Traded Billy Longer (2012-2013)

[Grimreepah]

Pick 8 in the 2011 National Draft

Player Number 212831

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Summary:

* Vic Metro captain (#25)
* ruck anomaly: rucks with left hand (#83)
* debut: round 3 vs Fremantle (#204)
* 2012 review (#310)

Tribunal Record:

* round 9, 2012 - first offence for engaging in a melee ($1600 reduced to $1200)

 

[Grimreepah]

Billy Longer

Draft tracker

Former club:Northern Knights/Macleod Junior
DOB:12/05/1993
Height:201cm
Weight:98kg
Position:Ruckman

Deceptively quick ruckman who excels at stoppages with his tap work. He is strong overhead, whether it be up forward or assisting in defence. He was impressive at the 2011 NAB AFL U18 championships, averaging 10.8 disposals, 21.5 hit-outs, and 5.3 marks per game. Captaining Vic Metro, his outstanding performance and leadership skills during the championships.

 

[chopperduck]

Re: Billy Longer

Welcome Billy Longer. Happy to have you on board at our great club. Looking forward to what you can do in the future.

 

[Toffee Lion]

Re: Billy Longer

Longer and Leuenberger

........Mhmmmm

Oh i'm drooling sorry.

Mitch who?

 

[borrat]

Re: Billy Longer

cant say im to happy to be honest at this stage

better learn to play forward and or back pretty well

hopefully not another home sick casualty either

 

[Groo2]

Re: Billy Longer

Very happy with the way our ruck division is now shaping. From what I have read, it appeared that any other ruck selection would have been speculative so from that perspective I'm happy we picked up quality.

 

[JasRulz63]

Re: Billy Longer

Jason Phelan (afl.com.au)

8. Brisbane Lions - Billy Longer
Height: 201cm
Weight: 98kg
DOB: 12/5/93
Club: Northern Knights
Draft range: 5-14
The Lions really like prolific Chargers' onballer Toby Greene here, but if they don't swoop on the impressive Northern Knights' ruckman he'll be gone by the time they pick again at No.12. Longer is the best ruckman in this draft by a long way and the opportunity to allow him to learn from Ben Hudson for a year before forming an imposing tandem with Matthew Leuenberger proves too good to pass up. He is a right-foot kick who goes for taps predominantly with his left hand, but he's just as adept with his right, which is a real weapon in the centre circle. He doesn't collect as much of the ball around the ground as you'd like a top-10 ruck prospect to, but that will come and he has shown he can be dangerous resting up forward in the TAC Cup - hitting the scoreboard in all but two of his 12 games for the Knights.

Emma Quayle

17. Billy Longer

(Northern Knights, 18, 201cm, 97kg)

Longer's the pick of the ruckmen and an athlete: he can get around the ground well now and just needs to work on getting a bit more of the ball. Longer's midfield teammates love him, and he's a player who could also go forward and take a mark. He's super smart and a natural leader.

Who will pick him? Gut feel says GWS will roll the dice, hope he gets past Port Adelaide and the Lions, and pick him with one of its final few first-round choices.

Quigley

Pick 5 - GWS

Billy Longer
DOB 12/5/93 Ht 201 Wt 98

We are going through a bit of a golden age for young ruck prospects and Longer is another one. Longer is probably the best ruck prospect to come through the draft in the last couple of years (note Smith was a zone selection and not drafted). I think he will develop into a very physical style of ruck and he will be banging bodies with the likes of Mumford before too long.

Currently he has a reasonable physique for an AFL ruck but he is only going to become a very imposing figure even by AFL standards as he gets older and spends more time in the gym. He has nice height and he uses it very well. He is not a huge possession ruck but he does work hard and as he improves his endurance I think he will become more involved. At the moment he works hard and covers plenty of ground but that is usually just getting where he needs to be for a contest. He also tends to die a bit in the second half of games a bit. So currently the mind is willing but the body can’t hold up its end. From the amount of work he currently does and the amount he pushes himself I don’t see there being any problem for him to get his endurance up to scratch.

In the ruck contest itself he was far and away the best tap ruck in the Champs this year. He is right handed but taps with his left hand for some reason but be that as it may he is very effective with that left hand. He gets good height on his leaps, controls his body excellently and directs his taps down the throat of the free midfielder. He is very good at finding the open guy and when it comes to a wrestle at bounces or throw ins he is very strong and holds his ground well. After the tap work has been done he recovers very quickly and will follow up and become involved in the play. He has nice hands in close and shepherds and clears space for his mids to work in very nicely.

The other feature of his game is his marking. He is a stand out with the ball dropping on his head, having great judgment of the ball in the air and using his height and stretch to take it where few others can get to it. His hands are very soft and he watches the ball intently into his hands and is not distracted by body contact. He works hard to get into the square at both ends when the balls are coming in and he regularly comes up with marks close to goal. He hasn’t been a big leader this year but last year when he played as a forward a lot at the Champs I thought he got out on the lead well and was difficult to stop. I would expect he could start his career as a forward / 2nd ruck and be very dangerous doing so. He is pretty quick for a big man and last year lead to pretty good spots. He also presents as a great goal square target given how strong he is in taking those types of balls.

The big weakness in his game is his kicking. He seems to look to take pretty good options but his execution lets him down very regularly. He has little or no confidence in his kicking and when he is forced to kick he punches or underkicks it and does not kick through it. I am not sure he watches the ball onto the boot enough and his drop may be a little erratic. When he does just go long he has reasonable penetration and I have a couple of notes from games commenting on him making a nice long kick. His kicking for goal is not much better than his field kicking which is a factor which might inhibit his usefulness as a forward option. Wherever he goes to next year be it Sydney or Adelaide he is going to be doing a lot of work on his kicking.

Longer was one of the leaders of the Vic Metro side and if you saw any of their games this year you would have noticed him being the one who was doing the talking to the players. Overall I think he is an excellent prospect and if he can sort out his kicking could easily become one of the elite rucks in the game.

Snoop Dog

# 11 GWS – Bill Longer (Northern Knights / 202 / 95 / 93)

Giants don’t have any ‘A’ class ruck prospects on their list and this kid is a natural. For mine he is also a player they could throw in for a dozen games next year quite easily and I think his progress will be similar to Vardy’s. He gets around the park well, can be a link man, gives 2nd effort when required but most importantly takes contested marks which means he can be thrown forward and that is crucial in the modern game. The only knock I have on him is at times his skills aren’t as good as you would hope for a top pick. In fact I think there is a chance if they can be convinced Lions won’t take him then maybe they leave him to the next batch but if Brisbane and Port had any brains they would show all the signs of being into him to shake loose the best mid prospects they can.
AFL Comparison – Dean Cox..’ish

Chris25

#7 GWS - Billy Longer (202cm ruckman - Northern Knights)

Their gamble pays off, as they get the ruck they want and need. Not a great draft for ruckmen, but Longer is more than deserving of a top five pick even. He does everything that is fashionable for ruckmen these days, particularly in regards to his second efforts. But more importantly he is a genuine tap ruckman. Giles will likely play as the #1 for now, so Longer could easily rotate through the forward line with Patton and Cameron. AFL Comparison: Matthew Kreuzer.

Knightmare

#9 GWS - Billy Longer (VIC – Ruck/KPF)
Height: 202cm, Weight: 98kg, DOB: 12/05/1993
Recruited from: Northern Knights
Style: Paul Salmon
Player comparison:
Range: 4-15
Profile: Ruckman who can also have an impact as a forward. Looks like a really solid prospect and is the standout ruckman in this draft. Has great size and should grow out solidly. Strong overhead and can take a strong contested grab. Every time you hear about him you hear about his curious left handed tap work for a right footer. For a big has good pace. Gives solid effort and gives those 2nd and 3rd efforts and is very good at ground level. One thing that stood out to me with Longer at the champs is that during the quarter breaks he would always be giving his team mates a rev up and on field would always encourage his team mates consistently which is a good sign. Like most ruckman at a similar age needs to work on endurance and can still get better at pushing forward and being a dangerous marking target, but it should come. Kicking while he has good penetration already he still needs a fair bit of work in on it, doesn’t find the intended target nearly consistently enough. As a forward though is a really strong target and can provide a serious option, so doesn’t have to be a pure ruckman although at his height you’d think eventually that’s the role he plays primarily.

Herald Sun SuperFooty

7. GWS

Billy Longer (201cm, Northern Knights)
The No. 1 ruckman in the draft by a long way, Longer's expert tapwork gives his onballers an easy ride in the engine room. Tough call between him and Tomlinson.

 

[Special88]

Re: Billy Longer

Lion's facebook page.

Billy Longer chats to footy manager Dean Warren and recruiter Stephen Conole. This kid is one of the nicest young guys you'll meet.

 

[kharis]

Re: Billy Longer

Just heard Kerr interviewed and they were hoping all day that Longer would fall to them If he was hoping I'm in the waggon...great move GWS

 

[Grimreepah]

Re: Billy Longer

Pick me series

Age: 18
Height: 202cm
Weight: 95kgs
From: Northern Knights
Position: Ruck
Predicted draft range: top 10
Plays like: Todd Goldstein

The best ruckman in the draft pool noted for his ability to palm the ball with both hands.

 

[JasRulz63]

Re: Billy Longer

Longer way to the top for draft prospect Billy

• by: Jay Clark
• From: Herald Sun
• November 04, 2011 12:00AM

Continuing our series looking at Victoria's top draft prospects, JAY CLARK meets Vic Metro's 202cm giant.

The 202cm Vic Metro captain is the top-rated ruckman in this year's NAB AFL draft pool, and most likely a key pillar of Greater Western Sydney's list strategy.

Likened to a young Dean Cox, the mobile big man's tap work was a class above his rivals in the TAC Cup last season.

His speed and overhead marking also makes Longer a goal-kicking threat rotating forward.

 

[Grimreepah]

Re: Billy Longer

[YOUTUBE]xLu5uwWBMeU[/YOUTUBE]

[YOUTUBE]WQs5dF7IoNQ[/YOUTUBE]

 

[Grimreepah]

Re: Billy Longer

Knight will be a 200-gamer
2 Aug 11 @ 07:08am
by Patrick Lane

The 202cm 19-year-old captained Vic Metro to its first carnival victory since 2008 and coach Rohan Welsh said his performances were outstanding. “His leadership over the whole carnival was just outstanding,” Welsh said.
“The way he has grown as a player, like the last three games he played for us, was just outstanding. He has come so far.
“I’d liken him to a Dean Cox.
“He has a good motor, he is a good kick and is really good overhead.
“He could go on and play 200 games.”

 

[Grimreepah]

Re: Billy Longer

Meet the draftees
7:54 PM Thu 24 Nov, 2011

“It’s going to be amazing. I can’t wait to get up there (to Brisbane) and play with the likes of Leuenberger and Hudson - who has plenty of experience.”

"I model myself on guys like Dean Cox and Aaron Sandilands. You see them crashing packs and doing really well in the air and on the ground. They’re two ruckmen that I’d like to base my game around.”

“Hamish McIntosh has been giving me a lot of one-on-one help which has helped me in the ruck.”

“I’m pretty happy with my speed, but I’m probably not using it enough because I get pretty tired after a contest. That’s a key area that I’ll need to improve over the pre-season.”

“I did two years of Muay Thai to help with my cardiovascular endurance. I did boxing before that for a year and a half. I sadly had to stop that because you can get injured doing it, but I did really enjoy it. It really helps with body strength and manoeuvring other people.”

 

[Grimreepah]

Re: Billy Longer

Rob Kerr

Kerr says: "We expected the Giants would probably take him but we started to get whispers he might fall to us, so we're pretty happy with that. It started to filter through earlier in the week because we were hearing they wanted a tall and that was either going to be Tomlinson or Haynes and it turned out to be Haynes."

 

[Hollow Knight]

Re: Billy Longer

Matthew Leuenberger on Twitter

@reddo30 U and @rockwiz38 can rule out housing billy longer. #shotgunhousingtheruckman

 

[Special88]

Re: Billy Longer

Hoping we can turn him into a gun forward who can help out in the ruck.

Tippett mk2.0

 

[Grimreepah]

Re: Billy Longer

Q&A .....

What are your top few strengths as a player?
Hardworking, mid-field stoppages, contested ball around the ground.

What do you most need to to work on?
Kicking and endurance.

What's been the toughest or most challenging part of this year for you?
I had an interrupted pre-season due to a bout of glandular fever. Coming back from an illness is tough – I lost about 8kgs and had to work really hard to get back to a good condition.

Who's played the biggest part in helping you get to this point in your career?
My step-father. He took me to my first Auskick session and was always available to take me to footy training as I got older. He is a great source of motivation and encouragement and at times, my biggest critic!​

​

 

[JasRulz63]

Re: Billy Longer

Meet Billy Longer

As an interesting fact from that video, his father is a Queenslander.

 

[Rally]

Re: Billy Longer

Matthew Leuenberger on Twitter

That makes me really happy. I can't wait to see those two in tandem, what a ruck duo.

Mitch who?

 

[Hollow Knight]

Re: Billy Longer

Billy Longer with fellow Vic Metro teammate Jonathon Patton. (Herald Sun)

 

[Grimreepah]

Re: Billy Longer

Footy trip of a lifetime

• by: Laura Jolly
• From: Leader
• April 25, 2010 4:08PM

TWO Northern Knights had the trip of lifetime earlier this month when they headed to South Africa with the AIS-AFL Academy.
Macleod's Billy Longer, who travelled to South Africa with Knights teammate Dylan Buckley, described it was an 'awesome experience".
"It's really hard to explain," Longer said.
"Just the culture, and everything, it was nothing we could have expected."

 

[Grimreepah]

Re: Billy Longer

Aiming higher, Longer
12 Aug 11 @ 07:00am
by BLAIR CORLESS

MEMO to any AFL club that wants to bolster its big man stocks - which would mean all of them: if big Billy Longer isn’t on your recruiter’s radar, sack him.
Longer has been getting expert tips on playing in the ruck from North Melbourne big man Hamish McIntosh, a regular at Northern Knights training.
“Hamish is fantastic: he’s really great with the boys,” Longer said.
“One of the big things he has been telling us is that tap work is just a small percentage of what we do.
“We have to follow up, get to contests.
“I love (being in the forward line). That’s one of the things that I want to be - a viable target up forward,” Longer said.

 

[Grimreepah]

Re: Billy Longer

Billy Longer on talent
10 Jun 11 @ 07:00am
by PATRICK LANE

Longer was reluctant to compare his game with a star of today - he claims he has too much work to do as a young player - but Knights coach Anthony Allen was happy to sing the boy’s praises.

“He is a real talent,” Allen said. “He has made good improvements with the physical side of his game, with his tackling and his aggression. He has added that to his repertoire, apart from obviously competing really strongly in the ruck.

“He could be a top 10 pick if he really follows on with his good ruck work. There is no doubt in my mind that he is the best ruckman in the TAC Cup.”

While he is now firmly dedicated to the task at hand, Longer candidly revealed an AFL berth had not always been on his agenda, and only in recent years had he realised just how much potential he had.

“I was caught up a few years ago with basketball,” he said. “I enjoyed both games and I thought I was reasonably OK at both, but I just love playing footy so much.”.

 

[Grimreepah]

Re: Billy Longer

Northern Knights

The Northern Knights team leaders were announced at the club’s recent Guernsey Presentation evening. Head Coach, Anthony Allen, confirmed Doug Morris (Northcote Park FC) as club captain, to be supported by vice captains Billy Longer (MacLeod FC), Tim Totevski (Mill Park FC), and Jack Newnes (Ivanhoe FC).

In announcing the team leaders, Allen indicated that the clubs’ coaches took significant notice of the playing squad’s views provided at a team leadership session conducted by former Knights’ player and ‘Leading Teams’ consultant, Jim Plunkett. Congratulations to Morris and his fellow leaders.

Longer named Vic Metro Captain

Knights' ruckman and vice Captain Billy Longer has been named the captain of Vic Metro for this years NAB AFL U/18 National Championships. It is a wonderful honour for the Macleod JFC club player who has been selected in the Vic Metro team for the second year after playing well in the ruck in last year's NAB AFL U/18 National Championships. Longer is having an excellent year so far in the ruck and deep forward for the Knights and we hope he can continue that form for Vic Metro throughout this year's Championships.