Draft Profile James Rose

[Chris25]

James Rose
Height: 186cm
Weight: 78kg
From: Sturt, South Australia
Position: Forward​

He might not be one of the bigger name players in the South Australian squad, but James Rose is one player who may attract some attention from clubs as we get closer to the draft. And as everyone knows about the top guys, it's only fair that the second and third tier players get a bit of a wrap too.

Relatively speaking, Rose is a bit of an unknown to those outside of South Australia - and even to some of those in South Australia. As a private school kid, he split his playing time in 2013 between the SANFL U18s for Sturt and the Messenger Shield for Scotch College. But at both levels, he did the same thing - kick goals. And for Sturt, he finished with 30 goals from his 9 games. Only once did he go goalless, and in three matches Rose finished with hauls of 5 goals or more. Coming into the 2014 season, he impressed training alongside the seniors and has made his Reserves debut between state commitments - having also played three of the four games for SA at the U18 Championships.

For most part of his career to date, Rose has played as a medium forward. Earlier on in 2013, he tended to play deep and while he was kicking 3-4 goals a game, he wasn't really getting much more of the ball. However, he improved as the season went on and worked up more around the half forward line. In his last game for Sturt in the Reserves, Rose finished with 18 disposals and 5 marks to go with a goal - with similar stats in two of his three games at the Championships so far. And his Round 1 against WA was a perfect microcosm of him as a player.

Marking and his general attack on both the ball and contest are the hallmarks to his game. He leads straight at the ball carrier, marks at the highest point and tends to beat his opponent more often than not in the air. And while he isn't the tallest player going around, he isn't afraid to run through anyone in his way. His disposal is also one area of his game that will attract attention, while he wont be kicking 60m bullet passes he is neat over 50m and doesn't make too many errors. He translates that across to his goal kicking too. And when the ball hits the ground? Well, he is pretty good there too. For a player of his type, he has good agility - which is often an area that lets these 185-190cm forwards down. And endurance wise, he certainly looks to have improved and if past results are anything to go by, he should be pushing for a beep test of around level 14 come draft screenings.

So why isn't James Rose a household name? There are probably three reasons that I can think of - speed, versatility and competition. He isn't slow by any means, just wont be burning off his opponents. And that lends itself to the third reason, and that's the fact that there is plenty of competition from other similar players. And if you have the choice between a fast medium forward and an average speed one, you tend to take the faster one. Also, there are just so many of his type in U18 football, AFL lists and playing in the state leagues - so many, that only the best make it. And lastly, his versatility in being able to impact further up the ground could be questioned. He has certainly improved since the start of last season, but you wouldn't be pencilling him in as part of the midfield rotations quite yet.

There are a few players you could perhaps compare Rose to. Is he a poor mans version of Christian Petracca? Maybe he develops into a forward like Tom Lynch from Adelaide? Or, a team might consider switching him to the back lines, where he could become a Clancee Pearce type. What happens in November is anyone's guess. His draft range could be anywhere from James Sicily (third round) to Luke Reynolds (rookie draft). But he has shown enough to suggest he'd be worth a shot, and at worse will be a good state league player for some time.

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[scaryness]

Bit early for Pick 37?

 

[nottenthagain]

Bit early for Pick 37?

That's an understatement of the highest order....

 

[Swansujelly]

Hiscox at 38, we smashed the 2nd rd.