Player Watch #34: Jackson Archer

Sphynx

Norm Smith Medallist
Jul 10, 2011
9,863
31,794
AFL Club
North Melbourne
Going very well, has surprised a fair few. Is very skinny of course.

He's actually not a bad size, he hits hard (like Dad of course)

He's got a sneak good footy brain, he reads the ball really well and can intercept well. He's better than I thought. He's spoiled Larkey one on one almost at every training I've watched him, he cuts off quite a few plays in match sim and he's really hard at the ball.

Unfortunately he moves like a tractor and he had 3 of the most horrific turnovers you would ever see into the corridor today, his kicking is probably Hayden-esque at the moment.

Still adamant he should have been a rookie, but he's been a good surprise so far.
 
He's actually not a bad size, he hits hard (like Dad of course)

He's got a sneak good footy brain, he reads the ball really well and can intercept well. He's better than I thought. He's spoiled Larkey one on one almost at every training I've watched him, he cuts off quite a few plays in match sim and he's really hard at the ball.

Unfortunately he moves like a tractor and he had 3 of the most horrific turnovers you would ever see into the corridor today, his kicking is probably Hayden-esque at the moment.

Still adamant he should have been a rookie, but he's been a good surprise so far.
On his kicking I remember his Dad wasn't the greatest of kicks first up. Would miss targets etc. If he can do what his dad did and clean up that side of his game he may be a player because like you said he is hard at it. :stern look
 
Oct 12, 2008
9,077
20,411
The North of Melbourne
AFL Club
North Melbourne
Going very well, has surprised a fair few. Is very skinny of course.
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looks ready to play to me
 
Jan 23, 2019
11,904
43,659
AFL Club
North Melbourne
View attachment 1322395
looks ready to play to me

He was listed as 187cm 70KG's back in Nov 2021. Now no doubt he has put on some size. I've never seem him play and I can only assume he will model his game on his fathers. So i'd be thinking we'll play the long game with Jackson, but I wouldn't know. I do know we feel Scott needs to baulk up and I'd assume Curtis Taylor does as well.

And Oh they're only 15kg dumbbells' :p
 
He was listed as 187cm 70KG's back in Nov 2021. Now no doubt he has put on some size. I've never seem him play and I can only assume he will model his game on his fathers. So i'd be thinking we'll play the long game with Jackson, but I wouldn't know. I do know we feel Scott needs to baulk up and I'd assume Curtis Taylor does as well.

And Oh they're only 15kg dumbbells' :p
He might be on his 98th rep tho.
 
Jun 9, 2001
37,642
145,026
Fogarty Street
AFL Club
North Melbourne
Other Teams
St Johnstone
View attachment 1322395
looks ready to play to me

He looks lean and strong there but photos can be very deceiving. You see most young players (or even modern day players generally) in person and they're almost always skinnier and lankier than you think.

Quality base to start from for Jackson though. Should fill out into a strong but athletic bodyshape.
 

Sphynx

Norm Smith Medallist
Jul 10, 2011
9,863
31,794
AFL Club
North Melbourne
He looks lean and strong there but photos can be very deceiving. You see most young players (or even modern day players generally) in person and they're almost always skinnier and lankier than you think.

Quality base to start from for Jackson though. Should fill out into a strong but athletic bodyshape.

He's definitely strong, he goes alright against bigger opponents - Larkey, Comben and Josh Walker have struggled to move him at times.

You can burn me for this in a few years when he becomes an underdog star for the club, but Im predicting he "may" get a game at some point in his two years, he's not going to light up the VFL, but very much might get selected for consistent team efforts, you know what I mean. But I doubt he plays more than 10+ games for the club.

He's doesn't look like he'd ever be an AFL half back, which basically means he needs to be a lockdown back pocket, basically on small forwards. I don't think he close to the AFL level athleticism to be effective in that role though. I think he will have a good VFL career though

Hope he blows my socks off in the next 2 years.
 
Jun 9, 2001
37,642
145,026
Fogarty Street
AFL Club
North Melbourne
Other Teams
St Johnstone
He's definitely strong, he goes alright against bigger opponents - Larkey, Comben and Josh Walker have struggled to move him at times.

You can burn me for this in a few years when he becomes an underdog star for the club, but Im predicting he "may" get a game at some point in his two years, he's not going to light up the VFL, but very much might get selected for consistent team efforts, you know what I mean. But I doubt he plays more than 10+ games for the club.

He's doesn't look like he'd ever be an AFL half back, which basically means he needs to be a lockdown back pocket, basically on small forwards. I don't think he close to the AFL level athleticism to be effective in that role though. I think he will have a good VFL career though

Hope he blows my socks off in the next 2 years.

I don't have any qualified opinion on Jackson yet but really respect you or anyone else putting an educated view out there for the time capsule.
 
Jun 7, 2019
5,129
17,616
AFL Club
North Melbourne
He's definitely strong, he goes alright against bigger opponents - Larkey, Comben and Josh Walker have struggled to move him at times.

You can burn me for this in a few years when he becomes an underdog star for the club, but Im predicting he "may" get a game at some point in his two years, he's not going to light up the VFL, but very much might get selected for consistent team efforts, you know what I mean. But I doubt he plays more than 10+ games for the club.

He's doesn't look like he'd ever be an AFL half back, which basically means he needs to be a lockdown back pocket, basically on small forwards. I don't think he close to the AFL level athleticism to be effective in that role though. I think he will have a good VFL career though

Hope he blows my socks off in the next 2 years.
I've only seen him play once, in the VFL praccy at the start of last season, and while wishing him the very best, as I do everyone on the list, on what I saw that day, the Sphynx will survive the time capsule test proposed by King Corey. Hard at it, good one on one, but disposal is uneven at best, and not quick by foot. But as I posted elsewhere, proud the club took him, as we did with Joel Crocker; the fabric of the club is important, and our list management can survive the odd spot for those reasons
 

Sphynx

Norm Smith Medallist
Jul 10, 2011
9,863
31,794
AFL Club
North Melbourne
I've only seen him play once, in the VFL praccy at the start of last season, and while wishing him the very best, as I do everyone on the list, on what I saw that day, the Sphynx will survive the time capsule test proposed by King Corey. Hard at it, good one on one, but disposal is uneven at best, and not quick by foot. But as I posted elsewhere, proud the club took him, as we did with Joel Crocker; the fabric of the club is important, and our list management can survive the odd spot for those reasons

Given he was never in the Vic Metro squad and probably only in the top half of that Northern Knights team, he's surprised me though with his ability to get an arm in and read the play and intercept, he's also very competitive.

There's a big difference between drills and the speed of AFL or even VFL footy though.

I've watched him very closely and his biggest hurdle is, unfortunately, going to be the one he can't really change, his leg speed. He's not a great kick, but that's something that can be improved.

I expect him to go alright as a BP in the VFL.

There's a bit of EVW about him, shorter and slower though.
 

AnEmptyChair

Premiership Player
Nov 12, 2020
4,133
16,757
AFL Club
North Melbourne
Kayne Turner's carved out a 100 game career that's ongoing as a relatively slow, unathletic hard nut who sticks doggedly to a task and regularly outfights his weight division. I see no reason why Archer couldn't do the same, especially as it seems they share an unwavering competitiveness and hatred for being beaten. Teams need those guys to complement the Horne-Francises and Tarryn Thomases of the world.
 
Kayne Turner's carved out a 100 game career that's ongoing as a relatively slow, unathletic hard nut who sticks doggedly to a task and regularly outfights his weight division. I see no reason why Archer couldn't do the same, especially as it seems they share an unwavering competitiveness and hatred for being beaten. Teams need those guys to complement the Horne-Francises and Tarryn Thomases of the world.
Turner is faster and a better endurance runner than he gets credit for. Probably part of the reason why he still has a gig.
 

AnEmptyChair

Premiership Player
Nov 12, 2020
4,133
16,757
AFL Club
North Melbourne
Turner is faster and a better endurance runner than he gets credit for. Probably part of the reason why he still has a gig.
No doubt, but it's not as if he came in as a great runner. He worked his arse off to get the most out of his body. To be clear, that wasn't a dig at Kayne. He is a Shinboner through and through. Im just saying that I don't see why Archer, who has a very similar sort of athletic profile and might even be a better kick, couldn't carve out a career at this level too as a nuggety, negating back pocket. Teams still need those types, and I honestly reckon that, yes, it's a role that does need some speed, but you can absolutely get away with not being the fastest if you're really smart with your angles and stick to the task. Guys like Nick Smith and Corey Enright were never the fastest or most athletic, but regularly annihilated small forwards by consistently being smarter than them.
 

Sphynx

Norm Smith Medallist
Jul 10, 2011
9,863
31,794
AFL Club
North Melbourne
Kayne Turner's carved out a 100 game career that's ongoing as a relatively slow, unathletic hard nut who sticks doggedly to a task and regularly outfights his weight division. I see no reason why Archer couldn't do the same, especially as it seems they share an unwavering competitiveness and hatred for being beaten. Teams need those guys to complement the Horne-Francises and Tarryn Thomases of the world.

I wouldn't call Turner slow, he had a lot of faults as a small forward, but none of them were really athletic.

He always worked his bollocks off and can move when he needs to. Pretty much all of his issues were skill/footy IQ related.
 
No doubt, but it's not as if he came in as a great runner. He worked his arse off to get the most out of his body. To be clear, that wasn't a dig at Kayne. He is a Shinboner through and through. Im just saying that I don't see why Archer, who has a very similar sort of athletic profile and might even be a better kick, couldn't carve out a career at this level too as a nuggety, negating back pocket. Teams still need those types, and I honestly reckon that, yes, it's a role that does need some speed, but you can absolutely get away with not being the fastest if you're really smart with your angles and stick to the task. Guys like Nick Smith and Corey Enright were never the fastest or most athletic, but regularly annihilated small forwards by consistently being smarter than them.
What i mean is he's actually fast, and a good runner naturally. His athletic profile isn't bad to begin with.

If there are questions over young Jacko's then he is behind Kanye to begin with. Not that I'd know. I've never seen him play.

Personally I don't think that contested footy is valued enough these days. Its easy to write it off as old school but without it you don't get the ball.
 
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