AFL Player #15: Jayden Laverde

15 - laverde.jpg

Contract Status: Unrestricted Free Agent 2025
My Boy Draft 2024: Pick 7, Nuggs Bunny
 
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MattyB3150

Team Captain
May 19, 2014
481
418
AFL Club
Essendon
I still can’t believe the turn around in his career. He was injury prone and struggled up forward. He would have been very close to being delisted.

Since being switched to defense he has been playing as our number one defender every week.
Our poorly defensive midfield have really made him earn his pay checks.
In a good team he would be getting the second or third best defender.

He will definitely be up there in the best and fairest. Top 5 minimum?
 

bombreys

Club Legend
May 8, 2015
2,965
2,010
AFL Club
Essendon
I still can’t believe the turn around in his career. He was injury prone and struggled up forward. He would have been very close to being delisted.

Since being switched to defense he has been playing as our number one defender every week.
Our poorly defensive midfield have really made him earn his pay checks.
In a good team he would be getting the second or third best defender.

He will definitely be up there in the best and fairest. Top 5 minimum?

I really want he and Martin to be top 5 - I think they both deserve it.

And with your first point, reckon you're spot on. He would have been bloody close to being delisted a couple of years ago, I'd have thought.
 

ghostdog

Brownlow Medallist
Oct 18, 2008
16,020
11,856
gondawanaland
AFL Club
Essendon
I think he’s now my outright favourite Essendon footballer, regularly gives inches and kilos away but scraps, claws and stupid brave.

Not only that but he’s somehow also developing a very good to elite intercept game while playing on the most dangerous forward every week.

Ripping success story.
These are reasons why he is leadership material.
 

JayJ20

Brownlow Medallist
Aug 28, 2016
17,146
26,096
AFL Club
Essendon
Not sure how much others agree (and I don't know how he interacts with the playing group), but he is the closest to captain material we have. A Nick Maxwell/Tom Jonas/Dylan Grimes/Dane Rampe style captain.

Make him captain for a couple of years (alongside McGrath) before Hobbs takes over.
 
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Apr 23, 2016
30,510
42,676
AFL Club
Essendon
Has no business being so good on much taller opponents

He's a big unit if you see him in person, seriously strong. You can see how hard to is to move around in-game which allows him to stand his ground against the big guys, has a great leap, and reads the play well.

Would still love to see him playing alongside two actual KPD sized defenders and let he and Ridley play a bit more of an offensive role.
 
May 6, 2007
39,095
22,784
South East Suburbs
AFL Club
Essendon
Other Teams
Tottenham Hotspurs, Melbourne Vixen
Unsure he gets votes after such an even performance (I did give him 1 vote) but he was immense playing against guys significantly taller than him all day (Daniher, Hipwood, Fort, McCinerney) and more than held his own.

Kudos to a new Mr. Reliable
 
Jun 11, 2007
34,086
29,320
Victoria
AFL Club
Essendon
Other Teams
Bayern, Milan, Boston Celtics
Unsure he gets votes after such an even performance (I did give him 1 vote) but he was immense playing against guys significantly taller than him all day (Daniher, Hipwood, Fort, McCinerney) and more than held his own.

Kudos to a new Mr. Reliable
He'd be an AA squad chance purely for how solid he is in defence.
 

Harlequin Dream

Club Legend
Dec 19, 2016
1,719
2,160
AFL Club
Essendon
Other Teams
Memphis Grizzlies
Reverse Coleman is a broken stat in this context. A big reason why he has been leading it has been his durability and the fact that he doesn't get dropped.

There is probably some players that could be leading it but they haven't played 16 games.
 

JayJ20

Brownlow Medallist
Aug 28, 2016
17,146
26,096
AFL Club
Essendon
Unsure he gets votes after such an even performance (I did give him 1 vote) but he was immense playing against guys significantly taller than him all day (Daniher, Hipwood, Fort, McCinerney) and more than held his own.

Kudos to a new Mr. Reliable
He got 5 coaches votes (behind Caldwell 9 and Wright 9) so the recognition is there.
 
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