AFL Player 24: Nick Bryan

[Lore]

Contract Status: Out of contract 2025
My Boy Draft 2024: Pick 16, ant555

 

[ghostdog]

To me the brutal truth is if we rated him that highly we wouldn't have gone out and picked up Goldstein and played him ahead of Bryan as well as playing Draper together with him but not doing the same with Bryan.
We've basically sent the message every which way that he's 3rd in line and only there as a break in case of emergency option right now.

I've never really seen it with him but who knows happy to be wrong if he suddenly breaks out.
That said we do definitely need a backup to Draper as Draper is rarely ever fit for an entire season. Definitely not something to count on.

I think the message we sent is that we needed you now, this year, but you're still not quite there. By recruiting this dinosaur, it should be clear that you have likely one year to get yourself to the level.

Then Goldy throws a spanner in the works by playing like a 25 year old.

 

[Vindicater]

Clearly Draper is a worry.

Bryan will be with us at least until the end of next season. He has until that time to prove he is a number one ruck. It not he will be traded for a pick roughly where we took him and we will try again.

 

[Red Black and Blue]

2 goals, 25 touches, 39 hitouts and 15 clearances. Probably worthy of a game.

 

[BrunoV]

Well he's just played the VFL game, against North, that has me ridiculing myself (conceding that maybe we do look to trade him for value).

That's not to say 1 game is enough but, as I see it, he's put together the different good parts of his game over the last month. It was against reasonable opposition in the form of Hamish Free a 26 year old mature aged recruit listed at 203cm but who was noticeably taller than Bryan, not by much, I'd say by about an inch. Free was clearly more physically developed, as you'd expect given that he is 3 years older (while Bryan is still part boy).

It was one of those games where you can just let the numbers do the talking: 2 goals, 25 possessions, 3 marks (2 contested), 3 tackles, 39 hit outs and 15 clearances. The only part that requires a little bit of clarification is the 15 clearances. I'd say these were majority taking possession from the ruck contest. You'd have to concede that other than getting the ball forward, not much seemed to come from these clearances. But then, that puts them on par with most midfielder clearances and they were generally cleaner than what the players he feeds the ball can manage.

He kicked a goal from a ruck contest. He missed 2 other shots on goal from ruck infringements but realistically he was too far out to kick 1 with a heavy ball. His field kicking was a cut above on a heavy track with a greasy ball. He stood and delivered in contested marking situations to good effect on 10/11 occasions. By that I mean that he was dictating the physical contested even if he didn't pull down the mark. He can sometimes be a passive presence in these contests. He spilled 2 contested marks early which he really should have taken including one I50. He took 2 contested marks, one of which was an absolute beauty flying from 2 deep, and within minutes of being heavily involved in, possibly even starting, a melee. He caught both contested marks cleanly.

He could still give a bit more inside. He should have kicked 3 goals and taken at least 1, maybe 2, more contested grabs.

Game was an 8.5 / 10. It was the best game he has played by a very long way.

 

[andleanback]

Gotta give a goldy a chop up soon, we need our rucks fresh for later in the year. Play 2 rucks over the next couple of weeks

 

[cAsEy_18]

Gotta give a goldy a chop up soon, we need our rucks fresh for later in the year. Play 2 rucks over the next couple of weeks

Yep, I agree. Goldy starting to look slow.

Draper's out for a good while. If we don't trust Bryan to go a full game one-out with only Wright as backup, then need to play Goldstein and Bryan together a few times. Sub one out, whatever, don't care. But we can't be expecting Goldstein to play 20 games... let alone 23 or whatever it is these days.

 

[ant555]

Have not seen the game but the numbers are impressive.

 

[Keystone agony]

Goldys worse game for the year and Bryans best

Make a manage or drop a Davey/Hobbs/HJ and play 2

I prefer the first option for this week. Vs tigers

I know people dont think it ever happens but it does, there is the option to play Goldy as the starting sub

The premiers have played rucks as subs. BZT although not a ruck basically as useless as a sub as one as sub today. Just gives us some backup this week vs tigers if Nank is mauling Bryan and its impacting the result so much it exposes us to a loss

 

[boncer34]

Goldys worse game for the year and Bryans best

Make a manage or drop a Davey/Hobbs/HJ and play 2

I prefer the first option for this week. Vs tigers

I know people dont think it ever happens but it does, there is the option to play Goldy as the starting sub

The premiers have played rucks as subs. BZT although not a ruck basically as useless as a sub as one as sub today. Just gives us some backup this week vs tigers if Nank is mauling Bryan and its impacting the result so much it exposes us to a loss

We know it happens.

It's just dumb.

 

[DERO]

 

[Keystone agony]

We know it happens.

It's just dumb.

The 2 coaches that took their side to the grandfinal are dumb?

 

[boncer34]

The 2 coaches that took their side to the grandfinal are dumb?

When they played a ruck as sub?

Yes.

 

[MarkJohnson#1]

Some crazy talk in this thread.

Firstly, he’s not going anywhere unless a club comes knocking with a godfather offer (hot tip, pick 30 ain’t even close). He’s contracted, and we’ll need him in the next couple of years as we phase Goldy out.

Secondly, we brought Goldy in for a reason, we want to contend, and throwing a 22 year old, who would blow over in a stiff breeze, to the wolves (ie Gawn/Grundy/Briggs/Cameron/Witts etc) ain’t gonna cut it! We saw last year he is nowhere near ready. Great that he’s dominating VFL, let him keep plying his craft there against much lesser types. Once he develops his body to compete with the best then he will earn his spot.

Finally, can we carry Goldy, Wright, Jones and another ruck in the same side? I thought it worked against Collingwood with Draper but I was sceptical beforehand and perhaps their dual ruck setup leant towards it coming off to some degree. Others on here have certainly disagreed with me. I liked it because of what Draper brings to the table. I’m not sure Bryan brings that same skill set (in fact I’m certain of it). So is he currently ahead of Goldy? Simple answer, no. Don’t even get me started with Visentini.

For me it’s a non story. There’s a clear plan to develop him over the next two years to see him come into the side when he truly is ready to compete. By then he’ll be 24. The best rucks in the competition didn’t start genuinely impacting games until they were 25+. The bonus is we may well have the best ruck depth in the competition right now. Perfect list management if you ask me.

 

[BOMBERBLITZ]

There are a lot of other clubs circling Nick Bryan.

I will be devastated if we don't start playing him and he decides to leave when his contract is up!

 

[andleanback]

There are a lot of other clubs circling Nick Bryan.

I will be devastated if we don't start playing him and he decides to leave when his contract is up!

Bryan would be silly to leave. What side is he going to walk into the no1 role? Right now he’s behind goldy who is 36 and Draper who is injury prone, he’s about to come into his prime. He could easily played 6-12 games in the 2nd half of the year and potentially be our best ruck at some point next year.

 

[BrunoV]

Bryan would be silly to leave. What side is he going to walk into the no1 role? Right now he’s behind goldy who is 36 and Draper who is injury prone, he’s about to come into his prime. He could easily played 6-12 games in the 2nd half of the year and potentially be our best ruck at some point next year.

We are not really faced with a different equation to the one we have faced since he was first targeted a few years ago.

Because he is contracted and because nothing can happen until the end of the season, the deck is always heavily stacked in favour of him staying.

If we get to the end of the season, and his level v North becomes the norm, there won't be a discussion. He'll be an Essendon player. Even if he has to watch Goldy play this season, we hold him to his contract and play him next season. If his level drops to what it was for the 3 weeks prior to North, good but not commanding, he's walking into an identical scenario almost anywhere else in the AFL. West Coast is the only club I can see giving the pre-North Bryan any form of assurance of AFL minutes. The clubs who do not have a clear combination play guys who are not suited to forward play, which tends to rule out Bryan getting a gig. It doesn't seem to me that he can play alongside Briggs, Marshall, O'Brien (who probably gets joined by Thilthorp anyway), Meek and Xerri. Geelong has invested in Conway, who looks great. I doubt Melbourne is going to try the 2 ruck experiment again any time soon. There are other no really obvious fits.

 

[bombreys]

Bryan would be silly to leave. What side is he going to walk into the no1 role? Right now he’s behind goldy who is 36 and Draper who is injury prone, he’s about to come into his prime. He could easily played 6-12 games in the 2nd half of the year and potentially be our best ruck at some point next year.

He’d be silly to stay imo.

He’s 3rd in line and can’t get a game while he’s dominating VFL and our best ruck is out - in his 5th year.

I hope he stays simply because I rate him, but if I put myself in his shoes, I think it’d be a terrible decision career-wise to stay.

 

[bombreys]

We are not really faced with a different equation to the one we have faced since he was first targeted a few years ago.

Because he is contracted and because nothing can happen until the end of the season, the deck is always heavily stacked in favour of him staying.

If we get to the end of the season, and his level v North becomes the norm, there won't be a discussion. He'll be an Essendon player. Even if he has to watch Goldy play this season, we hold him to his contract and play him next season. If his level drops to what it was for the 3 weeks prior to North, good but not commanding, he's walking into an identical scenario almost anywhere else in the AFL. West Coast is the only club I can see giving the pre-North Bryan any form of assurance of AFL minutes. The clubs who do not have a clear combination play guys who are not suited to forward play, which tends to rule out Bryan getting a gig. It doesn't seem to me that he can play alongside Briggs, Marshall, O'Brien (who probably gets joined by Thilthorp anyway), Meek and Xerri. Geelong has invested in Conway, who looks great. I doubt Melbourne is going to try the 2 ruck experiment again any time soon. There are other no really obvious fits.

He’s third in line now though - if you were him (22 in your fifth year in better form than the current AFL ruck), would you not take a chance and move elsewhere to at least become a second choice ruck?

 

[fairbump_playon]

He’s third in line now though - if you were him (22 in your fifth year in better form than the current AFL ruck), would you not take a chance and move elsewhere to at least become a second choice ruck?

I don't see Bryan going anywhere at the end of the year. The only way that could happen is if we initiated the trade. But he's progressing too well for us to want to do that.

Goldstein looks amazingly good for his age but is one injury away from finished. The cliff will come quickly.

But if I was Nick Bryan I wouldn't be aiming to be a number 2. He won't be aspiring to a journeyman Andrew Phillips career. He should be eyeing off 150 games and a premiership medal.

The question is whether the club is open to Bryan one day being number 1 over Draper, who has been heavily backed in so far.

I reckon Bryan has huge upside based on his skills. There is a path for him to be better than Draper.

It's really whether he finds the appetite to properly throw his weight around. I'm hoping this just magically comes out as he approaches "man size". Last few weeks in the VFL are a good step forward.

 

[BrunoV]

He’s third in line now though - if you were him (22 in your fifth year in better form than the current AFL ruck), would you not take a chance and move elsewhere to at least become a second choice ruck?

Right now? Yes, I'd want all the games I can get.

But right now is not relevant. It's the end of the season that is important.

 

[faible]

He’d be silly to stay imo.

He’s 3rd in line and can’t get a game while he’s dominating VFL and our best ruck is out - in his 5th year.

I hope he stays simply because I rate him, but if I put myself in his shoes, I think it’d be a terrible decision career-wise to stay.

He's third in line to a guy that is on the fringe of retirement - Goldy has been surprisingly good this year but when the end comes, it comes fast - and a guy that keeps breaking down with injury and probably won't ever play as a sole ruckman.

Where else would he be a starting ruckman right now?

Adelaide (O'Brien), Gold Coast (Witts), Melbourne (Gawn), Brisbane (McInerney), Sydney (Grundy), Port (Soldo), Richmond (Nankervis), Bulldogs (English), St Kilda (Marshall), GWS (Briggs), Fremantle (Darcy & Jackson) are all clearly a no both now and next season (or more).

Which leaves;

Geelong (Stanley, Conway, Blicavs)
Hawthorn (Meek)
North Melbourne (Xerri)
Essendon (Goldstein, Draper)
West Coast (Williams, Flynn)
Collingwood (Cameron, Cox)
Carlton (Pittonet, De Koning)

I wouldn't say he's clearly ahead of any of those right now to be a guaranteed starting ruck. Of that list the most likely to drop away next year is Goldstein & Stanley IMO. In which case he's got Conway & Blicavs versus Draper.

 

[joey_jo_jo]

Havent watched the VFL games, has he started to take more contested grabs and is he capable of physically imposing himself? Or is he more the English type big midfielder ruckmen?

 

[andleanback]

He’d be silly to stay imo.

He’s 3rd in line and can’t get a game while he’s dominating VFL and our best ruck is out - in his 5th year.

I hope he stays simply because I rate him, but if I put myself in his shoes, I think it’d be a terrible decision career-wise to stay.

Yeh but it’s not like goldy is 25 and he’s going to behind him forever, he was brought in as a stop gap to help the inconsistent / injury prone draper and the not yet developed Bryan. We couldn’t afford to potentially be forced to play another season largely with a ruck not yet capable of mixing it with the big dogs. Is Bryan going to walk into a starting role at any other club? No probably not, so what is the point of leaving now.. when he could potentially be the number 1 soon enough.

 

[cAsEy_18]

Those making the argument that Goldstein is close to the finish as a reason Bryan could stay - yes, but the same argument could be made last year, where Phillips was “close to the end” and Goldstein wasn’t even a factor. Circumstances change all the time.

Debating who he would be the number 1 ruck for it futile in my opinion - at the end of the day, if clubs are coming calling with the offer (which there are enough rumblings that they both did last year and are again) I’d go if I were him. It’s just logical, and practical.

Haven’t seen it confirmed/denied anywhere, but I firmly believe he would’ve left last year if he knew we were recruiting Goldstein - I know Goldstein only committed to us after Bryan had already re-signed so that makes sense, but if Bryan knew Goldstein was coming, I don’t think he signs that contract.

 

[Beerfish]

I think he needs to continue being as patient as he has been for a bit longer. His time will come soon enough.