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Had a few of these on my computer so I thought I might post them up, been a while since the draft 
Lance (“Buddy”) Franklin (Perth)
196/87 bottom-age left foot “play anywhere” athletic tall.
*STYLE LIKE: Goodes
*TRADEMARK:
- Long-striding chase at great closing speed to catch an opponent, then casually pluck the spill with one hand, casually side-step, then casually roost the ball a mile of just one or two steps.
*SUMMARY ASSESSMENT, RECOMMENDATION:
- Enigmatic tall, athletic X-factor. Currently plays very raw so has a lot to learn but is definitely worth any frustration along the way. Potential game-breaker.
I likened his style to Goodes, as my comparisons are against AFL players who people know. Goodes’ style is a fair comparison, and I do think he will be a similar type to Goodes, yet those who have seen Chris Egan play but not Franklin (or vice versa) should picture Franklin as a taller version of Egan. (I’m not comparing anyone’s ability here, just their style of play and relative strengths and weaknesses).
- What you are NOT buying:-
1. Someone who never steps outside the game plan and never frustrates his coach or fans.
2. Predictability.
3. A player who rarely makes mistakes and who does all the easy stuff easily.
4. Humility.
- What you ARE buying:-
1. A big-occasion player who will win big games off his own boot and regardless of the quality of his opponent.
2. A freakish talent who can make the easy seem difficult, the difficult seem easy, and the impossible seem normal.
3. A guy who at times seems half-hearted and at other times plays as if his life depended on it.
4. Possibly the most NATURALLY all-round gifted package in the past 3 years.
- On face value and by reputation, it may seem you are not buying
(a) a team player
(b) consistency
but I want to address those later.
6’5” athletic jumping jack who at times makes Kouta seem blue-collar. Very quick over ground. Leaps over tall buildings. There is nothing he is not capable of – good or not so good.
1. Is a much better kick over distance than short. He can hit the post from 20m out, then a minute later dob a 60m goal from the boundary.
2. He can drop a sitter under no pressure, then take a one-handed screamer, coming from nowhere, across the face of the pack.
3. He can fumble a “stationary” ball under no pressure, then charge in from nowhere to traffic in which no-one can get a handle on the ball and, without breaking stride, pluck the ball cleanly off the carpet like a vacuum cleaner and open up a break, in a heartbeat.
4. He is a very balanced runner and also keeps his feet when tackled and regularly shrugs tackles and shows strength. Yet he also has a propensity for falling off balance for little or no reason and tends to fall off balance even in a set kick.
5. He will wait for a ball to bounce to him on one occasion, then a minute later attack it with desperation and courage.
6. An opponent will seem to get around him easily or he will seemingly not bother to chase on one occasion, then a minute later will charge past traffic in flat-chat pursuit of an opponent who has a 10m start – and run him down – and then, crocodile-like, launch himself horizontally then pile-drive him.
7. He will do his own thing throughout a quarter without seeming interested in adhering to team rules, then, at the 1/4 time huddle, genuinely listen very intently to the coach’s speech.
- All clubs are attracted to an athletic guy who is 193cm (as he was listed at a few months ago). This guy is now 196cm (and may even still be growing?) and actually has a bonus 6cm reach advantage compared to the average player of 196cm! … And he is more than just an athlete – much more. And he is only bottom-age!
- Is good at other sports (basketball, cricket, 400m aths).
- Comes from a close, elite-level sporting family who hopefully will be able to keep him grounded and not let him get too ahead of himself.
- This year played mix of school, 4 WAFL Colts games, a break from WAFL in which he played 3 U18 Champs games, then one Reserves game (Rnd 17, 17 disposals), followed immediately by his Seniors debut in Rnd 18 (8 disp) then didn’t play WAFL again. He did very well in his Reserves debut, including 8 tackles. He also had 22 disposals in Rnd 1 (Colts). However of all the games I saw him in this year, including U18 Champs, the one I liked most (not his best game per se) was in Rnd 6 (Colts). It wasn’t his 19 disposals or his 9 marks. It was that he played in a team that copped an absolute hiding all game yet he tried his heart out all night – routinely chasing hard, running on, contesting, trying to lift his team. Anyone who only saw him in one particular U18 Champs games, especially if they didn’t get to go over the tape later, may be surprised by the ethic he showed in that Colts game.
- I don’t believe he is the type who is shown to advantage at lower standards. Whenever he is challenged at higher levels, he seems to rise to the occasion. In the Irish series he was dynamic, inspirational. In Aussie Rules terms, did all the 1%ers, 2nd efforts, showed great intensity, courage, aggression … and freakish skill. I don’t usually read too much into form in the Irish games. What I got out of Buddy’s Irish experience though was that he showed that
(a) he could rise to a special occasion
(b) he was capable of putting it all together throughout a game instead of in the somewhat cameo bursts he occasionally seems to display locally
(c) unlike the impression he gave at times in the U18 Champs, the words “Buddy” and “frenetic” can certainly be used in the same sentence.
He is not always switched on and in good touch but when he is, he REALLY is and will virtually take on the other team as if he feels he has to do everything … and either believes he can or isn’t prepared to die wondering. As a bottom aged kid who hasn’t had the same development/preparation (other than AIS) that some of his peers have had, I think we will automatically see a lift in his consistency/reliability once he settles into an AFL club. I see him as an “opening night” performer who doesn’t necessarily shine in rehearsals.
- I want to address (a) and (b) above. Prior to going through the tapes of his U18 Champs and WAFL games, I would have agreed. However, I think we have to look deeper. Here are a few of my notes from his U18 Champs games which show where he is at right now:-
------------------------
* 2nd effort after marking contest.
* Clean hands off the ground under great pressure, shrugged the tackle mid-traffic, then keeping his feet and keeping his arms free during another tackle, fed off under great pressure. Excellent traffic management. Virtually ditto a min later, this time with long feed while tackled by 2 opponents, again showing excellent traffic management, together with excellent balance and vision.
* Weaved through minor traffic then 45m weighted pass on the run under a little pressure.
* One man effort at centre bounce – hitout then immediately swooped on the spill, a clean hands get then held off a tackle to feed out of trouble under great pressure, then ran on immediately to the next play and chased hard for 15m. Excellent intensity, hands, vision, traffic management under great pressure.
* Marked 40m out but turned his back instead of checking for options.
* Big grab running in from side of pack.
* As man on the mark, only did a half-hearted chase when the guy played on.
* Stood and waited for the ball to bounce. Ditto.
* Gave away some very clumsy/silly frees and was finally taken off during 3rd quarter because he didn't use his body to protect a team mate. Back on late Q4 and only had one disposal in his 7min after that but it was the winning goal on the siren.
* Injudiciously took on an opponent, despite having free options to feed to, and was nailed.
* Dropped a chest mark on a lead under no pressure. Dropped another chest mark under little pressure, in front one-on-one.
* Easily nudged when on a lead and went sailing.
Those are not meant to be his best or worst incidents but a scattered sample of the good and the bad. Those who only saw him in the U18 Champs and were disappointed should also bear in mind that, in a poor team lacking in talls, he was thrown around everywhere – KP at both ends, ruck, and flank, and often in multiple roles even within the same quarter. Deledio and Griffin are further along the learning curve and could handle that, although their roles weren’t shuffled around in any game to anything like the extent that Buddy was moved here, there and everywhere.
Even looking at this season overall, he never had a chance to settle into a rhythm, adapt to a constant game tempo. He played 2 Colts games, some school, 2 more Colts games, some miscellaneous games leading up to the U18 Champs, one reserves game immediately after that, then his Seniors’ debut the very next week, then back to school. Even so, allowing for the fact that he played little more than ½ the U18 Champs game against Vic Metro, he didn’t play a game all year in which he had no impact. Statistically, he was actually consistent game to game throughout the season, albeit that he did not show consistency of performance quarter to quarter.
Just focussing on some incidents in isolation, it would be tempting to conclude that Buddy is flaky. And there definitely were occasions when he let himself down and gave weight to suggestions that he is not a team player and is inconsistent. Fundamentally, though, I see him as raw, really raw. Someone who, although being fast-tracked by virtue of the AIS program, is still playing largely on instinct and is not yet on top of the finer points of the game. Someone who doesn’t at this stage always know what to do when he has time to think but invariably reacts very well (quite often with breath-taking brilliance) instinctively when under pressure (i.e. when he doesn’t have time to consciously work through a range of decision options).
At this stage he only knows 2 speeds of thinking and movement – casual or flat-out. He is often inclined to go full-bore at a mark or a running ball or when trying to tackle a moving opponent (not unlike Chris Egan), instead of steadying and balancing up. The result can be that he sometimes hits the pack too hard or sails past. I don’t see these problems as ongoing. Coaching and experience at getting attuned to the tempo of games should give him a better feel for the appropriate speed/momentum/timing. At the moment, he is a bottom-age growing colt, at times a bit gangly, who just needs to learn to settle in his races.
When he drops a gimme chest mark or is easily wrong footed and has poor recovery (even sailing past quite often), such things are glaring errors. What can go unnoticed is the (very) many chases, hard running and 2nd and 3rd efforts he does, often even running in hard from 20m away just to try to lay a block.
If you ignore a few relatively isolated incidents, I actually rate his on-field ethic highly. Before I poured through his tapes, I had a completely different impression. My first impression did him an injustice. I think whoever gets him is gaining a guy who will take some time to show consistent FORM (but will in time) but will display consistent on-field ETHIC virtually straight away once he hits centre stage. The latter is not popular opinion but I beg to differ. This kid can do things that most players are virtually incapable of. Just bear with him while he irons out the creases.
- I rank him at 4. Definite AFL. In time, will be a regular match-winner, albeit perhaps not without flaws. He is not plug ‘n play but I expect him to even play some games in year 1.
Will be highly versatile (could arguably play literally anywhere in time) and could become a terrific Goodes-type ultra-tall “ruckrover” but he also has all the trappings of a top CHB.
Once he has had experience, he won’t be a “15 minutes every 2nd game” type like a Cupido.
At this stage, he is inconsistent so I can’t declare him a definite AFL gun in 6 years. However, I believe he has the POTENTIAL to be one …. possibly in half that time. In his worst year he is still likely to impact more games than many AFL players who “never” play a poor game.
*DISPOSAL:
(see above)
- Thumping kick. Can get 60m off virtually a couple of steps. Is more accurate long than he is short.
- As with many aspects of Buddy, his kicking defies conventional logic. He can routinely roost the pill a mile yet his action is somewhat flawed (although, relative to some kids, his main flaws shouldn’t be that hard to address). He has an extravagant, uneconomical, unbalanced action (in some ways similar to Spider Bradley’s). This is a problem when he has to rush his kick off in a hurry. For set kicks, he often falls away badly to the right side (he is a left footer), causing his left foot to come across his body. Often he plants his right foot across his path which also causes him to kick across his body. He has no idea about building momentum in his run up for a set kick. He routinely kicks of just a step or two. Even a set shot for goal is typically off a short, shuffling run up. Bottom line is that his accuracy is mixed bag. Is inclined to instinctively kick direct and for depth and needs to mix it up more as well as look to feed off more frequently.
- Has a reputation for being one-sided. However, while I can’t recall any right foot kicks in the U18 Champs, I have seen him choose to use his right occasionally in WAFL games, to quite good effect and with a comfortable style.
- Generally good by hand. Feeds are accurate, very powerful, quick and have a high hurt factor, even under the greatest of pressure.
*DECISION-MAKING, SMARTS:
- Excellent vision. Usually make the right decisions under pressure re what to do with the pill. Good poise, thinks quickly, can be very creative. Can find options by hand that are 15m away and not in his line of vision, and he usually tries to look for the best option.
- Excellent evasion and traffic management (especially for someone 196cm!)
- I still don’t have a handle on how well he reads the play but he reads the ball well and roves (!) the pack/spill well.
- Is easily wrong-footed. Needs to learn to coral an opponent where appropriate instead of always rushing him. That will come with experience.
*HANDS:
(Also see above)
- At this stage, mixed bag, all levels. He sometimes tends to spend it before he gets it. Other than through concentration lapses or not steadying, is clean below the shoulders, including ground level. He also looks like he is still growing into his body and that can create handling errors, especially overhead.
*OVERHEAD MARKING:
(Also see above)
- Also currently mixed bag. Tends to judge the flight well but often has hard hands. I’m not convinced the problem is hard hands per se but rather that he often either, on the one hand, attacks his marks like a bull at a gate, sometimes almost taking chest marks high over the pack, or on the other hand takes it too much for granted. One on one and where little run to the ball is required, he is quite reliable. I think he will ultimately finish up being reliable overhead once he learns to approach his marks in a more measured manner and with less adrenalin.
*ATHLETICISM:
- Great all-round athleticism. His poor DC results are not in no way representative and should be ignored.
- Very quick beyond the first few metres. Great closing speed. Long strider.
- Has great ability to scoop a ground, or even a bouncing, ball in with one hand at top pace a la Kouta.
- Big leap and has a bonus 6cm reach advantage compared to the average player of his height.
- Excellent agility when he is in control. Recovery agility is also good except that his attack on man or ball is often full-throttle “all or nothing”, so that when it doesn’t stick he is inclined to be at such momentum that he sails past and gives himself no chance of atoning.
- Balance is a slight concern (see above). Generally strong and balanced under pressure but can topple off balance under little or no pressure. Perhaps just a stage he is going through while growing into his body but it is still bewildering in an otherwise natural athlete. Struggles at times body on body. On the other hand, he often shrugs tackles, usually keeps his feet when tackled, and invariably keeps his arms free when tackled.
- Excellent endurance. Is a natural all-round athlete, not just a burst runner or a leaper.
*INTENSITY, ETHIC:
(see above).
- Despite his moments of apparent apathy, he is usually a fierce chaser and tackler. Will run hard for 20-30 metres just to block. Needs to concentrate on the hips more in order for more of his tackles to stick.
*CONSISTENCY:
(see above)
*AFL VERSATILITY:
(see above)
*SCI (SCOPE FOR CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT):
- Higher than normal. (see above)
*QUERY:
(see above)
*SOME STATS:
- Stats summary '04 U18 Champs:
Averaged 13 disposals and 4.3 marks in his 3 games. (Best TD 16).
Kicks to feeds: 28-11 (2.5:1).
Kicks long vs short: 15-8 (1.9:1).
Kicking accuracy: 4/28 ineffective incl 2 clangers.
Handball accuracy: 3/11 ineffective incl 1 clangers.
Total accuracy: 7/39 ineffective incl 3 clangers.
Gets own ball?: 12/39TD were HR. 4 HBG.
S.P. clearances: 1 incl 1 BU incl 0 CBC.
Tackles: 6
Marking: 7 of 13 were contested.
Frees against: Avg 2.3 per game.
Had 8 disposals in his one WAFL Seniors game and 8 in little more than ½ a game in one U18 Champs game but otherwise, never had less than 15 disposals and 3 marks in any recognised game all season.
*OTHER STUFF:
- AIS
- Measure at '04 DC at 196cm bit had been listed as 193.
Lance (“Buddy”) Franklin (Perth)
196/87 bottom-age left foot “play anywhere” athletic tall.
*STYLE LIKE: Goodes
*TRADEMARK:
- Long-striding chase at great closing speed to catch an opponent, then casually pluck the spill with one hand, casually side-step, then casually roost the ball a mile of just one or two steps.
*SUMMARY ASSESSMENT, RECOMMENDATION:
- Enigmatic tall, athletic X-factor. Currently plays very raw so has a lot to learn but is definitely worth any frustration along the way. Potential game-breaker.
I likened his style to Goodes, as my comparisons are against AFL players who people know. Goodes’ style is a fair comparison, and I do think he will be a similar type to Goodes, yet those who have seen Chris Egan play but not Franklin (or vice versa) should picture Franklin as a taller version of Egan. (I’m not comparing anyone’s ability here, just their style of play and relative strengths and weaknesses).
- What you are NOT buying:-
1. Someone who never steps outside the game plan and never frustrates his coach or fans.
2. Predictability.
3. A player who rarely makes mistakes and who does all the easy stuff easily.
4. Humility.
- What you ARE buying:-
1. A big-occasion player who will win big games off his own boot and regardless of the quality of his opponent.
2. A freakish talent who can make the easy seem difficult, the difficult seem easy, and the impossible seem normal.
3. A guy who at times seems half-hearted and at other times plays as if his life depended on it.
4. Possibly the most NATURALLY all-round gifted package in the past 3 years.
- On face value and by reputation, it may seem you are not buying
(a) a team player
(b) consistency
but I want to address those later.
6’5” athletic jumping jack who at times makes Kouta seem blue-collar. Very quick over ground. Leaps over tall buildings. There is nothing he is not capable of – good or not so good.
1. Is a much better kick over distance than short. He can hit the post from 20m out, then a minute later dob a 60m goal from the boundary.
2. He can drop a sitter under no pressure, then take a one-handed screamer, coming from nowhere, across the face of the pack.
3. He can fumble a “stationary” ball under no pressure, then charge in from nowhere to traffic in which no-one can get a handle on the ball and, without breaking stride, pluck the ball cleanly off the carpet like a vacuum cleaner and open up a break, in a heartbeat.
4. He is a very balanced runner and also keeps his feet when tackled and regularly shrugs tackles and shows strength. Yet he also has a propensity for falling off balance for little or no reason and tends to fall off balance even in a set kick.
5. He will wait for a ball to bounce to him on one occasion, then a minute later attack it with desperation and courage.
6. An opponent will seem to get around him easily or he will seemingly not bother to chase on one occasion, then a minute later will charge past traffic in flat-chat pursuit of an opponent who has a 10m start – and run him down – and then, crocodile-like, launch himself horizontally then pile-drive him.
7. He will do his own thing throughout a quarter without seeming interested in adhering to team rules, then, at the 1/4 time huddle, genuinely listen very intently to the coach’s speech.
- All clubs are attracted to an athletic guy who is 193cm (as he was listed at a few months ago). This guy is now 196cm (and may even still be growing?) and actually has a bonus 6cm reach advantage compared to the average player of 196cm! … And he is more than just an athlete – much more. And he is only bottom-age!
- Is good at other sports (basketball, cricket, 400m aths).
- Comes from a close, elite-level sporting family who hopefully will be able to keep him grounded and not let him get too ahead of himself.
- This year played mix of school, 4 WAFL Colts games, a break from WAFL in which he played 3 U18 Champs games, then one Reserves game (Rnd 17, 17 disposals), followed immediately by his Seniors debut in Rnd 18 (8 disp) then didn’t play WAFL again. He did very well in his Reserves debut, including 8 tackles. He also had 22 disposals in Rnd 1 (Colts). However of all the games I saw him in this year, including U18 Champs, the one I liked most (not his best game per se) was in Rnd 6 (Colts). It wasn’t his 19 disposals or his 9 marks. It was that he played in a team that copped an absolute hiding all game yet he tried his heart out all night – routinely chasing hard, running on, contesting, trying to lift his team. Anyone who only saw him in one particular U18 Champs games, especially if they didn’t get to go over the tape later, may be surprised by the ethic he showed in that Colts game.
- I don’t believe he is the type who is shown to advantage at lower standards. Whenever he is challenged at higher levels, he seems to rise to the occasion. In the Irish series he was dynamic, inspirational. In Aussie Rules terms, did all the 1%ers, 2nd efforts, showed great intensity, courage, aggression … and freakish skill. I don’t usually read too much into form in the Irish games. What I got out of Buddy’s Irish experience though was that he showed that
(a) he could rise to a special occasion
(b) he was capable of putting it all together throughout a game instead of in the somewhat cameo bursts he occasionally seems to display locally
(c) unlike the impression he gave at times in the U18 Champs, the words “Buddy” and “frenetic” can certainly be used in the same sentence.
He is not always switched on and in good touch but when he is, he REALLY is and will virtually take on the other team as if he feels he has to do everything … and either believes he can or isn’t prepared to die wondering. As a bottom aged kid who hasn’t had the same development/preparation (other than AIS) that some of his peers have had, I think we will automatically see a lift in his consistency/reliability once he settles into an AFL club. I see him as an “opening night” performer who doesn’t necessarily shine in rehearsals.
- I want to address (a) and (b) above. Prior to going through the tapes of his U18 Champs and WAFL games, I would have agreed. However, I think we have to look deeper. Here are a few of my notes from his U18 Champs games which show where he is at right now:-
------------------------
* 2nd effort after marking contest.
* Clean hands off the ground under great pressure, shrugged the tackle mid-traffic, then keeping his feet and keeping his arms free during another tackle, fed off under great pressure. Excellent traffic management. Virtually ditto a min later, this time with long feed while tackled by 2 opponents, again showing excellent traffic management, together with excellent balance and vision.
* Weaved through minor traffic then 45m weighted pass on the run under a little pressure.
* One man effort at centre bounce – hitout then immediately swooped on the spill, a clean hands get then held off a tackle to feed out of trouble under great pressure, then ran on immediately to the next play and chased hard for 15m. Excellent intensity, hands, vision, traffic management under great pressure.
* Marked 40m out but turned his back instead of checking for options.
* Big grab running in from side of pack.
* As man on the mark, only did a half-hearted chase when the guy played on.
* Stood and waited for the ball to bounce. Ditto.
* Gave away some very clumsy/silly frees and was finally taken off during 3rd quarter because he didn't use his body to protect a team mate. Back on late Q4 and only had one disposal in his 7min after that but it was the winning goal on the siren.
* Injudiciously took on an opponent, despite having free options to feed to, and was nailed.
* Dropped a chest mark on a lead under no pressure. Dropped another chest mark under little pressure, in front one-on-one.
* Easily nudged when on a lead and went sailing.
Those are not meant to be his best or worst incidents but a scattered sample of the good and the bad. Those who only saw him in the U18 Champs and were disappointed should also bear in mind that, in a poor team lacking in talls, he was thrown around everywhere – KP at both ends, ruck, and flank, and often in multiple roles even within the same quarter. Deledio and Griffin are further along the learning curve and could handle that, although their roles weren’t shuffled around in any game to anything like the extent that Buddy was moved here, there and everywhere.
Even looking at this season overall, he never had a chance to settle into a rhythm, adapt to a constant game tempo. He played 2 Colts games, some school, 2 more Colts games, some miscellaneous games leading up to the U18 Champs, one reserves game immediately after that, then his Seniors’ debut the very next week, then back to school. Even so, allowing for the fact that he played little more than ½ the U18 Champs game against Vic Metro, he didn’t play a game all year in which he had no impact. Statistically, he was actually consistent game to game throughout the season, albeit that he did not show consistency of performance quarter to quarter.
Just focussing on some incidents in isolation, it would be tempting to conclude that Buddy is flaky. And there definitely were occasions when he let himself down and gave weight to suggestions that he is not a team player and is inconsistent. Fundamentally, though, I see him as raw, really raw. Someone who, although being fast-tracked by virtue of the AIS program, is still playing largely on instinct and is not yet on top of the finer points of the game. Someone who doesn’t at this stage always know what to do when he has time to think but invariably reacts very well (quite often with breath-taking brilliance) instinctively when under pressure (i.e. when he doesn’t have time to consciously work through a range of decision options).
At this stage he only knows 2 speeds of thinking and movement – casual or flat-out. He is often inclined to go full-bore at a mark or a running ball or when trying to tackle a moving opponent (not unlike Chris Egan), instead of steadying and balancing up. The result can be that he sometimes hits the pack too hard or sails past. I don’t see these problems as ongoing. Coaching and experience at getting attuned to the tempo of games should give him a better feel for the appropriate speed/momentum/timing. At the moment, he is a bottom-age growing colt, at times a bit gangly, who just needs to learn to settle in his races.
When he drops a gimme chest mark or is easily wrong footed and has poor recovery (even sailing past quite often), such things are glaring errors. What can go unnoticed is the (very) many chases, hard running and 2nd and 3rd efforts he does, often even running in hard from 20m away just to try to lay a block.
If you ignore a few relatively isolated incidents, I actually rate his on-field ethic highly. Before I poured through his tapes, I had a completely different impression. My first impression did him an injustice. I think whoever gets him is gaining a guy who will take some time to show consistent FORM (but will in time) but will display consistent on-field ETHIC virtually straight away once he hits centre stage. The latter is not popular opinion but I beg to differ. This kid can do things that most players are virtually incapable of. Just bear with him while he irons out the creases.
- I rank him at 4. Definite AFL. In time, will be a regular match-winner, albeit perhaps not without flaws. He is not plug ‘n play but I expect him to even play some games in year 1.
Will be highly versatile (could arguably play literally anywhere in time) and could become a terrific Goodes-type ultra-tall “ruckrover” but he also has all the trappings of a top CHB.
Once he has had experience, he won’t be a “15 minutes every 2nd game” type like a Cupido.
At this stage, he is inconsistent so I can’t declare him a definite AFL gun in 6 years. However, I believe he has the POTENTIAL to be one …. possibly in half that time. In his worst year he is still likely to impact more games than many AFL players who “never” play a poor game.
*DISPOSAL:
(see above)
- Thumping kick. Can get 60m off virtually a couple of steps. Is more accurate long than he is short.
- As with many aspects of Buddy, his kicking defies conventional logic. He can routinely roost the pill a mile yet his action is somewhat flawed (although, relative to some kids, his main flaws shouldn’t be that hard to address). He has an extravagant, uneconomical, unbalanced action (in some ways similar to Spider Bradley’s). This is a problem when he has to rush his kick off in a hurry. For set kicks, he often falls away badly to the right side (he is a left footer), causing his left foot to come across his body. Often he plants his right foot across his path which also causes him to kick across his body. He has no idea about building momentum in his run up for a set kick. He routinely kicks of just a step or two. Even a set shot for goal is typically off a short, shuffling run up. Bottom line is that his accuracy is mixed bag. Is inclined to instinctively kick direct and for depth and needs to mix it up more as well as look to feed off more frequently.
- Has a reputation for being one-sided. However, while I can’t recall any right foot kicks in the U18 Champs, I have seen him choose to use his right occasionally in WAFL games, to quite good effect and with a comfortable style.
- Generally good by hand. Feeds are accurate, very powerful, quick and have a high hurt factor, even under the greatest of pressure.
*DECISION-MAKING, SMARTS:
- Excellent vision. Usually make the right decisions under pressure re what to do with the pill. Good poise, thinks quickly, can be very creative. Can find options by hand that are 15m away and not in his line of vision, and he usually tries to look for the best option.
- Excellent evasion and traffic management (especially for someone 196cm!)
- I still don’t have a handle on how well he reads the play but he reads the ball well and roves (!) the pack/spill well.
- Is easily wrong-footed. Needs to learn to coral an opponent where appropriate instead of always rushing him. That will come with experience.
*HANDS:
(Also see above)
- At this stage, mixed bag, all levels. He sometimes tends to spend it before he gets it. Other than through concentration lapses or not steadying, is clean below the shoulders, including ground level. He also looks like he is still growing into his body and that can create handling errors, especially overhead.
*OVERHEAD MARKING:
(Also see above)
- Also currently mixed bag. Tends to judge the flight well but often has hard hands. I’m not convinced the problem is hard hands per se but rather that he often either, on the one hand, attacks his marks like a bull at a gate, sometimes almost taking chest marks high over the pack, or on the other hand takes it too much for granted. One on one and where little run to the ball is required, he is quite reliable. I think he will ultimately finish up being reliable overhead once he learns to approach his marks in a more measured manner and with less adrenalin.
*ATHLETICISM:
- Great all-round athleticism. His poor DC results are not in no way representative and should be ignored.
- Very quick beyond the first few metres. Great closing speed. Long strider.
- Has great ability to scoop a ground, or even a bouncing, ball in with one hand at top pace a la Kouta.
- Big leap and has a bonus 6cm reach advantage compared to the average player of his height.
- Excellent agility when he is in control. Recovery agility is also good except that his attack on man or ball is often full-throttle “all or nothing”, so that when it doesn’t stick he is inclined to be at such momentum that he sails past and gives himself no chance of atoning.
- Balance is a slight concern (see above). Generally strong and balanced under pressure but can topple off balance under little or no pressure. Perhaps just a stage he is going through while growing into his body but it is still bewildering in an otherwise natural athlete. Struggles at times body on body. On the other hand, he often shrugs tackles, usually keeps his feet when tackled, and invariably keeps his arms free when tackled.
- Excellent endurance. Is a natural all-round athlete, not just a burst runner or a leaper.
*INTENSITY, ETHIC:
(see above).
- Despite his moments of apparent apathy, he is usually a fierce chaser and tackler. Will run hard for 20-30 metres just to block. Needs to concentrate on the hips more in order for more of his tackles to stick.
*CONSISTENCY:
(see above)
*AFL VERSATILITY:
(see above)
*SCI (SCOPE FOR CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT):
- Higher than normal. (see above)
*QUERY:
(see above)
*SOME STATS:
- Stats summary '04 U18 Champs:
Averaged 13 disposals and 4.3 marks in his 3 games. (Best TD 16).
Kicks to feeds: 28-11 (2.5:1).
Kicks long vs short: 15-8 (1.9:1).
Kicking accuracy: 4/28 ineffective incl 2 clangers.
Handball accuracy: 3/11 ineffective incl 1 clangers.
Total accuracy: 7/39 ineffective incl 3 clangers.
Gets own ball?: 12/39TD were HR. 4 HBG.
S.P. clearances: 1 incl 1 BU incl 0 CBC.
Tackles: 6
Marking: 7 of 13 were contested.
Frees against: Avg 2.3 per game.
Had 8 disposals in his one WAFL Seniors game and 8 in little more than ½ a game in one U18 Champs game but otherwise, never had less than 15 disposals and 3 marks in any recognised game all season.
*OTHER STUFF:
- AIS
- Measure at '04 DC at 196cm bit had been listed as 193.
