AFL Player #15: Jayden Laverde

[Beerfish]

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

 

[dnbassador]

I hate to say it but hes on target to become the new David Myers. Promises much but the reality is he's been on the list 4 years and is averaging under 8 games a year (he's played only 29 games in 4 years...). Seems his body lets him down time and time again...hope I'm wrong and things can turn around for him but right now the guy who was picked in the same draft and almost same position as him (Langford) is a fair way ahead.

That’s a silly thing to say specially when most his injuries have been impact injuries.

 

[ant555]

Could be Shaun Higgins 2.0.

Shaun Higgins had way more runs on the board than Laverde. He had six 17 plus game seasons and was a seriously good performer at AFL level before he left the Dogs. Totally different scenario. Yes he is playing at a new level now but he had the experience on the board having played 129 games and most likely 120 better senior games than Laverde.
Apples and grapes.

 

[bjisgod9]

Simply, it wasn't me who floated that idea Eth dog old mate and without going into the reasons why too much as it is a controversial view, I do agree with it.

Would have to strongly disagree with the idea myself

 

[Keystone agony]

Im not sure i really see the onball/midfield role like everyone else seems to. Have said this for a long time now. Has never really shown an ability to accumulate as an onballer has he?

Hes more of an impact player onball for me with most of his time spent deep forward or on a wing. Even his draft year he was a fwd/wing.

Ill keep saying this til im proven wrong and be ever so happy to admit it.

Obviousily alot watch him at VFL level and have seen more in an onball role. Langford, Clarke and Mutch have all shown accumulation ability and sustained midfield time at either AFL or VFL level.

Theres more to being a true onballer than just having a 15+ beep test, chiseled sculpture and big body with some explosivness which i dont see as much as others seem to.

 

[ant555]

The lack of midfield minutes could only partially be explained by injury. Laverde trained during pre-season training with the forwards whereas as Langford was with the mids.

Langford has not been injured a lot and has played 20 games a season( over both levels) Laverde has not. Going right back to his under under days he has not played a full season. He was never covered a huge amount of ground for the Jets. He was the bloke he did some real star stuff but did not play full seasons nor did he consistently play midfield with a lot of his footy on the flanks and wing in some games. Given his injury history and lack of game time over 3 years it is not a surprise he was training in the forward group. In saying that being in the forward group does not mean your fitness program is less than the midfield group. Even more so as he has been seen as a player they want to move into the middle.

Another example was that he played a VFL game at half forward after a fortnight off having played something like 10 or 12 VFL/AFL games in a row (at which point he would have been more than fit enough to play in the middle in the VFL even if it was only for the second half). He ended up around the ball most of the time as a half forward so he was covering the territory and he did it for four quarters. The difference playing as a mid is that he'd be inside the contest all of the time (rather than when the team structure required it). That's how players get the 30-40 times.

And finished the game with another injury.

Laverde's clearance work made Clarke's look second rate (which is not a criticism of Clarke it's just a guide). It was head and shoulders above anything I've seen from Mutch, Parish and Guelfi at the level. Yes, it was one game but it's not like it was the first time he has dominated a VFL contest. He has the physical gifts required to be the inside bull that we'd be trading in via free agency or using a pick 30-40 to start again with.

I agree although I would say that Guelfi is not an inside midfielder , neither is Much. Both have come through as players who had a handy inside game but more a Brent Stanton type midfielder. Parish although a handy clearance player has never been the classic big contested ball winner Laverde could be. Yes he has the physical gifts and yes he can be very good at extracting contested footy but he has also been injured at least twice a season every year since 2013 and recently these injuries have been more 6 plus weeks rather than the minor 2 week job. How many players have had a similar injury history in the AFL , played limited games and lived up to their full potential ?

I just question the fact he is going to make it based on injury evidence and in all honesty maybe 5 really good VFL games and a no decent AFL games since 2016.
I can argue the other way and say well we give him 2 more seasons and get the same injury issues then we have wasted two years we could have been putting into a player out of a very strong draft.
I have hoped like hell hell he could come good as he potentially the exactly what we need but right now he is a V8 running on 4 cylinders and has been for some time.

I think all signs lead us back to what yaco55 initially articulated as a lack of a defined role. There is a cross over with one of my posts on the subject which was saying that it makes no sense to play Laverde as a half forward in the VFL because the problem he has with his game at AFL level cannot be addressed in VFL where the relevant structural part of the game (i.e. the transition of offensive position to defensive zone and vice versa) is not replicated at the lower level.

Classic problem when you draft a flanker / winger who may become a midfielder. Depite having some of the midfield tools it takes a lot of games to get close to those who have played in the middle all their junior career. Even more so when the possible question when drafting him was no one was sure what sort of tank he had and if he could run in the middle all day.

I would not disagree other than the fact to play midfield you have to have the fitness base to do it. The midfielders who make it early have played midfield through the TAC Cup. I thought the same as you last week in that it did not make sense for him to be playing half forward but in the end he played high half forward and still came out with an injury.

I'd go further and say that it's a waste of talent because we all know that we need depth of inside mids and Laverde has the strength and power to be the bull that everyone wants. Why give inside minutes to players who don't have the capability of being dynamic inside players and not to Laverde?

Well I presume it is they do not think he currently has the engine or the confidence body wise to get it done as that sort of midfielder.

What if Laverde is doing everything Langford was doing as a VFL player and more?

well he is not but ..
What if he goes down in the pre season or early in the year again ? and gets delisted and not play 50 games ?

 

[ant555]

That’s a silly thing to say specially when most his injuries have been impact injuries.

He has a bit of a history with soft tissue as well going back to his under 18 days.

 

[TheGrizz]

You would think his lack of midfield minutes would come down to the fact his fitness levels have never been able to reach a level to sustain a lot of midfield time. Guelfi and Parish have been playing midfield all their career. Laverde was always the half forward who needed to build the tank to play midfield even at TAC level.
One of the frustrating things is he did actually spend a bit more time through the middle against Box Hill and now he is injured again.
As far as him leaving it could well be a list balance issue as well. If we could get something around pick 30 to 40 for him then it allows us to structure the list differently. Right now people are calling for Dea and Brown to go with Hartley also in question. I suspect we will need two out of those 3 as the back up.

If we can get a pick 30-40 for him we should take it and run!

If he puts it all together i would hate to lose him.
But based of this years draft and his current output/injury history my thinking going into trade week this year would be the following if these picks were offered for him:

Offer of Pick 15-19: Where do I sign?

Pick 20-29: im listening... but it would be towards the end of trade week to see where the pick sits after FA compo.

Pick 30-39: would err on the side of no, but
- if Dodo has a gem he has spotted around there (Fanta, Redman, Begley all picked there) i would think about it, or
- maybe if it is part of a larger trade for pick upgrades or another player

Pick 40+: Not happening. We will give him another year thanks

 

[DERO]

We traded both Jake Melksham and Pig for picks in the mid 20’s. Laverde has not managed to get anywhere near the output of often maligned Melksham, even when he was on our list. To me that seems like an OK ish reference point.

Agree though that if Laverde puts it all together it would be nice. Does he have it in him though?

 

[Keystone agony]

Top 30 pick where do i sign for me

 

[TheGrizz]

We traded both Jake Melksham and Pig for picks in the mid 20’s. Laverde has not managed to get anywhere near the output of often maligned Melksham, even when he was on our list. To me that seems like an OK ish reference point.

Agree though that if Laverde puts it all together it would be nice. Does he have it in him though?

Like i said.
A pick anywhere from the teens to about 30 i would be happy.
After 30 i would have some hesitation though. Still wouldnt rule it out.

 

[eDPS]

I’ve grown too attached to Lav to be discussing him as trade bait, personally I don’t think a club will offer anything that warrants his talent but if the injury issues persist next year I feel he will never reach his potential thus being a player either to be delisted or sold for pretty much nothing.

 

[DERO]

Like i said.
A pick anywhere from the teens to about 30 i would be happy.
After 30 i would have some hesitation though. Still wouldnt rule it out.

I reckon you overrate Laverde but that is fair enough... There would be more on here that share your view than mine I reckon!

 

[BrunoV]

Langford has not been injured a lot and has played 20 games a season( over both levels) Laverde has not. Going right back to his under under days he has not played a full season. He was never covered a huge amount of ground for the Jets. He was the bloke he did some real star stuff but did not play full seasons nor did he consistently play midfield with a lot of his footy on the flanks and wing in some games. Given his injury history and lack of game time over 3 years it is not a surprise he was training in the forward group. In saying that being in the forward group does not mean your fitness program is less than the midfield group. Even more so as he has been seen as a player they want to move into the middle.



And finished the game with another injury.



I agree although I would say that Guelfi is not an inside midfielder , neither is Much. Both have come through as players who had a handy inside game but more a Brent Stanton type midfielder. Parish although a handy clearance player has never been the classic big contested ball winner Laverde could be. Yes he has the physical gifts and yes he can be very good at extracting contested footy but he has also been injured at least twice a season every year since 2013 and recently these injuries have been more 6 plus weeks rather than the minor 2 week job. How many players have had a similar injury history in the AFL , played limited games and lived up to their full potential ?

I just question the fact he is going to make it based on injury evidence and in all honesty maybe 5 really good VFL games and a no decent AFL games since 2016.
I can argue the other way and say well we give him 2 more seasons and get the same injury issues then we have wasted two years we could have been putting into a player out of a very strong draft.
I have hoped like hell hell he could come good as he potentially the exactly what we need but right now he is a V8 running on 4 cylinders and has been for some time.



Classic problem when you draft a flanker / winger who may become a midfielder. Depite having some of the midfield tools it takes a lot of games to get close to those who have played in the middle all their junior career. Even more so when the possible question when drafting him was no one was sure what sort of tank he had and if he could run in the middle all day.

I would not disagree other than the fact to play midfield you have to have the fitness base to do it. The midfielders who make it early have played midfield through the TAC Cup. I thought the same as you last week in that it did not make sense for him to be playing half forward but in the end he played high half forward and still came out with an injury.



Well I presume it is they do not think he currently has the engine or the confidence body wise to get it done as that sort of midfielder.


well he is not but ..
What if he goes down in the pre season or early in the year again ? and gets delisted and not play 50 games ?

If you look at how he is playing in the VFL he is basically covering the ground of a midfielder but he is doing it outside instead of on the inside. I would be surprised if there was a km of difference between the ground he is covering and any of the mids. If his engine is good enough for that I don't see why he can't play inside for a quarter or a half and then build from there.

The problem with drafting a half forward seems, to me, to be when arbitrary limitations are placed on a player which stifle development.

As for the last part about the comparison with Langford, I'd refer you to the Langford thread and the general feeling of posters being unimpressed with the standard of Langford's VFL performances. Laverde actually got the call up first after Langford got dropped and then got back into the side, seemingly only because Myers got injured.

 

[Studly Baker]

What do we have to lose by playing him in the VFL as a midfielder?

 

[Nuggs Bunny]

What do we have to lose by playing him in the VFL as a midfielder?

At the moment, his hamstrings.

 

[TheGrizz]

I reckon you overate Laverde but that is fair enough... There would be more on here that share your view than mine I reckon!

Meh, maybe i do.

But i reckon as he is still only 22 and has sone great tools i dont think it is worth selling low.
If he has another year like this year then hey, lets see what we can get. But for me pick 30+ isnt worth it, would keep him and see if he can cone good for that.

 

[eDPS]

Should be back in the VFL this week

 

[DERO]

Should be back in the VFL this week

Southpark pics are so much edgier.

 

[fishardansin]

Watched the first half of VFL game today. The boy could become a midfield beast. I really hope he gets a clear run at it this preseason and is played as a midfielder in the VFL until he demands a game in the AFL. With Langford's rise this year a fit and confident midfield version of Laverde means midfield size is overcome.

Regards his training, he's big enough now. He just needs to focus on maintaining that size and running. Both endurance running and burst running without popping a string.

 

[Studly Baker]

Watched the first half of VFL game today. The boy could become a midfield beast. I really hope he gets a clear run at it this preseason and is played as a midfielder in the VFL until he demands a game in the AFL. With Langford's rise this year a fit and confident midfield version of Laverde means midfield size is overcome.

Regards his training, he's big enough now. He just needs to focus on maintaining that size and running. Both endurance running and burst running without popping a string.

I think he has a case of the Hurley's when played forward, he attacks the ball too hard and puts himself in awkward positions, thus he gets injured. I hope they leave him in the middle of the rest of the year, especially with Clarke slowing down. He'll be less likely to get injured as he won't have to hit top speed as much and his not gonna be crashing packs and having them crash him.

But if he could get some continuity into his game and training then he'll be a star. His size, his strength over the ball and through the hips combined with his bursts, tackling and forward ability would be frightening. I was trying to think of players to make comparisons too but all I could think of were Fyfe and Bontempelli.

 

[ant555]

Watched the first half of VFL game today. The boy could become a midfield beast. I really hope he gets a clear run at it this preseason and is played as a midfielder in the VFL until he demands a game in the AFL. With Langford's rise this year a fit and confident midfield version of Laverde means midfield size is overcome.

Regards his training, he's big enough now. He just needs to focus on maintaining that size and running. Both endurance running and burst running without popping a string.

I have no doubt he has the tools. My biggest issue is the two or three injuries every season including his last in the TAC Cup that saw him slide from what most thought was certain top 10 to pick 20.

 

[blitzer]

Watching Laverde in the VFL he actually did some great things. Played with real intensity, used the ball well and tackled with real intent. I normally don't like Laverde's disposal either. That said when you add up the whole game, wasn't involved enough and didn't rack up enough ball. His endurance continues to be a nagging issue for me. I know its hard to build up endurance when you are always getting injured but its hard for me to see him becoming an AFL midfielder if he can't manage that.

I hope we do retain him because there is something there but if he was to leave I wouldn't be losing any sleep over it.

 

[fishardansin]

I have no doubt he has the tools. My biggest issue is the two or three injuries every season including his last in the TAC Cup that saw him slide from what most thought was certain top 10 to pick 20.

Yes, that is the concern and has led to two issues stymying his development. I believe he can look lost out there sometimes due to lack of gameplay. It has also stymied his physical development. However, he has still been in the system so running patterns are not second nature to him at this level he is far more intimately exposed to them than someone who has not been in the system. With regular games into the future he will pick them up, and with more confidence, he'll back himself in his running decisions and demand the ball more.

He has done half of the physical construction, building mass. He just needs to get that endurance right this preseason, which will most likely be less chance of injury. Same with Francis and Stringer. I personally hope that the three of them have a summer where they just focus on agility running, 150s and 10kms. I'd also like to see Stewart stop trying to be a power forward and just focus on his endurance again.

For me the biggest improvement our side could make over summer, save getting an inside gun in FA, would be Stringer and Stewart being able to get up and down the ground to work two small forwards and a resting mid so we spread the defence for Daniher. Then Laverde, Myers and Langford all working together on the ball to be the muscle that Heppell, Merrett, Smith and Zaka work off.

I also think our defence would be better if Hurley and Hooker play more defensive roles and Francis comes in to play 3rd tall with Ridley playing on smalls and mediums. Hurley can also play on a range of players. I'd like to play Gleeson and Redman as old fashioned wingmen, good intercept marks who can run and carry.

 

[Yoda_]

Commentators mentioned the boy added 8kg this (off) season.

That is immense! No wonder he plays like he can take on anyone

 

[Seagrave_Holmes]

Given his run with collision injuries, perhaps we just him as an outside type rather than a battering ram inside mid.