Originally posted by Porthos
Here's some more.
Luke Peel (Sandringham Dragons)
Bottom-age 187cm, perfect build, straight-line outside defender.
Looks and moves like the consummate AFL footballer when he is on the run after receiving. However, is a bit of a one trick pony who must learn to be more accountable and show greater intensity and presence.
If you only focussed on Peel in a game and completely ignored everything around him, you might conclude that, apart from lack of contested overhead marks, he is the real deal. Early season I rated him potential top 10 but his deficiencies became more apparent as the season progressed. He does have potential but at this stage I rate him worth no earlier than a mid-range pick. Even then, I am cutting him a lot of slack based on
1. being so young (would have been ineligible had he been born 5 days earlier)
2. having had a longish season on the back of an Ireland tour
3. not being able to spend much time in the TAC competition due to school footy and being able to get away with millionaire habits in such games.
4. having to play CHB on taller opponents much of the year instead of HBF on a smaller opponent.
*STYLE LIKE: J Bowden?
*TRADEMARK:
Run behind to receive, then run straight and kick long and straight.
*SUMMARY ASSESSMENT, RECOMMENDATION:
He looks very much the part physically and in the way he moves and carries himself but looks may be deceiving and he may not be as good as I had at first thought.
Moves extremely well through space and has excellent balance in the run but is a mopper-upper who doesn't get his own ball and lacks intensity. His best looks like a smooth, seriously AFL footballer but I now have serious concerns. Looks better than he is effective.
It's not so much what he does that bothers me - it's what he doesn't do. Is simply not accountable or intense enough.
Is very predictable. Run behind to receive, run 20m, kick long.
Doesn't contest enough, preferring to play behind and hope the ball spills from the pack, or letting his opponent get first crack at the ball and sweating on him to make a mistake or ready to nail him.
When his team has the ball, or he hopes they will get it, he is very pro-active and creative and looks a million dollars. At other times he is too reactive.
On face value, often seems extremely assured - exudes confidence, control. However I suspect he is really a confidence player, a worrier who tends to drop his bundle.
Clean hands. Is extremely well-balanced, especially in the run. Moves well, often looks a genuine AFL footballer.
*DISPOSAL, DECISION-MAKING, SMARTS:
- Frustrating. Persists in playing behind. Backs his judgement but is a linkman or mopper upper rather than someone who gets own ball or pressures opponent. Lacks grunt. Gets some ball when in traffic (without charging into the traffic) and feeds well, even under great pressure. However many of his possessions are receives and many of the rest are mopping up spills. Tends to reach in with his hands instead of body. Gets a fair bit of ball but very few possessions come through attack on the ball. Plays outside. Seems to stand and wait outside traffic instead of putting body in. Also seems to rely on opponent error too often. Is not big on hard ball gets.
- Reads the play fairly well and the ball very well but doesn't seem to be a natural footballer. Backs his judgement at all times, without necessarily assessing risks.
- Runs past or forward to present an option (although not always presenting wisely).
- Is very straight line and predictable.
- Unaccountable kick-chaser. Is drawn to kick chasing like a moth to a flame. Has infuriating habit of calling for the ball even when his opp is adjacent to him - will run to present an option then decide he deserves the ball as reward for running to present option. Poor accountability really bothers me. When ball is a long way away, Peel is shoulder to shoulder with opponent but when play gets close to him he loses concentration and/or awareness of where opponent is. He is big on presenting an option but treats that as higher priority than accountability. Doesn't show opponents enough respect and his opponent can slip him without Peel noticing (or when Peel moves off to present an option). His opponents invariably seem to get plenty of ball - and in space.
- Mainly kicks rather than feeds but disposal by hand is very good, often long feeds (good depth and power), & he spots well.
- Early season he was inclined to simply bang the ball onto the ball and blindly kick long without any target in mind. As the season progressed, he improved markedly in this respect, still kicking long and direct but trying to target more often. Overall though, he probably still doesn't hit quite enough targets by foot for a player who is often in space when he kicks. Kicking looks good off the boot - power, balance, depth. However his kicking style still has scope for improvement - has a tendency to tilt left initially, then finish up tilting right (yes, right) and a bit off balance, sometimes with a jump. Sometimes doesn't steady enough on the run, resulting in too much hang time. He seems one-sided. He occasionally does kick on his non-preferred left foot but the only ones I have seen have been fairly ugly.
- Not afraid to leave own opponent to help team mate or cover a team mate's opponent.
*HANDS:
Very clean under no pressure. Fairly clean under pressure.
*OVERHEAD MARKING:
- Very clean uncontested. Doesn't commit to enough contested marks and his lack of leap renders him ineffective at pack marking contests. Averaging 4.4 marks a game in his 5 TAC games and took 10, incl 4 contested, in the '03 Champs but the stats flatter him somewhat. Can take a strong contested mark one-on-one, body on body though.
*ATHLETICISM, INTENSITY, ETHIC, CONSISTENCY:
- Athleticism is a surprisingly mixed bag for someone who looks and moves like an elite, balanced athlete.
- Has good pace over ground, in an effortless, "glide over the turf" style. Loves to dash downfield in cruise mode and does it well.
- Excellent endurance.
- However, biggest athletic worry is he has very little leap, so often has trouble spoiling marking contests or taking overhead marks himself. Rarely even tries to leap. He is routinely squeezed out of pack marking contests and I attribute this to his lack of leap, rather than balance. Those in front jump, those behind jump, and Peel is simply squeezed underneath. Major concern. Has good reach though, 4cm longer than the norm for his height.
- He is fundamentally straight-line but has a good sidestep.
- His lateral recovery agility is also not to the standard you might expect. Easily wrong-footed and sails past.
- Never seems ruffled .... or intense! Lacks intensity big-time. Too often you just want to shake him into life.
- Ethic in presenting an option, in running hard, and in blocking, tackling etc is excellent. Ethic re accountability is poor. Is inclined to spectate too much.
- Excellent balance when receiving or gathering or on the run.
- When opponent has the ball, Peel is good at closing him down and also at nagging and stripping.
- Tackling is a mixed bag but is improving. Some of his tackles are excellent but he is still sometimes inclined to tackle with his hands rather than body to body, rendering such attempts ineffective. Is good at corraling / closing down an opponent.
- Spoils well from behind when body on body and not much leap is called for or when he has a big run up. Punchaways or clever, subtle arm spoils. Overall though, is only a soso spoiler but is improving.
- Good strength. eg can wrench himself out of a tackle.
*SCI (SCOPE FOR CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT):
- Is so very young and hasn't had much experience in the hurly burly of TAC footy so he has plenty of scope. Leap and agility may be hard to improve but if he can adopt a totally different mindset re intensity, concentration and accountability, his stocks will soar, along with his prospects of a long term AFL career and versatility. He would take a quantum leap if he could effect such change. If he can't, then his improvement will be very limited, regardless of what skills he works on. Physically he has an impressive mature build but I suspect it can be firmed. His recovery agility may improve in the process.
*AFL VERSATILITY:
Fairly limited. Is ideally suited to a loose man in defence role. He is quite straight-line so defence suits him. He feeds well and has a good motor and pace but has yet to show anything like the intensity necessary to play a run-with role. Perhaps that may come in time. In the meantime it is probably HBF or LMID for him, although he might become capable of playing wing.
*QUERY:
- Accountability, intensity, concentration.
- Leap
- Lateral recovery agility.
*SOME STATS:
- TAC:
- Averaged 19 disposals in 5 TAC games (50th in comp). 4.4 marks, 3.9 tackles. Very consistent, ranging from 16 to 22. 74% of disposals are kicks. 23% of his possessions are marks. (Played school footy most of year).
- Stats summary for entire U18 Champs series:
3 U18 Champs games 2003 for 14 disposals (3.3 marks), 12 (2), 15 (3), 15 (5).
Kicks vs feeds: mixed but usual style is to mainly kick.
Gets own ball?: 17/42TD were HR. 6 hbg.
Kicks long vs short: 15-5
Kicking accuracy: 5/26 ineff/clang incl 1 ckang.
Handball accuracy: ok. 4/16 ineff
Marking: 10m incl 4 contested
Tackles: 6
*OTHER STUFF:
AIS.