Player Watch #5 Jack Ross

[Grrr]

Why is Alger being stereotyped as just a small forward? I’d like to see him trialled in a wing role. Has pace takes a grab, building aerobic capacity. It would allow us to send RalphSmith back to the twos.

I think there is plenty of room to experiment on the wings because although Hugo might deserve first dibs if his form is good, why not Algar.

Mansell, Retschko, Gray, Smith, even Broad and Short with out backline starting to fill up, all worth a look.

 

[Sol23]

We need depth though?

Don’t need him in the ones.
Seen his best- won’t be winning a flag with him in the side.

Thats garbage, his best is very good. There are comfortably worse players that play in flags every season.

2025 Reville
2024 Berry
2023 Markov, McCreery, WHE
2022 Bews
2021 Harmes, Spargo, Sparrow
etc etc etc.

He stacks up well against Jack Graham who would've been a 3 time premiership player if not for the shoulder injury. He is a versatile role player, every team needs them. Plus he is a model citizen.

Ross is a mid and we have much better options. Hes not a winger or half forward.

 

[Grrr]

Ross is a mid and we have much better options. Hes not a winger or half forward.

And those options are, because if we go with what we had last year, then we will not go forward.

The kids will add spice, but not building a midfield on them just yet.

 

[tiger_tough]

Don’t need him in the ones.
Seen his best- won’t be winning a flag with him in the side.

Ross is a mid and we have much better options. Hes not a winger or half forward.

Hes a better wingman than Caddy was...

 

[Tackle Bag]

Don’t need him in the ones.
Seen his best- won’t be winning a flag with him in the side.

Ross is a mid and we have much better options. Hes not a winger or half forward.

Ross is the third best mid on our list right now

 

[THE_GUN]

Ross is the third best mid on our list right now

Ross is 100% best 23 every day of the week and will be in 2026 & 2027 until players like
McAuliffe , Lalor , Smillie , Grlj , Cumming , Hotton take over from him which could be 3 years time
by then we will be seeing the last years of Taranto & Hopper and Ross will be the experienced head to support the kids.

Thats if he is still at the club as he is a free agent and clubs like eagles , Bombers , Carlton , Melbourne will be looking at bringing in depth.

Happy to give Ross 5 years at $750k similar to the Taranto/Hopper salaries from 3 years ago with that becoming just about average salary these days

 

[Moppey]

Ross is the third best mid on our list right now

In front of who. He is one of four experienced mids we have and by nearly all metrics he is behind Hopper, Taranto and Prestia.

You surely are not suggesting Lalor, Smillie, and Hotton and McAuliffe all who had serious injuries problems last year are not to be played given the very fact we are currently in a full on development phase. Year two of a full on rebuild and you are implying we should not prioritise these kids.

Are you saying Ross has better attributes for a wing role than say Retschko Campbell Clarke, Algar or Grlj.
Because for right at this point in time its all about player attributes for roles and development.

Lalor Hotton Algar Campbell Taranto, and not least Cumming as mid forward options or forward options.

All this for a bloke coming off his best year, the first year he has managed to play every game.
A year that in anyones language was typical of Ross just an okay year.

He again failed to average at least 20 disposals with 19.1. He kicked just 4 goals, he laid 3.8 tackles its okay but nothing great. He got a bit of contested ball with 7.1 a game once again a decent stat but nothing great.
He had 0.7 goal assists id suggest once again just average, he delivered the ball inside 50 4.1 times a game without knowing id say a pretty decent stat.

Jack was an okay junior and at pick 43 an okay pick, 8 seasons later he remains an okay player and an okay pick im pretty sure that is what he will always be.

I am also pretty sure Ross will play most games this year. Im okay with that as long as its for one of Prestia, Hopper or Taranto we cannot play all 4 it will cost getting games into the highly talented kids we have.
Once again if we pick Ross as a mid the problem is he is comfortably behind those older three mids by some margin in most metrics.

I also think he should play as a mid and not as a mid/fwd or wing we have kids with great attributes for those roles and the roles affords us the opportunity to play them. Look at Essendon with young Angus Clarke on a wing.

IMO and thats all it is an opinion, I think the priority for us is to prioritise our kids and play them in their best roles where possible. We should be looking at ways to get them into the team because they are the way forward.

Hotton looks like he belongs Lalor as well Smillie has not had a look in but pick 7 year two with his size and talent you don't leave em in the magoos to rot. Sam Cumming if a kid is ready to go he is and boy he addresses team deficiencies.
It will be McAuliffes third season if fit we would be mad not to play him.We are going to play Trainor and Gibcus and we are going to play two of the young key forwards we do this to fast track there is a need.
Unfortunately if we do this some regulars from previous years will miss. imo Ross, Short HRS just for starters.

 

[Moppey]

Why is Alger being stereotyped as just a small forward? I’d like to see him trialled in a wing role. Has pace takes a grab, building aerobic capacity. It would allow us to send RalphSmith back to the twos.

other options for the wing but i agree Algar could play wing or hb in time. who knows thats where he may end up.
For now though he is one of few who looks to have forward smarts and craft.
His Preseason by all reports has been good so he must be in contention.

Have called for Campbell to play wing for two seasons now it won't happen so in lieu of that i think Grlj and Retschko have a serious chance of starting there and i dont have a problem with that.

 

[docko911]

Ross is an interesting case.

He would probably win the J.J Liston Trophy if he spent most of a season playing VFL. Yet he has no attributes that make him particularly stand out at AFL level.

I am curious if he is a player that will improve our team as our team improves, or if he simply is a player holding us back.

He’s a bit unlucky he shares similar, lesser, traits to Taranto and Hopper. If one of those two were more dynamic it might help his performance and influence on the team. He was relatively solid playing more midfield time in the second half of the year so there’s still a chance he finds another level as he hits his peak.

 

[Moppey]

And those options are, because if we go with what we had last year, then we will not go forward.

The kids will add spice, but not building a midfield on them just yet.

We play the kids to get games and experience into them at the level. The expectation of most is we won't win a lot of games, but it will be a big bonus if we do it with the kids.

I dont think we are gunna win many games with our most experienced players all playing so what is there to lose and what is there to be gained.No brainer for me.

 

[copthat]

Don’t need him in the ones.
Seen his best- won’t be winning a flag with him in the side.

He was pulled from the 2019 VFL Grand Final because Dimma was going to pick him in the 1s. Do you reckon we would've lost against the Giants if we played Ross instead of Pickett?

 

[THE_GUN]

other options for the wing but i agree Algar could play wing or hb in time. who knows thats where he may end up.
For now though he is one of few who looks to have forward smarts and craft.
His Preseason by all reports has been good so he must be in contention.

Have called for Campbell to play wing for two seasons now it won't happen so in lieu of that i think Grlj and Retschko have a serious chance of starting there and i dont have a problem with that.

Its Jasper Alger

 

[Sol23]

He was pulled from the 2019 VFL Grand Final because Dimma was going to pick him in the 1s. Do you reckon we would've lost against the Giants if we played Ross instead of Pickett?

Lol ok bud

 

[Tackle Bag]

In front of who. He is one of four experienced mids we have and by nearly all metrics he is behind Hopper, Taranto and Prestia.

You surely are not suggesting Lalor, Smillie, and Hotton and McAuliffe all who had serious injuries problems last year are not to be played given the very fact we are currently in a full on development phase. Year two of a full on rebuild and you are implying we should not prioritise these kids.

Are you saying Ross has better attributes for a wing role than say Retschko Campbell Clarke, Algar or Grlj.
Because for right at this point in time its all about player attributes for roles and development.

Lalor Hotton Algar Campbell Taranto, and not least Cumming as mid forward options or forward options.

All this for a bloke coming off his best year, the first year he has managed to play every game.
A year that in anyones language was typical of Ross just an okay year.

He again failed to average at least 20 disposals with 19.1. He kicked just 4 goals, he laid 3.8 tackles its okay but nothing great. He got a bit of contested ball with 7.1 a game once again a decent stat but nothing great.
He had 0.7 goal assists id suggest once again just average, he delivered the ball inside 50 4.1 times a game without knowing id say a pretty decent stat.

Jack was an okay junior and at pick 43 an okay pick, 8 seasons later he remains an okay player and an okay pick im pretty sure that is what he will always be.

I am also pretty sure Ross will play most games this year. Im okay with that as long as its for one of Prestia, Hopper or Taranto we cannot play all 4 it will cost getting games into the highly talented kids we have.
Once again if we pick Ross as a mid the problem is he is comfortably behind those older three mids by some margin in most metrics.

I also think he should play as a mid and not as a mid/fwd or wing we have kids with great attributes for those roles and the roles affords us the opportunity to play them. Look at Essendon with young Angus Clarke on a wing.

IMO and thats all it is an opinion, I think the priority for us is to prioritise our kids and play them in their best roles where possible. We should be looking at ways to get them into the team because they are the way forward.

Hotton looks like he belongs Lalor as well Smillie has not had a look in but pick 7 year two with his size and talent you don't leave em in the magoos to rot. Sam Cumming if a kid is ready to go he is and boy he addresses team deficiencies.
It will be McAuliffes third season if fit we would be mad not to play him.We are going to play Trainor and Gibcus and we are going to play two of the young key forwards we do this to fast track there is a need.
Unfortunately if we do this some regulars from previous years will miss. imo Ross, Short HRS just for starters.

I’ll have him in the side over current day Prestia.
I’d say Ross is probably the best kick of the 4 experienced mids and has the best defensive work rate.

He should be playing every game in our midfield this year but we have chosen to go with a fumbly Prestia that can no longer run at full pace for another year.

The fact he is more flexible in terms of where he can play compared to hopper and Prestia is actually hurting his chances of more midfield minutes.

We would have been better off had we retired Prestia and brought in a solid midfield support player that works hard both ways. That would have helped our midfield mix enormously.

 

[THE_GUN]

Ross is best 23 every day of the week and we should sign him up asap not just for his talent but to piss of the idiots that bag him to spew

 

[GhostofJimJess]

Ross is best 23 every day of the week and we should sign him up asap not just for his talent but to piss of the idiots that bag him to spew

Jeez mate, are you his brother or something?

 

[THE_GUN]

Jeez mate, are you his brother or something?

Nope just a bloke that wants to piss off the flogs that bag decent players

 

[Grrr]

Ross is an interesting case.

He would probably win the J.J Liston Trophy if he spent most of a season playing VFL. Yet he has no attributes that make him particularly stand out at AFL level.

I am curious if he is a player that will improve our team as our team improves, or if he simply is a player holding us back.

He’s a bit unlucky he shares similar, lesser, traits to Taranto and Hopper. If one of those two were more dynamic it might help his performance and influence on the team. He was relatively solid playing more midfield time in the second half of the year so there’s still a chance he finds another level as he hits his peak.

I disagree with the suggestion that Ross has no attributes that stand out. To me he is measured against Hopper and Taranto in that he is not overly quick and is about their size. But that is where the comparisons end in my opinion.

For one he has a good turning circle, so he is quite nimble over a short distance, Hopper and Taranto are not, although Hopper has a good fake and balk which sometimes buys him time.

Ross has very good distance on his kicks, but also kicks with some penetration and hits good passes. His kicking has improved so much over the last year or so due to confidence. He started with creative kick before he was mucked around with. Hopper and particularly Taranto are awful kicks.

Ross was our leading score assist player in '25 over Hopper then Campbell, but his gaol assists per game were way above the others 0.65 vs Hopper 0.39 and Campbell 0.27. (Dusty went at 0.6 goal assists over his career). He has a very creative handball because he doesn't hot potato it and dish it to someone under pressure but holds on, absorbs the tackle and gives it too advantage mostly.

He is a very similar player now to what Prestia was a few years ago, not nearly as good, but he connects up play and distributes it well. He is not coalface, but we need that linking player now that Prestia has gone backwards.

 

[Meteoric Rise]

I disagree with the suggestion that Ross has no attributes that stand out. To me he is measured against Hopper and Taranto in that he is not overly quick and is about their size. But that is where the comparisons end in my opinion.

For one he has a good turning circle, so he is quite nimble over a short distance, Hopper and Taranto are not, although Hopper has a good fake and balk which sometimes buys him time.

Ross has very good distance on his kicks, but also kicks with some penetration and hits good passes. His kicking has improved so much over the last year or so due to confidence. He started with creative kick before he was mucked around with. Hopper and particularly Taranto are awful kicks.

Ross was our leading score assist player in '25 over Hopper then Campbell, but his gaol assists per game were way above the others 0.65 vs Hopper 0.39 and Campbell 0.27. (Dusty went at 0.6 goal assists over his career). He has a very creative handball because he doesn't hot potato it and dish it to someone under pressure but holds on, absorbs the tackle and gives it too advantage mostly.

He is a very similar player now to what Prestia was a few years ago, not nearly as good, but he connects up play and distributes it well. He is not coalface, but we need that linking player now that Prestia has gone backwards.

Pretty fair summary.

I think the "standout quality" bar people are wanting Ross to clear is a bit of a fake question to apply to players who can play in a flag. There are Premierships players galore who either don't have one single stand out quality or may have pace for eg, like a Markov, but are clearly deficient in other areas. Kane Lambert was an excellent player and great part of our Premiership teams. His lack of a "standout quality" is probably the reason he went undrafted through about 6 drafts.

A player can just get passably good at a lot of things, strength, reach, knowledge of game plan, commitment, decision making, disposal, ball handling, tackling, pressure, blocking, marking, spoiling, evasion, speed, endurance, without being outstanding in any of these areas....and still be a crucial part of a premiership team.

If at your salary point you are capable of creating more value for your team in big games than an opposition player who is at your pay grade, then you can be an automatically selected flag winning player. There is no apparent reason that Ross cannot be that.

 

[sregit]

I am not a Ross fan and think he is bog average in most facets of the game, however, he is definitely in our starting lineup come commencement of the season. The only question that needs to be answered in regard to his place in the team is “are there players coming through good enough to displace him”,I’m hoping so but before we talk of Ross being replaced I think there are 2 or 3 others that would need to be moved on first. Ross provides far more value than RalphSmith, MRJ and even Short based on his last 2 years. At this stage of our rebuild he is good enough and we don’t need to gift games to our youngsters. We need them to stand up and force these fringe players out of the side. Injury and poor performance will provide any youngster with ample senior opportunities if they’re good enough.

 

[GhostofJimJess]

Nope just a bloke that wants to piss off the flogs that bag decent players

Agree with this sentiment.

 

[Grrr]

I am not a Ross fan and think he is bog average in most facets of the game, however, he is definitely in our starting lineup come commencement of the season. The only question that needs to be answered in regard to his place in the team is “are there players coming through good enough to displace him”,I’m hoping so but before we talk of Ross being replaced I think there are 2 or 3 others that would need to be moved on first. Ross provides far more value than RalphSmith, MRJ and even Short based on his last 2 years. At this stage of our rebuild he is good enough and we don’t need to gift games to our youngsters. We need them to stand up and force these fringe players out of the side. Injury and poor performance will provide any youngster with ample senior opportunities if they’re good enough.

Fair summary, the only caveat I would add is that although he is 25, and most players are about their peak level at that stage of their careers, he has never really been settled for an entire season playing as a midfielder.

His improvement of late has come with his return primarily as a midfielder, but it has really only been the last half of last season that he was that pretty much full time.

He needs to improve to hold his position in the future with a lot of talent coming through, so hopefully this is the season where he does that. Training reports are that he has really stood out in the midfield, so maybe he is feeling like he belongs.

 

[Boxo004]

He was pulled from the 2019 VFL Grand Final because Dimma was going to pick him in the 1s. Do you reckon we would've lost against the Giants if we played Ross instead of Pickett?

Came here to post the exact same thing.

 

[Hoos]

Hes a better wingman than Caddy was...

Probably because Caddy wasn't a wingman.

 

[tiger_tough]

Probably because Caddy wasn't a wingman.

Well he did play in a premiership on a wing in 2019.....

The poster said we wouldn't win a flag with Ross in the team, but if Caddy can win on a wing then so could Ross in the right team....