Player Watch Welcome to Hawthorn : Jai “Duke” Newcombe - 2022 AFLCA Best Young Player, extends to 2026!

[Strapping Young Lad]

 

[TazHawk15]

If we could just tidy up his foot skills then he can become a real weapon, but I could say the same thing about 5 of our players.

 

[HODGEYROAD]

If we could just tidy up his foot skills then he can become a real weapon, but I could say the same thing about 5 of our players.

Yeah he did miss a few targets he really should have hit on Monday, hopefully with time he cleans up that part of his game.

 

[flinchfree]

.............

If he can find a way to not rush his disposal when he has some time and space, that's all he needs to really become an elite footballer.

Both Kosi and Wardy did him dirty dropping marks in the forward 50 that would have been likely goal assists.
The Kosi one was a particularly nice aired out 40m pass out of the middle that should have been gobbled.
Reckon Jai's disposal is pretty good, but agree it can get better and is the thing that rings in an elite label once you show you can accumulate and do other oooh and aaah stuff.

 

[burner1]

Pretty crazy he’s playing to this level so early in his career. A massive win for our ongoing midfield rebuild. Just needs to tidy up his kicking - but hasn’t even played 20 games so plenty of time to refine things. Can do the hard stuff around the packs but also remain composed which is a rare skill.

 

[offtherails9]

One of the greatest myths in rural footy is that “your” players don’t get picked for representative teams based on what side of the river/town/railway they live on, rather than it just being that the player wasn’t deemed good enough at the time by whoever made the call.

But as you say, he was a member of the Gippsland Power squad fwiw, then Covid hit.

Can't speak for Victoria personally but over in SA the rep sides are absolutely determined by what school you go to, who your dad was, or how much money you're putting into the club.

 

[The Jet From Poowong]

Not sure on location but who you know definitely alters your chances of being selected in rep sides.

Very true

Saw it first hand at Northern Knights and explains why they generally produce far less AFL quality players than other regions

Perceptions and reputations go a long way. Especially in the positions they are given opportunity in as well

I remember seeing a few kids who were the sons of AFL players who really should not have been anywhere near the training squad, but were given preferential treatment. It definitely happens

 

[Hodge2NormSmith]

I think Newcombe gets one of the lower numbers next year.

If number 7 is available it would suit Newk very well.

Certainly a good driver in heavy traffic, tough and physical like the great Conan the barbarian Gary Ayres.


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[MrPremiership]

If number 7 is available it would suit Newk very well.

Certainly a good driver in heavy traffic, tough and physical like the great Conan the barbarian Gary Ayres.


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7 is going to Reeves.

 

[William Wonka]

If number 7 is available it would suit Newk very well.

Certainly a good driver in heavy traffic, tough and physical like the great Conan the barbarian Gary Ayres.


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44 has its own history

 

[LeBuddyRoughShow]

What an acquisition love watching him play , for those of you not familiar with Gippsland he did not play for Gippsland Power they never picked him for the squad ,I see they are attempting to claim responsibility for his development but they had nothing to do with it , the first few players in the squad pick themselves but the rest is based on politics and what club you are from unfortunately he was on the wrong side of that and no me or none of my lads have been involved or tried out but I’ve coached junior footy over the years in the area and I’m a regular at their games and it’s just an observation that too many good kids are overlooked like Jai was because they didn’t have the right connections.
Back to Jai , his recruitment last year was Mitchell’s first stroke of genius absolute unexpected bonus that fell into our lap .

A good point, and Gippsland Power are not the only ones I can assure you. There will be other hidden gems out there

 

[Strapping Young Lad]

Bucks is a fan.

 

[Randy Campbell]

There is a lot to like.

 

[mustang]

Has anyone found is draft profile from when he entered the National draft in his draft year.

Would be a interesting read what the scouts thought.

Would have to have one as we wouldn’t been able to get him in the mid season draft if he nominate for the National.

 

[On Topic]

Bucks is a fan.

I couldn't have summed him up better than what he has done there.

 

[theiaofseed]

Has anyone found is draft profile from when he entered the National draft in his draft year.

Would be a interesting read what the scouts thought.

Would have to have one as we wouldn’t been able to get him in the mid season draft if he nominate for the National.

Wouldn't have one he was that far off the radar.

 

[HeHateMe]

Best I could find is this:

2020 NAB League Boys team preview: Gippsland Power

LOFTY standards have been set at Gippsland Power after a year full of success, with memorable legacies left by key program components both on and off the field in 2019. A rare crop of talent saw the Power have a real premiership tilt and seven players drafted, marking a fitting end to revered...

central.rookieme.com

GIPPSLAND POWER:

Jai Newcombe | Inside Midfielder 02/08/2001 | 184cm/85kg

Was poised to stake his claim as one of 2020’s feel-good stories, having finally made the cut at Gippsland after being overlooked in multiple preseasons. He is an inside bull who proved hard to tackle at this year’s trials and the Power were certainly high on his potential as an over-ager.

Jai Newcombe – a 19-year-old prospect who comes in having been cut at the last hurdle for three consecutive preseasons – has transformed since last training at the club, and is set to become a key feature in the Power’s engine room.

“He went away, Jai Newcombe, played the season of footy for Poowong’s seniors,” McDougal said “He also played a couple of games at school footy then halfway through the season, he sort of left school and got a job. “He grew, filled out and became a powerful athlete from when we saw him the Christmas before so he’s been invited back as a 19-year-old and hasn’t put a foot wrong all pre-season. “He is just a powerful inside mid, dominated a couple of intra club practice matches that we had pre-Christmas so I’m really looking forward to seeing how we can get him involved post-Christmas into this pre-season and see how far he can improve.”

 

[HeHateMe]

Sounds like Gippsland never gave him a chance for 3 years. He busted his ass and made it hard to ignore him, then 2020 happened and he never got to play a game.

Says he dominated the intraclub and they were planning on using him in a key role in the engine room. So he would have been in a good position to showcase his game finally if he was given a chance.

Absolute masterstroke by Mitch to identify his talent so quickly.

 

[LeBuddyRoughShow]

I think Newcombe gets one of the lower numbers next year.

One of the greatest myths in rural footy is that “your” players don’t get picked for representative teams based on what side of the river/town/railway they live on, rather than it just being that the player wasn’t deemed good enough at the time by whoever made the call.

But as you say, he was a member of the Gippsland Power squad fwiw, then Covid

One of the greatest myths in rural footy is that “your” players don’t get picked for representative teams based on what side of the river/town/railway they live on, rather than it just being that the player wasn’t deemed good enough at the time by whoever made the call.

But as you say, he was a member of the Gippsland Power squad fwiw, then Covid hit.

How many players have we seen come via the rookie list, or mature age pathway that were overlooked through the traditional pathway of NAB league, state league, National Championships etc? They happen all the time and the reasons are various such as: lived a long way from the training base while doing Year 12, injured during pre-season / practice matches, played a couple of average games / out of position in the practice matches. It's difficult to funnel 200 plus players down to a list of 45 for nab league, and guys get missed. Unless you have been at every nab league club, wafl, sanfl etc. which is not possible, you can't call it a myth. It happens all the time, mainly coz it's a tough gig picking the squads and the selectors are pressed for time, and it can happen subconsciously. I could go on but in summary, it's not an exact science and some get missed

 

[Judd2Sewell]

How many players have we seen come via the rookie list, or mature age pathway that were overlooked through the traditional pathway of NAB league, state league, National Championships etc? They happen all the time and the reasons are various such as: lived a long way from the training base while doing Year 12, injured during pre-season / practice matches, played a couple of average games / out of position in the practice matches. It's difficult to funnel 200 plus players down to a list of 45 for nab league, and guys get missed. Unless you have been at every nab league club, wafl, sanfl etc. which is not possible, you can't call it a myth. It happens all the time, mainly coz it's a tough gig picking the squads and the selectors are pressed for time, and it can happen subconsciously. I could go on but in summary, it's not an exact science and some get missed

I'm not saying it happens or it doesn't. But literally the exact same argument you have used can be used against you.

 

[chopflop]

I was looking through some historical posts about newk to see where people first started posting about him.

A poster on the North board said before the MSD that he spoke to a hawks recruiter who said Newcombe was an absolute gun and they rated him a better prospect than all their draftees from the previous year, DGB aside.

 

[Blackhawk42]

I watched the Box Hill flogging of the Kangaroos last year. Jai had a couple of super hard efforts that make you take notice, followed by a booming goal from 55 out in the space of a few minutes. I almost spat out my beer when they said on commentary that he was 19 years old. He looked 24 minimum.

Was absolutely hooked on him from that moment. I need to go back and check, but I'm certain that very day I mentioned on the footy podcast I'm part of that I'd just seen the kid I wanted us to take in the mid-season draft.

His potential was blatantly obvious from the beginning. Following up with 14 tackles on debut in the AFL was almost as unsurprising as it was impressive.

 

[toomanysquibs]

Bucks is a fan.

He'd poop his pants if he realized how he got into the Box Hill team, and how little VFL he'd played before being drafted too.

But great to hear his insight into what makes a good AFL player. I'd imagined that low anxiety types are important in sport, never dreamed it would be that big an emphasis on that here.

I guess high anxiety types are probably OK to be big forwards and backs maybe (Plugger, Scarlett, Brereton).

Doesn't sound like they make great midfielders though in the current game, or at least, not great endurance athletes.

 

[KermitJagger]

Bucks is a fan.

I genuinely love to hear Bucks talk footy, he's a great communicator and this description of why he loves Newk couldn't be better.

He's got the same ability to clearly and concisely explain football that Sam has.

 

[Brishawk]

How many players have we seen come via the rookie list, or mature age pathway that were overlooked through the traditional pathway of NAB league, state league, National Championships etc? They happen all the time and the reasons are various such as: lived a long way from the training base while doing Year 12, injured during pre-season / practice matches, played a couple of average games / out of position in the practice matches. It's difficult to funnel 200 plus players down to a list of 45 for nab league, and guys get missed. Unless you have been at every nab league club, wafl, sanfl etc. which is not possible, you can't call it a myth. It happens all the time, mainly coz it's a tough gig picking the squads and the selectors are pressed for time, and it can happen subconsciously. I could go on but in summary, it's not an exact science and some get missed

He was in the squad in 2020 and trained in the squad before getting cut from it in 2019. Surely it isn’t unreasonable to think he just wasn’t viewed as good enough at the time? We don’t need to speculate that he was robbed of a spot because he didn’t have the right connections.

 

[mustang]

Sounds like Gippsland never gave him a chance for 3 years. He busted his ass and made it hard to ignore him, then 2020 happened and he never got to play a game.

Says he dominated the intraclub and they were planning on using him in a key role in the engine room. So he would have been in a good position to showcase his game finally if he was given a chance.

Absolute masterstroke by Mitch to identify his talent so quickly.

Hopefully the scouts for BoxHill are looking for more gems we can get in mid season drafts or National/rookie drafts.