Jared Brennan (Southern Districts, NT). This and all of the following draft profiles have been directly copied from the Extreme Black and White BULLET IN BOARD.
191/78 mid-age left-footer (no right).
Style like very raw combination of Darryl White & Koutoufides (with a bit of O’Loughlin for good measure)
The X-factor in this year's draft. Flashy 6'3" daredevil jack-in-the box skeleton who can be quite freakish. A one-man combination of circus and Olympics, of high drama and slapstick, of creative genius and infant, of ballet dancer and yearling colt. He does the things we all enjoy doing at amusement parks – except he doesn’t need any equipment like we mortals do. Expect the unexpected and be prepared to be mesmerised and frustrated in equal doses. A different cat.
Picture Darryl White’s ungainly “placement” kicking style, freakish jack-in-the-box acrobatics, ball-handling party tricks, left-field creativity, and demeanour. Now picture Kouta’s ball-in-hand “pick-up and carry” and explosiveness. Add their “16 strides per kilometre” running style and their aerial climbs and you’ve got the idea.
My head says his draft worth should be early-mid round 2. A facsimile of the mid-size onballer you miss this year will probably turn up next year but opportunities to snare a cat with the raw development potential of Brennan are rare so my heart has just over-ruled my head and I would use any first round pick after Goddard, Wells, Salopek and McVeigh. Admittedly the $1/4m to invest in a player’s first 2 years is not coming out of my pocket. He will get drafted and quite early, perhaps late 1st round, but how early depends on which clubs can hold their nerve. This kid doesn’t fit the usual formula. You are not buying a predictable production-line family car which you may need or choose to refine. You are buying what appears to be the parts to a limited edition Ferrari for the same price, and whether it turns out a good investment depends on how good you are at assembling those parts. You are buying opportunity in its rawest, most unpredictable form.
Aside from athleticism, what may excite a coach most is his lightning-quick creative brain. What may scare a coach most is also his quick creative brain. Plays largely on instinct and energy. His brain is always ticking over and usually a step ahead of his peers but he has footy smarts more than footy wisdom. He regularly outfoxes opponents by doing something really clever, often very much left-field (if not “uniquely Brennan”). However he doesn’t seem to understand the concept of playing the percentages. Loves a speccie and a dash and when any chance arises, I’m not sure to what extent “game plan” factors into his thinking at that moment. He backs himself, no matter the odds, with no concept of “too hard” or failure.
He could be anything. Except average. Is exceptionally talented and exceptionally raw. Is a risk but has the potential to be a really special AFL match-winner cum cult hero …. or a local legend who tried for a job in the head-office factory but couldn’t find a uniform which fitted.
If he becomes an AFL player, he is a chance to feature in the mark of the day, the goal of the day, the play of the day, and the blooper of the day. On the same day.
Only shines in bursts at this stage - tantalises rather than dominates. Invariably threatens to break a game open and regularly creates something out of nothing.
Even in cameo he will show a full range of everything - he can really jump (even standing leap), can kick long, has that Kouta ability to pick-up & carry ball in one hand, is very quick across ground, has excellent poise (nothing seems to rattle him), step-ahead-of-the-rest brain, lightning reflexes.
He certainly has some major flaws that need to, and probably can, be addressed. The real selling point is that he can do things right now that almost no other players will ever be capable of and his potential for continual development seems immense.
Athleticism, strength, intensity, traffic management, hands:
Amazing leap, even from a standing start, but if he gets a ride on you, you’ll find his hip is the natural enemy of your head – no matter how tall you are. Sometimes his big leap is a too millionairish though.
Seriously fast and quick off the mark. Finds another gear. Very few current AFL players would beat him for pace or acceleration. Deceptively quick. His long-striding Kouta running style belies how fast he is travelling. Looks to be cruising until you notice the gap behind him is increasing. Loves a dash – is a “catch me if you can” type. Opens up space very quickly.
Can pick the ball up (and I mean "pick" up, a la Kouta) off the ground at pace, without breaking stride, and open up a break (with the.ball clasped in hand or tucked under arm).
Excellent (and creative) evasion skills, split second change of direction.
Cat-like agility, reflexes and recovery.
Great stamina – runs and runs. Even as FF he will regularly run to the wing and back.
Soooo skinny. Chicken legs. Almost as skinny as Gilham but a bit better frame (?) and is even quicker and more athletic …. and less orthodox and consistent.
Is desperate (chasing, tackling, 1%'s, attack on ball and man) and can't be physically intimidated. Is a fierce tackler but currently light at 78kg, so opponents aren’t always impeded to the extent the ferocity deserves. Picture an electrified rag doll and you’ll get the idea of how he throws himself at man or ball and his stability when bumped.
Timely ability to subtly nudge opponent off or under that ball at the last moment.
Runs hard one contest to next. Sometimes a study in perpetual motion. Can feed off in the BP then follow play downfield and bob up 2 or 3 plays later in the FP.
Will run hard 20m to block.
Presents well but also gets his own ball and doesn’t give up in traffic.
Excellent traffic management (and not just for his height) – regularly slips into heavy traffic to crisply pluck the ball the others were fumbling over, then quick feed or scoots out again at and opens up a break.
Extremely clean (crisp, quick) hands below the knee.
Can take a vice-grab mark but, at this stage, quite a few of his marks are 2-grab.
Has a habit of coming from nowhere to contest the mark or swoop on the ball or launch at an opponent or charge through traffic or intercept.
Has razor-sharp inventive mind and instincts. Reads the play well. Reads the ball exceptionally well. Has an incredible ability, demonstrated regularly, to re-position at the last moment – even while airborne.
Versatility:
6'3" but could play literally any position on the ground if he can significantly add to his 78kg. In the U18 Championships he had stints as FF, wing, tap ruckman, etc. 2001 as a 16yo he played on Ablett, the current Geelong giant Playfair, and the current Pies tall forward Davidson etc.
Can rove the ball off or from under the pack like a small rover, or be consistently dangerous in contested pack-marking.
He is so quick, his opponent needs to be too if he plays on a flank. If the quick opponent happens to be not so hot overhead, Brennan aerial ability and height offer his coach the chance to create a mismatch in the goal-square. Similarly if his opponent is a tall intended to counter Brennan in the air or push a weight advantage.
Disposal:
Mixed bag. Hands good, feet need a lot of work – although the news isn’t all bad.
He is decidedly one-sided (left) by foot. He can certainly roost the pill and do the freakish lookaway kick or feed or the miraculous snap (or dribble goal).
Is invariably unbalanced when kicking on the run. No matter how much time he has or how little pressure I think he will usually run out and kick across his body (partly a lefties’ thing but especially with him), whether the kick is intended to be short or long, and he will invariably be leaning very forward, typically with his head leaning down too far, and off-balance on contact. It means he kicks the ball from very low from the ground so he hasn't got much of an arc to kick through - which must impair depth. The result is usually a mongrel flat floating punt (although he sometimes gets surprising depth). It is not simply a matter of teaching him to steady – his kicking style is not one of good balance. As with Darryl White, it almost looks as if he is trying to kick off his wrong foot or trying to literally place the ball on his boot.
He also regularly does very clever passes and some set kick long bombs and some Daicos-like sneakies. His set kicks, especially shooting for goal, are OK and can get great relaxed depth. His main kicking problem is primarily re “on the run”. Unfortunately he typically plays on when he can take a set kick so kicking on the run is a fair % of his disposals, especially considering that, regardless of what role he plays, his disposals are very predominantly kicks rather than feeds.
As an aside, nothing to do with drafting, I’ve noticed that kids from northern Australia invariably have a deft kicking style in the way their foot caresses the ball instead of driving through it. (May be due to the fact that they don’t wear normal footy boots on their hard grounds or maybe it’s an aboriginal thing). It does mean that many of their players, Brennan and Darryl White included, have a special “touch of foot” (on dry grounds) conducive to dinky weighted passes and goal-set-ups in lieu of handballs. Brennan is clever at doing these and good at presenting for them then opening up the play. Shame to sacrifice that style for AFL as it’s great to watch.
- Good temperament. Pester-tagging (at least at U18 level) doesn’t phase him.
If you haven’t seen him, some actual examples may help (sample from 7 games):-
1. Magnificent reading of flight: Was in goal-square for marking contest and he could see early in ball's flight it was going to drop short so he re-positioned himself in a flash from being ready to contest mark to being front 'n square like a rover – very quick clever adjustment which you just can't teach. Then roved the spill like a rover.
2. Huge leap from behind to crash through pack marking contest, coming very high from nowhere a long way back at great pace then climbed up through pack & finished up in front of pack. Soooo athletic - was full arms's length higher than next highest player.
3. Was running at pace to bouncing ball with opponent on his jack and as soon as he got the ball he stopped in his tracks and simultaneously dropped flat to the ground like a rock. Opponent ran straight over the top with momentum and Brennan was up and off, leaving opponent non-plus.
4. Running after the ball with a few others including the quick McLean, he came from behind and got to ball 2m in front., then picked up one-handed a la Kouta, held it in palm then streamed off in a “catch me if you can” Kouta special.
5. Was never going to be in the marking contest – was way too far behind. Charged straight at Crawford’s back and never had his eyes on the ball at any stage. His eyes were clearly on Crawford’s back and he was going to spoil Crawford by shoving him blatantly in the back. Ummm … but he didn’t. With precision timing, on reaching Crawford as Crawford was about to contest the overhead mark, he stopped forward momentum completely and jumped dead vertically, so high his hip was at Crawford’s head and he held a great mark he had no right to even contest. He instinctively took his cue from Crawford’s body movement and didn’t try to spot the ball until he was in vertical leap.
6. Stole ball from traffic but was about to get nailed immediately so instead of completely taking delivery he deliberately rolled ball along ground in front of him so he could subsequently take it when he had gained a break.
7. The ball was heading for the points but, at pace under pressure, he somehow half-stopped it in its tracks, deftly tapping it along ground to deflect ball from in front of points to in front of the goals, then pinged himself back to it and deftly goaled off the ground while opponent sailed past.
8. Huge one-grab mark coming over the top of huge pack from side, having been the candidate least likely to get it - mainly natural spring as no chance for run-up.
9. Huge overhead mark over the top of Furfaro (Qld) on half-back line. Brennan's backside was higher than Furfaro's head. And it was all natural spring as he came from behind Furfaro but finished in front of him after taking the mark.
Query:
- Kicking on the run definitely needs improvement.
- At this stage his marks are sometimes 1-3 grabs. (Once he stops being sooo skinny this may change as he won’t be so buffeted / unbalanced).
- Skinny as, slight frame and hasn’t changed shape much since last year. He may bulk up enough in time to play key but even down the side he presents opposition coaches with match-up problems.
- Doesn't take a game by the scruff of the neck and get a lot of ball yet.
- No right foot. Fortunately he has the pace & agility to be able to get onto his left pretty easily so not likely to be big problem but it is still a bit of a shame.
Some stats:
- Played 2 TAC games (invitation) & got 3 Morrish Medal votes for BOG in one.
- Fairly consistent. “Quietest of 6 U18 Championships games 2001-2 was 9 disposals (best 16, 2002 average 13 3 games).
Other stuff:
All Australian (2002 U18 Championships)
______________________________________
Another outstanding profile from Colin - thought the family car / parts to a Ferrari analogy was excellent. As The Doc has said previously, drafting Brennan at pick #6 would be a very 'attacking' draft strategy - it's a risk, but one which could pay some massive dividends. Gilham is most people's pick for our selection, but if either North or Brissie nab him, Brennan will probably come into the mix.
191/78 mid-age left-footer (no right).
Style like very raw combination of Darryl White & Koutoufides (with a bit of O’Loughlin for good measure)
The X-factor in this year's draft. Flashy 6'3" daredevil jack-in-the box skeleton who can be quite freakish. A one-man combination of circus and Olympics, of high drama and slapstick, of creative genius and infant, of ballet dancer and yearling colt. He does the things we all enjoy doing at amusement parks – except he doesn’t need any equipment like we mortals do. Expect the unexpected and be prepared to be mesmerised and frustrated in equal doses. A different cat.
Picture Darryl White’s ungainly “placement” kicking style, freakish jack-in-the-box acrobatics, ball-handling party tricks, left-field creativity, and demeanour. Now picture Kouta’s ball-in-hand “pick-up and carry” and explosiveness. Add their “16 strides per kilometre” running style and their aerial climbs and you’ve got the idea.
My head says his draft worth should be early-mid round 2. A facsimile of the mid-size onballer you miss this year will probably turn up next year but opportunities to snare a cat with the raw development potential of Brennan are rare so my heart has just over-ruled my head and I would use any first round pick after Goddard, Wells, Salopek and McVeigh. Admittedly the $1/4m to invest in a player’s first 2 years is not coming out of my pocket. He will get drafted and quite early, perhaps late 1st round, but how early depends on which clubs can hold their nerve. This kid doesn’t fit the usual formula. You are not buying a predictable production-line family car which you may need or choose to refine. You are buying what appears to be the parts to a limited edition Ferrari for the same price, and whether it turns out a good investment depends on how good you are at assembling those parts. You are buying opportunity in its rawest, most unpredictable form.
Aside from athleticism, what may excite a coach most is his lightning-quick creative brain. What may scare a coach most is also his quick creative brain. Plays largely on instinct and energy. His brain is always ticking over and usually a step ahead of his peers but he has footy smarts more than footy wisdom. He regularly outfoxes opponents by doing something really clever, often very much left-field (if not “uniquely Brennan”). However he doesn’t seem to understand the concept of playing the percentages. Loves a speccie and a dash and when any chance arises, I’m not sure to what extent “game plan” factors into his thinking at that moment. He backs himself, no matter the odds, with no concept of “too hard” or failure.
He could be anything. Except average. Is exceptionally talented and exceptionally raw. Is a risk but has the potential to be a really special AFL match-winner cum cult hero …. or a local legend who tried for a job in the head-office factory but couldn’t find a uniform which fitted.
If he becomes an AFL player, he is a chance to feature in the mark of the day, the goal of the day, the play of the day, and the blooper of the day. On the same day.
Only shines in bursts at this stage - tantalises rather than dominates. Invariably threatens to break a game open and regularly creates something out of nothing.
Even in cameo he will show a full range of everything - he can really jump (even standing leap), can kick long, has that Kouta ability to pick-up & carry ball in one hand, is very quick across ground, has excellent poise (nothing seems to rattle him), step-ahead-of-the-rest brain, lightning reflexes.
He certainly has some major flaws that need to, and probably can, be addressed. The real selling point is that he can do things right now that almost no other players will ever be capable of and his potential for continual development seems immense.
Athleticism, strength, intensity, traffic management, hands:
Amazing leap, even from a standing start, but if he gets a ride on you, you’ll find his hip is the natural enemy of your head – no matter how tall you are. Sometimes his big leap is a too millionairish though.
Seriously fast and quick off the mark. Finds another gear. Very few current AFL players would beat him for pace or acceleration. Deceptively quick. His long-striding Kouta running style belies how fast he is travelling. Looks to be cruising until you notice the gap behind him is increasing. Loves a dash – is a “catch me if you can” type. Opens up space very quickly.
Can pick the ball up (and I mean "pick" up, a la Kouta) off the ground at pace, without breaking stride, and open up a break (with the.ball clasped in hand or tucked under arm).
Excellent (and creative) evasion skills, split second change of direction.
Cat-like agility, reflexes and recovery.
Great stamina – runs and runs. Even as FF he will regularly run to the wing and back.
Soooo skinny. Chicken legs. Almost as skinny as Gilham but a bit better frame (?) and is even quicker and more athletic …. and less orthodox and consistent.
Is desperate (chasing, tackling, 1%'s, attack on ball and man) and can't be physically intimidated. Is a fierce tackler but currently light at 78kg, so opponents aren’t always impeded to the extent the ferocity deserves. Picture an electrified rag doll and you’ll get the idea of how he throws himself at man or ball and his stability when bumped.
Timely ability to subtly nudge opponent off or under that ball at the last moment.
Runs hard one contest to next. Sometimes a study in perpetual motion. Can feed off in the BP then follow play downfield and bob up 2 or 3 plays later in the FP.
Will run hard 20m to block.
Presents well but also gets his own ball and doesn’t give up in traffic.
Excellent traffic management (and not just for his height) – regularly slips into heavy traffic to crisply pluck the ball the others were fumbling over, then quick feed or scoots out again at and opens up a break.
Extremely clean (crisp, quick) hands below the knee.
Can take a vice-grab mark but, at this stage, quite a few of his marks are 2-grab.
Has a habit of coming from nowhere to contest the mark or swoop on the ball or launch at an opponent or charge through traffic or intercept.
Has razor-sharp inventive mind and instincts. Reads the play well. Reads the ball exceptionally well. Has an incredible ability, demonstrated regularly, to re-position at the last moment – even while airborne.
Versatility:
6'3" but could play literally any position on the ground if he can significantly add to his 78kg. In the U18 Championships he had stints as FF, wing, tap ruckman, etc. 2001 as a 16yo he played on Ablett, the current Geelong giant Playfair, and the current Pies tall forward Davidson etc.
Can rove the ball off or from under the pack like a small rover, or be consistently dangerous in contested pack-marking.
He is so quick, his opponent needs to be too if he plays on a flank. If the quick opponent happens to be not so hot overhead, Brennan aerial ability and height offer his coach the chance to create a mismatch in the goal-square. Similarly if his opponent is a tall intended to counter Brennan in the air or push a weight advantage.
Disposal:
Mixed bag. Hands good, feet need a lot of work – although the news isn’t all bad.
He is decidedly one-sided (left) by foot. He can certainly roost the pill and do the freakish lookaway kick or feed or the miraculous snap (or dribble goal).
Is invariably unbalanced when kicking on the run. No matter how much time he has or how little pressure I think he will usually run out and kick across his body (partly a lefties’ thing but especially with him), whether the kick is intended to be short or long, and he will invariably be leaning very forward, typically with his head leaning down too far, and off-balance on contact. It means he kicks the ball from very low from the ground so he hasn't got much of an arc to kick through - which must impair depth. The result is usually a mongrel flat floating punt (although he sometimes gets surprising depth). It is not simply a matter of teaching him to steady – his kicking style is not one of good balance. As with Darryl White, it almost looks as if he is trying to kick off his wrong foot or trying to literally place the ball on his boot.
He also regularly does very clever passes and some set kick long bombs and some Daicos-like sneakies. His set kicks, especially shooting for goal, are OK and can get great relaxed depth. His main kicking problem is primarily re “on the run”. Unfortunately he typically plays on when he can take a set kick so kicking on the run is a fair % of his disposals, especially considering that, regardless of what role he plays, his disposals are very predominantly kicks rather than feeds.
As an aside, nothing to do with drafting, I’ve noticed that kids from northern Australia invariably have a deft kicking style in the way their foot caresses the ball instead of driving through it. (May be due to the fact that they don’t wear normal footy boots on their hard grounds or maybe it’s an aboriginal thing). It does mean that many of their players, Brennan and Darryl White included, have a special “touch of foot” (on dry grounds) conducive to dinky weighted passes and goal-set-ups in lieu of handballs. Brennan is clever at doing these and good at presenting for them then opening up the play. Shame to sacrifice that style for AFL as it’s great to watch.
- Good temperament. Pester-tagging (at least at U18 level) doesn’t phase him.
If you haven’t seen him, some actual examples may help (sample from 7 games):-
1. Magnificent reading of flight: Was in goal-square for marking contest and he could see early in ball's flight it was going to drop short so he re-positioned himself in a flash from being ready to contest mark to being front 'n square like a rover – very quick clever adjustment which you just can't teach. Then roved the spill like a rover.
2. Huge leap from behind to crash through pack marking contest, coming very high from nowhere a long way back at great pace then climbed up through pack & finished up in front of pack. Soooo athletic - was full arms's length higher than next highest player.
3. Was running at pace to bouncing ball with opponent on his jack and as soon as he got the ball he stopped in his tracks and simultaneously dropped flat to the ground like a rock. Opponent ran straight over the top with momentum and Brennan was up and off, leaving opponent non-plus.
4. Running after the ball with a few others including the quick McLean, he came from behind and got to ball 2m in front., then picked up one-handed a la Kouta, held it in palm then streamed off in a “catch me if you can” Kouta special.
5. Was never going to be in the marking contest – was way too far behind. Charged straight at Crawford’s back and never had his eyes on the ball at any stage. His eyes were clearly on Crawford’s back and he was going to spoil Crawford by shoving him blatantly in the back. Ummm … but he didn’t. With precision timing, on reaching Crawford as Crawford was about to contest the overhead mark, he stopped forward momentum completely and jumped dead vertically, so high his hip was at Crawford’s head and he held a great mark he had no right to even contest. He instinctively took his cue from Crawford’s body movement and didn’t try to spot the ball until he was in vertical leap.
6. Stole ball from traffic but was about to get nailed immediately so instead of completely taking delivery he deliberately rolled ball along ground in front of him so he could subsequently take it when he had gained a break.
7. The ball was heading for the points but, at pace under pressure, he somehow half-stopped it in its tracks, deftly tapping it along ground to deflect ball from in front of points to in front of the goals, then pinged himself back to it and deftly goaled off the ground while opponent sailed past.
8. Huge one-grab mark coming over the top of huge pack from side, having been the candidate least likely to get it - mainly natural spring as no chance for run-up.
9. Huge overhead mark over the top of Furfaro (Qld) on half-back line. Brennan's backside was higher than Furfaro's head. And it was all natural spring as he came from behind Furfaro but finished in front of him after taking the mark.
Query:
- Kicking on the run definitely needs improvement.
- At this stage his marks are sometimes 1-3 grabs. (Once he stops being sooo skinny this may change as he won’t be so buffeted / unbalanced).
- Skinny as, slight frame and hasn’t changed shape much since last year. He may bulk up enough in time to play key but even down the side he presents opposition coaches with match-up problems.
- Doesn't take a game by the scruff of the neck and get a lot of ball yet.
- No right foot. Fortunately he has the pace & agility to be able to get onto his left pretty easily so not likely to be big problem but it is still a bit of a shame.
Some stats:
- Played 2 TAC games (invitation) & got 3 Morrish Medal votes for BOG in one.
- Fairly consistent. “Quietest of 6 U18 Championships games 2001-2 was 9 disposals (best 16, 2002 average 13 3 games).
Other stuff:
All Australian (2002 U18 Championships)
______________________________________
Another outstanding profile from Colin - thought the family car / parts to a Ferrari analogy was excellent. As The Doc has said previously, drafting Brennan at pick #6 would be a very 'attacking' draft strategy - it's a risk, but one which could pay some massive dividends. Gilham is most people's pick for our selection, but if either North or Brissie nab him, Brennan will probably come into the mix.
