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

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matey

Premiership Player
Oct 5, 2004
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Looks like an individual that teammates love to have around at the club. When he kicked that goal the MRP need to have a look at a few incidents and consider whether the club puts in place a safe work environment 😄 ........... good to know we have a mid that can kick it from outside 50, in games these type of goals can become a game changer!
 

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Mar 23, 2007
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There's clearly something to work with there, he attacked the ball and the man well, and uses it well in tight. He'll be much better for a full AFL pre-season next year, which is incredibly exciting. He should stay in for the remainder of the year imo

Agree. My only concern is whether he can accumulate enough touches. Only game time will help him develop that.
 
He has played 4 games.
Is the expectation for him to come in and get 20+ each week? Or 30+?
How many possies is a good standard for a debutant?

Not being critical..just curious.

Its like we all need to know today if he will be good for us long term or not.
 
Sep 28, 2019
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was finding enough of it at BHH.

I'm sure if he's given enough time, he'll translate that into AFL required numbers
He might but he won’t be the first player to get the ball at VFL level but not be able to find it at AFL level. Especially as he was only averaging mid 20’s at VFL.

His defensive work is great. On the bigger grounds though he’s very similar to the rest of our midfield that gets exposed with leg speed.
 

Slick

Club Legend
Oct 5, 2004
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He has played 4 games.
Is the expectation for him to come in and get 20+ each week? Or 30+?
How many possies is a good standard for a debutant?

Not being critical..just curious.

Its like we all need to know today if he will be good for us long term or not.
Ideally he'd be averaging in the mid teens with a game or two in the mid twenties before the year is out.
 
He has played 4 games.
Is the expectation for him to come in and get 20+ each week? Or 30+?
How many possies is a good standard for a debutant?

Not being critical..just curious.

Its like we all need to know today if he will be good for us long term or not.
Also depends what type of minutes he's getting in the midfield, and where.

I think we should track him against Worpel. Worpel's first year he averaged 17 disposals a game, playing as a high half forward and some midfield minutes IIRC. In his second year he got full time midfield minutes in the absence of Titch, and averaged 26 disp a game.

4 games in, Jai is averaging 10 disposals a game. It has been a solid start.
 

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theiaofseed

Norm Smith Medallist
Jun 17, 2019
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He has played 4 games.
Is the expectation for him to come in and get 20+ each week? Or 30+?
How many possies is a good standard for a debutant?

Not being critical..just curious.

Its like we all need to know today if he will be good for us long term or not.
Will Philips pick 3 last year is averaging 9.4 touches cross his 8 games, Perkins that every is raving about is averaging 13 touches. Ten touches, 7 tackles 2 clearances are fine numbers.
 
Will Philips pick 3 last year is averaging 9.4 touches cross his 8 games, Perkins that every is raving about is averaging 13 touches. Ten touches, 7 tackles 2 clearances are fine numbers.
Well said. 👍
 
Sep 14, 2018
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Also depends what type of minutes he's getting in the midfield, and where.

I think we should track him against Worpel. Worpel's first year he averaged 17 disposals a game, playing as a high half forward and some midfield minutes IIRC. In his second year he got full time midfield minutes in the absence of Titch, and averaged 26 disp a game.

4 games in, Jai is averaging 10 disposals a game. It has been a solid start.

Stats aside, the eye test tells you he’s courageous, a great tackler, has quick hands, has a good sense of where his team mates are, solid kick and comfortable in the cauldron. Maybe a bit slow off the mark. Not sure about overhead. Not sure about the left peg - anyone seen this in action? Makes a big difference if you can kick off both. Looking good so far, a step up from cousins and Morrison.
 
Nov 13, 2018
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Newcombe is playing like a typical top 10 pick.
He does some good things but doesn't yet have the fitness base to be prolific or consistent.

He's gonna be a player for us, the only question is what type?
I've got him down as an attack-minded Brad Sewell.
He's going to have a great impact in a contest but will hit the scoreboard more than Sewell.
 

TylerDurden

Mischief. Mayhem. Soap
Mar 5, 2007
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Newcombe is playing like a typical top 10 pick.
He does some good things but doesn't yet have the fitness base to be prolific or consistent.

He's gonna be a player for us, the only question is what type?
I've got him down as an attack-minded Brad Sewell.
He's going to have a great impact in a contest but will hit the scoreboard more than Sewell.
Will we strip the weight off him, or does he have the body type to just keep putting on muscle?. Will be a scary prospect in a few years either way.
 

hfc70

Premiership Player
Mar 9, 2007
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Some perspective-

Sam Mitchell
2002 - 9 games
Avg 6 kicks : 5 handballs: 3 tackles

2003 - 21 games
Avg 10 kicks : 8 handballs : 4 tackles

2004 - 20 games
Avg 10 kicks : 8 handballs : 3 tackles

2005 - 14 games
Avg 13 kicks : 10 handballs: 3 tackles

JAI NEWCOMBE
2021 - 4 games
Avg 5 kicks : 5 handballs: 7 tackles

He will be fine
 
May 3, 2018
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He doesn't need to get bigger IMO.
Emphasis should be on running and power.
He's technically only been a full time AFL player for about 5-6 weeks so I agree in that with a full preseason under his belt he's like an unpolished diamond. Could end up being anything.
 

rei154

Premiership Player
Jun 13, 2019
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He looks a lot better after 4 games than Josh Kennedy did, and he became a gun at Sydney. Get games into him, build fitness, time to understand the gameplan etc. That goal from outside 50 was a big moment, special as Bruce would say
In his first game he had a crack from outside 50 in play and it had the distance easily, was slightly off.
I feel really excited with the youth we have in our midfield, and I'm really keen to see who comes in around them.
I have to say though when it comes to Duke, I just cannot get over the size of him- and I'm still not sure whether we'd want him to slim down slightly, maintain, or bulk.
His forearms remind me of Bevo's from back in the day- great sign of strength!
 

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