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Grimreepah
BigFooty One Armed Man
Well spotted, but there seems to be a third list under Zac Southern.
Jono Freeman's DOB is 27/04/94. http://www.afl.com.au/development/n.../u18squeenslandsquad/tabid/16261/default.aspx
Perhaps this third list represents over-agers?
thoselionslads
Club Legend
Is there a list showing which club our academy kids play for?
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Ceebee
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Casey Voss
Nup....apparently the McDowell-White boys are not attending the Academy next year.
whatboutbob
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What about him?
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whatboutbob
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Yep.
Isaac Conway
DOB: 29/5/95 Ht: 183 Wt: 82
It will surprise no-one who has been following along that I have high hopes for Conway next year. I watched him at the Champs this year and of the bottom aged players I would have had him behind only Crouch as an inside mid prospect. He was an All-Australian at under 16 level and I will be disappointed if he is not again next year at under 18 level. There is still plenty of work to be done with him but there is a lot to like and build on with him.
Conway is a very solid kid for a bottom ager. He is definitely going to come into the AFL with a body that will allow him to play right away. He has a powerful build especially in the lower half and already has a bit of a gym junkie waddle when he walks. Endurance wise he seemed to get to contests well and it looks like he has a reasonable base to work from in this regard as well. I do think he needs to work on his outside running but I am not seeing that his endurance is the limiting factor more that he tends to be more focused on his inside game atm. Speed I have found a little hard to judge given the way he plays. He has not shown me a real burst of pace but on the other side I have not really seen him lack pace either. If I had to guess I think he would probably time in about 3 flat for the 20m.
Conway projects as an inside player and when he is actually in there trying to win the ball there is a hell of a lot to like. He gets his hands to the ball first more than any of the bottom agers I saw. He judges it off hands very well and moves smartly into spots where he can win the clearance. His strength in the contest is excellent and I can see him developing into a bullocking bottom of the pack type ball winner. His hands are a little variable although he is usually pretty clean. The quickness of his hands also varies a bit. Sometimes I thought he showed really good quick hands but other times he would look a little slow and would be unable to get the ball out of the ruck contest. The latter might have been a bit of a function of his receivers being a bit below the standard of the Div 1 opposition I saw him play against.
In the WA game when he was onball I did think he played too defensively at the clearance situations. Rather than having his focus on winning the ball he too often looked first to go to the opposition’s most dangerous ball winner. He was a regular match at clearances with Garlett against WA and similarly when Carter was hot Conway went to him to negate his influence. He used his body well to keep those players out and won more than his fair share of the ball but I would have preferred to have others play defensive roles and let the opposition worry about stopping him.
Against Vic County for some reason he was sat off the ball to receive I guess and this role did not suit him at all. The Qlders were smashed in the clearances and the best clearance player was not in amongst it. Conway also did not work hard enough that game I thought and seemed happy enough to just float around without really getting involved in the play. In both games he did show some reasonable spread although again it was a little variable and was not a strength at this stage. When he does get into space he is a pretty good mark and often drifts in nicely from the side of a contest to take the mark. He judges the ball well in the air.
Skills wise he is not bad but does need some work. I think his decision making is pretty good but he lacks a little in execution. This is a pretty common fault with young inside mids and it is by no means terminal. Style wise he seems fine and is a capable kick off either foot. The touch on his kick is what seems to let him down most often. He too often will kick it over the head or on the bounce to his target. Under pressure his kicking does fall away a little more. I don’t think I got to see him take a shot for goal so I can’t comment on how he goes in this regard. By hand he is solid without being particularly attacking. Overall he needs to improve his skills and up his hurt factor.
I did think Conway showed some really good football smarts in the games I saw. He uses his body well in contests, plays the passing lanes in tight well and will shepherd, spoil and do other little things to help his team. His tackling is pretty good and whilst I think he could improve on his numbers with more focus on looking to tackle more, he does get his fair share because of the position he plays. When he does get an opposition player he is effective with his tackling.
In addition to playing as an inside mid, Conway also played some time down back and did a nice job cleaning up some difficult situations. His clean hands and ability to judge the ball in the air helped his defense a lot and he looked very assured in a defensive role (although going forward there were a couple of blips). It would not surprise me if he started his career in defense before cracking the midfield rotation.
What I want to see next year
· To hell with defensive assignments I want to see him hunting the ball and attacking every clearance. Make other teams focus on how to stop him and let us see how Conway goes when he is played in a purely attacking role.
· His skills need to be tidied up. Without too much focus needing to be given to the physical aspects of his game I think this offseason should be dedicated to improving his ability to hit targets. He should get it a heap next year and to be the player he can be he needs to up his hurt factor.
· His spread needs to improve. Rather than just getting from one contest to the next he must work on bursting from clearances and getting into space to present as a linking option.
· Similarly after every disposal I want to see a 20m sprint to present as another option. It might not always be on but good things happen when you do this. I would be showing him film of how Viney played this year and saying this is what I wanted of him next season.
· He needs to work into 50 more and become a goal scoring threat. He is a pretty good mark for his size and he could be a danger if he works hard forward.
DOB: 29/5/95 Ht: 183 Wt: 82
It will surprise no-one who has been following along that I have high hopes for Conway next year. I watched him at the Champs this year and of the bottom aged players I would have had him behind only Crouch as an inside mid prospect. He was an All-Australian at under 16 level and I will be disappointed if he is not again next year at under 18 level. There is still plenty of work to be done with him but there is a lot to like and build on with him.
Conway is a very solid kid for a bottom ager. He is definitely going to come into the AFL with a body that will allow him to play right away. He has a powerful build especially in the lower half and already has a bit of a gym junkie waddle when he walks. Endurance wise he seemed to get to contests well and it looks like he has a reasonable base to work from in this regard as well. I do think he needs to work on his outside running but I am not seeing that his endurance is the limiting factor more that he tends to be more focused on his inside game atm. Speed I have found a little hard to judge given the way he plays. He has not shown me a real burst of pace but on the other side I have not really seen him lack pace either. If I had to guess I think he would probably time in about 3 flat for the 20m.
Conway projects as an inside player and when he is actually in there trying to win the ball there is a hell of a lot to like. He gets his hands to the ball first more than any of the bottom agers I saw. He judges it off hands very well and moves smartly into spots where he can win the clearance. His strength in the contest is excellent and I can see him developing into a bullocking bottom of the pack type ball winner. His hands are a little variable although he is usually pretty clean. The quickness of his hands also varies a bit. Sometimes I thought he showed really good quick hands but other times he would look a little slow and would be unable to get the ball out of the ruck contest. The latter might have been a bit of a function of his receivers being a bit below the standard of the Div 1 opposition I saw him play against.
In the WA game when he was onball I did think he played too defensively at the clearance situations. Rather than having his focus on winning the ball he too often looked first to go to the opposition’s most dangerous ball winner. He was a regular match at clearances with Garlett against WA and similarly when Carter was hot Conway went to him to negate his influence. He used his body well to keep those players out and won more than his fair share of the ball but I would have preferred to have others play defensive roles and let the opposition worry about stopping him.
Against Vic County for some reason he was sat off the ball to receive I guess and this role did not suit him at all. The Qlders were smashed in the clearances and the best clearance player was not in amongst it. Conway also did not work hard enough that game I thought and seemed happy enough to just float around without really getting involved in the play. In both games he did show some reasonable spread although again it was a little variable and was not a strength at this stage. When he does get into space he is a pretty good mark and often drifts in nicely from the side of a contest to take the mark. He judges the ball well in the air.
Skills wise he is not bad but does need some work. I think his decision making is pretty good but he lacks a little in execution. This is a pretty common fault with young inside mids and it is by no means terminal. Style wise he seems fine and is a capable kick off either foot. The touch on his kick is what seems to let him down most often. He too often will kick it over the head or on the bounce to his target. Under pressure his kicking does fall away a little more. I don’t think I got to see him take a shot for goal so I can’t comment on how he goes in this regard. By hand he is solid without being particularly attacking. Overall he needs to improve his skills and up his hurt factor.
I did think Conway showed some really good football smarts in the games I saw. He uses his body well in contests, plays the passing lanes in tight well and will shepherd, spoil and do other little things to help his team. His tackling is pretty good and whilst I think he could improve on his numbers with more focus on looking to tackle more, he does get his fair share because of the position he plays. When he does get an opposition player he is effective with his tackling.
In addition to playing as an inside mid, Conway also played some time down back and did a nice job cleaning up some difficult situations. His clean hands and ability to judge the ball in the air helped his defense a lot and he looked very assured in a defensive role (although going forward there were a couple of blips). It would not surprise me if he started his career in defense before cracking the midfield rotation.
What I want to see next year
· To hell with defensive assignments I want to see him hunting the ball and attacking every clearance. Make other teams focus on how to stop him and let us see how Conway goes when he is played in a purely attacking role.
· His skills need to be tidied up. Without too much focus needing to be given to the physical aspects of his game I think this offseason should be dedicated to improving his ability to hit targets. He should get it a heap next year and to be the player he can be he needs to up his hurt factor.
· His spread needs to improve. Rather than just getting from one contest to the next he must work on bursting from clearances and getting into space to present as a linking option.
· Similarly after every disposal I want to see a 20m sprint to present as another option. It might not always be on but good things happen when you do this. I would be showing him film of how Viney played this year and saying this is what I wanted of him next season.
· He needs to work into 50 more and become a goal scoring threat. He is a pretty good mark for his size and he could be a danger if he works hard forward.
Caine Tickner
DOB: 17/4/95 Ht: 193 Wt: 89
Tickner has been our great KP hope for a few years now and he has consistently stepped up. This year he was one of the key players in the Qld upset win over WA and was named in the AIS squad for next year. Tickner has the ability to play all over the ground and was mostly up forward when I saw him this year. Personally I like him as a longer term CHB but it’s also possible that he could go into the midfield and be there big bodied mid that Vossy has been searching for. He has played a bit of midfield over the last couple of years and has looked solid doing so.
When I saw Tickner first up this year I doubted he was the listed height of 193 but after seeing him standing next to guys who were listed (and measured) about the same I am happy to conclude my initial thoughts were wrong. Unlike many of his contemptories he is a solid unit for a 17 year old and having that build I think tends to disguise height a bit. I would still hope for a couple more centimetres growth but his height atm is satisfactory for a KP.
What I really rated with Tickner when I saw him play this year was his workrate. No matter whether it is offensively or defensively his workrate was fantastic. I have read a few articles comparing him to Jack Darling and I think this is probably not a bad comparison especially in the workrate department. Tickner creates things by outworking the opposition. He would probably have been the best defensive KPF that I saw play this year and his chase and tackle was excellent.
I had a genuine LOL moment in one of the games this year. Tickner at one stage made a thumping tackle on one of the Vic Country guys who didn’t really appreciate it and got up quickly and shoved Tickner back to the ground, gave him a gob full and took off for the contest which had developed about 30 metres away. Tickner didn’t say anything, got up and ran to the contest as well and the bloke who he had tackled and shoved him happened to get the ball back again. Tickner proceed to line him up and thump him again. No nonsense Tickner got to his feet again and was off to be involved again. The opposition player lay prostrate for a bit contemplating life before slowly getting back to his feet.
That kind of repeat effort is typical of him. He will chase from ball carrier to ball carrier to pressure the ball coming out of defense and similarly with the ball coming in he will work his defender over with repeat leads. On his leading he does lead to good spots but he struggled to get separation. Up forward he seemed to be playing most of the game with his defender in his back pocket. If he is going to be a KPF at the next level he needs to have the ability to get a couple of metres on his opponent and he did not really show me that this year.
Marking wise Tickner can be a bit of a mixed bag. He can take some really nice contested marks but will also drop some you really expect him to take. He was under pressure a lot in the marking contests and even when outnumbered he always gave a contest and often was smart enough to win himself a free. He is definitely a pack crasher and he is the kind of forward who will get the ball to ground and give his smalls a chance. Below the knees Tickner’s hands are very good for a big guy with him being both clean and good at assessing what to do with the ball. I would not say he has inside mid type quickness with his hands atm but they are often quicker than you expect to see on a key position.
Kicking wise he can be a bit of a mixed bag. One game he will be a dead-eye dick in front of goal and the next he will badly miss easy shots. Against WA he was great making goal kicking look easy whilst against Vic County he looked all at sea. In the WA it is worth noting that he managed 4 goals including 2 late in the last quarter. His last was the match sealer taken on a tight angle from just inside the 50 with a wet ball. The distance and accuracy were impressive in the conditions. His set shot is good style wise. He has a controlled run up and maintains his balance throughout. He has a very big leg on him and on one occasion I saw he kicked from inside the square and the ball was punched through on the goal line. His style looks like one which has been coached and practiced a lot rather than being particularly natural. Nothing wrong with that though. His field kicking can also be a little hit and miss on occasions.
Athletically I would expect Tickner to test up there with the best with his endurance particularly in the beep test. His repeat burst efforts are impressive. Pace wise he seems to take a while to get up to full speed but once he does his top end seems good. Agility wise he would also be up there with the best of the key positions. He can change direction really nicely and his recovery particularly from a prone position outshone many of the opposition who played on him. His jumping was solid although probably not elite. I think Tickner is still growing into his body. Despite being fairly solid compared to some of his opposition he did not seek to use his strength all that much. As he gets used to being stronger than his opposition I would expect him to go to that advantage more often.
Tickner is very much a footballers footballer. He knows the way the game is played and what to do in different situations. He will spoil, shepherd and crash packs as a natural part of his game and he would have been one of the best tacklers at under 18 level even as a bottom ager. He tackles hard and often with good technique. He is a very physical presence on the field and the opposition is going to be very aware of where he is and that he is coming.
What I want to see next year
· More explosiveness. Lots of sprint training would be the first order of business for this offseason if I was handling him. He needs to improve his ability to get separation and getting up to speed quicker would help this.
· Working a few sly strength push offs into his repertoire would also be pretty handy. He is going to be stronger than his opposition next year and he needs to use it a bit more. Getting his defender off balance will help with the separation issues.
· Improved consistency with his kicking. Both his field and goal kicking need to be worked on. He is capable of being good in both areas already he just needs to be more consistent with each.
· More possessions. He does not get as much of the ball as I would like to see. I would want him covering more ground Reiwoldt style and providing an avenue forward from the wing.
DOB: 17/4/95 Ht: 193 Wt: 89
Tickner has been our great KP hope for a few years now and he has consistently stepped up. This year he was one of the key players in the Qld upset win over WA and was named in the AIS squad for next year. Tickner has the ability to play all over the ground and was mostly up forward when I saw him this year. Personally I like him as a longer term CHB but it’s also possible that he could go into the midfield and be there big bodied mid that Vossy has been searching for. He has played a bit of midfield over the last couple of years and has looked solid doing so.
When I saw Tickner first up this year I doubted he was the listed height of 193 but after seeing him standing next to guys who were listed (and measured) about the same I am happy to conclude my initial thoughts were wrong. Unlike many of his contemptories he is a solid unit for a 17 year old and having that build I think tends to disguise height a bit. I would still hope for a couple more centimetres growth but his height atm is satisfactory for a KP.
What I really rated with Tickner when I saw him play this year was his workrate. No matter whether it is offensively or defensively his workrate was fantastic. I have read a few articles comparing him to Jack Darling and I think this is probably not a bad comparison especially in the workrate department. Tickner creates things by outworking the opposition. He would probably have been the best defensive KPF that I saw play this year and his chase and tackle was excellent.
I had a genuine LOL moment in one of the games this year. Tickner at one stage made a thumping tackle on one of the Vic Country guys who didn’t really appreciate it and got up quickly and shoved Tickner back to the ground, gave him a gob full and took off for the contest which had developed about 30 metres away. Tickner didn’t say anything, got up and ran to the contest as well and the bloke who he had tackled and shoved him happened to get the ball back again. Tickner proceed to line him up and thump him again. No nonsense Tickner got to his feet again and was off to be involved again. The opposition player lay prostrate for a bit contemplating life before slowly getting back to his feet.
That kind of repeat effort is typical of him. He will chase from ball carrier to ball carrier to pressure the ball coming out of defense and similarly with the ball coming in he will work his defender over with repeat leads. On his leading he does lead to good spots but he struggled to get separation. Up forward he seemed to be playing most of the game with his defender in his back pocket. If he is going to be a KPF at the next level he needs to have the ability to get a couple of metres on his opponent and he did not really show me that this year.
Marking wise Tickner can be a bit of a mixed bag. He can take some really nice contested marks but will also drop some you really expect him to take. He was under pressure a lot in the marking contests and even when outnumbered he always gave a contest and often was smart enough to win himself a free. He is definitely a pack crasher and he is the kind of forward who will get the ball to ground and give his smalls a chance. Below the knees Tickner’s hands are very good for a big guy with him being both clean and good at assessing what to do with the ball. I would not say he has inside mid type quickness with his hands atm but they are often quicker than you expect to see on a key position.
Kicking wise he can be a bit of a mixed bag. One game he will be a dead-eye dick in front of goal and the next he will badly miss easy shots. Against WA he was great making goal kicking look easy whilst against Vic County he looked all at sea. In the WA it is worth noting that he managed 4 goals including 2 late in the last quarter. His last was the match sealer taken on a tight angle from just inside the 50 with a wet ball. The distance and accuracy were impressive in the conditions. His set shot is good style wise. He has a controlled run up and maintains his balance throughout. He has a very big leg on him and on one occasion I saw he kicked from inside the square and the ball was punched through on the goal line. His style looks like one which has been coached and practiced a lot rather than being particularly natural. Nothing wrong with that though. His field kicking can also be a little hit and miss on occasions.
Athletically I would expect Tickner to test up there with the best with his endurance particularly in the beep test. His repeat burst efforts are impressive. Pace wise he seems to take a while to get up to full speed but once he does his top end seems good. Agility wise he would also be up there with the best of the key positions. He can change direction really nicely and his recovery particularly from a prone position outshone many of the opposition who played on him. His jumping was solid although probably not elite. I think Tickner is still growing into his body. Despite being fairly solid compared to some of his opposition he did not seek to use his strength all that much. As he gets used to being stronger than his opposition I would expect him to go to that advantage more often.
Tickner is very much a footballers footballer. He knows the way the game is played and what to do in different situations. He will spoil, shepherd and crash packs as a natural part of his game and he would have been one of the best tacklers at under 18 level even as a bottom ager. He tackles hard and often with good technique. He is a very physical presence on the field and the opposition is going to be very aware of where he is and that he is coming.
What I want to see next year
· More explosiveness. Lots of sprint training would be the first order of business for this offseason if I was handling him. He needs to improve his ability to get separation and getting up to speed quicker would help this.
· Working a few sly strength push offs into his repertoire would also be pretty handy. He is going to be stronger than his opposition next year and he needs to use it a bit more. Getting his defender off balance will help with the separation issues.
· Improved consistency with his kicking. Both his field and goal kicking need to be worked on. He is capable of being good in both areas already he just needs to be more consistent with each.
· More possessions. He does not get as much of the ball as I would like to see. I would want him covering more ground Reiwoldt style and providing an avenue forward from the wing.
Taking out the father-son style drafting preference to us, where would these two guys rank in the draft with next year's lot do you think, Quigs?
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I'm much more bullish about Conway than Tickner. That said, I didn't get to physically witness Tickner's matchwinning turn vs WA.
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Probably not a top 10 pick at this stage but I reckon if we are picking outside the top 10 someone might make us pay our first rounder for one of them. Both I would put in the end of first round category atm so if we got them for a second and third rounder I would be very happy.
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Considering that Tickner and Conway seem to be the two academy prospects we'd be looking closely at, is there any reason that we offered that "extended AFL club agreement" to Tickner but not to Conway as yet?
Conway would be fairly close to Wines as a comparison of those coming out this year. Moloney is a bit front of mind for us atm and he is another who would be a pretty fair comparison atm.
Tickner is a bit of a few. The guys that sprang to mind when I stopped to think about it were Darling, Rance and Bock. A little bit of a mix of all those guys perhaps but he definately has features of all three.
Tickner is a bit of a few. The guys that sprang to mind when I stopped to think about it were Darling, Rance and Bock. A little bit of a mix of all those guys perhaps but he definately has features of all three.
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Thanks!
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