M

3.2

4star

T

3.6

5star

MG

141.2

3star

, with a soft tissue injury, for a regular season game...

Like this isn't a highly paid core member of your team trying to play finals by doing something silly, like highly unusual surgery to pin your ankle back together and play 4 weeks later (Joel Selwood), or strapping a heat pack on a hamstring strain so you can play rather than icing it (Buddy Franklin).

It was interesting listening to Cooney talking about his knee on tradio last week, he fractured his patella, played on it and the bone fragments got underneath, sheered away all the cartilage, and then when he got surgery on it they shaved away the side of the bone rather than pinning it back together so it could heal. Also said he'd like to have seen a fracture specialist at the start of the injury. He said there was some sort of newfangled tech where they're trying to regrow cartilage but it's a long way off as they can't get the new cartilage to stick to the bone. Lost all of his pace after that. Goes to show how badly playing through injury can fu** you up long term though.

I think if regular people realised what professional athletes play through they would be less harsh in their criticism of form slumps etc.
Perfect example, Drew Brees in the NFL, got smashed in a tackle and ejected from the game, turns out he got injured on the tackle and cracked some ribs and punctured a lung but had three rib fractures in the other side from previous weeks injuries that went unseen. That is a 41 year old QB. Fyfe playing through broken leg, Morris with fractured vertabrae the lists go on and on

 

[Lore]

I think if regular people realised what professional athletes play through they would be less harsh in their criticism of form slumps etc.
Perfect example, Drew Brees in the NFL, got smashed in a tackle and ejected from the game, turns out he got injured on the tackle and cracked some ribs and punctured a lung but had three rib fractures in the other side from previous weeks injuries that went unseen. That is a 41 year old QB. Fyfe playing through broken leg, Morris with fractured vertabrae the lists go on and on

Pretty sure Ridley played through broken ribs this year and still won our BnF too, I think there's a lot of it. Also lots of local anaesthetics being injected, I reckon that entire industry is probably kept afloat by professional sport.

tbh I don't mind if they do play through injury, depending on what it is and whether it's going to have long term implications. If it's an unstable joint that needs surgery, tape it up and get on with it. Broken nose? Stem the bleeding and get back out there. But you shouldn't be sacrificing someone's career over a single game that has no particular consequences. The juice isn't worth the squeeze.

 

[bombreys]

Others may not agree but I believe he’s another example of Essendon holding onto their players for far too long. Injuries or not Essendon need to set a higher standard.

46 games in 6 years.

I like him myself, always have - but agree he’s probably a bit lucky.

I think the state of our list, especially with forward, has helped him.

Who are our walk up starters next year? Stewart, Stringer and Tippa. Maybe you can add Wright. Laverde’s probably next though, right? Mozzy out all year, Jones yet to play a game. Townsend tries his guts out, but he’s VFL-level. I’m probably missing one or two more, but if he’s somewhere between our 5th-7th best option as a forward, happy to see him get a 1 year deal, even if it is just as depth.

 

[Yoda_]

Can we move him to half back and allow the game to come to him?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Megabattimus]

Can we move him to half back and allow the game to come to him?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Think he'd work better on a wing tbh. We've got better player who can man the flanks, especially if we wanna go for a more kick/mark style of play.

On GT-I9506 using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[eth-dog]

Can we move him to the EDFL and allow us not to be teased anymore?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

FTFY

 

[Keystone agony]

Most similar player i see him to in the comp is Gary Rohan

23

Gary Rohan

Age

32

Ht

189cm

Wt

92kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

9.6

2star

K

6.6

3star

HB

3.0

3star

M

3.3

3star

T

2.5

4star

G

1.0

4star

D

8.8

2star

K

6.0

2star

HB

2.8

2star

M

3.4

3star

T

2.3

3star

G

1.0

4star

D

9.8

3star

K

6.8

3star

HB

3.0

3star

M

2.2

3star

T

4.2

5star

G

1.2

4star

. I can only really see him making it as a deep goal square forward. Rohans avg about 1.2-1.3 goals a game in the last 2 years and i think Laverde probably wouldve done similar in less sample size in 2020

Think hes super important to allowing Stringer to attend CBAs and stoppages between 30m- centre square

Probably not going to be easy playing deep forward in a suspected bottom 4 side but lets hope for a 25 goal, 18 game year

His size and explosive power deep can cause issues for opposition

 

[owen87]

Most similar player i see him to in the comp is Gary Rohan

23

Gary Rohan

Age

32

Ht

189cm

Wt

92kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

9.6

2star

K

6.6

3star

HB

3.0

3star

M

3.3

3star

T

2.5

4star

G

1.0

4star

D

8.8

2star

K

6.0

2star

HB

2.8

2star

M

3.4

3star

T

2.3

3star

G

1.0

4star

D

9.8

3star

K

6.8

3star

HB

3.0

3star

M

2.2

3star

T

4.2

5star

G

1.2

4star

. I can only really see him making it as a deep goal square forward. Rohans avg about 1.2-1.3 goals a game in the last 2 years and i think Laverde probably wouldve done similar in less sample size in 2020

Think hes super important to allowing Stringer to attend CBAs and stoppages between 30m- centre square

Probably not going to be easy playing deep forward in a suspected bottom 4 side but lets hope for a 25 goal, 18 game year

His size and explosive power deep can cause issues for opposition

Rohan doesn’t have anywhere near the physicality of Laverde when he’s actually fit, no way could Rohan play midfield.

His draft profile had him as a Goddard type with more speed. We haven’t really seen him get a run long enough of being fit to play, but I’d think he’d be a Fyfe-lite type of player if he ever got a good run at it.

 

[Keystone agony]

Rohan doesn’t have anywhere near the physicality of Laverde when he’s actually fit, no way could Rohan play midfield.

His draft profile had him as a Goddard type with more speed. We haven’t really seen him get a run long enough of being fit to play, but I’d think he’d be a Fyfe-lite type of player if he ever got a good run at it.

I dont actually think Laverde is a capable midfielder anymore either. He doesnt have that game

 

[katana]

I dont actually think Laverde is a capable midfielder anymore either. He doesnt have that game

his bits and pieces are actually pretty good. i recall during one of our last games of the year that lav attended a few centre bounces, and we not only won a few but didn't concede a clean clearance the other way. you'd have to specify what's meant by "that game". i'd say none of our midfield have a proper midfield game (i.e. an understanding of both the defensive, offensive and physical components) except mcgrath and shiel.

either way, the gary rohan

23

Gary Rohan

Age

32

Ht

189cm

Wt

92kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

9.6

2star

K

6.6

3star

HB

3.0

3star

M

3.3

3star

T

2.5

4star

G

1.0

4star

D

8.8

2star

K

6.0

2star

HB

2.8

2star

M

3.4

3star

T

2.3

3star

G

1.0

4star

D

9.8

3star

K

6.8

3star

HB

3.0

3star

M

2.2

3star

T

4.2

5star

G

1.2

4star

comparison is completely bizarre. his closest comparison would be mason wood

32

Mason Wood

Age

30

Ht

192cm

Wt

86kg

Pos.

Mid

Career

Season

Last 5

D

13.2

3star

K

7.8

3star

HB

5.4

4star

M

4.0

4star

T

2.2

4star

CL

0.3

2star

D

8.3

2star

K

2.7

1star

HB

5.7

3star

M

1.7

2star

T

1.3

2star

CL

0.0

1star

D

15.8

4star

K

8.6

4star

HB

7.2

5star

M

4.6

5star

T

2.6

4star

CL

0.6

3star

.

 

[Schnitzengruben]

his bits and pieces are actually pretty good. i recall during one of our last games of the year that lav attended a few centre bounces, and we not only won a few but didn't concede a clean clearance the other way. you'd have to specify what's meant by "that game". i'd say none of our midfield have a proper midfield game (i.e. an understanding of both the defensive, offensive and physical components) except mcgrath and shiel.

either way, the gary rohan

23

Gary Rohan

Age

32

Ht

189cm

Wt

92kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

9.6

2star

K

6.6

3star

HB

3.0

3star

M

3.3

3star

T

2.5

4star

G

1.0

4star

D

8.8

2star

K

6.0

2star

HB

2.8

2star

M

3.4

3star

T

2.3

3star

G

1.0

4star

D

9.8

3star

K

6.8

3star

HB

3.0

3star

M

2.2

3star

T

4.2

5star

G

1.2

4star

comparison is completely bizarre. his closest comparison would be mason wood

32

Mason Wood

Age

30

Ht

192cm

Wt

86kg

Pos.

Mid

Career

Season

Last 5

D

13.2

3star

K

7.8

3star

HB

5.4

4star

M

4.0

4star

T

2.2

4star

CL

0.3

2star

D

8.3

2star

K

2.7

1star

HB

5.7

3star

M

1.7

2star

T

1.3

2star

CL

0.0

1star

D

15.8

4star

K

8.6

4star

HB

7.2

5star

M

4.6

5star

T

2.6

4star

CL

0.6

3star

.

Yeah he won a couple against Melbourne iirc and he unlike most of our midfielders was able to use his size to his advantage. He looked good doing so.

 

[JayJ20]

his bits and pieces are actually pretty good. i recall during one of our last games of the year that lav attended a few centre bounces, and we not only won a few but didn't concede a clean clearance the other way. you'd have to specify what's meant by "that game". i'd say none of our midfield have a proper midfield game (i.e. an understanding of both the defensive, offensive and physical components) except mcgrath and shiel.

either way, the gary rohan

23

Gary Rohan

Age

32

Ht

189cm

Wt

92kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

9.6

2star

K

6.6

3star

HB

3.0

3star

M

3.3

3star

T

2.5

4star

G

1.0

4star

D

8.8

2star

K

6.0

2star

HB

2.8

2star

M

3.4

3star

T

2.3

3star

G

1.0

4star

D

9.8

3star

K

6.8

3star

HB

3.0

3star

M

2.2

3star

T

4.2

5star

G

1.2

4star

comparison is completely bizarre. his closest comparison would be mason wood

32

Mason Wood

Age

30

Ht

192cm

Wt

86kg

Pos.

Mid

Career

Season

Last 5

D

13.2

3star

K

7.8

3star

HB

5.4

4star

M

4.0

4star

T

2.2

4star

CL

0.3

2star

D

8.3

2star

K

2.7

1star

HB

5.7

3star

M

1.7

2star

T

1.3

2star

CL

0.0

1star

D

15.8

4star

K

8.6

4star

HB

7.2

5star

M

4.6

5star

T

2.6

4star

CL

0.6

3star

.

What I initially wanted Laverde to do as a mid is use his size to block and tackle for the likes of Parish, McGrath, Merrett etc. Do the tough stuff in contests, dish it out to our runners and give us a marking option. He already uses his strength inside 50 to dish it out to our forwards, which is why (IIRC) his score involvements/score assists are typically higher than most of our forwards. Unfortunately, his injuries have taken his ability to develop a tank to be a midfielder.

I still want him and Stringer to attend a couple of centre bounces so that we can have some size in the middle, but unless they somehow develop a tank, I can't see anything more than that happening.

 

[ghostdog]

I dont actually think Laverde is a capable midfielder anymore either. He doesnt have that game

It's weird how Laverde still has so many believers in his ability. I'm one. The glimpses he has shown through midfield, though he has barely played there, have been exciting. I'm keen to see that again but I might also just be tragic.

 

[Maxabillions]

Could Laverde and Stringer have the tank of one midfielder between them?

Rotating the two of them so we always have one in the midfield and one in the forward line seems like a good idea.

 

[ghostdog]

Could Laverde and Stringer have the tank of one midfielder between them?

Rotating the two of them so we always have one in the midfield and one in the forward line seems like a good idea.

How good would that be? I would be very satisfied with one Cupido-like season from Laverde but even that looks unlikely.

 

[JayJ20]

It's weird how Laverde still has so many believers in his ability. I'm one. The glimpses he has shown through midfield, though he has barely played there, have been exciting. I'm keen to see that again but I might also just be tragic.

There's reason to believe he could make an impact as a mid. He has the size, strength and competitiveness in contests to win the ball, stand up in tackles and dish out a handball. What he and Stringer don't have is the ability to go from contest to contest all day. They won't be able to average more than 20 possessions. I know it's a long shot, but I am hoping Rutten will ruthlessly push these two to work on their endurance and running capacity from day one.

It's Laverde's last chance so I'm hoping Rutten is a little more open minded with his position. Rutten seems to rate him based on his conversation with him and experimented with his midfield ability when he attended a few centre bounces in his first game back vs Melbourne.

 

[ghostdog]

There's reason to believe he could make an impact as a mid. He has the size, strength and competitiveness in contests to win the ball, stand up in tackles and dish out a handball. What he and Stringer don't have is the ability to go from contest to contest all day. They won't be able to average more than 20 possessions. I know it's a long shot, but I am hoping Rutten will ruthlessly push these two to work on their endurance and running capacity from day one.

It's Laverde's last chance so I'm hoping Rutten is a little more open minded with his position. Rutten seems to rate him based on his conversation with him and experimented with his midfield ability when he attended a few centre bounces in his first game back vs Melbourne.

He has competitiveness in spades! It would be great to see him have a good run at it. Without having brought in a bull, I don't see many other options. Someone on Blitz suggested Francis but there's no way on this earth he has the tank for it.

Edited: semantics

 

[Runk]

I for one would love to see him 'break out' next season. I'm also incredibly aware that I've been saying this every fecking year he's been on our list.

 

[JT_the_Man]

This is the year.

Well, next year, but you get what I mean.

 

[TheFrenchCut]

Could Laverde and Stringer have the tank of one midfielder between them?

Rotating the two of them so we always have one in the midfield and one in the forward line seems like a good idea.

Absolutely. If he's ok enough to be on the field, there really is no reason why he can't reach the level of fitness required to play Stringer's centre bounce appearance to forwardline role.

The bloke has plenty of the tricks required and does the basics really well too. Look at this piss-taking here:



But this is a better example - he takes the simple option in traffic most of the time, is good by either hand and absorbs contact in close as well as anyone else on our entire list which both reflects well on him and terribly on us.

However almost all of this doesn't matter because even if you did manage to convince anyone he should be used up the ground (even if just occasionally) then you'd need him to somehow break the curse that requires him to have a long layoff from a seemingly innocuous incident each season.

Ugh. Lav makes me feel like this every offseason:

 

[DapperJong]

you guys are on crack