Traded Sam Mayes (2012-2018)

[Haso]

Drafted to Brisbane with Pick #8 in the 2012 National Draft

 

[Haso]

Pre draft highlights:

 

[Haso]

Mayes still amazes
21 Jun, 2012
Harry Thring

DESPITE a less-than-prolific NAB AFL Under 18 Championships to date, South Australia's coach Brenton Phillips still expects vice-captain Sam Mayes to be taken early in this year's NAB AFL Draft.

Mayes has been described as potentially more explosive than Scott Pendlebury, with the outside skills of Dale Thomas and the versatility of Andrew Mackie, but has struggled to find form in this year's titles after gaining All Australian selection as an underage player in 2011.

The 18-year-old's situation bears similarities to that of West Coast gun Jack Darling, who was an underage All Australian player in 2009 but couldn't match that form in 2010.

"He could do it all - mark, kick, he was good around stoppages or could go forward, and he could play anywhere really."

 

[Haso]

Mayes' day
26 Oct, 2012
Jason Phelan

SAM MAYES
DOB: 20/05/1994
Height: 187cm
Weight: 78kg
Club: North Adelaide/South Australia

Bio: Medium forward who has good speed and elite agility and is a good set shot for goal. Reads the game well as a lead-up forward and starred for SA at the NAB AFL Under-18 Championships in 2011, winning All Australian honours. Played midfield roles also in U18s this year to continue his development which already sees him playing senior football for North Adelaide.

 

[Bert Man]

Welcome Sam!

 

[Haso]

Lions add three at draft

Lions National Talent Manager, Rob Kerr, said that the trio would be valuable additions to the Lions list.

“We’ve recruited with a view that we need to develop our next generation forward line - that’s where the overriding philosophy came from,” Kerr said.

“Sam Mayes is a forward who is developing into a midfielder, so we expect him to go into the midfield. He’s a very clever player.”

 

[Haso]

Mayes raring to go
22 Nov, 2012

It didn’t take Brisbane Lions draftee Sam Mayes long to overcome his initial nerves and start directing his attention to the beginning of his AFL career.

Mayes, who was taken with the Club’s first round selection (Pick No.8 overall), will fly to Brisbane on Sunday in readiness for his first training session on Monday. The young South Australian said he was looking forward to meeting his new teammates.

“The footy boots will be the first thing that I pack,” Mayes said.

“I’m pretty excited about getting started up there on Monday. I’ve got the likes of Jonathan Brown and Simon Black to play alongside. They’re such great players and can take a leaf out of their book about how to do things.”

 

[Haso]

Lions select South Australian Sam Mayes with pick 8
November 22, 2012
Greg Davis

SAM Mayes was welcomed into the Pride tonight when Brisbane selected the South Australian with the No.8 pick at the AFL National Draft on the Gold Coast.

Mayes is a medium-sized lead-up forward is a two-time under 18 All-Australian who played senior football for North Adelaide in the SANFL this year.

At 187cm-tall and 78 kg, he is quick, agile and has clean hands at both ground level and in marking contests.

He has an excellent workrate and is good user of the ball.

A dependable shot at goal, Mayes is also capable of running through the midfield and has been likened to Western Bulldogs star Ryan Griffin.

 

[luthor]

Our gain is Port's loss.

 

[Haso]

 

[blynd_freddie]

So who's a lucky draftee?
A relaxed and happy looking Sam Mayes.

Picture: AFL Media

 

[Gibbo_88]

#8 Brisbane- Sam Mayes (SA – Fwd/Mid)
Height: 187cm, Weight: 78kg, DOB: 20/05/1994
Recruited from: North Adelaide
Style:
Player comparison: Brad Green
Range: 7-15
Profile: Leadup forward who can also push into the midfield and have an impact. Mayes is an excellent user of the footy by foot, finding targets with ease but what most stands out is his ability to finish around goal consistently. Has above average pace and can at times burst away from the trailing defender. Marking ability very strong for a player of his size so there is a lot to work with. Has some ball winning ability through the midfield but still more improvement needs to come in this area for him to become an elite player. Long term with Mayes the view would be for him to develop into a midfielder and with his great footskills, speed then ability when pushing forward to present as a marking target he looms as an ideal player to have in your rotation as a midfielder/forward. But will take some time to develop into a high level midfielder and might benefit from learning off other established high level midfielders who can further help Mayes develop his midfield game. I wouldn’t mind seeing what Mayes can do off a back flank at the next level and I think this could be another possibility for him with his skill set and I expect he would be adaptable enough to adjust to this type of role if required.

5. Western Bulldogs - Sam Mayes (187cm midfielder - North Adelaide)

A lot was expected of Sam Mayes this year, and personally I think he has more than delivered. Some people have questioned his game on the basis that he isn't winning 20+ touches a game and being named BOG each week. But he is playing senior football for North Adelaide, and has been more than holding his own. That's more important than dominating against players your own age in my opinion. And his recent form in the SANFL finals will only help his standing. Last year, he played largely as a half forward - and while that role has continued this year, he has also spent a lot of time further up the ground. And that's where he will play at the next level. I see him as a really hard working and quick winger, in the Ryan Griffen mould. He has excellent endurance and speed, and arguably the best foot skills in the draft. Playing as a forward has also seen him develop his marking game to a really high level. Mayes is just a natural player, and is pure class. AFL Comparison: Ryan Griffen.

Sam Mayes
DOB: 20/5/94 Ht: 187 Wt: 78

A lot of people love Menzel this year despite his knee issues and seem to forget that he really was just playing the role that Mayes vacated to get more midfield time this year. Mayes played that role so well last year that he made the All Australian side as an underaged player. Despite Mayes showing ability to move back to the midfield by far his biggest selling feature for AFL clubs will be his ability to kick goals and they will play him as a HFFer and get him to kick as many as he can.

For me he is far and away the best shot for goal this year both with his set shot and, without doubt, on the run. He is a deadeye dick in front of goal and exudes confidence when taking shots. He maintains balance throughout his set shot and balances quickly on the run and from there he just makes it look so easy. He has an uncomplicated style with few moving parts and as a consequence things tend not to go wrong very often.


The other big feature of his game is his marking. He is an elite mark with suburb hands and judgment of the ball in the air. Even when he is unable to mark the ball he has strong enough hands to control the fall of the ball. He has great control of his body in the air and timing on his leaps so he hits the ball at his highest point and with balance and body control. When he hits the ground he recovers quickly and always has good knowledge of where the ball is.

It is a shame he is not a little taller as he would be a real handful. As it is he has decent endurance and a very good burst of pace which he uses to create separation from his man almost at will. He is a smart footballer, up forward in particular where he gets to dangerous spots and reads defensive coverage very well. Whilst he is an exceptional shot for goal he does not get tunnel vision once he gets it and is always looking for teammates in better spots than he is. His kicking inside 50 to teammates is elite.


A lot of people love his field kicking and whilst I would say he is a good kick he can have off days. I also think his decision making coming out of the middle of the ground can a little below top shelf. This could be a function of not being very used to playing midfield and is something which might improve as he gets used to running a different way (ie running toward goal rather than leading away from it). With all that said he does have a classic kicking style and during games he will regularly wheel out kicks which are sublime in their execution.


At the Champs he played in the middle of the ground mostly and showed some propensity for it. At the clearances he was around it enough and did win his fair share. I would not mistake him for an inside mid though at this stage. He tends to let the ball come to him a bit rather than attacking it and when he gets his hands on the ball he is too often stationary. His hands in tight are okay but not super quick but he does have pretty good spatial awareness of who is where. He is quite smart with his control of the ball under pressure but is a beat behind specialist inside mids in deciding what to do and executing it.

Mayes has definite capacity to bulk up and does need to get stronger to get the most out of his talent when competing against AFL bodies. He has been effective working against mature bodies in the SANFL but greater strength is something which will help him a lot as he does get buffeted around quite a bit at the moment. Another thing to work on is his tackling technique. He is a fairly willing tackler but he is very much an arm tackler at the moment and is going to get brushed a lot early in the AFL. He needs to use his shoulder more but I am sure that will be drummed into him. His endurance is pretty good but is another thing which could be improved upon.


I have been very high on Mayes since last year’s Champs and nothing I have seen has really changed my mind. He was not a dominant mid at the Champs this year but he showed some ability to play there and combining that with his talent as a forward I think he should go very high in this draft.

 

[Ceebee]

So who's a lucky draftee?
A relaxed and happy looking Sam Mayes.

Great photo

 

[captainrich]

I read some phantoms released earlier on in the year with people saying he could possibly become the best player of the draft, heres hoping

 

[Haso]

How the Lions fared
22 November 2012
Michael Whiting

Pick 8: Sam Mayes, North Adelaide
Kerr says: "He's a very good kick, that helps us in terms of delivery, but we feel he has the ability to move into the midfield after he develops his footy. Clearly he'll start in a forward role and has played on a flank in the SANFL. He'll have a big frame, he's quite quick and he shows signs of being able to get in and out of the game as well and will be a bit of a weapon for us with his versatility."

 

[carnthemlions]

I definitely like the Griffin comparison more than the green comparison

 

[Reardo]

Needs a decent short back and sides haircut and we're all sweet.

 

[Caiphus]

His highlights video looks like he is able to read a tap pretty well too... if we can get him moving when he receives a hit-out he is going to be oh so dangerous.

 

[Grimreepah]

 

[Balony_pony16]

Needs a decent short back and sides haircut and we're all sweet.

disagree..Karni tried that and look what happened

 

[Reardo]

disagree..Karni tried that and look what happened

Good point, I'd forgotten about that. Carry on.

 

[Haso]

 

[Offsider]

My write up on Sam Mayes:

5 - Sam Mayes

Height: 187cm
Weight: 78Kg
DOB: 20/05/1994
Club: North Adelaide

As a medium forward he is up there with Troy Menzel as far as talent goes (with Menzel probably slightly higher), but he also projects very nicely as a midfielder and has a ton of upside with his skill set and athletic ability. I think that he will start as a medium forward and have stints in the midfield whilst he develops his game, yet he will become a midfielder, and play probably off a wing. His form this year was disappointing compared to last year where he was the All Australian CHF and looked very good up forward. It probably reflects his transformation from an undersized key forward to a midfielder/HFF. He had a solid U18 Champs, not great by his standards, but he showed flashes of his potential through the midfield of his talent. Mayes has a lot of upside and is well worth pick 5, he could step in straight away and help the forward line out well.

Strengths:
- Athleticism: Mayes is very athletic, he has good pace, he runs with the ball well and can take bounces and really damage a team as well as this he creates separation on the lead very easily and he is hard to stop. He is also very agile, he can step round opponents well, he is hard to tackle and he is good in close. His endurance is apparently pretty decent, but has room for improvement. He doesn’t fully know how to use his athleticism but when he works it out then he will become even better and more damaging.
- Marking: Mayes is very strong overhead, he takes an excellent contested mark on similar height players, he has really sticky hands. He also has a good vertical leap and reads the ball well in the air. This should be a real strength in the AFL imo and will make him a very hard match up, similar to Brad Johnson.
- Disposal: Mayes is a super right foot kick, one of the best in the draft. He has excellent penetration, he kicks it flat and hard and he hits targets consistently. He is also an excellent set shot for goal and can kick them even from the impossible angles. He can be prone to having bad days, but I think this is more to do with poor decision making on occasions and trying to do too much.
- Clean Hands: Mayes is a very clean footballer, he rarely fumbles and is excellent below his knees.
- Outside ability: When Mayes finds the ball in space he is very dangerous, he can run with the ball and he is very damaging with his disposal. He spreads very nicely, runs well and is the player that you will see running to be the option on the switch.

Weaknesses:
- Form/Dominating games: This year he hasn’t really taken games apart consistently. He has the talent and dominates in patches but I haven’t seen him absolutely dominate games, but rather he has just been a good contributor. This isn’t what you want from a HFF/mid, but he has the potential to dominate and has in patches shown he has the ability.
- What position will he play: This isn’t a concern overly but for mine there are issues over what position he will play. Will he continue to be a HFF/third tall or will be progress to becoming a full time mid similar to Pendlebury?
- Inside contested work: Mayes has the potential to be a good contested player with his clean hands, agility and decision making. At the moment however he does not really play that much in the middle and is not a big clearance winner, the potential is there though.

 

[Grimreepah]

Link

BEFORE Thursday night's NAB AFL Draft, Jimmy Toumpas was a Brisbane Lions supporter and Sam Mayes barracked for Melbourne.

Mayes place in the draft rankings was affected by midfielder Ollie Wines' slip out of the top six. Port Adelaide last week had almost made up its mind that it would choose Mayes, but they went with Wines and Mayes was taken the next pick.

 

[BuntonRules]

Sam barracked for Melbourne? Surely our psychological testing would have picked that up. Bigger gamble than Gartlett, IMO.