Chris25
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Harrison Wigg
Height: 179cm
Weight: 74kg
From: North Adelaide, South Australia
Position: Defender, Midfielder
Height: 179cm
Weight: 74kg
From: North Adelaide, South Australia
Position: Defender, Midfielder
I think it's about time we had another South Australian get a profile, so who better than the All Australian and MVP for South Australia at the U18 Championships? And with those two honours, Harrison Wigg is finding himself with a lot more admirers and has gone from not being spoken about to being considered a possible first round selection. So lets take a closer look...
Wigg has been in and around the South Australian set up since his U16 days, and has always been a consistent performer. It doesn't matter what level it is, he is just a composed player and gets about his game as per usual. I'll start with the U18 Championships, before I touch on his arguably more interesting SANFL form, as that's what everyone has seen. Playing in all 6 matches for SA, Wigg spent most of the tournament in the back lines and averaged a tick under 20 disposals a game - with almost 70% of those disposals being kicks. And he also finished the Championships with a disposal efficiency of around 80%. It's very much a favourite position of the SA coach Brenton Phillips, and it was Wigg who was given the role of general down back. He took the kick ins after a behind, he'd zone off while others took on more defensive roles, take intercept marks and a lot of the play coming out of the back half was directed through him. It was very much like Sam Colquhoun back in his SA days. He did play more of a midfield role in the Round 5 game against Vic Country, but otherwise he spent most of his time down back.
What the vast majority of people wouldn't have seen however, were his matches in the SANFL prior to the Championships - 3 in the U18s and 1 in the Reserves for North Adelaide. There, he played a lot more up the ground and showed another side to his game. An absolute ball magnet in the midfield, Wigg averaged 27 disposals, 7 marks, 3 tackles and 5 clearances a game in the U18s. While in his one Reserves game, he played across half back and the wing to finish with 16 disposals at 100% efficiency. It's this midfield game that I'm more interested in seeing for the remainder of the season.
In terms of his strengths as a player, well it's pretty obvious - his kicking. It's his biggest asset, and that one ability has played a massive role in his football to date. I've seen a few people label him the best kick in the draft, and even more have compared him to Matthew Suckling from Hawthorn as a result. I'm not sure I would quite go that far, as although Wigg can kick 50m+, he doesn't quite have the same power that someone like a Suckling or Trent McKenzie has. He just has a good technique, and can execute more often than not. And I think a large part of what makes him such a good kick is his decision making and composure. I'd compare him more to someone like Shaun Higgins than Suckling in that regard, with his actual boot being more along the lines of Nick Suban from Fremantle. He sums up the situation really well, rarely appears rushed and just finds his target. Like Suban, he can try to do too much at times and turn the ball over but he always looks good in doing so. So is he the best kick ever? No, but he's in the top handful in this draft. And similarly, it's that ability to read the play that lets him be such a successful 'mopper upper' down back. He is good at filling holes and helping out his teammates.
When it comes to negatives, it's more a bunch of question marks as opposed to glaring weaknesses in his game. Wigg isn't the biggest player going around and with his frame may not put on a bunch more weight - it's not a huge issue, with a lot of skinnier players getting around nowadays but it does still make people question how high your ceiling is. He has shown a good midfield game at U18 level, but is that something that can translate against bigger bodies? And down back, how will he perform when forced to play a more defensive role against much quicker opposition? He does have good endurance, but probably only average speed.
So where is his home at the top level? Well, personally I see it as being high half back/wing as opposed to purely defence. I'd still like him taking the kick ins in the long run, but I want him delivering the ball inside 50. He'll never have the size of a Suckling, McKenzie or Garrick Ibbotson - guys who can drop back and play the loose man role. So in order to play down back, he will have to play more of a traditional small defender role and I just don't see that as being his strength. I've said it before, but I think Harrison Wigg compares to the likes of past South Australian players Tim Broomhead and Sam Colquhoun - which I suppose means his draft range could be anywhere from 20-25 to the PSD. But, if I had to guess, then I'd be banking on his name being called out in the second round.
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