Academy Watch

[Billythekid17]

Can anyone confirm if Jacob Allison is eligible to be drafted by us and we do not have a Weller type situation?

Cheers

Just saw this post and thought I'd try and shed some light on Jacob. I can confirm after working closely with him this year at Aspley that he is indeed in line to be drafted by the lions as an academy selection. Jacob's a member of the NAB AFL Academy having been selected after the 16s National Carnival earlier this year. Probably useful to note he was an All Australian at under 15 schoolboy level and toured South Africa with the AIS. Is likely to be rookied by the NEAFL side along with Declan Watson (although Watson is interested in focusing closely on year 12 commitments so still remains to be seen). Jacob has athleticism in spades and an amazing kicking ability but boasts a great skill set in most aspects of his game. Can launch a barrel from a kick out to the centre circle if he's on. Attitude is pretty good too and is a well rounded kid. Some rate him top 10-15 in the country for his age group.

 

[captainrich]

Just saw this post and thought I'd try and shed some light on Jacob. I can confirm after working closely with him this year at Aspley that he is indeed in line to be drafted by the lions as an academy selection. Jacob's a member of the NAB AFL Academy having been selected after the 16s National Carnival earlier this year. Probably useful to note he was an All Australian at under 15 schoolboy level and toured South Africa with the AIS. Is likely to be rookied by the NEAFL side along with Declan Watson (although Watson is interested in focusing closely on year 12 commitments so still remains to be seen). Jacob has athleticism in spades and an amazing kicking ability but boasts a great skill set in most aspects of his game. Can launch a barrel from a kick out to the centre circle if he's on. Attitude is pretty good too and is a well rounded kid. Some rate him top 10-15 in the country for his age group.

what position does he play mate? cheers for the info

 

[Billythekid17]

what position does he play mate? cheers for the info

No problems mate. Um he's an interesting one because in under age football he could virtually have played more or less anywhere on the ground. He stands at 193cm (that was probably around July this year) but he's pretty lean. For QLD he rotated through the middle and played a bit across half back as well. At club level they tried to isolate him as a loose man across half back and occassionally sat him on a wing. He's got really decent speed and excellent foot skills and benefits from being on the outside. I can't say for sure but I imagine he will play a similar outside role next year when he transitions to senior football either playing for Wilston Grange or whether he gets the odd game in the NEAFL side at Aspley.

 

[Quigley]

Cheers. The concern that I had was how long he had been in Qld for.

He is definately a very interesting prospect for us and I am hoping to see quite a bit more of him next year.

 

[Billythekid17]

Cheers. The concern that I had was how long he had been in Qld for.

He is definately a very interesting prospect for us and I am hoping to see quite a bit more of him next year.

I asked him the same question earlier in the year because I had Weller's situation in mind as well like you had said earlier, and he mentioned he'd been a part of the lions academy at the age of 14 as well and I don't claim to know how the academies work but I think that makes him eligible to be an academy selection by the time his draft year comes around. He moved from VIC fairly early on in the piece before he had played any representative football too. He went to primary school for a few years here in Brisbane as well so he and his family have been here at least 5 years.
I moved from Adelaide with work at the end of last year and only had this year to see what he's all about and pick up his back story, but he's a pretty special talent.

 

[Quigley]

Cheers Billy. Much appreciated.

 

[xplo]

Thanks, Billy. Reading your description -- tall, smooth mover, good skills but not 'inside-pack-mark' material -- I'm getting images of Grant Birchall or maybe Marco Paparone?

 

[Billythekid17]

Thanks, Billy. Reading your description -- tall, smooth mover, good skills but not 'inside-pack-mark' material -- I'm getting images of Grant Birchall or maybe Marco Paparone?

That's alright mate, no problems.
Definitely a smooth mover and his foot skills are next level. Not a big fan of using the term 'elite' on a 16 year old but it was evident in games, as well as a lot of full ground drills earlier this year, just how well he disposes of the ball - hits moving targets over 50m with lovely low trajectory passes with ease and just moves really well across the ground. His set shot kicking for goal is very tidy also. This year, if he took a mark anywhere within 55m, most likely scenario involved him going back for a shot and a large majority of the shots he had resulted in goals. There was a particular game in the first half of the year playing Sherwood at Aspley where he kicked a bag of five (I could be robbing him one short here) but they were all from set shots 40+ out on varying angles. He wasn't playing in the forward line either, and if I'm remembering correctly was actually playing the 'quarterback' role at half back. In most games he played at club level though he'd kick bags of two, three or four but it was evident to see that 16s wasn't a particular challenge for him. He took plenty of contested/pack marks in the games he played this year, but same deal, this happened in 16s club football. It's inevitable he'll play senior football next year at whatever level that may be, but I don't know if he'll put a whole lot of weight on over this pre season unless he spends a lot of time at the academy on a specific upper body weights program or fills out naturally, so he might find adjusting to playing against grown men or bigger bodies a challenge at first. When you try and compare him to an established player, I find it hard because when you see him play, he has a lot of good qualities that remind you of different players. He himself says he models his game on Pendlebury, and he'd been told by the staff he has had around him at various stages of his time spent either in the Lions Academy or when he toured South Africa with the AIS to monitor and try and replicate those specific traits that Pendlebury has. I'm not comparing him to Pendlebury though. Simply because he's a tall kid and plays midfield isn't enough for me to suggest that personally and I've only seen the one season of his, but as his career moves forward and if he possibly develops the ability to play inside and is able to positively influence the outcomes at stoppages then you could draw a solid comparison there. The kid's got a good attitude towards improvement though, he simply loves football. Has a great deal of self confidence and belief with everything he does as well and if this is maintained, could only be positive for him on his journey forward.

 

[Billy Puller]

That's alright mate, no problems.
Definitely a smooth mover and his foot skills are next level. Not a big fan of using the term 'elite' on a 16 year old but it was evident in games, as well as a lot of full ground drills earlier this year, just how well he disposes of the ball - hits moving targets over 50m with lovely low trajectory passes with ease and just moves really well across the ground. His set shot kicking for goal is very tidy also. This year, if he took a mark anywhere within 55m, most likely scenario involved him going back for a shot and a large majority of the shots he had resulted in goals. There was a particular game in the first half of the year playing Sherwood at Aspley where he kicked a bag of five (I could be robbing him one short here) but they were all from set shots 40+ out on varying angles. He wasn't playing in the forward line either, and if I'm remembering correctly was actually playing the 'quarterback' role at half back. In most games he played at club level though he'd kick bags of two, three or four but it was evident to see that 16s wasn't a particular challenge for him. He took plenty of contested/pack marks in the games he played this year, but same deal, this happened in 16s club football. It's inevitable he'll play senior football next year at whatever level that may be, but I don't know if he'll put a whole lot of weight on over this pre season unless he spends a lot of time at the academy on a specific upper body weights program or fills out naturally, so he might find adjusting to playing against grown men or bigger bodies a challenge at first. When you try and compare him to an established player, I find it hard because when you see him play, he has a lot of good qualities that remind you of different players. He himself says he models his game on Pendlebury, and he'd been told by the staff he has had around him at various stages of his time spent either in the Lions Academy or when he toured South Africa with the AIS to monitor and try and replicate those specific traits that Pendlebury has. I'm not comparing him to Pendlebury though. Simply because he's a tall kid and plays midfield isn't enough for me to suggest that personally and I've only seen the one season of his, but as his career moves forward and if he possibly develops the ability to play inside and is able to positively influence the outcomes at stoppages then you could draw a solid comparison there. The kid's got a good attitude towards improvement though, he simply loves football. Has a great deal of self confidence and belief with everything he does as well and if this is maintained, could only be positive for him on his journey forward.

Is this kid a academy prospect for next year or the year after. Never heard of him cheers for the write up. You seem a massive fan though and as I have never heard of him I am just curious as to your relation to him?

 

[Billythekid17]

Is this kid a academy prospect for next year or the year after. Never heard of him cheers for the write up. You seem a massive fan though and as I have never heard of him I am just curious as to your relation to him?

His draft year isn't up until 2016 mate. The only reason I know what I do about Jacob is that he played 16s at Aspley this year and I was involved with that particular group of lads throughout the season. I posted back home to Brisbane with the Army from Adelaide at the end of last year and wasn't able to play football in any capacity this year on account of having had a knee reconstruction and was lucky enough to be given the opportunity to fill a defensive coaching role just after the start of the season. I had a lot of time where I was able to see his abilities first hand having him directly under my nose at training and got to know a lot about him and what type of personality traits he displayed after being able to build somewhat of a rapport with him I guess you could say. It's unlikely I'll have anything to do with him from next year on as he will likely follow the path of Harris Andrews where he'll get rookie listed by the NEAFL, train with them and if not selected to play NEAFL seniors depending on the week, run around for Wilston Grange in the QAFL. But yeah mate, at the end of the day I'm not claiming to know all there is to know about Jacob, I'm simply providing an opinion based on what I've seen and hopefully it's helpful in some way

 

[Billy Puller]

His draft year isn't up until 2016 mate. The only reason I know what I do about Jacob is that he played 16s at Aspley this year and I was involved with that particular group of lads throughout the season. I posted back home to Brisbane with the Army from Adelaide at the end of last year and wasn't able to play football in any capacity this year on account of having had a knee reconstruction and was lucky enough to be given the opportunity to fill a defensive coaching role just after the start of the season. I had a lot of time where I was able to see his abilities first hand having him directly under my nose at training and got to know a lot about him and what type of personality traits he displayed after being able to build somewhat of a rapport with him I guess you could say. It's unlikely I'll have anything to do with him from next year on as he will likely follow the path of Harris Andrews where he'll get rookie listed by the NEAFL, train with them and if not selected to play NEAFL seniors depending on the week, run around for Wilston Grange in the QAFL. But yeah mate, at the end of the day I'm not claiming to know all there is to know about Jacob, I'm simply providing an opinion based on what I've seen and hopefully it's helpful in some way

Nah I appreciate it a lot, just curious how you were involved. Family members tend to talk up players and I have seen that before. But seeing as your a coach your opinion on him gains a lot more credibility for me anyway. Cheers mate appreciate it a lot.

 

[Billythekid17]

Nah I appreciate it a lot, just curious how you were involved. Family members tend to talk up players and I have seen that before. But seeing as your a coach your opinion on him gains a lot more credibility for me anyway. Cheers mate appreciate it a lot.

No problems Billy. Glad I could help out

 

[xplo]

Worth keeping an eye on.

 

[Tassie4ever]

I find this Academy feedback very interesting from the perspective of it being a pointer to the future.

Can anyone better better informed than me [it doesn't take a great deal] provide some form of ratings to forward drafting.

I gather Keays is up there, but who ranks next.

 

[cotter101]

Being in melbourne means I watch a lot of the tac cup and some vfl but I don't get to see many of the Queensland boys. So I'd like to say thank you to everyone who contributes on this thread. It's great being able to read people's thoughts on our academy boys and potential future Lions players!

 

[Rooey17]

Any news on which academy boys have been asked to train with the seniors over summer?

 

[Fatcat08]

Apparently Eric Hipwood from the lions academy has been added to the Level 2 AFL academy intake and joins Ben Keays. Tall forward who apparently impressed in defense in a NEAFL game for us. Played as an overager in the under 16's nationals this year. Anyone know much else about him?

 

[POBT]

Eric - don't hear that name much these days.

 

[The Flying Belgian]

Eric - don't hear that name much these days.

"Are all your pets called Eric?"
"There's nothing so odd about that - Kemal Ataturk had an entire menagerie, all called Abdul."

 

[WhiteLionFeva]

Eric, the bolt.

 

[Eons]

The greatest of them all, Eric the eel.

 

[xplo]

Assuming it's the same kid -- and how many Eric Hipwood's could there be? -- Eric seems to be quite the sportsman. This is from 2009.

"Hipwood brought up his second hat-trick of the year against Nambour, finishing the game with figures of 4-10.

As if his heroics with the ball weren't enough, he also topped the batting with 40 (not out) before being forced to retire.

He brought up his first hat-trick of the year against Kenilworth, ending that game with the ultra-economic figures of 4-4.

A keen soccer, futsal and Aussie rules player, Hipwood is also training for a triathlon later in the year.

Not surprisingly Buderim under-13s coach Steve Lancaster described the youngster as one of the most competitive athletes he's ever seen.

"He's a bit like a sponge, he does everything you ask him to," he said.

"On the third wicket the other day, there was another boy going for the catch and he just about pushed him out of the way. There was no way he was going to not get his hat trick."​

http://www.sunshinecoastdaily.com.au/news/my-next-trick/347861/

 

[Harry Haller]

Published on AFL.com, I am pretty sure this is wrong.
2015 draft hopefuls training at your club this week:

AdelaideLuke Partington, Aaron Francis, Tim Sullivan

Brisbane LionsJacob Weitering

CarltonAidyn Johnson, Jake Sushames

CollingwoodRhys Mathieson, Charlie Curnow

EssendonNick O'Kearney

FremantleKade Stewart, Greg Clark

GeelongDarcy Parish, Tom Cole

Gold CoastBen Keays, Eric Hipwood

GWS GiantsDylan McDonald, Callum Mills

HawthornJosh Dunkley, Sam Weideman

MelbourneKieran Collins, Josh Schache

North MelbourneLiam Jeffs

Port AdelaideStephen Tahana, Ryan Burton, Keiran Agius

RichmondDarcy Tucker

St KildaHarley Balic, Ben Crocker

Sydney SwansNil

West CoastCallum Ah Chee, Yestin Eades, Jordan Snadden

Western BulldogsJames Parsons, Sam Skinner

 

[captainMyCaptain]

Published on AFL.com, I am pretty sure this is wrong.
2015 draft hopefuls training at your club this week:

AdelaideLuke Partington, Aaron Francis, Tim Sullivan

Brisbane LionsJacob Weitering

CarltonAidyn Johnson, Jake Sushames

CollingwoodRhys Mathieson, Charlie Curnow

EssendonNick O'Kearney

FremantleKade Stewart, Greg Clark

GeelongDarcy Parish, Tom Cole

Gold CoastBen Keays, Eric Hipwood

GWS GiantsDylan McDonald, Callum Mills

HawthornJosh Dunkley, Sam Weideman

MelbourneKieran Collins, Josh Schache

North MelbourneLiam Jeffs

Port AdelaideStephen Tahana, Ryan Burton, Keiran Agius

RichmondDarcy Tucker

St KildaHarley Balic, Ben Crocker

Sydney SwansNil

West CoastCallum Ah Chee, Yestin Eades, Jordan Snadden

Western BulldogsJames Parsons, Sam Skinner

Fair few wrong there unless Callum Mills has decided to give the swans the flick and get on board with the Giants but who could blame him if he did

 

[Quigley]

All the club academy kids are training with their cross town rivals. Probably good for them to see how another club does it although not sure the GC and GWS were the best option.