What is the problem with Kaiden Brand?

[crazywildhorse]

What does this guy keep doing that keeps him out of the side. He's the only defender on our list that can really run with a KPF, and when he does play, he usually does ok. On top of that, he's fairly tidy with ball in hand. In comparison to our other back 6, I'm not really sure what his major weakness is? Is it not being able to hurt on the rebound?

 

[HODGEYROAD]

Clarkson just must not like him that much, that's the logical explanation to me.

 

[Brishawk]

He has a good ability to defend a man but poor ability to play the team defence game preferred by Clarkson. He gets caught out in transition too easily among other things. Hopefully he can learn and take over the number one key position defender role.

 

[crazywildhorse]

He has a good ability to defend a man but poor ability to play the team defence game preferred by Clarkson. He gets caught out in transition too easily among other things. Hopefully he can learn and take over the number one key position defender role.

What does this mean though? Does it mean he's not great at reading when to run off his man? I've not been to a live match for over 4 years now, I have no idea what he does off the ball.

 

[Simon_Nesbit]

He's better than Frawley at stopping a direct opponent.
He's better than Frawley with ball in hand.
He's better than Frawley in a pack situation.

Yet he is consistently overlooked for Frawley - who is also really struggling with his positioning in addition to getting beaten by every opponent he plays on....well near anyway.

Others have mentioned Brand is too focused on one task - shutting down his opponent, and isn't capable of switching onto smalls if required.

I'd argue that's a failure of the gameplan - not the player. We are consistently exposed by big forwards - and he is the best big defender on the list.

 

[MrPremiership]

Frawley hasn't been great this year, but he has some runs on the board and is an experienced head in a very young backline.

If Brand wants to be in the side, he needs to start dominating at BHH. He isn't.

 

[Simon_Nesbit]

Frawley hasn't been great this year, but he has some runs on the board and is an experienced head in a very young backline.

If Brand wants to be in the side, he needs to start dominating at BHH. He isn't.

He's outperformed Frawley at AFL level for most of the last two years - so there's clearly something he isn't doing, or that Frawley is. Looking forward to watching a game live next week - I might be able to work out where Frawley gets to whilst his opponent is taking uncontested marks inside 50.

 

[SA HAWK]

Our inability to draft and develop decent key position players is a real worry.

Was hoping Brand would take the next step but hasn't looked like it yet.

 

[CLASS OF JARMAN]

He's outperformed Frawley at AFL level for most of the last two years - so there's clearly something he isn't doing, or that Frawley is. Looking forward to watching a game live next week - I might be able to work out where Frawley gets to whilst his opponent is taking uncontested marks inside 50.

Frawley is still using credits up in the bank that he had when Lake was around making him look good. Now this year he has been average at best and Clarko still reckons he should get a game but I agree - Brand is worth bringing into the side and making our backline a bit taller - god knows we need the height back there.

 

[nickrebellious]

He's outperformed Frawley at AFL level for most of the last two years - so there's clearly something he isn't doing, or that Frawley is. Looking forward to watching a game live next week - I might be able to work out where Frawley gets to whilst his opponent is taking uncontested marks inside 50.

I really think this is wrong. In 2016, when our midfield was one of the slowest in the league, he was consistently one of our best. He was always under the pump and one of the reasons we kept pulling games out of our arse that year.

He missed a large chunk of last year and has had two injury effected games already this year. He's also working with almost a completely new backline. Just needs time to click.

 

[flinchfree]

KB needs the ball kicked on top of his opponent's head to feel comfortable. Preferably in a pack so he can leave that opponent and jump and punch.
If in space, Brand is super super super poor at maintaining body contact, knowing how to cut off a lead, gauging space in between the ball coming at him from upfield and understanding how quickly to drop or what to do.

The other stuff he's pretty good at, quite comfortable when the ball is in his hand, he has enough courage, is not slow....
For mine just looks like a forward who is not a natural at switching ends and having a feel or instinct for exactly what to do and when.
Might click, might not.

 

[PhatHQ]

I see Brand as more than capable on the talls.
If there is concern on him playing small I would argue he can also sit at CHB & roam with his direct opponent.

I think that we have way to much depth in defence with the emergence of Sicily, Hardwick, Glass & Burton to some extent but I would prefer him as a long term Fwd/mid in a similar vein as Jack Zeabell.

Chip has been ordinary to be fair & is a second tall.
Brand may not have the following or support here on BF but he is seriously a better option for the next 2-3 seasons without luring a Tom McDonald type as the 5 year bookend we desperately need to build around in defence. Sicily will be the intercepting icing in a premiership team but there needs to be a “big 200cm” slice of cake in there somewhere or someone that can 1 out play them.

That isn’t Chip.

 

[MasterSamurai]

Body on body, Brand is all over the place. Constantly holds, grabs opponents shirt and gets out positioned too frequently. He is, however, better than soap hands Frawley with the ball and is quite good when it comes to kicking the ball to start attacks from D50.

 

[Bumps"N"Grins]

Last year in a couple of game I noticed that in a team defence situation, say where players were switching between opponents brand would quite often roll off a dangerous player and take a softer option, this was to be fair at a time when our defense was a shambles, the Saints game at York park last year was a good example. In that game he was being isolated by St Nick, Nick would find Brand as a direct defender then as soon as Nick would lead brand would roll off and stand someone less dangerous, then the finger pointing would follow.
This year he was once again exposed on the lead when having to play basically one out in an open forward line, horrible situation for a defender, the forward would run with the flight of the ball into a paddock then stop and come back towards the kicker meanwhile Brand is still heading towards goal. Being beaten on the lead is his weakness for mine.
Needs to gel with others in the back half to stop from being isolated with the opposition number one or true forward. Always stuck me as the type to play on resting ruckmen, match them in the air then run off them, only teams don't often play two rucks these days let alone rest one forward.

 

[StillAtLarge]

Both Frawley and Brand have been trash this year, I've watched both of them pretty closely. They get lost when having to switch opponents, are poor when guarding dangerous space (Sicily clearly our best at this) and rarely have 'touch' on their direct opponents (Stratton & Hardwick the standouts).
As others have mentioned, Frawley is probably only ahead of Brand due to runs on the board but neither fill me with any confidence. Playing both against Richmond's mosquito fleet forwards will go down as one of the biggest selection blunders of the year

 

[Hawkas1988]

Neither Brand or Frawley are close to being elite, people want Brand to be this gun KPD which he is not. Frawley has regressed badly the past couple of seasons.

Frawley gets the gig atm because we haven't got anyone better, as much as we want Brand to be better he just isn't.

 

[Thaihawk]

Frawley hasn't been great this year, but he has some runs on the board and is an experienced head in a very young backline.

If Brand wants to be in the side, he needs to start dominating at BHH. He isn't.

19 disposals, 7 marks and 4 tackles doesn't seem too bad for a key tall back.

 

[Brant]

Full Forward.

Let him smash into the back of Tarrant or whomever is taking 10+ uncontested, intercept marks in our forwardline.

He’s big, quick & will bring the ball to ground a f**k load better than Timmy O’Melbourne is doing. He knows how to play forward & can take a mark.

Whilst we’re bereft of a forward with a big body or who can jump, we may as well get some use out of Brand.

 

[Collins-Langford-Ayres]

Didn't he have some off-field issues a few years ago?

 

[MrPremiership]

Didn't he have some off-field issues a few years ago?

That's news to me

 

[Brant]

Didn't he have some off-field issues a few years ago?

Yeh from memory, but if he’s being overlooked in 2018 for something that happened about 2015/16 then it’s kinda on us now, not him.

I reckon that has zero to do with his lack of senior games & as someone above alluded to, is more about his team-defender performance

 

[Davo23]

Yeh from memory, but if he’s being overlooked in 2018 for something that happened about 2015/16 then it’s kinda on us now, not him.

I reckon that has zero to do with his lack of senior games & as someone above alluded to, is more about his team-defender performance

It has to be: Brand has been dropped from the team a few times, not counting injuries.

He must be working on some weakness/tactical issue: maybe he's not learning or he's taking time to learn?

 

[Dixie Flatline]

He has a good ability to defend a man but poor ability to play the team defence game preferred by Clarkson. He gets caught out in transition too easily among other things. Hopefully he can learn and take over the number one key position defender role.

Without being privy to the deliberations of the match committee, I would think this is Brand's primary issue. Long gone are the days when a team could afford a negative stopping player who focused solely on his own man. The manner in which football has evolved means that team defence is very important now. If you're not moving with the team, then you create a vulnerability the opponent will exploit.

Brand is a decent height, but needs to work on his "football intelligence" for lack of a better term. If he's showing in training that he's picking up the nuances of what's needed of him, then he'll be given the opportunity; otherwise, the match committee will continue to prefer Frawley.

 

[realhawk]

He's better than Frawley at stopping a direct opponent.
He's better than Frawley with ball in hand.
He's better than Frawley in a pack situation.

Yet he is consistently overlooked for Frawley - who is also really struggling with his positioning in addition to getting beaten by every opponent he plays on....well near anyway.

Others have mentioned Brand is too focused on one task - shutting down his opponent, and isn't capable of switching onto smalls if required.

I'd argue that's a failure of the gameplan - not the player. We are consistently exposed by big forwards - and he is the best big defender on the list.

yes he is better than CHIP with ball in hand and in a pack situation but he is nowhere near Frawley with regards to stopping a direct opponant. Brand is a poor reader of the game and is slow, unfortunately he is a depth player.

 

[Brishawk]

Without being privy to the deliberations of the match committee, I would think this is Brand's primary issue. Long gone are the days when a team could afford a negative stopping player who focused solely on his own man. The manner in which football has evolved means that team defence is very important now. If you're not moving with the team, then you create a vulnerability the opponent will exploit.

Brand is a decent height, but needs to work on his "football intelligence" for lack of a better term. If he's showing in training that he's picking up the nuances of what's needed of him, then he'll be given the opportunity; otherwise, the match committee will continue to prefer Frawley.

Yep. There is a reason why very atheletic guys like brand go late in the draft and usually it is football intelligence. Has yet to reach fifty games so hoping he will get it eventually. Not a lot of competition at the moment so he is always an injury to Frawley away from a recall even if he doesn’t improve