ND Pick 36 - Tanner Smith

[Seppo]

***Thread reserved for player info upon selection***

To be moved into Player Watch thread post draft.

 

[Wigarus]

http://video.perthnow.com.au/v/83004/2012-AFL-Draft-Pick-Me-Tanner-Smith

 

[Arcassius]

TANNER Smith gets a buzz starving his man of the ball.



The North Ballarat Rebels defender has routinely frustrated some of the country's top key forwards in the past two years, using his long reach, closing speed and expert aerial judgment to help safeguard the goalmouth.



Likened to a young Dustin Fletcher, Smith is one of the most selfless shut-down defenders in the draft pool, and will probably find a home in the first 40 selections on Thursday week.

From the Horsham area, the 194cm stopper gets a thrill out of suffocating his opponents in the marking battles and helping set up play for his teammates.

"I definitely love the one-on-one contests. It's such a big part of my game as a key defender," he said.

"When you are playing well and on top of your man, and getting a few kicks as well, you do get a buzz."



The 18-year-old was sent into attack later in the season, showing potential.

He showcased his elite endurance at the draft camp, posting a top-10 result in the 3km time-trial.



Rebels regional manager Phil Partington said the backman was versatile enough to play both ends at AFL level.

"He is very much a team man and a lot of the things he does can go unnoticed, so we sent him forward to try to develop his game and expose him a little bit more," Partington said.

 

[Arcassius]

Tall defender who has good closing speed and reads the game extremely well coming into the opposition forward line. Makes good decisions on when to mark or spoil and provides good run from defence. Has shown ability to go forward and have an impact. Stood tall for Vic Country in AFL U18s this year matching up well on the oppositions best forward.

 

[Wigarus]

Definitely looks the goods. 195cm good.

 

[Arcassius]

NORTH BALLARAT REBELS
See your ad here
BORN: March 8, 1994
HOMETOWN: Horsham
HOME CLUB: Kalkee
SCHOOL: St Patrick's College and school-based building apprenticeship
SUPPORT IN AFL: Brisbane Lions
REBELS CAREER: 29 games (12 in 2012) plus one with North Ballarat Roosters in VFL
TYPE OF PLAYER: key defender/forward
2012 HIGHLIGHTS
- Victoria Country under-18s
- MCC Herald Sun Shield grand final victory at MCG (St Pat's)
- AIS-AFL Academy
- AFL national combine
What are your strengths as a player? "Athleticism, endurance, speed."
See your ad here
What are your strengths as a person? "I believe I have a professional approach to football. but also know how to switch off and relax."
Where and how will you follow the national draft? "I'll be at home with my family, watching television and following it on the AFL website."
Rebels regional manager Phil Partington says: Had a consistent year. He was thrown around a bit position-wise as we already knew he was capable down back. He has fantastic endurance and closing speed, which makes him suited to a high work rate.
Print StorySave

 

[Purple_Passion]

Yes, finally a tall defender!

 

[Freo Shark]

Fits the McPharlin bill pretty well, nice height, clear KPP height and some good form.
nice one.

 

[Kepfan]

Nice ! Tall defender!

 

[East Freo]

From Quigleys Phantom Draft :

Tanner Smith:

Smith is another key position defender with some solid aspects to his game but a big hole as well. How you rate the KPDs this year is going to come down to which of them you think you can fix and which of them you don’t. Smith’s main problem is his kicking.

Smith is right up there with Paparone as having the worst kicking style of any of this year’s crop. To make matters worse his style is variable often changing from one problem to the next between games. In one game I noted how he was getting his head too far over the ball and dropping his eyes too early (McKeever style) and in the next he was leaning too far back on his kicks. He also regularly brings out an appalling high two handed drop which often results in the ball not going where it should do. It looks like he has been working on his kicking style but it certainly hasn’t helped yet and with so much in need of changing there is a big question about whether it will ever be up to average by AFL standards.

In some games, Smith looks like he loses all confidence in himself and either doesn’t want the ball or when he gets it wants a very safe option only. He can appear very awkward with the ball not just by foot but by hand as well. If he is going to be a productive AFL player significant work is going to need to be done on his disposal and decision making.

Smith is regularly described as a shut down defender usually I think because of his deficiencies going forward. I am not sure if that is really the case. It is worth noting that for Vic Country, Clurey was the one who took the primary key forward each game and even when he was being beaten Smith was rarely swapped onto those forwards. It could be said that Smith regularly played on the CHFs but that was not always the case. It is likely though that he will be a CHB rather than full back at AFL level. He has good mobility and endurance and is somewhat leaner than would be ideal for the FB role. I think he will fill out but I doubt he will ever be a particularly huge man.

Smith also has nice pace particularly off the mark and when out and running he can go with most forwards. When it starts to get into a body on body contest though his lack of bulk and strength is evident. He was taught a lesson by Grundy in the short time he was up forward in the VC v SA match and he also struggled with Shaw against WA. I can see a lot of gym time in Smith’s future. When he gets a run at it he does a lot better and is able to get a fist in nicely to spoil either up high or down low. He has great height and good long arms but he does not have much of a leap and so can struggle a bit with really tall athletic targets. Smith also has good agility (and tested that way as well) and is able to recover quickly when needed.

With all the negatives it is worth noting that Smith has shown genuine improvement this year. He is getting forward more and has offered himself as an overlapping runner and marking target on the wing. His marking going forward is good and he keeps his opposition honest with hard running up the field. If I am using him at the moment though I want to have a small wrapping around him to quickly get the hand off because having the ball in his hand is playing with fire.

 

[Nickos66]

Wasn't overly interested in a key defender this year but, cool.

PS **** you Hawthorn, ****ed up Port who then took our kid.

 

[muzzington]

Possible Nickname: Full House

 

[Freo_4eva]

Rate this pick Kicking can be worked on.. athletic ability and reading the flight of the ball is something your born with

 

[chinggis77]

He is a Dawson clone!

Lock down defender who does his job and who

"If he is going to be a productive AFL player significant work is going to need to be done on his disposal and decision making".

We clearly had our key targets picked off in the preceding 6 picks.

 

[Chris25]

I very much like this pick. Even if we did have other KPPs in mind for this pick, Smith is an excellent consolation prize. Probably the best one on one defender in the draft, and I think because of that he has been short changed when people talk about his offensive game. He wont be the best kick in the team, but he isn't a liability - like some people are suggesting.

 

[dexter_]

 

[chinggis77]

I very much like this pick. Even if we did have other KPPs in mind for this pick, Smith is an excellent consolation prize. Probably the best one on one defender in the draft, and I think because of that he has been short changed when people talk about his offensive game. He wont be the best kick in the team, but he isn't a liability - like some people are suggesting.

So in other words Tanner is Dawson´s back up and we are still looking for a CHB/Macpharlin replacement.

 

[Kickett Punches Read]

I very much like this pick. Even if we did have other KPPs in mind for this pick, Smith is an excellent consolation prize. Probably the best one on one defender in the draft, and I think because of that he has been short changed when people talk about his offensive game. He wont be the best kick in the team, but he isn't a liability - like some people are suggesting.

quigleys report was pretty damning. Is his kicking as horrible as he states? and he also said that he was never on the number one forward, is this because he is abnormally skinny? what is his frame like, is there scope to build on?

 

[Dockernut]

From Quigleys Phantom Draft :

Tanner Smith:

Smith is another key position defender with some solid aspects to his game but a big hole as well. How you rate the KPDs this year is going to come down to which of them you think you can fix and which of them you don’t. Smith’s main problem is his kicking.

Smith is right up there with Paparone as having the worst kicking style of any of this year’s crop. To make matters worse his style is variable often changing from one problem to the next between games. In one game I noted how he was getting his head too far over the ball and dropping his eyes too early (McKeever style) and in the next he was leaning too far back on his kicks. He also regularly brings out an appalling high two handed drop which often results in the ball not going where it should do. It looks like he has been working on his kicking style but it certainly hasn’t helped yet and with so much in need of changing there is a big question about whether it will ever be up to average by AFL standards.

In some games, Smith looks like he loses all confidence in himself and either doesn’t want the ball or when he gets it wants a very safe option only. He can appear very awkward with the ball not just by foot but by hand as well. If he is going to be a productive AFL player significant work is going to need to be done on his disposal and decision making.

Smith is regularly described as a shut down defender usually I think because of his deficiencies going forward. I am not sure if that is really the case. It is worth noting that for Vic Country, Clurey was the one who took the primary key forward each game and even when he was being beaten Smith was rarely swapped onto those forwards. It could be said that Smith regularly played on the CHFs but that was not always the case. It is likely though that he will be a CHB rather than full back at AFL level. He has good mobility and endurance and is somewhat leaner than would be ideal for the FB role. I think he will fill out but I doubt he will ever be a particularly huge man.

Smith also has nice pace particularly off the mark and when out and running he can go with most forwards. When it starts to get into a body on body contest though his lack of bulk and strength is evident. He was taught a lesson by Grundy in the short time he was up forward in the VC v SA match and he also struggled with Shaw against WA. I can see a lot of gym time in Smith’s future. When he gets a run at it he does a lot better and is able to get a fist in nicely to spoil either up high or down low. He has great height and good long arms but he does not have much of a leap and so can struggle a bit with really tall athletic targets. Smith also has good agility (and tested that way as well) and is able to recover quickly when needed.

With all the negatives it is worth noting that Smith has shown genuine improvement this year. He is getting forward more and has offered himself as an overlapping runner and marking target on the wing. His marking going forward is good and he keeps his opposition honest with hard running up the field. If I am using him at the moment though I want to have a small wrapping around him to quickly get the hand off because having the ball in his hand is playing with fire.

Sounds like a dud.

 

[estibador]

A lot of what I've read about him sounds similar to the descriptions of Glass before he was drafted.

 

[Chris25]

So in other words Tanner is Dawson´s back up and we are still looking for a CHB/Macpharlin replacement.

Don't worry chinggis. The world will end in a month anyway.

You'd be all over doomsday conspiracy theories, right?

 

[Kickett Punches Read]

Don't worry chinggis. The world will end in a month anyway.

You'd be all over doomsday conspiracy theories, right?

lol, well played

 

[BananaOnTheRun]

quigleys report was pretty damning. Is his kicking as horrible as he states? and he also said that he was never on the number one forward, is this because he is abnormally skinny? what is his frame like, is there scope to build on?

dude, you're just looking for the negatives. he's a kid with the tools and upside. we develop him.

 

[Freo_4eva]

I wouldnt say McPharlin is an elite kick anyway.. he gets high %% numbers because of the chips around the ground. Then his 20m runs and 50m bombs.. anyone can do that. The hardest part is stopping your opponent which seems to be his strength

 

[Lach72]

Kicking looked good.

Nice goal shooting