Draft Pick 58: Lachie Neale

[Moo]

With Pick 58 FFC selects Lachie Neale

Place any articles, interviews etc in here (Player Profile stuff)

(no posting in here until we actually make the pick)

 

[Arcassius]

Re: FFC Welcomes Pick 58

Good call I reckon Knight Ryders. I watched his league final for Glenelg against South Adelaide at AAMI and he stood out that day. He looks as though he has gone from school football last year (he may have played in the 2010 Bay U18 flag?), to SANFL U18, to State U18, to SANFL ressies to SANFL league and appears to have handled each new level of competition well.

I am thinking there is a touch of the Sam Mitchell's about him?

he has been described elsewhere here on BF as being an 'outside' player, however, there is no doubt he is more inside than outside. I also hear from those close to him he has some good running jump form also - has anyone seen any of the state screening results yet from the weekend?

'Cl' is clearances, not clangers on the Champion Data stats. I was at the game and a friend got the stats which are done by the Glenelg statisticians. They said he had 42 possessions (I can't remember actual hand ball and kick numbers) and they had him down for 3 ineffective handballs and 2 ineffective kicks. Thats 88% efficiency which, considering the wet conditions and the game being very contested was a great effort.

By all reports he is highly regarded by those around him and by the coaching staff at Glenelg. I also think he is very underated and should be a big chance as one of the few SA lads that may go in the draft this year.

This kid is an absolute gem. He has been playing reasonably well for the glenelg league side and came back to 18's for finals and was outstanding. Was best on ground by a country mile despite playing in the losing team. I think he is under rated by most and deserves to go in the top 40-50 atleast. Exceptional footy brain, is deadly accurate on both feet and a great kid to go with it. Only negatives are his height and pace.

40 disposals in the u18 SANFL finals. 10 Clearances and 8 I50's, plus a goal.

Seen as a rookie pick early on, but I've been keen on him for a while.

Where would he go after this impressive display?

I was talking to one of Lachie Neale's mates in Adelaide last night who said he has had 7 or 8 interviews with AFL clubs. They are still hopefull - more than confident- he will get picked up in the National draftand it makes it interesting as apparently the general feel is that his stocks are rising.

Pace a concern? Ran a 3.0 in the 20m sprint at state screening and was carrying some sort of leg injury form the U18 GF the weekend before. I also see he had running jumps of 85 and 87 cm (If i remember correctly) so he has some spring also.

I wouldn't be at all surprised if he jumps in front of one or two other more highly fancied SA kids at the end of all of this.

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/sport/afl/neale-walking-tall-for-draft/story-e6freckc-1226183282869

Here is the article on him in the paper the other day

Sounds decent

 

[Arcassius]

Re: FFC Welcomes Pick 58

South Australian Lachie Neale is the fourth selection for Freo in the Draft.

Pick 58 - Lachie Neale - 18yrs, 177cm

Lachie has had an outstanding season. He dominated U18 footy for Glenelg, played all 5 championship games for South Australia and finished the last 7 games in Glenelgs League side having a real impact. He is an inside midfielder who can play forward and apply terrific pressure. He is tough and wins contested footy. He has an enormous workrate and desire to get the footy. His clean hands and quick handballs are elite. Lachie is an outstanding character. Lachie’s testing at the state combine was impressive across the board. His standing VJ of 73 and RVJ of 95 is elite. His 8.24 agility, 14.2 beep and 3.00 sprint are all very good times as well. Lachie averaged 31.3 disposals, 5.6 marks, 5.1 inside 50s and 6.4 clearances per game at SA U18 level.

 

[East Freo]

Re: FFC Welcomes Pick 58

Pick 58 - Lachie Neale - 18yrs, 177cm - Lachie has had an outstanding season. He dominated U18 footy for Glenelg, played all 5 championship games for South Australia and finished the last 7 games in Glenelgs League side having a real impact. He is an inside midfielder who can play forward and apply terrific pressure. He is tough and wins contested footy. He has an enormous workrate and desire to get the footy. His clean hands and quick handballs are elite. Lachie is an outstanding character. Lachie’s testing at the state combine was impressive across the board. His standing VJ of 73 and RVJ of 95 is elite. His 8.24 agility, 14.2 beep and 3.00 sprint are all very good times as well. Lachie averaged 31.3 disposals, 5.6 marks, 5.1 inside 50s and 6.4 clearances per game at SA U18 level.
Lachie Neale DOB 22/10/93 Ht 177 Wt 77
He will be hoping that the tide has turned and teams start to snap up the <180cm guys again. My two big concerns with Neale when evaluating him were his height which I thought might come in under 177 and his speed which I questioned. At Combine he actually did pretty well on both fronts. He measured in a tick over the listed 177 tested very well in the jumping showing he could play taller and he showed nice speed coming in smack bang on 3 in the 20m sprint. His other tests were fine with a beep test of just over 14 showing some need for development but there is enough there to reassure clubs that he can get it up to the required level.
Neale is a footballer’s footballer who has improved greatly over the course of the year. Recruiters usually like the guys who finish the year strongly and Neale is certainly one of those. He came back from the seniors to play in the SANFL U18s finals for Glenelg and he dominated, relishing the chance to match up again on guys his own age. In the GF he was BOG in a losing side racking up 42 disposals including 10 clearances. After a performance like that I think someone will take a punt on him remembering how everyone passed on Rockliff a few years ago after a similar performance in the TAC GF.
Neale is an inside midfielder who competes hard for the ball showing great determination burrowing into packs to extract the ball. He reads the ball off hands very well and gets to the right spots. He does not have particularly quick hands nor are they especially clean but he does do an okay job when he gets his hands on the ball. He is much like Rockliff in this regard as he uses his superior play reading ability to compensate for below ideal hands. He has chunky legs and a low centre of gravity and he often demonstrates nice ability to maintain balance in the contest.
His kicking is pretty good usually but he can be a little inconsistent with some kicks looking great and others pretty ordinary. He is competent on both feet and shows good penetration when he has time and gets hold of it. There is a bit to work with there although some polish is required. This is not uncommon for junior players and for an inside mid I have to say his disposal efficiency was very good.
He floats up forward fairly regularly and gets quite a lot of crumbing opportunities with his ability to read ball off hands but his finishing ability leaves a fair bit to be desired. He creates quite a few chances for himself but he misses too many shots that he should get.
All up this is probably coming across as one of the more negative reviews I have done but I really do like Neale. I like his determination and desire for the ball. He leads the players around him and they follow. His skills are a little inconsistent but with some work I think they should become good. He is a footballer and one with good character to boot. In the latter stages of this draft teams could certainly do worse than taking a punt on these types of guys.
# 5 Adelaide - Lachie Neale (Glenelg - midfielder)
If this kid was 5cm taller (he is 177) he would be pushing into the first round and its for that reason you ask yourself have i got him far to low......and the answer is i think i do! Prolific ball winner, who is one touch and very clean at every level he played this year and some of his senior performances late in the season were outstanding - he had something like 20 odd touches and 5 or 6 clearances in one of the ones I saw. Runs hard and is very adept at running offensively to be damaging on the scoreboard. Tested very well and its staggering he didnt get a DC invite so that makes you wonder.
Lachie Neale (SA - Mid) Height: 177cm, Weight: 73kg, DOB: 22/10/1993 Recruited from: Glenelg Style: Player comparison: Range: rookie-undrafted Profile: Strong inside mid who played well during the U18 champs for SA. Smart player in close. High work rate. Really solid option. Good leader out on the field. Doesn’t stand out as much as some so might slide to rookie draft because he doesn’t necessarily have the flashy skill set or high end pace. But represents value as a rookie because he can be that high production mid. What impresses me with Neale is that he is a big game player, played some really good footy at the u18 champs and then in the SANFL U18 grand final pulled out another fantastic performance.

 

[BananaOnTheRun]

Re: FFC Welcomes Pick 58

afl site has him at 77kg, given his height, he's at playing weight.

 

[more_of_bito]

Re: FFC Welcomes Pick 58

Averaged 31.3 disposals in the SA 18's. he'll do @58

 

[Clay Davis]

Re: FFC Welcomes Pick 58

He even has a Schammer-ish sort of face

The Raven Schammer.

 

[Moo]

Re: FFC Welcomes Pick 58

Lachie 'The Jockey' Neale

 

[BananaOnTheRun]

He's got a massive leap on him though. Dude's got a bag of tricks.

 

[Nickos66]

Re: FFC Welcomes Pick 58

He even has a Schammer-ish sort of face

The Raven Schammer.

The Adelaide water must be bitter or something.

 

[Mad Catter 32]

Re: FFC Welcomes Pick 58

Steel of the Draft, I watch this kid in a couple of state games, probs one of the most underated in and unders.. controlled the SA vs WA game and the QLD vs SA game really hope he goes on with it with you guys, to certian extent.....

 

[Dujon11]

Re: FFC Welcomes Pick 58

Ive watched him play league this year for Glenelg, very skillful player. Is on the shorter side but puts his head over it and goes hard.

Has a great kick on him, hope he gets his chance at the Dockers, he'll take it.

 

[Flaggie Falcon]

Re: FFC Welcomes Pick 58

Here are some links to photos of Lachie whilst playing for Glenelg in 2011

Set shot and goals:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/34664426@N04/6111868829/

with Kane Cornes looking on Lachie runs toward goal:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/34664426@N04/6069423859/

Out marking opposition taller than himself V West Adel
http://www.flickr.com/photos/34664426@N04/5627173120/

Tackling
http://www.flickr.com/photos/34664426@N04/5626523773/

 

[Scham]

Re: FFC Welcomes Pick 58

Can see him being everyone's favourite in 6 - 8 mths time.

 

[Notorious_29]

Re: FFC Welcomes Pick 58

He is an inside midfielder who can play forward and apply terrific pressure. He is tough and wins contested footy. He has an enormous workrate and desire to get the footy. His clean hands and quick handballs are elite. Lachie is an outstanding character.

What's not to like in this paragraph.

Will be keen to see how he does this pre-season.

 

[Righteo]

Re: FFC Welcomes Pick 58

Height be damned, sounds like a real goer, and a skillful one at that. Seems like he's ready to go as well. Good pick for 58.

I'm wary of "steal of the draft" calls though, considering I heard the same things over Bollenhagen and Crichton.

 

[Lach72]

Re: FFC Welcomes Pick 58

Some leap on the boy...Short legs

 

[jmadrox]

Re: FFC Welcomes Pick 58

Some leap on the boy...Short legs

that pic makes him look VERY short. he isnt Balla's short though.

 

[Lach72]

Re: FFC Welcomes Pick 58

that pic makes him look VERY short. he isnt Balla's short though.

Impressive though. He's just outjumped a bloke 6 inches taller than him

 

[Docker Dolph]

Re: FFC Welcomes Pick 58

I was trapped in Adelaide for a wedding earlier this year and spent some time at the SA footy with one of the other guests who'd flown in from Vic.

He emailed me this morning saying I must be stoked with our pick 58. At the game we went too before the wedding we both kept on noticing a highly effective and aggressive midfielder who was playing extremely well for Glenelg. Turns out Lachie was that kid.

The thing that stood out to both of us was how often he got first hands on the ball and how often he was involved in the contests. I distinctly remember my mate saying "there he goes again" with a handball clearance and we were both laughing about how he made the next contest as well.

I also remember him running 10m out of his way to throttle the opposition CHB after that bloke dumped one of the Glenelg boys.

The other guy is a Collingwood supporter and said he reminded him of Dayne Beams or Jarryd Blair.

 

[Split Personality]

Re: FFC Welcomes Pick 58

Midget can jump!

I can't wait to see him play, could be a fan favourite. Someone willing to put their head over the ball is something we've missed lately.

 

[jmadrox]

Re: FFC Welcomes Pick 58

I was trapped in Adelaide for a wedding earlier this year and spent some time at the SA footy with one of the other guests who'd flown in from Vic.

Wow. Flying to SA and spending time with a collingwood supporter, that dedication to your family!

He emailed me this morning saying I must be stoked with our pick 58. At the game we went too before the wedding we both kept on noticing a highly effective and aggressive midfielder who was playing extremely well for Glenelg. Turns out Lachie was that kid.

Violent (ie prone to getting attention from the umps) aggressive, or just aggressive at the ball?

The thing that stood out to both of us was how often he got first hands on the ball and how often he was involved in the contests. I distinctly remember my mate saying "there he goes again" with a handball clearance and we were both laughing about how he made the next contest as well.

I also remember him running 10m out of his way to throttle the opposition CHB after that bloke dumped one of the Glenelg boys.

Does sound like someone we need. Getting hapier with this pick.

 

[Lach72]

Re: FFC Welcomes Pick 58

http://www.fremantlefc.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/7009/newsid/126503/default.aspx\

Pick 58 - Lachie Neale - 18yrs, 177cm - Lachie has had an outstanding season. He dominated U18 footy for Glenelg, played all 5 championship games for South Australia and finished the last 7 games in Glenelgs League side having a real impact. He is an inside midfielder who can play forward and apply terrific pressure. He is tough and wins contested footy. He has an enormous workrate and desire to get the footy. His clean hands and quick handballs are elite. Lachie is an outstanding character. Lachie’s testing at the state combine was impressive across the board. His standing VJ of 73 and RVJ of 95 is elite. His 8.24 agility, 14.2 beep and 3.00 sprint are all very good times as well. Lachie averaged 31.3 disposals, 5.6 marks, 5.1 inside 50s and 6.4 clearances per game at SA U18 level.

 

[Clay Davis]

Re: FFC Welcomes Pick 58

Did he only fall that far because of his height? What are his flaws?

 

[Lach72]

Re: FFC Welcomes Pick 58

Lachie Neale, from Kybybolite, began the 2011 Under 18 season with 4 best on grounds before representing State Under 18’s and performing very well as part of the midfield rotations. Following the State program, he played 2 Reserves games and then 7 impressive League matches including the elimination final where he got 25 possessions. He then went back to the Under 18’s and won the medal for Best on Ground in the Grand Final with 40 plus possessions. Brenton Hole, GFC Football Talent Manager, describes Neale as "A quality young man with great endeavour and determination".

http://www.glenelgfc.com.au/

He'll do nicely

http://www.sanfl.com.au/league/results/