There is a lot being written about disposal efficiency on here. Many are correct imo in identifying the difference between a kick under pressure and one where the player is able to kick whilst in the clear. Obviously ,if they are missing targets whilst in the clear, then that is a real problem.
But I am noticing that this year in particular, virtually all clubs are teaching the art of getting the ball to a ball carrier who is in the clear, at all costs, so that ,that player can hit a target down field by foot. The endless chains of handball by both grandfinalists reflected this philosophy. That , combined with the manic team defence pressure on both sides, virtually eliminated any easy break away from the stoppages, without at least 2-3 handballs in close. Some AFL sides do it better than others, the ones that exploit it the best are the most successful. It usually takes a good coach, players that really play for one another and 100% commitment.
This all originated from the hawks model, and has been built upon by various other coaches, each who bring a slightly different slant upon the same premise- quick , sharp ,repetitive handball, blocking etc in essence a sophisticated keepings off, until the ball can be delivered to a player that is
A in the clear
B on the move
C can run in a straight line to deliver the ball downfield to an hopefully uncontested possession.
The hawks looked so much better than every other team when it came to foot disposal and hitting targets. Not so much because they were all elite kickers of the ball( they werent) , but more so, that they never tried to kick to a target until they were in the clear. So disposal efficiency can go up in a really well drilled team such as the hawks, simply because they were really good at delaying the release, until they found the correct player to release to. The hawks were so well drilled and had the key midfield in place by the time they won the first of the threepeats. Clubs have been playing catch up ever since. Even though other clubs have been catching on to this game plan, the simple fact is that the clarkson drilled hawks were simply better at implementing it. Until this year.
So where does all this fit into our selection of a draftee? Well the constant obsession over disposal eficiency is imo ignoring all that is happening in the new game.
Firstly , even elite afl players have taken a few years to catch on to the hawks well drilled game plan and then become drilled well enough to try to emulate what the hawks were doing. Young players who by and large have hardly played together, can hardly be expected to implement a hawks style game plan , when they are still at school, hardly spend any time training together, and dont have the fitness to implement such a game plan anyway. So we need to look beyond such simple analysis, and look at the youngsters ability to make decisions under pressure, fitness, trainability,. Young players that take the game on at under age level, may look great in high light reels, but it needs to be analysed as to whether this would be able to be implemented under a team defence game plan. Is the player who can really fit into a team defensive structure , necessarily someone who would necessarily stand out in under aged competition? The young players need to spend a lot of time playing with their team mates to become drilled in the way the team plays to really become useful to the team structure