Player heights

[Sugar2Sideshow]

Such an emphasis seems to be placed on height these days, everyone wants to find the next fyfe or pendelbury. But looking through the top 30 draftees this year I noticed a few anomalies.

Jade, to small to ever make it as a footballer, Gresham is only 3 cms shorter than Darcy, best mid in the draft, parish.
Charlie curnow is described as a key forward at 191, but there plenty of 188 players described as midfielders.

Does an extra 3 cms of height really make that much of a difference? I'd imagine it depends more on how tall you play rather than your listed height.

 

[mike123]

AFL recruiters are going about the wrong way IMO. They're looking for the super athletic taller guys because they can carry more weight and still have good tanks. The should for more of the short guys built like brick houses with super tanks.

 

[Ambrosia]

Such an emphasis seems to be placed on height these days, everyone wants to find the next fyfe or pendelbury. But looking through the top 30 draftees this year I noticed a few anomalies.

Jade, to small to ever make it as a footballer, Gresham is only 3 cms shorter than Darcy, best mid in the draft, parish.
Charlie curnow is described as a key forward at 191, but there plenty of 188 players described as midfielders.

Does an extra 3 cms of height really make that much of a difference? I'd imagine it depends more on how tall you play rather than your listed height.

I see your point. A 188cm bloke has no trouble competing against a 191cm player but by the same extension a 191cm player has no trouble competing against a 194cm whereas the 188cm player is a fair chance to struggle against a 194cm player.

That's also without taking into account different body types. In reality height isn't nearly as important as reach which can vary drastically when comparing to players of the same height.

 

[Belnakor]

Such an emphasis seems to be placed on height these days, everyone wants to find the next fyfe or pendelbury. But looking through the top 30 draftees this year I noticed a few anomalies.

Jade, to small to ever make it as a footballer, Gresham is only 3 cms shorter than Darcy, best mid in the draft, parish.
Charlie curnow is described as a key forward at 191, but there plenty of 188 players described as midfielders.

Does an extra 3 cms of height really make that much of a difference? I'd imagine it depends more on how tall you play rather than your listed height.

it shouldn't but it seems to make a difference to get drafted. A friend of mine's brother was trying to get drafted.. he is 6'1 and they told him clubs are looking for guys who are 6'3+.

Its stupid because you are basically narrowing down the number of people draftable, and then on top of that looking for guys who are freak athletes. The average height of an aussie male is still 5'10-5'11 so being 6'4 is in the top 5% of the population.

 

[Allikat]

It's even stupider because all the clubs & media have been comparing kids to Fyfe - completely forgetting that Fyfe was short & skinny when he was drafted.

Kids at 17 often still have room to grow. And so many kids taken for their physical attributes ahead of their football ability end up being delisted spuds anyway. There obviously needs to be a balance. The super short kids are going to always struggle. But a few clubs have the balance wrong at the moment

 

[Nutsngum]

You need a good range of heights across your players really, even in the middle. Tall utilities seem to "all the rage" at the moment but your average mid is still only llike 182 - 184 cms.

They do tend to grow a cm or two after being drafted as well.

 

[im_a_lazy_sod]

It's even stupider because all the clubs & media have been comparing kids to Fyfe - completely forgetting that Fyfe was short & skinny when he was drafted.

Kids at 17 often still have room to grow. And so many kids taken for their physical attributes ahead of their football ability end up being delisted spuds anyway. There obviously needs to be a balance. The super short kids are going to always struggle. But a few clubs have the balance wrong at the moment

Interesting about Fyfe - just looked that up. Was drafted at 187 and is now 190

 

[keithrichards]

Issue with the smaller kids like Jade, is that the shorter stature generally means they'll struggle to put on weight, whereas the taller guys probably have the capacity to add a little bit more (without being detrimental to speed/endurance)

Probably not the best example for the moment, but using OP examples you have:
Parish 181cm and 73kg
Gresham 178cm and 74kg

but in 5 years time after plenty of preseasons, it might end up looking like:

Parish 182cm and 85kg
Gresham 179cm and 80kg

As midfielders, the extra kg would be more important around the stoppages than the extra height...maybe?

 

[SBYM]

None of this shit matters if ya can't get that oval shaped thingy...

 

[Mitchell Madness]

3 flags in a row with a smallish midfield

Should be thankful the media hates us, and has only analysed the losing grandfinalist and how they can improve

 

[fishardansin]

There is a lot of silly in this thread. I'm still a little unsold on Parish because of his size. It will make a difference for putting weight on without becoming a fatty. Also look at Parish try to tackle someone by hanging onto them while they run with the ball!
Curnow plays as a KPP but can play as a mid, potentially. Same with Francis.

It should be clear to everyone here that while there is a very strong correlation with height and what position one plays there is some fluidity. Currently in the AFL we have Bontempelli @ 193 while Gibson plays as a KPP @ 189. At Essendon we had Ryder @ 196 who was a gun ruck but only OK forward and when Carlisle @198 was played in the ruck at Subiaco the natives got very restless.

 

[garlic munchers]

None of this shit matters if ya can't get that oval shaped thingy...

Sam Mitchell LOL's when these discussions take place and continues to rack up 30 + possies.

Notwithstanding, the game has clearly passed the average Aussie by and this will start to impact on junior players choices and gives soccer/cricket a leg up.

My son who is 12 and has height (by normally standards) on both sides of the family, made the comment after watching the draft from start to finish (true commitment shown) that he thinks he will be too short to play AFL.

In the current circumstances players like Peter Bell and Phil Matera may still get drafted, but I suspect that would need to perform by the end of year two or its sayonara!

 

[Superstar swan]

Too much emphasis is placed on athleticism rather than football ability. You so often about guys with a huge ceiling, which basically means they are not very good but they are good athletes ao we are hoping to teach them to football.

Obviousky you cant draft fat plodders who are exceptional kicks but there needs to be a bit of shift towards an individuals ability to play rather than what clubs hope to turn them into

 

[Bunk Moreland]

3 flags in a row with a smallish midfield

Should be thankful the media hates us, and has only analysed the losing grandfinalist and how they can improve

The media hates Hawthorn

Now I've possibly heard it all

 

[Mitchell Madness]

The media hates Hawthorn

Now I've possibly heard it all

It's always whyba team lost, never why Hawthorn won

 

[The 747]

It's always whyba team lost, never why Hawthorn won

You would think 3 flags would stop the whining but it hasn't. Serious insecurity issues in Tassie.

 

[Rotayjay]

It's probably a kind of inflation - like how the Christmas merchandise comes out earlier and earlier every year, because every shop wants get the Chrissy dollars before their competitors do. Every club wants to get that little edge in height, the average height goes up, the clubs then target players who are even taller to get an edge, and so on.

You can't go past the old saying: 'Late in the game, the fast players get slower but the big players don't get any smaller.'

 

[HolyWars]

You would think 3 flags would stop the whining but it hasn't. Serious insecurity issues in Tassie.

It will probably subside after the four-peat.

 

[The 747]

It will probably subside after the four-peat.

It would be a shame to see the premiership cup leave the state four times in a row

 

[Feerits Elf]

It's even stupider because all the clubs & media have been comparing kids to Fyfe - completely forgetting that Fyfe was short & skinny when he was drafted.

Fyfe was 6'1" when drafted, he's now 6'2".

 

[Spook]

AFL recruiters are going about the wrong way IMO. They're looking for the super athletic taller guys because they can carry more weight and still have good tanks. The should for more of the short guys built like brick houses with super tanks.

Good points.
Hawthorn went with a short guy built well with a tank and a ball magnet.

 

[Scotland]

I see your point. A 188cm bloke has no trouble competing against a 191cm player but by the same extension a 191cm player has no trouble competing against a 194cm whereas the 188cm player is a fair chance to struggle against a 194cm player.

That's also without taking into account different body types. In reality height isn't nearly as important as reach which can vary drastically when comparing to players of the same height.

There's more to being a key forward than height.

Jack Darling is 191cm, Will Schofield 196cm.

Darling is much better suited to a key position because of his body shape and contested game.

 

[Borussia Teeth]

This topic infuriates me no end.
Height is fairly irrelevant when comparing players who are a few cm difference. Wingspan/arm length is more important for taking a mark, for example.
As others have said, body type, skills, speed, strength, etc. are far more important parameters.

 

[Marley10]

3 flags in a row with a smallish midfield

Should be thankful the media hates us, and has only analysed the losing grandfinalist and how they can improve

You mean the same media that basks over Rioli, Hodge, Gunston, Mitchell etc every time they touch the ball?

You can pick a lot as a Hawthorn supporter, but not media hatred.

 

[Marley10]

I agree that height is a bit overrated nowadays.

A potato that's 196cm is still a potato.