James Craig - forgotten player?

[Vader]

Whenever we list our ruckmen, everyone considers Jacobs, Maric, Moran, Sellar and McKernan. There's one player who always seems to be left off those lists - James Craig.

Craig was drafted with our last selection in the 2009 ND. The pre-season puff pieces in the Ragvertiser all raved about his competitiveness and how he was able to use his huge leap to overcome the fact that (at 195cm) he's really too short to be an AFL ruckman. Several of those articles claimed that he hoped to be our #1 ruck by the end of the 2010 season. Lofty ambitions indeed.

Needless to say, his 2010 season didn't go quite as planned. Like most of his peers, he was injured roughly 1/3 of the way through the season and hasn't played since.

The pre-season training reports this year have all had one thing in common. Craig's contribution has seemingly been limited to doing laps around the oval, while the others trained in earnest in the middle.

So.. what are people's expectations of this forgotten Crow in 2011? Will he ever make it as an AFL player, or will his height (and lack of ability to play a KPP role) mean that he is restricted to a SANFL career?

 

[jo172]

Meh, coach's pet.

But in reality he'd want to show some very good signs for North this year, from all reports he's got talent, but we've got a serious bottleneck of similarly built blokes after similar positions (Sellar, McKernan, Maric, Talia) who all have a fair bit of footy ability that we can't afford to let him sit on the list with a perpetual hamstring injury.

It also unnerves me slightly when big blokes have long-term hammy injuries.

 

[KUNG FU]

He will benefit from the sub rule because he has only ever played as a ruckman at 195cm. He's very good at the tap and as an extra midfielder. However, he would not have been drafted at all if it were not for his draft camp testing which indicated he has the capacity to move into a KPD role because of closing speed and vertical leap. As of yet, he has never played that role, so he is still a true project player. But from all accounts he has an excellent work ethic and imo he will learn very quickly.

 

[relapse]

As other have pointed out, we have too many players in James Craig's mould (McKernan, Talia, Sellar, Moran), when you look at our list he'd one of the guys that will be in the gun this year unless he can really show something.

 

[WALL-e]

Needs to develop a second and third string to his bow. Once he does that he can attack the utility ruck possy.

 

[Mad Fan of AFL]

Agree with relapse...too many in this mould particularly Sellar and Mckernan. Has been injured and needs to show something special this year with North Adelaide. Needs to find another string to his bow...and something that makes him stand out above sellar and Mckernan

 

[Schulzycrow]

Who? Neil got a son?

 

[Mad Fan of AFL]

Schulzy... joke??? James Craig is a 2009 draftee. 195 cm ruckman

 

[StonesThrow]

Hasn't he been injured for most of his time with us?

 

[Vader]

Hasn't he been injured for most of his time with us?

I did mention that in the OP.

 

[Pariah]

Like the kid but he's got to get his body right and add a few more strings to his bow. It will be an important year for him. Unfortunately I think he's going to struggle to get a game while we have more talented/versatile players of his size at the club.

 

[Mad Fan of AFL]

Vader..do you think Craig will make it? Too early to tell? Just think Sellar and Mckernan is much more valuable at this stage. Unless he can become a defender or forward as well he will find it hard to break in the side.

 

[Vader]

I think he's too short to make it as a ruckman in the AFL. He does have a prodigious leap, which will help at the centre bounces - but his lack of height will kill him at the boundary throw-ins.

I've never seen him play, for obvious (geographical) reasons, so all I have to go off are 2nd hand opinions here on BF. The general impression I get is that he really doesn't have a 2nd string to his bow - without which he's really going to be up against it.

Rightly or wrongly, we've drafted a LOT of young talls in the last few years. Assuming that the KPPs in our best team are Tippett, Walker, Jacobs, Maric, Rutten, Davis & Stevens, then we already have Young, Sellar, Talia, McKernan & Moran waiting in the wings - all of whom have better credentials than Craig. You can possibly add Gunston & Henderson to that list as well, depending on whether or not you see them as KPPs. This means that he has a lot of players ahead of him in the queue, so he's going to have to improve a lot if he's going to jump ahead of them. Is he capable of doing so? I'm far from convinced.

As I see it, Craig has two problems. Firstly, he's the dictionary definition of a "tweener". He's not a KPP and he's too short to be an AFL ruckman (though he was doing just fine in the SANFL until getting injured last year). Secondly, his inability to play a KPP role in the forward or back lines is going to really hurt him.

My personal opinion is that he's going to struggle. relapse was correct in suggesting that he's one of the players under the gun in 2011, which is possibly a little unfair given that he lost most of 2010 to injury and many players (eg Sellar) have been given much longer to prove themselves. Even so, I just can't see where/how he can fit into the Crows team, now or in the future.

As for Sellar & McKernan..

• Sellar has at least shown glimpses at an AFL level, though he hasn't really put it all together just yet. I had the feeling that 2010 was going to be his year, a feeling which was reinforced by his outstanding start to the one & only game he played (before getting injured). Everything I have read on BF through the pre-season indicates that he hasn't lost the hunger which he was showing 12 months ago.
• McKernan, on the other hand, has failed to impress me at all. He's only had 1 chance at AFL footy (which is all he's ever deserved) - try as he might, he still looked like he was completely out of his depth. That was 1 1/2 years ago and he's only gone backwards since then (if 2010 is anything to go by). My personal opinion is that he's likely to turn out to be not so much our great white hope as our great white hoax. People blaming his abysmal start to 2011 on South Adelaide are kidding themselves - the kid is mentally soft and soft players don't make it in the rough & tumble of the AFL.

 

[danger_to_walker]

Vader, I find it interesting that you say that all you have to go on about Craig are 2nd hand BF opinions as you have never seen him play, due to "obvious (geographical) reasons", but you are able to bag McKernan until the cows come home. His 2009 in the SANFL was definitely worthy of AFL games. Sure he stalled last year, but not sure how you can make assumptions as to his character, nor the reasons as to his progress stalling, from seeing him play one game of footy. I'm sure he's not the first, nor will he be the last KPP who has looked out of his depth in his first game.

 

[Mad Fan of AFL]

Good assessment Vader. Craig's bio suggests that he has a good leap, which i already knew, just need to get on the park to show he is capable at the roosters. Needs that second bow to be capable at AFL due to height. In the end we don't know whether he would make it at AFL level if doesn't get an opportunity or 5!! Last on the pecking order at this stage.

In regards to coreys younger brother..i'm guess posters are living in hope that Shaun can turn out to be like Corey. Personally, i liked what i saw in Corey in his first game, albit he was a bit sloppy, he showed glimpses of why he was recruited. I think he could potentially become a tall forward using his athletism and good speed for a man of his size. Hope he improves this year and plays a few games for the AFC. I'm the most eager to see his progress out of any other 'tweener' ruck or key position player at our club.

 

[Vader]

The difference between Craig & McKernan is the volume of information I have to work from. McKernan has been on our list for 2 years now and really hasn't done much at all. Craig played half a dozen games in his first season and missed the rest of the year through injury. One has enough form for me to establish an opinion, even one based on 2nd hand reporting. The other does not.

I'm not writing McKernan off on the basis of his debut game. As you say, many (most) AFL players flounder about like a fish out of water when presented with the challenges of playing at the highest level. It's his lack of form at SANFL level which concerns me most. He was lucky not to be playing reserves for most of the first half of 2010, before lifting significantly towards the end of the season. The words most commonly used to describe him are "confidence player". I see this as being code for "mentally weak".

 

[cmndstab]

I remember speaking with Rendell once on the concern that, although Craig's leap would allow him to "break even" with taller ruckmen at centre clearances, he would get smashed in boundary throw-ins and other ruck stoppages. Rendell completely dismissed it, saying he would be the physically strongest ruckman in the comp and would be able to out-wrestle his taller opponents.

I don't know much about rucking so I'm not sure if that's really feasible (I guess Rendell has the runs on the board both in terms of talent ID and also being an AFL-standard ruckman), but I have no difficulty believing the comment about Craig's physical strength. The guy is seriously built like an ox. In his first preseason I saw him line up on Tippett and out-wrestle him in a marking contest.

I really like Craig, but just don't see him getting a go with so many other ruckmen ahead of him. The only KPP position for him is full back in my opinion and he's got a fair wait ahead of him if he wants that spot. I just hope he can get rid of his injuries and put together a quality season of SANFL footy in 2011 to get back into contention.

 

[Huntercrow]

Vader.

Branding any player as "mentally soft" is a little tough. and a cop out.
The idea that we throw all recruits to the SANFL draft and see if they can sink or swim is no way to run a professional modern day club.

Smack is sinking at Souths under their expectation that he lead their rucks from day one.
I doubt that this would have been the case at any other club for a rookie fresh from the u18s.
He would have been up against mature aged men taller and stronger and from the early reports he did pretty well but that "freak" broken arm put paid to his first season.
I don't think any "soft" players make it into the draft pool and if they do then the club is at fault and if the Crows are worth their salt they will force the SANFL to change their bloody Mini draft so the bottom teams can't suck the life out of our young recruits.

 

[Crow-mo]

I have no opinion on craig and not much of one on McKernan.

I think they both need to do something this year to inspire the supporters to care. not to mention their coaches and team mates.

hopefully they can do that, but at the moment they're trivia questions to me.

 

[crow_fish]

McKernan, on the other hand, has failed to impress me at all. He's only had 1 chance at AFL footy (which is all he's ever deserved) - try as he might, he still looked like he was completely out of his depth. That was 1 1/2 years ago and he's only gone backwards since then (if 2010 is anything to go by). My personal opinion is that he's likely to turn out to be not so much our great white hope as our great white hoax. People blaming his abysmal start to 2011 on South Adelaide are kidding themselves - the kid is mentally soft and soft players don't make it in the rough & tumble of the AFL.

Disagree, I would think had he not got injured in training he would have deserved another game the next week.

I put my hand up and say haven't seen much of him only 2 games in fact because live in Melb. The Gold Coast match i was at and I thought showed couple of good signs. The other game I saw him live was Preseason match vs Carlton at Optus Oval and was impressed with his Ruckwork and work around stoppages. Yes I don't know lot about how went last year in SANFL but from what I've seen I hope we give him time to develop and give him bit game time this year and I look forward to seeing him in NAB Cup. Was certainly happy to hear reports from Trial match.

These Tall types certainly need greater time to develop, look at Leunberger his breakout year wasn't until 4th Season. I had look back at 08 draft and very similar types Vickery Pick 08, Cordy pick 14, Post pick 26, Brown pick 15 and Stanley pick 49. Sure the fact is when draft a tall there is this hope because it is patience game which could fail so you could be proved correct but I'm reserving judgement same way that haven't ruled out any other draft picks mentioned above having success careers.

 

[Pietmans]

I agree totally that we have plenty of the same ilke, but........


Neither Sellar nor McKernan nor for that matter Moran or Maric have at the age of 18 gone a few games in a row at senior SANFL level getting close to or over 30 taps per game.

For him to get injured at that point and not play again last year was just so frustrating!

Also, could be right at AFL level that he is too short for boundary taps but at SANFL level even at 18 has shown great body strength to get those very tap-outs.

A pick in the 60's, definitely a tweener but I'm not prepared to write him off as a serious ruckman just yet.

Agree though that he has to make a showing - at least continue that dominant tap rucking SANFL form - to keep his spot. Also, Haven't seen him get much of it around the ground at SANFL senior level and averaged only 10 possessions per game (from memory) in the U18's champs the year he was drafted. That might be his achilles in modern footy!

 

[Schulzycrow]

Schulzy... joke??? James Craig is a 2009 draftee. 195 cm ruckman

Yeah nah! Just kiddin. Needs to get on the park for North and tear it up in a number of possies to have even the slightest chance of getting a game this year.

 

[cmndstab]

Vader.

Branding any player as "mentally soft" is a little tough. and a cop out.
The idea that we throw all recruits to the SANFL draft and see if they can sink or swim is no way to run a professional modern day club.

Smack is sinking at Souths under their expectation that he lead their rucks from day one.
I doubt that this would have been the case at any other club for a rookie fresh from the u18s.
He would have been up against mature aged men taller and stronger and from the early reports he did pretty well but that "freak" broken arm put paid to his first season.
I don't think any "soft" players make it into the draft pool and if they do then the club is at fault and if the Crows are worth their salt they will force the SANFL to change their bloody Mini draft so the bottom teams can't suck the life out of our young recruits.

To be fair, "soft" is a relative term in this case. There are AFL players known as footballers but not athletes, for example, but the reality is they're better athletes than 95% of the population. They're just poor when compared to their peers.

There will be AFL players that are mentally weaker than their peers, and by all reports McKernan is one such character. However, from what I've seen and heard this preseason, his tail is well up so I'm personally expecting a much better year from him than in 2010.

As for the whole mini-draft system, that's another debate for another day.

 

[Cap]

I gather your are pointing out the difference between a say Mark Bickley and a Luke Jericho.

Niether players are "soft" in the true sense of the work, but Bickley is perceived to have been harder at the ball (rightly so) where as Jericho sweated off it a bit more.

This sounds massively harsh but in our current squad it is the difference between Tex & Tippet and Sloane and Danger.

None of the 4 players are "soft" but I know which two I'd be putting money on to get the real hard ball.

 

[KUNG FU]

McKernan isn't physically soft, which was half of Jericho's problem (in a comparative AFL context). He hits the pack as hard as anyone in our list. He doesn't roam around packs like Moran, he uses his size and weight very well. The problem is his mental application, which can be brought down very quickly. He is prone to dropping his head and brain fades. Having said that, when things are going his way, he is unstoppable and will crash & weave through packs and run coast to coast.