Kong
Hall of Famer
- Oct 11, 2007
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Welcome to Essendon, Jake Melksham.
Profile, thanks to AFLDraftInfo.com:
[youtube]VFIxAubvnTc[/youtube]
[youtube]1uKNEw0ZXYw[/youtube]
Traded #17: Jake Melksham - Traded to Melbourne for pick 25
- Thread starter Kong
- Start date
- Tagged users None
Welcome to Essendon, Jake Melksham.
Profile, thanks to AFLDraftInfo.com:
[youtube]VFIxAubvnTc[/youtube]
[youtube]1uKNEw0ZXYw[/youtube]
- Nov 28, 2006
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Re: Jake Melksham
Great pick up
Great pick up
- Nov 23, 2008
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Re: Jake Melksham
Let the Melksham Puns begin.
Let the Melksham Puns begin.
eth-dog
Tier 1 WW Player
Re: Jake Melksham
in b4 MelkshamWOW
in b4 MelkshamWOW
Re: Jake Melksham
I'll have a chocolate Melksham with that.
I'll have a chocolate Melksham with that.
Re: Jake Melksham
Geez that second youtube doesn't do him many favours.
Still an excellent prospect and I hope we won't look back at this draft as we did with Kepler Bradley.
Geez that second youtube doesn't do him many favours.
Still an excellent prospect and I hope we won't look back at this draft as we did with Kepler Bradley.
Re: Jake Melksham
Got milk? . . . Nope got Melksham
Got milk? . . . Nope got Melksham
KING-JAMES
Club Legend
Re: Jake Melksham
Yeah very happy.
Could be anything.
Yeah very happy.
Could be anything.
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danielcan
Norm Smith Medallist
- Sep 23, 2006
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Re: Jake Melksham
21 November 2009 (in his own words)
The Age Blogs
Seems pretty down to earth.
http://blogs.theage.com.au/realfooty/archives/2009/11/draft_dream_the.html
21 November 2009 (in his own words)
The Age Blogs
Draft Dream: the challenge of exams
As covered by Mitch Duncan in the last Draft Dream blog, the AFL National Draft Camp was everything I expected and more. The week was filled with tiring days, vigorous testing and intense interviews with AFL clubs. I was given the opportunity to speak to the majority of the clubs and eventually become accustomed to the interviewing process.
more
Seems pretty down to earth.
http://blogs.theage.com.au/realfooty/archives/2009/11/draft_dream_the.html
DaSawx
Brownlow Medallist
Re: Jake Melksham
Welcome Jake
Welcome Jake
ant555
The Oracle
- May 4, 2004
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Re: Jake Melksham
Pick 10 Jake Melsham Calder Cannons 184cm 73kg
Picked who they thought was the best midfield available after having their sights set on Lucas or Moore believing Melksham would be heading to Port Adelaide so they finished in front there by getting the midfielder they rated the best out of the 3 or 4 players identified for pick 10.
Melksham tested well at draft camp with good 20 meter sprint times, a good agility test and a very strong beep test showing he does possess the athletic ability to develop into a good midfielder.
Pace wise he is pretty handy and can burn opponents off and sustain a decent pace but he is not in the lightning quick class so he generally kicks after one bounce on the run.
Skills wise he uses both sides and on his day his kicking can be exceptional but his day has not been every week and he has had a few very poor days as well where he has struggled to hit targets. His kicking action is good enough so there are no problems there and when he is at his best he can pin point long targets.
He simply has to fine tune his game so he consistently chooses better options week in and week out rather than making quick or poor choices by foot and dropping off consistency wise some week.
Melsham played for Vic Metro in the Champ series this year playing midfield and small forward and he had a steady series without doing anything really outstanding. He worked hard and won a bit of the ball in some games but they where also punctuated with some very poor decisions by foot that resulted in a few turnovers at times even when he was not under any great pressure. He was in the better players against Queensland and after a shaky start was good in the second half against WA in the final game. His kicking efficiency of 50% showed he struggled a bit at times. Overall he averaged 18 disposals a game.
He lifted his output a bit in the latter half of the year and finished of with a great game in the TAC Cup grand final where he realised his full potential on the day winning a good number of clearances and using the ball really well including several exceptional 50 meter passes to leading forwards.
It was a big step up from his previous two finals games where he had limited impact with minimal disposals after kicking off the finals series with a pretty good game in week 1.
Now I will mention his clearance work as it has been mentioned in just about every review that he will provide much needed back up for Watson but I have to say he is a different sort of player to Jobe.
Jake tends to win more of his clearances reading the ball off the hands and quickly breaking free rather than reading the ball in close and burrowing in and feeding out. He does attack the contest hard but the greater percentage of his centre bounce clearances are from clear tap work that he has been able to read well directly off the hands and not off the 50/50 hit outs that find the ground.
Given his good read off the hands he should work in well with Ryder who does possess the exceptional ability to hit to advantage.
Melkshams read off the hands does extend to reading other ruckman well and his positioning and ability to move in swiftly is one of his stand outs.
He has pretty clean hands at ground level and is pretty smart by hand in close and does make good decisions at the stoppages around the ground.
He has the ability to play an outside running role and his work rate and endurance allow him to push forward or wide and find space to be the next link in the chain.
Tackling wise he is ok without being outstanding but he does work hard defensively and he is prepared to put on a block or shepherd for his team mates.
He is also a reasonably good mark and can kick goals when he plays forward where his good read off the pack also comes in handy.
There is not a lot of him physically so I would not expect he will play a lot of footy next year but he is a chance to get some senior experience on ability alone. I just don’t expect him to be physically ready to play more than 8 or 9 games at the most.
Jake was in the middle group of midfielders and was picked in the range most expected him to be picked. He has the potential to be an elite midfielder if he can bring his A game most weeks but so far he has struggled to do that with some weeks seeing him struggle to make an impact with limited possessions for a midfielder or other weeks with ordinary kicking. He has not been a massive possession accumulator at TAC Cup level and struggled a little in the division 1 champ games and a couple of the finals this year.
The GF showed what he has to offer at his best. Now he has to prove hen can deliver more consistently a couple of levels up from what he has played.
TAC Cup stats
10 games
Averages
Kicks 11.8 at 60% efficiency
Handball 6.2 at 70% efficiency
Disposals 18 at 70% efficiency
Tackles 2.3
Marks 3.6
Pick 10 Jake Melsham Calder Cannons 184cm 73kg
Picked who they thought was the best midfield available after having their sights set on Lucas or Moore believing Melksham would be heading to Port Adelaide so they finished in front there by getting the midfielder they rated the best out of the 3 or 4 players identified for pick 10.
Melksham tested well at draft camp with good 20 meter sprint times, a good agility test and a very strong beep test showing he does possess the athletic ability to develop into a good midfielder.
Pace wise he is pretty handy and can burn opponents off and sustain a decent pace but he is not in the lightning quick class so he generally kicks after one bounce on the run.
Skills wise he uses both sides and on his day his kicking can be exceptional but his day has not been every week and he has had a few very poor days as well where he has struggled to hit targets. His kicking action is good enough so there are no problems there and when he is at his best he can pin point long targets.
He simply has to fine tune his game so he consistently chooses better options week in and week out rather than making quick or poor choices by foot and dropping off consistency wise some week.
Melsham played for Vic Metro in the Champ series this year playing midfield and small forward and he had a steady series without doing anything really outstanding. He worked hard and won a bit of the ball in some games but they where also punctuated with some very poor decisions by foot that resulted in a few turnovers at times even when he was not under any great pressure. He was in the better players against Queensland and after a shaky start was good in the second half against WA in the final game. His kicking efficiency of 50% showed he struggled a bit at times. Overall he averaged 18 disposals a game.
He lifted his output a bit in the latter half of the year and finished of with a great game in the TAC Cup grand final where he realised his full potential on the day winning a good number of clearances and using the ball really well including several exceptional 50 meter passes to leading forwards.
It was a big step up from his previous two finals games where he had limited impact with minimal disposals after kicking off the finals series with a pretty good game in week 1.
Now I will mention his clearance work as it has been mentioned in just about every review that he will provide much needed back up for Watson but I have to say he is a different sort of player to Jobe.
Jake tends to win more of his clearances reading the ball off the hands and quickly breaking free rather than reading the ball in close and burrowing in and feeding out. He does attack the contest hard but the greater percentage of his centre bounce clearances are from clear tap work that he has been able to read well directly off the hands and not off the 50/50 hit outs that find the ground.
Given his good read off the hands he should work in well with Ryder who does possess the exceptional ability to hit to advantage.
Melkshams read off the hands does extend to reading other ruckman well and his positioning and ability to move in swiftly is one of his stand outs.
He has pretty clean hands at ground level and is pretty smart by hand in close and does make good decisions at the stoppages around the ground.
He has the ability to play an outside running role and his work rate and endurance allow him to push forward or wide and find space to be the next link in the chain.
Tackling wise he is ok without being outstanding but he does work hard defensively and he is prepared to put on a block or shepherd for his team mates.
He is also a reasonably good mark and can kick goals when he plays forward where his good read off the pack also comes in handy.
There is not a lot of him physically so I would not expect he will play a lot of footy next year but he is a chance to get some senior experience on ability alone. I just don’t expect him to be physically ready to play more than 8 or 9 games at the most.
Jake was in the middle group of midfielders and was picked in the range most expected him to be picked. He has the potential to be an elite midfielder if he can bring his A game most weeks but so far he has struggled to do that with some weeks seeing him struggle to make an impact with limited possessions for a midfielder or other weeks with ordinary kicking. He has not been a massive possession accumulator at TAC Cup level and struggled a little in the division 1 champ games and a couple of the finals this year.
The GF showed what he has to offer at his best. Now he has to prove hen can deliver more consistently a couple of levels up from what he has played.
TAC Cup stats
10 games
Averages
Kicks 11.8 at 60% efficiency
Handball 6.2 at 70% efficiency
Disposals 18 at 70% efficiency
Tackles 2.3
Marks 3.6
ant555
The Oracle
- May 4, 2004
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Re: Jake Melksham
Have to say i am surprised at the number of people in the crystal ball thread that seem to think young Jake is simply going to step into the side and play 22 games this year.
He will have to eat a crap load of protien powder between now and march to pull it off
Have to say i am surprised at the number of people in the crystal ball thread that seem to think young Jake is simply going to step into the side and play 22 games this year.
He will have to eat a crap load of protien powder between now and march to pull it off
- Nov 23, 2008
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Re: Jake Melksham
I hear Whomb is already onto that.
But seriously, I think he'll have a season like Zaharakis. Get a few games under his belt and then return to the VFL. Oh and win a game off his own boot.
He will have to eat a crap load of protien powder between now and march to pull it off
I hear Whomb is already onto that.
But seriously, I think he'll have a season like Zaharakis. Get a few games under his belt and then return to the VFL. Oh and win a game off his own boot.
Re: Jake Melksham
Heh, have to say I concur with this. People seem to have unrealistic expectations of him. Even before the draft people in the know (like yourself) were saying that this years crop weren't AFL ready like some players have been over the last few years. You just need to look at him to realise that, while he is very fit and I believe he had the lowest skin folds at draft camp, he is also very very light.
Also, another factor people are seemingly overlooking is the fact that many reports have said that he was inconsistent during '09. This would indicate that he may need time to develop as skinny inconsistent players generally don't play 15+ games in their first year.
Having said that at his best he looks very skillful so I'd expect he may crack a few senior games unless all of our fringe players really step up next year.
Have to say i am surprised at the number of people in the crystal ball thread that seem to think young Jake is simply going to step into the side and play 22 games this year.
He will have to eat a crap load of protien powder between now and march to pull it off
Heh, have to say I concur with this. People seem to have unrealistic expectations of him. Even before the draft people in the know (like yourself) were saying that this years crop weren't AFL ready like some players have been over the last few years. You just need to look at him to realise that, while he is very fit and I believe he had the lowest skin folds at draft camp, he is also very very light.
Also, another factor people are seemingly overlooking is the fact that many reports have said that he was inconsistent during '09. This would indicate that he may need time to develop as skinny inconsistent players generally don't play 15+ games in their first year.
Having said that at his best he looks very skillful so I'd expect he may crack a few senior games unless all of our fringe players really step up next year.
Re: Jake Melksham
Would be shocked if he managed a game this year in the seniors.
Would be shocked if he managed a game this year in the seniors.
Re: Jake Melksham
I wouldn't be shocked, but at the same time don't expect him to play that many games. If he does get a game it would mean his form in the VFL would be strong which is exactly what we want of course. Can't see why we can't use him in an outside role until he bulks up a bit.
I wouldn't be shocked, but at the same time don't expect him to play that many games. If he does get a game it would mean his form in the VFL would be strong which is exactly what we want of course. Can't see why we can't use him in an outside role until he bulks up a bit.
Re: Jake Melksham
I think its all coming from knights saying that all draftees are in contention for round 1 spot. Also i dont think S hill from freo was much bigger on debut (coulda been skinner). However i tend to agree that 5 games for the Melk would be a huge effort, i tend to think he will get a game early under knights to prove himself and get some experience.
I think its all coming from knights saying that all draftees are in contention for round 1 spot. Also i dont think S hill from freo was much bigger on debut (coulda been skinner). However i tend to agree that 5 games for the Melk would be a huge effort, i tend to think he will get a game early under knights to prove himself and get some experience.
ant555
The Oracle
- May 4, 2004
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Re: Jake Melksham
Yes but Steve Hill came out of a stronger draft and played senior footy before last year. Despite him being on the small side he was much further developed than Melksham currently is.
Yes but Steve Hill came out of a stronger draft and played senior footy before last year. Despite him being on the small side he was much further developed than Melksham currently is.
Re: Jake Melksham
Well heeeellllloooooooooooo
Looked the goods.
Altho he didn't finish, knew how to get it and where it should go.
14 contested possessions from a kid with still a bit of muscle to put on, I think we've got a live one here!
Well heeeellllloooooooooooo
Looked the goods.
Altho he didn't finish, knew how to get it and where it should go.
14 contested possessions from a kid with still a bit of muscle to put on, I think we've got a live one here!
Re: 17. Jake Melksham
jeez he looked good for a first gamer. Very, very smooth mover, silky & skilful
jeez he looked good for a first gamer. Very, very smooth mover, silky & skilful
Ben the Gooner
Stand by Hird
Re: 17. Jake Melksham
What's this?
2 (count 'em) silky mids in the last 2 drafts
What's this?
2 (count 'em) silky mids in the last 2 drafts
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