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Academy Watch

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Clips of Dan Annable & Isaac Waller in their VFL debuts in Round 11.

Dan Annable #63



Isaac Waller #55

 
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Ahead of tomorrow's Academy U16s game against Gold Coast, I watched the replay of last weekend's game against Sydney. It's possible the quality of the opposition made them look better, but I came away quite impressed with several of the boys and I'm keen to see them in action again. Overall the big thing that stuck out to me was set shot kicking, many of the kids on both teams were great at it, really showing up some of the grown men in the AFL side who have bizarre misses sometimes. I was also pleasantly surprised by the pressure and defensive work.

Zavier Kleinschmidt was my BOG. Did well at the coalface and could push out to get a classy kick out. He showed the ability to shrug tackles and run through defenders. Went forward and kicked a goal, went back and showed some good vision with a clearing kick out of defence. Even crashed a pack at one stage. He may not ever get to Ashcroft or Annable level, but I loved his class and versatility.

Xavier Salvana was also really good on the inside and had excellent defensive pressure too. He got sucked in by a fake but followed up with good hustle even so. Quite liked a passage of play late on where he grabbed an intercept on the wing and showed good vision to pick out Jasper Rumney at half forward with a pinpoint pass.

Sam Dobbie was excellent as a key defender. Showed a good ability to take intercept marks and spoil, blanketed the Swans' key forwards. Also showed good judgement on when to rush a behind. I'm not ready to say he's the next Harris Andrews yet, he has a lot to work with though.

Lachie Ellen displayed a lot of smarts and awareness, taking some nice intercept possessions and showing the ability to handball through heavy traffic. He also displayed strong tackling and the persistence to chase down ball carriers. His kicking let him down at times but he'll improve at that.

Craig Kellerman is an exciting small forward. Showed some really good speed and agility. There was a hilarious bit near the end where he faked out a Swans defender into diving for a tackle, ran around him, retreated from another defender, then the first one got up and Kellerman danced around and faked him out once again. It ended with his shot for goal being smothered because he got too fancy, but the game was long dead by that point anyway. Earlier, he kicked two goals, one a good set shot on an angle, the other benefitting from having drawn the defender into a 50m penalty. Like Ellen his field kicking let him down a bit, but he also made a good pass inside 50 to Bickerton for a goal.

Speak of the devil, Rohan Bickerton was easily the most impressive tall forward. He showed a good ability to be a forward 50 target, marking on the lead and executing a good set shot. He also tackled well and bulled through traffic, though his field kick needs some improvement.

Addison Stolz is a solid tackler and brought good pressure on a few occasions. Also has the game sense to crumb well. He may not have Kellerman's fleet of foot but he also looks like a really handy small forward prospect.

Two defenders I quite liked were Max Holden and Jackson Bridge. Holden is a strong field kick coming out of defence, showed really good vision on rebound 50s to spot forward targets. Has some good pace. Could improve on his pack work and judging the flight of the aerial ball. Bridge showed useful all-round skills as a defender, intercepting, tackling and rebounding with aplomb.

Both Will White and Maverick Mann went through the ruck, and of the two I thought Mann was better. He competed hard, displayed a good leap and tackling, and served well as a bailout kick target coming out of defence.

Jed Smith also worked hard in defence, spoiling well, showing strength through traffic and making a fantastic effort to touch a kick off the boot, preventing a goal.

Other players I noticed were Archie Wilson for his pressure, Jasper Rumney making a good chase down tackle resulting in a goal, Noah Rafter showing some speed and chase, Jackson Noble picking out targets with his field kick and Cash Kinnear doing some nice things on the outside.
 
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Johnny Bananas said:
Ahead of tomorrow's Academy U16s game against Gold Coast, I watched the replay of last weekend's game against Sydney. It's possible the quality of the opposition made them look better, but I came away quite impressed with several of the boys and I'm keen to see them in action again. Overall the big thing that stuck out to me was set shot kicking, many of the kids on both teams were great at it, really showing up some of the grown men in the AFL side who have bizarre misses sometimes. I was also pleasantly surprised by the pressure and defensive work.

Zavier Kleinschmidt was my BOG. Did well at the coalface and could push out to get a classy kick out. He showed the ability to shrug tackles and run through defenders. Went forward and kicked a goal, went back and showed some good vision with a clearing kick out of defence. Even crashed a pack at one stage. He may not ever get to Ashcroft or Annable level, but I loved his class and versatility.

Xavier Salvana was also really good on the inside and had excellent defensive pressure too. He got sucked in by a fake but followed up with good hustle even so. Quite liked a passage of play late on where he grabbed an intercept on the wing and showed good vision to pick out Jasper Rumney at half forward with a pinpoint pass.

Sam Dobbie was excellent as a key defender. Showed a good ability to take intercept marks and spoil, blanketed the Swans' key forwards. Also showed good judgement on when to rush a behind. I'm not ready to say he's the next Harris Andrews yet, he has a lot to work with though.

Lachie Ellen displayed a lot of smarts and awareness, taking some nice intercept possessions and showing the ability to handball through heavy traffic. He also displayed strong tackling and the persistence to chase down ball carriers. His kicking let him down at times but he'll improve at that.

Craig Kellerman is an exciting small forward. Showed some really good speed and agility. There was a hilarious bit near the end where he faked out a Swans defender into diving for a tackle, ran around him, retreated from another defender, then the first one got up and Kellerman danced around and faked him out once again. It ended with his shot for goal being smothered because he got too fancy, but the game was long dead by that point anyway. Earlier, he kicked two goals, one a good set shot on an angle, the other benefitting from having drawn the defender into a 50m penalty. Like Ellen his field kicking let him down a bit, but he also made a good pass inside 50 to Bickerton for a goal.

Speak of the devil, Rohan Bickerton was easily the most impressive tall forward. He showed a good ability to be a forward 50 target, marking on the lead and executing a good set shot. He also tackled well and bulled through traffic, though his field kick needs some improvement.

Addison Stolz is a solid tackler and brought good pressure on a few occasions. Also has the game sense to crumb well. He may not have Kellerman's fleet of foot but he also looks like a really handy small forward prospect.

Two defenders I quite liked were Max Holden and Jackson Bridge. Holden is a strong field kick coming out of defence, showed really good vision on rebound 50s to spot forward targets. Has some good pace. Could improve on his pack work and judging the flight of the aerial ball. Bridge showed useful all-round skills as a defender, intercepting, tackling and rebounding with aplomb.

Both Will White and Maverick Mann went through the ruck, and of the two I thought Mann was better. He competed hard, displayed a good leap and tackling, and served well as a bailout kick target coming out of defence.

Jed Smith also worked hard in defence, spoiling well, showing strength through traffic and making a fantastic effort to touch a kick off the boot, preventing a goal.

Other players I noticed were Archie Wilson for his pressure, Jasper Rumney making a good chase down tackle resulting in a goal, Noah Rafter showing some speed and chase, Jackson Noble picking out targets with his field kick and Cash Kinnear doing some nice things on the outside.
Click to expand...

so the whole team then??
 
KillaKanga said:
Solid win!!! Any stats/notes??
Click to expand...
No stats I can find, but I did take some notes.

Much like the previous week against the Swans, there was a lot of exciting talent on display, and I was very impressed by the accuracy at goalkicking and the pressure. I didn't have a best on ground this week, there were a lot of contributors. Each part of the field had an exciting tall and a few smalls.

Defence

Once again Sam Dobbie stood tall at fullback, picking off intercept marks to blunt the Suns' attack. He directly saved two goals, one by marking on the goal line, the other by hustling to touch a shot off the boot that sailed through the middle. One of Gold Coast's few goals came when Dobbie lost his man in a contest, but to me that highlighted how good he was at marking his man the rest of the game.

Max Holden also had a good game, showing a fine ability to intercept and pressure. He took a speccy off a Suns rebound 50 and showed vision to kick to a target.

Midfield

Max Boothey is an impressive player! White and Mann also ran through the ruck, but whenever Boothey was around the ball, I was excited. Wearing a nose guard on the day, not only was he great at the tap, he grabbed it straight out of the air a few times for a clearance, tackled well for a big man, and had a great goal assist inside 50 kick to Bickerton. He then went forward and took a strong contested mark and kicked the resulting set shot. Would have had another goal but got penalised for hands in the back. He's living up to the hype.

Of the onballers, Jackson Noble was the big improver from the previous week for me. Ran well through the middle, clean handballing, good pressure. Then he went forward and kicked two goals from set shots, one a ripper from 45m on an angle.

Zavier Kleinschmidt won the ball less than last week but was classy again, with some really handy inside kicks to pick out Bickerton and Salvana a few times. He got in trouble trying to weave through traffic, but he was showing good ambition in tritng to create plays.

Xavier Salvana was perhaps the best at the contested game, grabbing a few clearances and breaking tackles. He did have the tendency to throw it on the boot at times, and dropped a couple of marks when he went up forward.

Cash Kinnear did some razzle dazzle things, like a running goal from 50 on a tight angle and a soccer goal that any striker would have been proud of. He needs to do some of the basics better though, as he can be hasty to throw it on the boot, leading to miskicks and turnovers. That said, he did have a few really nice inboard passes from the wing and brought pressure.

Forward

Rohan Bickerton had an excellent game as a tall forward, marking on the lead several times and kicking most of his shots accurately. Beat his defender repeatedly. Also rucked a bit and looked reasonable doing so. He isn't a Gallop-level pressure and tackle player but he's no slouch either and does his job to create more opportunities around goal.

The entire small forward fleet impressed me. Addison Stolz and Craig Kellerman have a good connection, linking up several times in the forward half to set up goals, and bringing strong pressure. On one occasion Stolz lost a bounce but made up for it by chasing down the ball carrier and winning it back. The other two, Jasper Rumney and Sebastian Croke, were on the field a lot less but brought equally ferocious pressure. Croke in particular was a demon at tackling, bringing down players far bigger than himself.

Lastly, Lachie Ellen looked better as a medium marking forward than in the midfield. He showed some ability to weave through traffic and kicked two fine goals, the first from a strong pack mark and the second finishing off some good work in the lead up from Salvana and Will White.

Looking forward to this weekend's game, where I expect the Suns to give a stronger showing as the result actually matters.
 
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Johnny Bananas said:
No stats I can find, but I did take some notes.

Much like the previous week against the Swans, there was a lot of exciting talent on display, and I was very impressed by the accuracy at goalkicking and the pressure. I didn't have a best on ground this week, there were a lot of contributors. Each part of the field had an exciting tall and a few smalls.

Defence

Once again Sam Dobbie stood tall at fullback, picking off intercept marks to blunt the Suns' attack. He directly saved two goals, one by marking on the goal line, the other by hustling to touch a shot off the boot that sailed through the middle. One of Gold Coast's few goals came when Dobbie lost his man in a contest, but to me that highlighted how good he was at marking his man the rest of the game.

Max Holden also had a good game, showing a fine ability to intercept and pressure. He took a speccy off a Suns rebound 50 and showed vision to kick to a target.

Midfield

Max Boothey is an impressive player! White and Mann also ran through the ruck, but whenever Boothey was around the ball, I was excited. Wearing a nose guard on the day, not only was he great at the tap, he grabbed it straight out of the air a few times for a clearance, tackled well for a big man, and had a great goal assist inside 50 kick to Bickerton. He then went forward and took a strong contested mark and kicked the resulting set shot. Would have had another goal but got penalised for hands in the back. He's living up to the hype.

Of the onballers, Jackson Noble was the big improver from the previous week for me. Ran well through the middle, clean handballing, good pressure. Then he went forward and kicked two goals from set shots, one a ripper from 45m on an angle.

Zavier Kleinschmidt won the ball less than last week but was classy again, with some really handy inside kicks to pick out Bickerton and Salvana a few times. He got in trouble trying to weave through traffic, but he was showing good ambition in tritng to create plays.

Xavier Salvana was perhaps the best at the contested game, grabbing a few clearances and breaking tackles. He did have the tendency to throw it on the boot at times, and dropped a couple of marks when he went up forward.

Cash Kinnear did some razzle dazzle things, like a running goal from 50 on a tight angle and a soccer goal that any striker would have been proud of. He needs to do some of the basics better though, as he can be hasty to throw it on the boot, leading to miskicks and turnovers. That said, he did have a few really nice inboard passes from the wing and brought pressure.

Forward

Rohan Bickerton had an excellent game as a tall forward, marking on the lead several times and kicking most of his shots accurately. Beat his defender repeatedly. Also rucked a bit and looked reasonable doing so. He isn't a Gallop-level pressure and tackle player but he's no slouch either and does his job to create more opportunities around goal.

The entire small forward fleet impressed me. Addison Stolz and Craig Kellerman have a good connection, linking up several times in the forward half to set up goals, and bringing strong pressure. On one occasion Stolz lost a bounce but made up for it by chasing down the ball carrier and winning it back. The other two, Jasper Rumney and Sebastian Croke, were on the field a lot less but brought equally ferocious pressure. Croke in particular was a demon at tackling, bringing down players far bigger than himself.

Lastly, Lachie Ellen looked better as a medium marking forward than in the midfield. He showed some ability to weave through traffic and kicked two fine goals, the first from a strong pack mark and the second finishing off some good work in the lead up from Salvana and Will White.

Looking forward to this weekend's game, where I expect the Suns to give a stronger showing as the result actually matters.
Click to expand...
Is Jackson Noble son of, and brother of?
 
Lions 92, Suns 42 at 3/4 time. I'd argue the Suns are playing better than they did last week. That the Lions are so far ahead is less down to individual brilliance than to good work rate across the team and some of the less heralded players stepping up. I've noticed an improvement this game from Oliver Morgan, Cooper Stuart, Tarkyn Benton and Will White. Kleinschmidt and Salvana good in the middle as usual, but the two best so far for mine are Holden and Bridge starting attacks out of the back half.
 
Final score 131 - 54. Boothey had a decent game up to 3/4 time but really came alive in the last, taking three forward 50 marks and kicking 2.1, then later grabbing a loose ball to help set up a goal to Kellerman. Goalkicking accuracy was worse than last week but the team created many more opportunities.

It's annoying that we won't get to see the boys test their skills against the major state sides, or even Tasmania or GWS. The remaining games are against the Swans, who they defeated comfortably in a practice match two weeks ago, and Northern Territory, which looks like it'll be one-way traffic all day.
 
Johnny Bananas said:
Final score 131 - 54. Boothey had a decent game up to 3/4 time but really came alive in the last, taking three forward 50 marks and kicking 2.1, then later grabbing a loose ball to help set up a goal to Kellerman. Goalkicking accuracy was worse than last week but the team created many more opportunities.

It's annoying that we won't get to see the boys test their skills against the major state sides, or even Tasmania or GWS. The remaining games are against the Swans, who they defeated comfortably in a practice match two weeks ago, and Northern Territory, which looks like it'll be one-way traffic all day.
Click to expand...
Yeah would be interesting to see how they go against Vic.
 

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Johnny Bananas said:
Final score 131 - 54. Boothey had a decent game up to 3/4 time but really came alive in the last, taking three forward 50 marks and kicking 2.1, then later grabbing a loose ball to help set up a goal to Kellerman. Goalkicking accuracy was worse than last week but the team created many more opportunities.

It's annoying that we won't get to see the boys test their skills against the major state sides, or even Tasmania or GWS. The remaining games are against the Swans, who they defeated comfortably in a practice match two weeks ago, and Northern Territory, which looks like it'll be one-way traffic all day.
Click to expand...
Sydney beat GWS comfortably in their first match, so not sure playing GWS achieves anything. Would have been nice to play Tassie instead of NT.
 
Suns ordinary in this age group as it is, then to lose their best 3 kids to injury (all who played in the Suns u18 CTL side) made them completely uncompetitive.
 
Thommo 42 said:
Ryan Hutchings, watch this space.

Gun. (2010 born)

Weird amount of 17 year olds.
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Not sure if anyone caught the Lions vs Swans game today, but bottom ager Ryan Hutchings....

Stats sheet won't tell the story, but wowee this kid is seriously something special
 
Midfielder, forward, defender - cold play him anywhere.

In one passage, he lead up at the footy after an impressive chain out of defence from the Lions. Got a pretty ordinary kick, gathered at full pace running away from goal on the 50m arc, burst through 2 defenders like they weren't even there and then turned onto his left and just smacked home a goal from inside the centre square on his left foot like he was shelling peas, seriously effortless.

Pace, skill, class, toughness. He's one to watch!
 

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Thommo 42 said:
Midfielder, forward, defender - cold play him anywhere.

In one passage, he lead up at the footy after an impressive chain out of defence from the Lions. Got a pretty ordinary kick, gathered at full pace running away from goal on the 50m arc, burst through 2 defenders like they weren't even there and then turned onto his left and just smacked home a goal from inside the centre square on his left foot like he was shelling peas, seriously effortless.

Pace, skill, class, toughness. He's one to watch!
Click to expand...
Do you have a time stamp for that passage of play?
 
briztoon said:
Do you have a time stamp for that passage of play?
Click to expand...

Sure here it is

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.
youtube.com youtube.com

I didn't mind this burst either

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.
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Remembering this guy is probably youngest player on field
 
Thommo 42 said:
Sure here it is

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.
youtube.com youtube.com

I didn't mind this burst either

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.
youtube.com youtube.com

Remembering this guy is probably youngest player on field
Click to expand...
Thank you.

Do you know if he’s in the QLD U15 team for SSA tournament?
 
central.rookieme.com

Scouting Notes: 2025 AFL U16s – Lions Academy vs. Swans Academy

The Lions Academy kept Sydney goalless until late in term three en route a 50-point win in their Under 16 National Championships clash.
central.rookieme.com central.rookieme.com

Haven't finished my rewatch yet, if I post a review then it'll only be about the stuff Alvaro didn't cover.

I'm surprised to learn Bickerton is only 186cm tall. He plays like a taller forward, leading well and often beating his defender in the air. If he can have a late growth spurt and get up to the low 190s, I think he can make it in the league as a third tall forward.
 
Johnny Bananas said:
central.rookieme.com

Scouting Notes: 2025 AFL U16s – Lions Academy vs. Swans Academy

The Lions Academy kept Sydney goalless until late in term three en route a 50-point win in their Under 16 National Championships clash.
central.rookieme.com central.rookieme.com

Haven't finished my rewatch yet, if I post a review then it'll only be about the stuff Alvaro didn't cover.

I'm surprised to learn Bickerton is only 186cm tall. He plays like a taller forward, leading well and often beating his defender in the air. If he can have a late growth spurt and get up to the low 190s, I think he can make it in the league as a third tall forward.
Click to expand...

he's definitely taller than 186cm. Looks a good prospect.

That Hutchings does look exciting. The Lions are a very even team, no statistical standouts - though the younger of the Bridges looks very good with his aerial work and reading of the play behind the ball. Interestingly he appears to play forward in club football.
 

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