- Joined
- Feb 9, 2011
- Posts
- 22,677
- Reaction score
- 4,663
- Location
- Western Australia
- AFL Club
- Adelaide
- Other Teams
- MUFC & HRT
DOB : 11/7/91
Weight : 89 KG
Height : 193 CM
Recruited From : Werribbe VFL / Western Jets
http://www.afc.com.au/video/2012-12-12/kyle-hartigan-press-conference
From Knightmare
Hartigan is a good one who I've been talking about every year though less this year.
Had a relatively down year against what he had been doing previously but is those couple of years older ando can play a strong shutdown role and play right away. Not the most athletic and
footskills not great but has a good 1v1 game and can also take some strong intercept marks.
From Quigley
Okay I am nothing if not persistent. This is the fourth year in a row I have included Hartigan and the third time I have given him to the Saints I think. The Saints expressed interest in him last year but for some reason they overlooked him. Maybe they had too many KPDers on their list
. Whatever the reason Hartigan has continued to be part of the rebuild and rise to prominence of Werribee. After coming onboard when they were cellar dwellers he has a pillar around which they have built their rise to the finals. Hartigan was vice captain at Werribee this year and represented Victoria in the VFL v TSL game. He was also named as an inaugural member of the VFL Academy in which he received an individually tailored program and 1 on 1 coaching in an elite environment amongst other things. The aim of the program is to develop overage players in the VFL for potential transition to the AFL. Hartigan did some preseason work with North in 2011 and together with the VFL Academy work has seen Hartigan develop into one of the best big men outside the AFL. He showed really nice progression over the year, playing 20 games again this year finishing in the best on 8 occasions including 6 times in the last 9 games. At junior level, Hartigan was the Western Jets captain in 09 and is also a former AIS/AFL Academy member.
Hartigan plays as a blanketing one on one key defender and is one of the best around in this role. There are quite a few teams who need a full back who has shown an ability to stop AFL standard forwards and it is getting to the stage where he must come into consideration for teams in need of depth if nothing else. This is a young bloke who has consistently improved and has been playing against VFL players for 3 years now. Further he has only just turned 21 this month and is really only at an age where teams would usually consider giving their draftees a shot. By way of comparison this year’s Rising Star winner Daniel Talia is actually older than Hartigan. You are not getting a finished product with Hartigan just a young bloke who has made a damn good start outside of a full time environment. Get him into an AFL program and it’s fair to think there is plenty of upside in him yet.
On the measurables, Hartigan has good size and reasonable athletic ability. I thought he would developed more bulk than he has but he has retained a fairly lean albeit powerful physique. Interestingly he was listed at 93kgs last year but Inside Football now has him at 89kgs. I think he might have fined up a bit since last year but I would be surprised if he was that light. He has not done any current testing that I have access to but going back to the State Screening in 09 and his jumping and endurance were very good being in the top 20% for each. His agility was below average but not by much and was solid for a big guy. His pace off the mark was poor but he showed pretty good top end speed and his first 5 metres was something he acknowledged he needed to work on. I think he has worked on his explosiveness and it seems better now than it was. When he is already moving his pace is good and his ever improving endurance allows him to sustain his run and go with repeat leads nicely.
Up until this year Hartigan had adopted quite a limited offensive role with question marks over his decision making coming out of defense. I have always thought the decision making issue was overstated but whatever the case Hartigan has certainly moved to address both issues this year. It has been a gradual thing over the year but there has been significant improvement. I would not be surprised if this was something that he has been working on with the VFL Academy. Previously I have classified him as a reasonable kick without being a stand out but now I think he is better than that. He is pretty confident coming out of defense and although the hurt factor on his kicks is not high he is capable of being a reliable link in the chain.
In the air he has steadily improved since he has been in the VFL and is now very reliable at the back. He is a good spoil of the ball and makes good decisions about when to spoil and when to mark the ball. When he decides to mark the ball he usually judges the flight of the ball well in the air and when he flies he shows good hands and body control. He does not solely focus on his man and does read the play well up the ground and judges when it is appropriate to leave his man and help well.
If a team is looking for a young veteran key position defender who can come in and play right away and yet still have significant upside I would find it hard to go past Hartigan. Hopefully teams will take my advice and give the guy a go as he deserves it I think.
From Snoop Dog
Kyle is a kid who played his TAC footy down at the Western Jets and was highly rated by a lot of draft watchers including myself come draft time. To be fair he had sort of blossomed a bit throughout the year and there was a bit of a knock on his foot skill which I think is why he ultimately missed being drafted. He went off to play VFL footy and there was a dispute about the fact he signed with someone (Willy?) but wanted to play with Werribee where he ultimately go to. He played really good footy there and a couple of blokes who follow the state leagues pretty agreed with me he was the best tall defender in the state leagues (Frost and Beard the other two most agreed on). Played state footy for Vic this year and was good albeit not hard vs Tas. He plays CHB but can play FB. He is pretty agile and he is physically well put together so he could walk in. If I had to knock him I think his ball use under pressure can still be an area for him but he has all other bases covered. Hope that helps.
As an aside I feel a bit of a dill not having him in but bc he had missed the last 3 years I just gave up hoping he Sinclair (also got taken) and Tighe (didn't go) would get a shot. He still is probably the best performed key defender in state league with Frost.
Inside Football:
Strong and determined full-back who has shown gradual improvement since joining the Tigers from the Western Jets three years ago. Among the best in both of Werribee's finals.
Paul Amy, VFL Expert
DRAFT RANGE: Rookie
