Past Aliir Aliir - traded 2020, to Port

[Kennedy Parker]

Aliir Aliir

Player Profile
Aliir Aliir is a key defender with elite intercept-marking skills who generates a wealth of drive out of the Sydney Swans’ backline. Although he’s just 25, the 2013 draftee is now one of the Swans’ most experienced backmen after the retirement of champion defenders Jarrad McVeigh, Heath Grundy and Nick Smith. Aliir’s height, excellent verticle leap and cat-like movement around the footy also make him a handy option as a back-up ruckman. Born in Kenya to Sudanese parents, Aliir is an inspiration to kids from diverse backgrounds starting a new chapter in Australia. Draft history: 2013 AFL Draft 3rd round selection (Sydney) No. 44 overall.

Aliir Aliir

21

Aliir Aliir

Age

29

Ht

194cm

Wt

96kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

15.2

4star

K

9.3

4star

HB

5.9

4star

M

5.2

5star

T

1.9

4star

MG

240.9

4star

D

11.0

3star

K

6.0

2star

HB

5.0

3star

M

3.0

3star

T

2.0

3star

D

13.0

4star

K

6.4

3star

HB

6.6

4star

M

3.8

4star

T

2.0

4star

MG

158.4

3star

DOB: 05 September 1994
DEBUT:2014
DRAFT: 2013
RECRUITED FROM: Aspley (Qld)/East Fremantle (WAFL)

Aliir Aliir | AFL

Follow Aliir Aliir's progress through AFL

www.sydneyswans.com.au

 

[doona]

He wants Tippett, but has to compete with the $ West Adelaide are paying him. That's my take on it.

A draftee at AFL level would earn more then someone in the adelaide comp. I am not sure about rookies. So if we thought he was better then aliir aliir we would have got him in the draft.........but with our tight salary cap we probably dont have the money for any more rookies

 

[Swansujelly]

A draftee at AFL level would earn more then someone in the adelaide comp. I am not sure about rookies. So if we thought he was better then aliir aliir we would have got him in the draft.........but with our tight salary cap we probably dont have the money for any more rookies

rookies are on about 80,000(thereabouts) He would be on about that there, but is established, i think he finished uni last year, so may have a job there now.. We would have to throw a bit more to uproot him to come here, and possibly play all year in a lesser comp. I think the SANFL cap is 500,00( it was 400,00 in 2008) or so. Srry for being a bit vague on the figures.

 

[Swansujelly]

this would be footage from his QLD days. Apparently he was rucking at 190cms..long arms. Some good stuff here, early days, I know, but..

 

[Heeney2Franklin]

http://www.sydneyswans.com.au/news/2013-11-21/meet-aliir-aliir

Plenty to work with here.

 

[Danair]

I remember watching a WA game on FOX during the U/18 championships and thinking to myself how the * this guy could be picked.

 

[Superstar swan]

rookies are on about 80,000(thereabouts) He would be on about that there, but is established, i think he finished uni last year, so may have a job there now.. We would have to throw a bit more to uproot him to come here, and possibly play all year in a lesser comp. I think the SANFL cap is 500,00( it was 400,00 in 2008) or so. Srry for being a bit vague on the figures.

$80,000 ? I always thought it was about half that, plus $2000 a game they play in the seniors. I remember reading an article when Kruezer was drafted and that said he would earn a 100k if he played every game, yer salaries would have gone up since then but not by that much, I would be extremely surprised if rookies got paid more than $50,000

 

[Superstar swan]

In 2011 the rookie base salary was 35k, surely we could afford tippett in the cap

 

[Ships]

Early days obviously, but he looks like he's got a lot of upside. Great leap, and says he loves a spoil. Didn't mind his field kicking (from one of the profiles I saw). He's been playing since he was 14 apparently, but still looks a little raw, but hey, nothing wrong with that. As long as he gives it a crack, he may turn into to something special. He will be someone to watch develop that's for sure. Good luck to the fella.

 

[alanlau34]

Aliir Aliir (WA – KPD)
Height: 196cm, Weight: 85kg, DOB: 05/09/1994
Recruited from: East Fremantle
Style:
Player comparison:
Range: Rookie - undrafted
Profile: Raw, athletic key defender. Closing speed good. He’s quick and can run and carry. Ball use by hand and foot poor. Average 1v1. Ability to read it in the air poor.

http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/threads/knightmares-2013-phantom-draft.983436/


Not a very complimentary description but seems like he has the raw tools to be a good key defender. Also according to Sheehan he is always smiling so that is a a tick with his personality.

Looks like it will be a smooth transition of whipping boys from Grundy to Aliir for SM

 

[S120]

His theme song should be Hips Don't Lie by Shakira. "Aliir, Aliir!"

 

[Punts]

This is very interesting at 196cm and very athletic he has what it takes in terms on size and speed but can read the play we will wait and see I guess.
I still back the staff even though some think its just pick 44 who cares ,they don't just pick anyone for the sake of it , they must see some upside.
GOOD LUCK I SAY , HE IS A SWAN NOW

 

[swansfan51]

Aliir Aliir (East Fremantle)
196cm, 89kg

Aliir played most of the season for East Fremantle Colts, around his u18 commitments with the Western Australian state side. He played predominantly in defence, but also contested in the ruck sometimes. Generally this was around the ground, not in the centre bounces, whereas last year he was playing as a standard ruck for Queensland.

He will attract all of the usual draftee tags - 'potential', 'upside', 'ceiling' etc due to 2 factors: his natural athleticism, and the fact he has a more limited background in Aussie Rules football than most players in the draft pool. I'll address both of those points first.

Aliir has well above average athletic ability, short of elite. He has a long, loping stride and hits his top speed very quickly. For those who care about draft combine results (I don't, at all) his 20m sprint last year was 2.96, a bit slower this year I believe. This time is good, for his size it is very good. His agility is excellent for his size, this was somewhat backed up by his testing, but if you use a far more useful method of actually watching him play, his agility is arguably his best asset. He can turn quickly and effortlessly accelerate in any direction. His vertical leap is very good, again noting he tested better in 2012 than in 2013.

So in summary - he is very good athletically, and significantly above average compared to players of similar size and position. This is where the talk of potential will come from, as you can't teach speed and power. He was always too short to play as a ruck at AFL level, though he grew several centimetres this year from his 2012 measurement, and his vertical leap is not good enough to make up the difference. This is a shame as I think he has the most potential as a ruckman, his tapwork is good and you can just point the ruckmen in the right direction and throw them around the ground to have an impact.

In-game strengths and weaknesses

Aliir's kicking is nowhere near as bad as a lot of people say, while he has a poor ball drop he can usually get it in vaguely the right direction. He is not a pinpoint kick, and probably never will be as they are very rare in the AFL, but he is less prone to utterly butchering the ball than someone like Heath Grundy. Where he gets in trouble, and does butcher the ball, is due to his decision-making which can at times be very poor. Dennis Cometti's favourite line "delusions of adequacy" comes to mind, Aliir occasionally tries to bite off more than he can chew and the results can be comical. This can likely be coached out to some extent. Aliir can comfortably hammer the ball 50 metres without looking like he is trying too hard, so at least can be relied upon to clear the ball from defensive 50 if instructed to do so. If he just throws the ball onto his boot and bangs it long, he would not be the only player we have guilty of doing that!! His goalkicking is not bad.

One of the stronger areas of his game is his ability below his knees, and his quick hands. He has an ability to pluck the ball out of areas with ease and generally hangs onto it. I think this along with his agility and closing speed are his biggest strengths. I've watched him several times grab the ball one-handed at top speed and he seems to have very good handling.

Now I imagine so far I have made him look like an excellent prospect - raw, very athletic, with some flaws but worthy of a pick in the 2nd or 3rd round. So in the interests of a well-rounded review, here are his weaknesses.

Aliir is atrocious in 1v1 marking contests. Really, really bad. He struggles to read the ball in the air and is easily beaten by any good forward on the lead. He may need to play in front at times and rely on his speed and great reach to stop the ball going over the top, as he really struggles when playing from behind when his opponent can break away from him and mark almost uncontested. When forwards receive poor or slow delivery, Aliir is able to reach the contest quickly due to his closing speed and is a fairly effective spoiler. He can also struggle in wrestling contests with key forwards, he gets out positioned and either doesn't know or do what is needed to get back in the contest. He is currently poor in the air for marking contests, and is better placed to attempt to spoil. Interestingly he seemed better up forward when he was attacking the ball to try and win it himself, this is no doubt something that can be improved with coaching. He had problems with discipline last year and seemed to give away a bunch of free kicks, this improved a bit this year but he still gives away a lot more than he gets.

Player comparison
Take your pick. If you think he is full of athletic potential but won't improve as much as he needs to: Casey Sibosado. If you think he will become a very good defender, Dustin Fletcher. He has that closing speed, long reach, and long kick, so the tools are there if he can learn to defend.

 

[Wolftone]

This bloke has huge agility and will get better. He is a huge unit with an already developed body. He seems to play a bit like bigger Harry O. He seems to be a pretty good mark 1v1 but the review said different. The footage saw him winning several crucial contests by outsmarting the forward.

 

[swansfan51]

This bloke has huge agility and will get better. He is a huge unit with an already developed body. He seems to play a bit like bigger Harry O. He seems to be a pretty good mark 1v1 but the review said different. The footage saw him winning several crucial contests by outsmarting the forward.

If you were a player manager, and were creating a video for your player, would you pick the best examples?

Here's a highlights video of Aliir. Watch from 1:30 to 2:00. http://www.afl.com.au/news/2013-10-20/michael-apeness

Here's another highlights video. Watch from 1:20 to 2:30. http://www.afl.com.au/news/2013-10-20/tom-boyd

Here's another one. Watch from 2:15 to 3:00. http://www.afl.com.au/news/2013-10-20/darcy-hourigan

 

[Punts]

He has played in defence for 1 season as Kinnear said he has a lot to learn in 1v1 contest but has height , speed and all the tools to become a KPD.
Like most 18 yr old KPD he has a lot to learn , I don't understand some and what there expecting from a project player straight away.

 

[Kummerspeck]

Here we go, Aliir Aliir Aliir, go go go, Aliir Aliir Aliir!

 

[Punts]

Is a Swans supporter , good article on Swans.com
Good to see both Macca and Jack giving him a call last night

 

[swansfan51]

Is a Swans supporter , good article on Swans.com
Good to see both Macca and Jack giving him a call last night

Great stuff!

 

[Wolftone]

If you were a player manager, and were creating a video for your player, would you pick the best examples?

Here's a highlights video of Aliir. Watch from 1:30 to 2:00. http://www.afl.com.au/news/2013-10-20/michael-apeness

Here's another highlights video. Watch from 1:20 to 2:30. http://www.afl.com.au/news/2013-10-20/tom-boyd

Here's another one. Watch from 2:15 to 3:00. http://www.afl.com.au/news/2013-10-20/darcy-hourigan

Both of those players were brought up with AFL mate. They were born to it. He wasn't. Only started playing when 14, how long ago again? Four years. Gee I think there is enough i what I saw on the video to be excited about. He moves well and takes a very good intercept. He is fast to the ball. He also can take a big pack mark as the Qld highlights show. He is a very good exponent of rebound footy even in his first season in the backline. First season Swans51 not bloody 10-13th like the other boys. Second season of rep footy and in a new position he had never played before. Gee he made mistakes, Jesus Reg still makes them and he was far worse when he first went from forward to back, mind you he didn't do anything forward. There is enough potential there to say he could be somethig given the right work and if as according to his coaches he just works, works, works then he has a big chance ala Mike Pyke.

 

[Wolftone]

By the way Boyd is a freak and number ! draft pick so I don't see why you are comparing a virtual new comer to the game to a number 1 draft pick? I don't think it is even fair to compare him to first round picks as he was taken at 44. Not only that Hourigan is a forward and we did not want a forward we wanted a backman. Apeness is a ruckman so maybe you should be comparing him to Nankervis. Plus both Boyd and Apeness were out of the equation before our second pick. Certainly Hourigan was there still but as I said before he is a forward and that wasn't what we were looking for. We could have gone for a more seasoned young backman but obviously the recruiters see something in the kid. what i mean is we could have opted to go for Tippett or wait until next year for the new crop.

 

[swansfan51]

Plus both Boyd and Apeness were out of the equation before our second pick. Certainly Hourigan was there still but as I said before he is a forward and that wasn't what we were looking for.

I wasn't showing you those videos so you could watch Boyd and Apeness, I was showing you footage of Aliir defending. He is the one featured between the time periods I specified.

 

[Wolftone]

I still don't think you can compare a project player like Aliir to any of those boys as they are well seasoned in their positions and he is not. He will learn. I just see enough potential in the way he moves and I trust our recruiters and especially Kinnear.

Yes he got beaten by Boyd who wouldn't and Apeness also. Hourigan is only seen with Aliir on him once so he was beaten there big deal. Hourigan was also playing in the best side in the Championships and the delivery was really good. I must admit he does take a good mark and Aliir is going to have to learn to body and use his strength but with his only learning the game there is room to work and time.

 

[swansfan51]

I still don't think you can compare a project player like Aliir to any of those boys as they are well seasoned in their positions and he is not. He will learn. I just see enough potential in the way he moves and I trust our recruiters and especially Kinnear.

Yes he got beaten by Boyd who wouldn't and Apeness also. Hourigan is only seen with Aliir on him once so he was beaten there big deal. Hourigan was also playing in the best side in the Championships and the delivery was really good. I must admit he does take a good mark and Aliir is going to have to learn to body and use his strength but with his only learning the game there is room to work and time.

I put up as much detail as I could on his strengths and weaknesses. Can you highlight what in particular you disagree with?

 

[Superstar swan]

Yes he is not a ready made afl player , but he is a
Supremely gifted athlete. Excellent pace , and loves attacking the game, hopefully he can improve his skills. I seen enough in his highlights package to give me hope he can build a career. IMO , he has a lot better attributes than x Richards, and has only been playing for 4 years

 

[Ships]

Yes he is not a ready made afl player , but he is a
Supremely gifted athlete. Excellent pace , and loves attacking the game, hopefully he can improve his skills. I seen enough in his highlights package to give me hope he can build a career. IMO , he has a lot better attributes than x Richards, and has only been playing for 4 years

I reckon he'll put on some bulk in fairly quick time. This'll help his body work and certainly boost confidence in the one on ones... anyway, time will tell. I'm interested to see how he goes.