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The Wiz has been kind enough to release his profile on our latest rookie. Much thanks must also go to GI down at CC for posting it.
A long piece to read, but given how in the dark we all are about Bedford right now, I suppose any info is useful.
Liam Bedford (Claremont)
180/66 mid-age right foot (has other foot if necessary) wing / flanker.
*STYLE LIKE: Johncock
*MY RANKING (not meant to reflect appropriate draft pick to use): 38
*PROBABILITY OF AFL CAREER: Possible. Ready year 3.
- Within an AFL team list, could prove capable of SUSTAINING a ranking of 10-15.
*HURT FACTORS (Offensive/Defensive/Negative): M / L-M / L-M
*REACH (compared to the average player of his height): 8cm advantage.
*TRADEMARK:
- Sit off the pack then flash past, gather cleanly, then scoot off, bounce, make fool of opponent in flight path, then scoot off, bounce, make fool of opponent in flight path then, having perhaps overplayed his boot scootin', try to find a target - perhaps successfully, perhaps not, perhaps rushed, perhaps not.
- Fly from behind for pack mark of the day, perhaps taking it, more likely getting hands to it but having too much physical pressure on him to hold it or, almost as likely, discovering that one of the three 190cm types in front was always going to have greater chance. Make mental note to self that it was just bad luck and to try again at first available opportunity.
- Chase and catch at great closing speed, coming from nowhere, then lay a tackle that may or may not stick, but gather the spill if it does.
*MAIN SELLING POINTS:
- Speed
- Upside
- X-factor
- Ball-carrying
- Chasing
*MAIN QUERY:
- Lack of pro-activity (except when he already has the ball)
- Over-ambition at the expense of "meat and three veg".
*SUMMARY ASSESSMENT, RECOMMENDATION:
- Somewhat outside flashy speedster who currently still sometimes plays too "millionaire"ish (but is improving) but has a bit of X-factor (albeit at the expense of reliability).
Skinny, ultra slippery, very quick, sometimes exceptionally clean. At various times this year he has needed to do more of the basics. However, it really started to come together more late season.
- My biggest problem with Liam is that he is too Predator. Too reactionary at the play. Prepared to let others, including his own opponent, have first crack while he stays back, sometimes stationary, and sweats on the outcome before deciding to make his move. And on some occasions he doesn't (bother to?) make a move at all.
- Perhaps he represents a punt on upside vs skinniness and mindset. However, I really rate his potential. I struggled to know where to rank him. On upside and his late-season improvement trend I would rank him about 20 if he was less reactionary and demanded the ball much more, was a bigger build and I was sure that a kid from a place like Broome would comfortably adapt to living away from WA and fitting in with the requirements demanded of an AFL player. For those reasons, I opted for a conservative ranking number of 38. Many of the players I have ranked 20-37 are ahead of him because they appear to be safer investments. Were he more pro-active and bigger build, I would personally prefer to draft him over many of them, including bigger-name players like Boak, Schmidt, O'Keefe, Connors and the 2 Browns. It really comes down to what degree of risk you are prepared to take re his ability to change his mindset and bulk up.
- Loves to take them on and carry the ball. Has terrifically deceptive evasion and tries to showcase it as much as possible. Fortunately he was becoming more judicious by late season.
An exciting dasher who has the raw individual components for AFL. Early in the season they are a bit all over the shop and he needed to be a bit less flashy and play the percentages more. By season's end that was happening.
As a coach, he'll might have you tearing your hair out at times as you see him sitting back a bit or occasionally torching your game plan but he is so quick and daring that he'll also create goal opportunities downfield through his ability to break open the play. Sometimes you just have to accept that a player with that capability is worth his place on a cost-benefit bottom line, rather than a conformist reliability, basis.
Here are just a few positive actual examples of the special capabilities of what you are buying:-
1. Terrific overhead mark running with the flight, plucking the ball just as it was about to fall into hands of an opponent who was facing the ball. Judgement, courage, soft hands, high great degree of difficulty.
2. Despite being only 180cm, he literally sat on the shoulders of the pack - and without using anyone as a stepladder.
3. Screamer over the top in BP.
4. 80m dash, successfully taking on 3 consecutive opponents in his flight path.
5. Gave opponent 10m start and ran him down.
And some not so special moments:-
1. Just let adjacent stationary opponent cruise off, with no attempt to stop him, pressure him, or chase.
2. Set kick into man on mark.
3. Flew for ridiculously over-ambitious pack marking attempt instead of waiting down.
In summary,
1. I have no doubt he has the raw components for AFL. Other than physical strength, there is no skill or athletic attribute that he doesn't display at times, sometimes very classily and/or to a special degree, but neither his efforts nor effectiveness are currently quite consistent enough.
2. Although sometimes overly flashy, he doesn't have hot and cold games per se and he tries to some extent to be accountable. In his 15 Colts games, he averaged 16.7 TD, his 2nd quietest game was 14d and he had a healthy 11.6 K/20D mix of disposal types. His form in the Reserves (where he played the last 5 H&A games) was even more impressive (not just statistically but for the more AFL-like manner in which he went about things) - averaged 22.0 TD, his quietest game was 19d and he had a still fairly healthy 10.7 K/20D. I thought he looked a little tired in the finals.
3. If he only worked in one direction I would be less keen. However he quite often displays a good ethic (although he is sometimes slack) including chasing at great closing speed, trying to tackle/pressure, blocking etc. His attempts at accountability are mixed bag. I think he initially has the right intent but his opponent can often drift off unnoticed or be allowed to show the initiative. When Bedford is actually in a 1-1 contest at a given moment, he wins or breaks even more than often he loses (as he showed at times against Brad ******** in a final).
4. He is very quick but not a "rabbit in the headlights" type.
5. He takes them on, often gets away with it but is not always judicious (although improving rapidly). He is a very quick dashing ball-carrier. He does a little bit of "run around in circles" but only in the context of looking for space and/or trying to spot an option.
6. Kicking has been mixed bag throughout the year but is now generally quite good.
7. He is typical of many talented kids from the Broome region, having learnt his footy in an environment where flair is valued over meat 'n 3 veg. He is in the early days of coming to grips with tempering Broome flair and playing within a team plan and with accountability to his direct opponent. He has a lot of scope for development and there have been various positive signs throughout the year, especially in the latish H&A games.
8. He has instinctive footy smarts but you may have to use a highlighter when giving him his first copy of your play book.
9. He will have the capability to give you run out of defence, speed as an outside midfielder, and Davey-like pressure on the opposition.
10. He is only 180 and skinny (66kg) but officially has an impressive 8cm reach advantage over the average player of his height, and a huge leap to go with it.
11. Although he currently plays mainly a reactive, somewhat outside game, is not afraid to get his own ball, including through traffic. It's just that you can't count on him doing it every time he should. (At least to this stage)
- He is skinny and no AFL certainty but the basic ingredients are there. Perhaps his reactive style of game is just through a current lack of confidence and that, once he feels he "belongs", he might virtually overnight become quite pro-active. Who knows? I would draft him myself with a mid/latish pick but that reflects the risk, not the upside.
*DISPOSAL:
(see above)
- At this stage his kicking is still a bit iffy, more iffy than it needs to be (see decision-making section). His disposal skill itself is actually fairly good, other than some of his kicks being floaters or too cute/casual
*DECISION-MAKING, SMARTS:
(see above)
- Reads both the play and the ball well.
- Very sharp evasion, even under great pressure. Can make a fool of 3 consecutive opponents in the same play. His party trick is to slows for a few metres or even stop, lull the opponent into false sense of security by appearing to decide which option to deliver to , then zoom off in a flash. Yes, AFL opposition can be alerted to his habit but he is so quick and so nimble that it will still regularly work even at AFL level.
What he does need to consider is that, while he is doing that, it can muck up the momentum of team-mates downfield who are trying to anticipate him and position themselves as targets. I like that he has the capacity to do that sort of evasion as it makes him a 90m player when he does and it opens up the play. I just don't like how frequently he was trying to do it and how over-ambitious he was on occasions until late season when he seemed to just about get the mix right and be more judicious.
- The above point may make him sound like the type who at the end of a run just blazes away. That's not the case. He regularly looks for options, displays poise and vision and makes the right disposal decisions, even on the run and even under great pressure.
What can happen due to his propensity for taking them on though is that he can finish up being more rushed when he does decide to end his run (or the opponent decides for him) and that can affect the quality of his disposal.
- Can be very lazy or too cute with some of his set passes (and other work) on occasions, usually with poor result.
- Can be a bit too keen to take mark of the day. He is not one of those kids who never goes front and centre at a pack marking contest but nevertheless he does try for the screamer a bit too often (a lot too often earlier in the season) instead of playing the odds and staying down for the spill. By not staying down more, he loses the opportunity to gather the spill and explode away. i.e. He loses opportunities to exploit his major asset, viz speed, and hence the chance to carry the ball and break the play open. When he does stay down, he roves the spill very well (anticipation, positioning, timing, hands).
- In defence, he is often not smart in positioning himself to best minimise the risk of his opponent having impact.
*HANDS:
- Regularly, rather than routinely, clean but he has that McLeod ability to vacuum the ball off the carpet at virtually top pace. He often demonstrates classy ball control (e.g. in juggling the popping ball inside traffic or during a pressure marking contest) and he is usually good on the run. I think that sometimes when he doesn't handle well, it is because he has spent it before he got it. His ball handling is a bit like Danyle Pearce's - not bulletproof but can be terrific.
*OVERHEAD MARKING:
- Only 180cm and skinny so not much should be expected overhead. However is very capable of a screamer (and he won't die wondering) and his hands and judgement of flight are usually good. Usually attacks his marks and is surprisingly good (given his current build) at holding his ground 1-1.
- 8cm reach advantage and very big leap are great assets.
*ATHLETICISM:
(see above)
- Quick off the mark and very quick beyond that.
- Huge leap. (see example above). He doesn't need a run up though and that allows him to be a deft spoiler in a 1-1 marking contest, despite his slight build.
- Very nimble. All aspects of agility (offensive, defensive and recovery) are very good. He can be inclined to sometimes sail past but on those occasions it is more to due with "all or nothing" top-speed charges at the opponent than with lack of recovery agility.
- Very skinny. Likely to always be fairly slim and lacking some strength.
- Very balanced mover.
- Hard to get a handle on endurance (but seems at least "OK") and he hasn't had the conditioning of many of his peers.
*INTENSITY, ETHIC:
(see above)
- Improving and often good but efforts need to be more consistent. Part of the problem is his reactive mindset. If that is just a confidence thing rather than an issue of natural mindset, then his ethic down the track is actually likely to be good. However, I can only speculate. When he has the ball, he is all confidence and often flair. When he doesn't have it, he plays as if introverted.
- What I have noticed and like though is that he regularly points out to team-mates where the best option is. He also encourages team-mates (albeit in an understated manner).
- Tackling currently lacks strength and perhaps always will.
*CONSISTENCY:
(see above)
*AFL VERSATILITY:
- A fair bit will depend on how much he can bulk up and without losing pace, and how much he can work on his current tendency to be too reactive. Subject to match-ups at least, he would be perhaps be best suited to HBF (where he has some freedom to run the ball out of defence) or wing. He may be capable of being accountable enough to play BP. He has already had exposure to those 3 roles and shown aptitude. Other roles may be also possible, especially HFF but his trump card is arguably ball-carrying so small defender or wing would best play to his strengths.
*CSI (COMPARATIVE SCOPE for IMPROVEMENT):
(see above)
- Greater than normal. Broome kid who hasn't been through the system and is fairly new to the requirements. Seems to already be learning at a good rate.
*OTHER STUFF:
- 13 Colts then 5 Reserves H&A games '06 then back to Colts for 2 finals.
A long piece to read, but given how in the dark we all are about Bedford right now, I suppose any info is useful.
Liam Bedford (Claremont)
180/66 mid-age right foot (has other foot if necessary) wing / flanker.
*STYLE LIKE: Johncock
*MY RANKING (not meant to reflect appropriate draft pick to use): 38
*PROBABILITY OF AFL CAREER: Possible. Ready year 3.
- Within an AFL team list, could prove capable of SUSTAINING a ranking of 10-15.
*HURT FACTORS (Offensive/Defensive/Negative): M / L-M / L-M
*REACH (compared to the average player of his height): 8cm advantage.
*TRADEMARK:
- Sit off the pack then flash past, gather cleanly, then scoot off, bounce, make fool of opponent in flight path, then scoot off, bounce, make fool of opponent in flight path then, having perhaps overplayed his boot scootin', try to find a target - perhaps successfully, perhaps not, perhaps rushed, perhaps not.
- Fly from behind for pack mark of the day, perhaps taking it, more likely getting hands to it but having too much physical pressure on him to hold it or, almost as likely, discovering that one of the three 190cm types in front was always going to have greater chance. Make mental note to self that it was just bad luck and to try again at first available opportunity.
- Chase and catch at great closing speed, coming from nowhere, then lay a tackle that may or may not stick, but gather the spill if it does.
*MAIN SELLING POINTS:
- Speed
- Upside
- X-factor
- Ball-carrying
- Chasing
*MAIN QUERY:
- Lack of pro-activity (except when he already has the ball)
- Over-ambition at the expense of "meat and three veg".
*SUMMARY ASSESSMENT, RECOMMENDATION:
- Somewhat outside flashy speedster who currently still sometimes plays too "millionaire"ish (but is improving) but has a bit of X-factor (albeit at the expense of reliability).
Skinny, ultra slippery, very quick, sometimes exceptionally clean. At various times this year he has needed to do more of the basics. However, it really started to come together more late season.
- My biggest problem with Liam is that he is too Predator. Too reactionary at the play. Prepared to let others, including his own opponent, have first crack while he stays back, sometimes stationary, and sweats on the outcome before deciding to make his move. And on some occasions he doesn't (bother to?) make a move at all.
- Perhaps he represents a punt on upside vs skinniness and mindset. However, I really rate his potential. I struggled to know where to rank him. On upside and his late-season improvement trend I would rank him about 20 if he was less reactionary and demanded the ball much more, was a bigger build and I was sure that a kid from a place like Broome would comfortably adapt to living away from WA and fitting in with the requirements demanded of an AFL player. For those reasons, I opted for a conservative ranking number of 38. Many of the players I have ranked 20-37 are ahead of him because they appear to be safer investments. Were he more pro-active and bigger build, I would personally prefer to draft him over many of them, including bigger-name players like Boak, Schmidt, O'Keefe, Connors and the 2 Browns. It really comes down to what degree of risk you are prepared to take re his ability to change his mindset and bulk up.
- Loves to take them on and carry the ball. Has terrifically deceptive evasion and tries to showcase it as much as possible. Fortunately he was becoming more judicious by late season.
An exciting dasher who has the raw individual components for AFL. Early in the season they are a bit all over the shop and he needed to be a bit less flashy and play the percentages more. By season's end that was happening.
As a coach, he'll might have you tearing your hair out at times as you see him sitting back a bit or occasionally torching your game plan but he is so quick and daring that he'll also create goal opportunities downfield through his ability to break open the play. Sometimes you just have to accept that a player with that capability is worth his place on a cost-benefit bottom line, rather than a conformist reliability, basis.
Here are just a few positive actual examples of the special capabilities of what you are buying:-
1. Terrific overhead mark running with the flight, plucking the ball just as it was about to fall into hands of an opponent who was facing the ball. Judgement, courage, soft hands, high great degree of difficulty.
2. Despite being only 180cm, he literally sat on the shoulders of the pack - and without using anyone as a stepladder.
3. Screamer over the top in BP.
4. 80m dash, successfully taking on 3 consecutive opponents in his flight path.
5. Gave opponent 10m start and ran him down.
And some not so special moments:-
1. Just let adjacent stationary opponent cruise off, with no attempt to stop him, pressure him, or chase.
2. Set kick into man on mark.
3. Flew for ridiculously over-ambitious pack marking attempt instead of waiting down.
In summary,
1. I have no doubt he has the raw components for AFL. Other than physical strength, there is no skill or athletic attribute that he doesn't display at times, sometimes very classily and/or to a special degree, but neither his efforts nor effectiveness are currently quite consistent enough.
2. Although sometimes overly flashy, he doesn't have hot and cold games per se and he tries to some extent to be accountable. In his 15 Colts games, he averaged 16.7 TD, his 2nd quietest game was 14d and he had a healthy 11.6 K/20D mix of disposal types. His form in the Reserves (where he played the last 5 H&A games) was even more impressive (not just statistically but for the more AFL-like manner in which he went about things) - averaged 22.0 TD, his quietest game was 19d and he had a still fairly healthy 10.7 K/20D. I thought he looked a little tired in the finals.
3. If he only worked in one direction I would be less keen. However he quite often displays a good ethic (although he is sometimes slack) including chasing at great closing speed, trying to tackle/pressure, blocking etc. His attempts at accountability are mixed bag. I think he initially has the right intent but his opponent can often drift off unnoticed or be allowed to show the initiative. When Bedford is actually in a 1-1 contest at a given moment, he wins or breaks even more than often he loses (as he showed at times against Brad ******** in a final).
4. He is very quick but not a "rabbit in the headlights" type.
5. He takes them on, often gets away with it but is not always judicious (although improving rapidly). He is a very quick dashing ball-carrier. He does a little bit of "run around in circles" but only in the context of looking for space and/or trying to spot an option.
6. Kicking has been mixed bag throughout the year but is now generally quite good.
7. He is typical of many talented kids from the Broome region, having learnt his footy in an environment where flair is valued over meat 'n 3 veg. He is in the early days of coming to grips with tempering Broome flair and playing within a team plan and with accountability to his direct opponent. He has a lot of scope for development and there have been various positive signs throughout the year, especially in the latish H&A games.
8. He has instinctive footy smarts but you may have to use a highlighter when giving him his first copy of your play book.
9. He will have the capability to give you run out of defence, speed as an outside midfielder, and Davey-like pressure on the opposition.
10. He is only 180 and skinny (66kg) but officially has an impressive 8cm reach advantage over the average player of his height, and a huge leap to go with it.
11. Although he currently plays mainly a reactive, somewhat outside game, is not afraid to get his own ball, including through traffic. It's just that you can't count on him doing it every time he should. (At least to this stage)
- He is skinny and no AFL certainty but the basic ingredients are there. Perhaps his reactive style of game is just through a current lack of confidence and that, once he feels he "belongs", he might virtually overnight become quite pro-active. Who knows? I would draft him myself with a mid/latish pick but that reflects the risk, not the upside.
*DISPOSAL:
(see above)
- At this stage his kicking is still a bit iffy, more iffy than it needs to be (see decision-making section). His disposal skill itself is actually fairly good, other than some of his kicks being floaters or too cute/casual
*DECISION-MAKING, SMARTS:
(see above)
- Reads both the play and the ball well.
- Very sharp evasion, even under great pressure. Can make a fool of 3 consecutive opponents in the same play. His party trick is to slows for a few metres or even stop, lull the opponent into false sense of security by appearing to decide which option to deliver to , then zoom off in a flash. Yes, AFL opposition can be alerted to his habit but he is so quick and so nimble that it will still regularly work even at AFL level.
What he does need to consider is that, while he is doing that, it can muck up the momentum of team-mates downfield who are trying to anticipate him and position themselves as targets. I like that he has the capacity to do that sort of evasion as it makes him a 90m player when he does and it opens up the play. I just don't like how frequently he was trying to do it and how over-ambitious he was on occasions until late season when he seemed to just about get the mix right and be more judicious.
- The above point may make him sound like the type who at the end of a run just blazes away. That's not the case. He regularly looks for options, displays poise and vision and makes the right disposal decisions, even on the run and even under great pressure.
What can happen due to his propensity for taking them on though is that he can finish up being more rushed when he does decide to end his run (or the opponent decides for him) and that can affect the quality of his disposal.
- Can be very lazy or too cute with some of his set passes (and other work) on occasions, usually with poor result.
- Can be a bit too keen to take mark of the day. He is not one of those kids who never goes front and centre at a pack marking contest but nevertheless he does try for the screamer a bit too often (a lot too often earlier in the season) instead of playing the odds and staying down for the spill. By not staying down more, he loses the opportunity to gather the spill and explode away. i.e. He loses opportunities to exploit his major asset, viz speed, and hence the chance to carry the ball and break the play open. When he does stay down, he roves the spill very well (anticipation, positioning, timing, hands).
- In defence, he is often not smart in positioning himself to best minimise the risk of his opponent having impact.
*HANDS:
- Regularly, rather than routinely, clean but he has that McLeod ability to vacuum the ball off the carpet at virtually top pace. He often demonstrates classy ball control (e.g. in juggling the popping ball inside traffic or during a pressure marking contest) and he is usually good on the run. I think that sometimes when he doesn't handle well, it is because he has spent it before he got it. His ball handling is a bit like Danyle Pearce's - not bulletproof but can be terrific.
*OVERHEAD MARKING:
- Only 180cm and skinny so not much should be expected overhead. However is very capable of a screamer (and he won't die wondering) and his hands and judgement of flight are usually good. Usually attacks his marks and is surprisingly good (given his current build) at holding his ground 1-1.
- 8cm reach advantage and very big leap are great assets.
*ATHLETICISM:
(see above)
- Quick off the mark and very quick beyond that.
- Huge leap. (see example above). He doesn't need a run up though and that allows him to be a deft spoiler in a 1-1 marking contest, despite his slight build.
- Very nimble. All aspects of agility (offensive, defensive and recovery) are very good. He can be inclined to sometimes sail past but on those occasions it is more to due with "all or nothing" top-speed charges at the opponent than with lack of recovery agility.
- Very skinny. Likely to always be fairly slim and lacking some strength.
- Very balanced mover.
- Hard to get a handle on endurance (but seems at least "OK") and he hasn't had the conditioning of many of his peers.
*INTENSITY, ETHIC:
(see above)
- Improving and often good but efforts need to be more consistent. Part of the problem is his reactive mindset. If that is just a confidence thing rather than an issue of natural mindset, then his ethic down the track is actually likely to be good. However, I can only speculate. When he has the ball, he is all confidence and often flair. When he doesn't have it, he plays as if introverted.
- What I have noticed and like though is that he regularly points out to team-mates where the best option is. He also encourages team-mates (albeit in an understated manner).
- Tackling currently lacks strength and perhaps always will.
*CONSISTENCY:
(see above)
*AFL VERSATILITY:
- A fair bit will depend on how much he can bulk up and without losing pace, and how much he can work on his current tendency to be too reactive. Subject to match-ups at least, he would be perhaps be best suited to HBF (where he has some freedom to run the ball out of defence) or wing. He may be capable of being accountable enough to play BP. He has already had exposure to those 3 roles and shown aptitude. Other roles may be also possible, especially HFF but his trump card is arguably ball-carrying so small defender or wing would best play to his strengths.
*CSI (COMPARATIVE SCOPE for IMPROVEMENT):
(see above)
- Greater than normal. Broome kid who hasn't been through the system and is fairly new to the requirements. Seems to already be learning at a good rate.
*OTHER STUFF:
- 13 Colts then 5 Reserves H&A games '06 then back to Colts for 2 finals.
