Player Watch #19 Peter Ladhams

[Grand Uncle Horace]

Has been ordinary at best in each game. Maybe this is his ceiling.

He is fortunate Horse and Beatson do not value quality ruckmen

 

[Deccas]

I'm with you on this.

Re weekend, did some nice things, countered by some pretty bad stuff too. In between had zero impact on stopping Grundy's influence. The fact that there is such a gulf between his best and worst and this exists within 4 quarters of footy, tells me he's unreliable. Whether this improves with time, it's anyone's guess.

He probably will improve. Rucks tend to be at thier best later in thier careers than most other players. Probably 5 years off really being at the top of his game.

 

[scaryness]

This is more emotional superficial, stats may show otherwise

But Hickey I really like, admire the way he plays, trust him as a fan , think he is a good player for us.

Overall I feel like Ladhams kinda sucks, just haven't warmed to him as a fan, feel like he does more things poorly than he does them well.

As i said some stats may show he is better than Hickey and a good ruckman , but just also don't trust him to keep his cool

Hickey is a much better player, or at least he has been and should continue to get preference when available.

Ladhams is basically a new Sinclair imo. Mobile ruckman who is not actually that good in the ruck but gets a decent amount of midfield possessions and makes a lot of odd, costly mistakes.

 

[BloodySwan]

Ladhams is getting way too much hate. He's a much better player than what everyone is saying and he is still relatively young. Just turned 25, less than 50 games, this isn't his best yet.

Really backing Ladhams to prove the haters wrong. This time next year I expect we'll be singing his praises

 

[Grand Uncle Horace]

Ladhams is getting way too much hate. He's a much better player than what everyone is saying and he is still relatively young. Just turned 25, less than 50 games, this isn't his best yet.

Really backing Ladhams to prove the haters wrong. This time next year I expect we'll be singing his praises

No-one hates him that I am aware of. I hope you are right but suspect you are wrong re his development.

 

[LukeParkerno1]

Hickey is a much better player, or at least he has been and should continue to get preference when available.

Ladhams is basically a new Sinclair imo. Mobile ruckman who is not actually that good in the ruck but gets a decent amount of midfield possessions and makes a lot of odd, costly mistakes.

Reminds me of a Jarrod Witts. He's 2 years away but I'm fine with his development. The query is do we go now and just run with one ruck or do we go 2, personally I feel Hickey is way too injury prone to run with just 1, and Amartey can't do full ruck games if an injury occurs.

 

[RubbaDuck]

Ladhams is getting way too much hate. He's a much better player than what everyone is saying and he is still relatively young. Just turned 25, less than 50 games, this isn't his best yet.

Really backing Ladhams to prove the haters wrong. This time next year I expect we'll be singing his praises

I don't hate him, I just don't rate him. Ladham's just a crap player. He makes bad decisions, he's lazy, self-obsessed and as thick as two planks.

Near the end of that piece of crap we served up on the weekend, Ladhams starts sooking to the umpire while the ball is in play in the area. With his back turned to the play he leaves us one man down. His kicks miss targets, his handballs are rubbish, he struggles to hang onto an uncontested mark, he even has the ball snatched out of his hands like some soft little girlie (apologies to little girlies, it's ok for you to be soft). He's only tough when he's taking someone out in a dog act behind play. Hickey, Reid and Amartey are all better rucks who add a lot more value on ball.

We keep letting go of our good rucks while we persist with garbage like Ladhams. We should look to re-sign Naismith or at least give one of our young guys a crack until Hickey and/or Reid are back. Ladhams will never get us to a premiership.

 

[RubbaDuck]

Hickey is a much better player, or at least he has been and should continue to get preference when available.

Ladhams is basically a new Sinclair imo. Mobile ruckman who is not actually that good in the ruck but gets a decent amount of midfield possessions and makes a lot of odd, costly mistakes.

Sinkers had much more heart than Ladhams. He battled hard and gave everything he had on the field.

 

[LukeParkerno1]

Ladhams will never get us to a premiership.

Based on what? He's so young in ruckman age. He may not and you may be right but we won't know till the next premiership cycle. Hickey is still available at least this year and probably next.

 

[RubbaDuck]

Based on what? He's so young in ruckman age. He may not and you may be right but we won't know till the next premiership cycle. Hickey is still available at least this year and probably next.

I trust my gut. He's not the competitive beast that Hickey is. Tatts on a young bloke suggest a "look at me" attitude, whereas he's done nothing worth looking at. He's lazy and easily distracted. He can only play well when he's angry but that's too easy to step over the line. He's a handy backup ruck, no more than that. We should have our heads hanging out of the premiership window over the next 5-10 years or so, but Ladhams isn't going to get us there. Of course that's only my opinion.

 

[LukeParkerno1]

I trust my gut. He's not the competitive beast that Hickey is. Tatts on a young bloke suggest a "look at me" attitude, whereas he's done nothing worth looking at. He's lazy and easily distracted. He can only play well when he's angry but that's too easy to step over the line. He's a handy backup ruck, no more than that. We should have our heads hanging out of the premiership window over the next 5-10 years or so, but Ladhams isn't going to get us there. Of course that's only my opinion.

In an ideal world we'd find the next star ruck but plenty of average rucks have won premierships

 

[Olian]

Ladham’s was well beaten by Grundy who’s one of the better rucks in the game. The difference between his best and worst is wide.

Unfortunately Hickey is 32 and injury prone so we need Ladhams to lift. Our ruck depth is poor not to dissimilar to other clubs. Only need to look at Grundy’s old club to see the issue of having a decent ruck list.

 

[the hypnotoad]

I trust my gut. He's not the competitive beast that Hickey is. Tatts on a young bloke suggest a "look at me" attitude, whereas he's done nothing worth looking at. He's lazy and easily distracted. He can only play well when he's angry but that's too easy to step over the line. He's a handy backup ruck, no more than that. We should have our heads hanging out of the premiership window over the next 5-10 years or so, but Ladhams isn't going to get us there. Of course that's only my opinion.

geez, that's not much of a guide ... like flies on a pig
ladhams does come across as a bit duh ... but i think he's worth persisting with ... not sure we have much choice
and we're in a premiership cycle now

 

[LukeParkerno1]

Ladham’s was well beaten by Grundy who’s one of the better rucks in the game. The difference between his best and worst is wide.

Unfortunately Hickey is 32 and injury prone so we need Ladhams to lift. Our ruck depth is poor not to dissimilar to other clubs. Only need to look at Grundy’s old club to see the issue of having a decent ruck list.

Harsh thought he competed very well. Just missed a few targets which stick out to many on here. No shame getting beaten by Grundy.

 

[TheMase]

Worth noting that Hickey came to us as a journeyman 29 year old ruck who was unable to secure a best 22 spot until he arrived at the Swans. Most here thought he was a dud…

Ladhams is 4 years behind him in development from that point of view.

 

[LukeParkerno1]

Worth noting that Hickey came to us as a journeyman 29 year old ruck who was unable to secure a best 22 spot until he arrived at the Swans. Most here thought he was a dud…

Ladhams is 4 years behind him in development from that point of view.

Yep and most rucks tend to mature mid to late 20’s. Ladhams is tracking fine but he’s young

 

[Jewelsbon]

Hickey is a much better player, or at least he has been and should continue to get preference when available.

Ladhams is basically a new Sinclair imo. Mobile ruckman who is not actually that good in the ruck but gets a decent amount of midfield possessions and makes a lot of odd, costly mistakes.

I'm not great when it comes to researching stats so can someone more able than I, give us some comparison between Hickey back in 2016 and Ladhams now? That would probably paint a clearer picture.

 

[Dubai Quacker]

I'm not great when it comes to researching stats so can someone more able than I, give us some comparison between Hickey back in 2016 and Ladhams now? That would probably paint a clearer picture.

2016 Hickey: mild-mannered, thoughtful

Now Ladhams: hot-headed, impulsive

 

[Jewelsbon]

2016 Hickey: mild-mannered, thoughtful

Now Ladhams: hot-headed, impulsive

That's a personality thing though and hot headed and impulsive, if controlled, can be great assets in sport. I'm interested in actually, statistical comparisons.

 

[Olian]

I'm not great when it comes to researching stats so can someone more able than I, give us some comparison between Hickey back in 2016 and Ladhams now? That would probably paint a clearer picture.

From Footywire at the same age

Player Statistics Comparison​

Tom Hickey​ Name​ Peter Ladhams​ Sydney Swans​ Team​ Sydney Swans​ Ruck​ Position​ Ruck​ 139​ Career Games​ 46​ Morningside​ Origin​ Norwood​ March 6, 1991​ Date of Birth​ January 14, 1998​ Turned 25 in 2016​ Age​ 25yr 2mth​ 202cm​ Height​ 202cm​ 97kg​ Weight​ 101kg​ Last Drafted In​ 2016 Rookie Draft​ Last Draft Position​ Round 1, Pick #9​ Last Drafted By​ Port Adelaide Power​ 2016​ Stats for Season​ 2023​ 20​ Games​ 3​ 5.2​ Kicks​ 7.7​ 8.1​ Handballs​ 8.7​ 13.2​ Disposals​ 16.3​ 3.0​ Marks​ 4.3​ 0.1​ Goals​ 0​ 0.3​ Behinds​ 0​ 3.2​ Tackles​ 2.3​ 28.7​ Hitouts​ 16.3​ 1.4​ Inside 50s​ 3.0​ 0.4​ Goal Assists​ 0​ 1.1​ Frees For​ 1.3​ 2.2​ Frees Against​ 2.0​ 8.6​ Contested Possessions​ 7.3​ 4.8​ Uncontested Possessions​ 8.7​ 9.2​ Effective Disposals​ 11.7​ 69.7%​ Disposal Efficiency %​ 71.8%​ 3.5​ Clangers​ 5.0​ 1.2​ Contested Marks​ 0.3​ 0.5​ Marks Inside 50​ 0.3​ 3.6​ Clearances​ 4.7​ 0.9​ Rebound 50s​ 0.7​ 3.1​ One Percenters​

 

[Jewelsbon]

From Footywire at the same age

Player Statistics Comparison​

Tom Hickey​ Name​ Peter Ladhams​ Sydney Swans​ Team​ Sydney Swans​ Ruck​ Position​ Ruck​ 139​ Career Games​ 46​ Morningside​ Origin​ Norwood​ March 6, 1991​ Date of Birth​ January 14, 1998​ Turned 25 in 2016​ Age​ 25yr 2mth​ 202cm​ Height​ 202cm​ 97kg​ Weight​ 101kg​ Last Drafted In​ 2016 Rookie Draft​ Last Draft Position​ Round 1, Pick #9​ Last Drafted By​ Port Adelaide Power​ 2016​ Stats for Season​ 2023​ 20​ Games​ 3​ 5.2​ Kicks​ 7.7​ 8.1​ Handballs​ 8.7​ 13.2​ Disposals​ 16.3​ 3.0​ Marks​ 4.3​ 0.1​ Goals​ 0​ 0.3​ Behinds​ 0​ 3.2​ Tackles​ 2.3​ 28.7​ Hitouts​ 16.3​ 1.4​ Inside 50s​ 3.0​ 0.4​ Goal Assists​ 0​ 1.1​ Frees For​ 1.3​ 2.2​ Frees Against​ 2.0​ 8.6​ Contested Possessions​ 7.3​ 4.8​ Uncontested Possessions​ 8.7​ 9.2​ Effective Disposals​ 11.7​ 69.7%​ Disposal Efficiency %​ 71.8%​ 3.5​ Clangers​ 5.0​ 1.2​ Contested Marks​ 0.3​ 0.5​ Marks Inside 50​ 0.3​ 3.6​ Clearances​ 4.7​ 0.9​ Rebound 50s​ 0.7​ 3.1​ One Percenters​

Thank you Olian that's exactly what I wanted to see.

 

[Deccas]

From Footywire at the same age

Player Statistics Comparison​

Tom Hickey​ Name​ Peter Ladhams​ Sydney Swans​ Team​ Sydney Swans​ Ruck​ Position​ Ruck​ 139​ Career Games​ 46​ Morningside​ Origin​ Norwood​ March 6, 1991​ Date of Birth​ January 14, 1998​ Turned 25 in 2016​ Age​ 25yr 2mth​ 202cm​ Height​ 202cm​ 97kg​ Weight​ 101kg​ Last Drafted In​ 2016 Rookie Draft​ Last Draft Position​ Round 1, Pick #9​ Last Drafted By​ Port Adelaide Power​ 2016​ Stats for Season​ 2023​ 20​ Games​ 3​ 5.2​ Kicks​ 7.7​ 8.1​ Handballs​ 8.7​ 13.2​ Disposals​ 16.3​ 3.0​ Marks​ 4.3​ 0.1​ Goals​ 0​ 0.3​ Behinds​ 0​ 3.2​ Tackles​ 2.3​ 28.7​ Hitouts​ 16.3​ 1.4​ Inside 50s​ 3.0​ 0.4​ Goal Assists​ 0​ 1.1​ Frees For​ 1.3​ 2.2​ Frees Against​ 2.0​ 8.6​ Contested Possessions​ 7.3​ 4.8​ Uncontested Possessions​ 8.7​ 9.2​ Effective Disposals​ 11.7​ 69.7%​ Disposal Efficiency %​ 71.8%​ 3.5​ Clangers​ 5.0​ 1.2​ Contested Marks​ 0.3​ 0.5​ Marks Inside 50​ 0.3​ 3.6​ Clearances​ 4.7​ 0.9​ Rebound 50s​ 0.7​ 3.1​ One Percenters​

I reckon what this says is that ladhams is on a fine trajectory but is a different type of player. Doesn't have the same ability around the ruck contest itself, or on the inside, but is better around the ground as "another midfielder" so to speak. Ladhams is a poor man's tim English.

 

[Donza]

I'm prepared to give Ladhams a break as long as he doesn't do any dumb shit.

He's obviously a confidence player. He needs to be developed . Given a decent go at it.

 

[TheMase]

I reckon what this says is that ladhams is on a fine trajectory but is a different type of player. Doesn't have the same ability around the ruck contest itself, or on the inside, but is better around the ground as "another midfielder" so to speak. Ladhams is a poor man's tim English.

That could be because he has less experience in the ruck too though.
Port Adelaide largely used him as a forward/ruck whereas Hickey from what I can tell was always a number 1 ruck, so Hickey would have had far more development as a ruck to the same point in time.

 

[caesar88]

I think Ladhams is better than he thinks he is. I commented the other night that he seemed to be acting nervously even when he was doing something perfectly good. He'd look around both ways when a ball would be coming to him like he was expecting to get bulldozed by an opponent, or fumbling an uncontested mark when no one was around him like he was expecting the opposition to spoil it.

What it really means is that he's done something right - worked harder than his opponent, read the play correctly, outmuscled an opponent to get free, etc. - to be in those positions to get the ball in the first place.

What I think he thinks it means is this is too good to be true, I shouldn't be getting this much ball this easily, I've stuffed up somewhere.

It's perhaps no more evident than when he does those handballs out of the ruck contest. He seems to hesitate on pulling the trigger, like he's unsure if he should be handpassing it off or not, so he waits that extra second too long and by the time he's fired out the handball, the teammate receiving it is already under pressure.

I wish in those cases he'd just back his instinct to dish the ball off by hand in the first place, because it IS the right move. I would much rather see a ruckman who takes possession fire it off to a nearby mid better placed to run and kick, than the ruckman kick the ball himself and it end up a hack kick that goes nowhere. But it doesn't work if you don't do it instantly to create the fast release.

His instinct is right, but his second-guessing of his own instinct makes it go wrong.

Things like these are why I think he's undoing a lot of his own good work, so I'm not inclined to judge him on his entire performances at this stage, more so just the signs that the good work is there at all.