Knightmare
Brownlow Medallist
- Sep 22, 2010
- 19,533
- 19,542
- AFL Club
- Collingwood
- Other Teams
- Chicago Bulls
- Thread starter
- Banned
- #201
The sadness of that list is why I'm always very skeptical of those KPFs being talked up before they have a fair few runs on the board - even the high profile top 5 draft picks. We've seen a lot of next big things come and go over these new KPF barren years. I hope you're right with Riccardi and most others are right with the Kings and Logan, because a gun KPF is a sight to behold. But I wouldn't be inking any of them in as becoming top line players yet - unless it's in another role, such as Moore and Lukosius in defence.
We've had some unfortunate stories of key forwards particularly early draft. Boyd - mental health. McCartin - concussion (also has diabetes and was picked too early). Patton - injuries and more recently mental health. Schache - was drafted too high and really didn't have the game a pick 2 should have.
We have though since seen a transformation in what key forwards look like and play like. They're taller, but they also have small man capabilities where I'd be as bold as to say a number of them could either play through the midfield or on a wing if you ask them. eg. Balta could go into stoppages and be a beast if you asked him to be. Lukosius could be either used in defence and be the premier kick from defence in the competition or on a wing could be a 200+ mark per year machine who in addition to that creates historic number of scoring opportunities directly from his kick. We really have some entirely unique and new models of what a tall can do which is relatively the component I like about this new generation drafted over the last few years. They're not big, bodied, lumbering types who can't move and were early bloomers. We've really got an incredible diversity and you can draft guys 195cm+ and not even draft them as KPPs. It's been a big change really these past 5 years where I'm seeing a distinct improvement in the calibre of tall talent drafted which we haven't seen in a long time.
What I'm not seeing with this new generation of key forwards on the other hand though is anyone who can be that 70+ goal every year key forward. Maybe a Jamarra or Logan McDonald if they fulfil their upside could get close, but with how defences are today and how key defenders today are by average standard by position greater than they have been during any time in AFL history, it's really hard for key forwards today to be that kind of guy, and really if they can play 20+ games, kick 40+ goals, get your 120+ marks, take 30+ contested marks and bring it to ground enough, you're on a winner and you've really got someone.
Remember the year. 2017. That's the draft where we've seen this transformation in what a KPP is and can be. And it was as an unrelated aside an unbelievable year for key defenders.