He passes the eye test on straight line speed, but he didn’t get in the top 5 of the 20m sprint times in preseason testing.
Is that relative to the Victorian crop, or the national crop?
Its preseason testing for the talent league. Other comps do their own.
Patterson was ferocious in his attack on the contest and the man in the first half, winning the ball on a number of occasions for his team and executing his skills at a high level including a lovely running goal in the second term that sparked a rally by the Academy team. He faded out of the contest in the second half, perhaps struggling a little with match fitness after an injury layoff in recent weeks.
7 Likes
Yeah all their draft capital will go to Butters they will have trouble getting El Souki
I thought El Souki was Butters’ nickname???
5 Likes
Thanks for responding.
The issue with the confusing years seems to be a formatting problem after saving my post. I have edited to remove the dot points to resolve the formatting.
Sounds like the 2026 draft may not develop into one in which we try and resolve multiple position needs, and it may be better to go all in on the small/medium forward types in which there are more options.
We can certainly use more smaller types that have lead and mark capability in our forward line.
Perhaps the dream outcome for 2026 is find the next Mark Mercuri and Anthony MacDonald-Tippungwuti
“Andrew, can you explain why this wasn’t changed before that joke of a 25 draft?” Squirms away while hugging a map of Queensland population growth.
1 Like
Phew, really close call today. But our access to early draft picks have held their nerve. It’s becoming less of a sure thing by the week.
2 Likes
Another week or two like this and we will be picking outside the top 5.
Pros and cons i guess.
I’m not overly confident in Bryan becoming a consistent number 1 ruckman.
And unless Vigo comes on in leaps and bounds after his recovery we are gonna need a man mountain of a ruckman.
HVH will become more and more appealing throughout the year.
Unfortunately Richmond needs one just as much as we do, and I can’t see them finishing above us unless we cop another bad year with injuries.
While Koby wasn’t awarded the medal, he was the clear BOG in the humble opinion of this observer. Koby shapes as a prospect that’s very well suited to the modern game, playing as a wing or half forward with the tank and running power to get up and down the ground, the size and overhead marking strength to impact aerially, a classy and penetrating left foot kick, and the knack of impacting the scoreboard by slotting majors himself or setting up his teammates.
4 Likes
I came in late to watch the academy game, and only saw the back half. Was told that Arki Butler was having a decent time on-ball. Watched him break out of traffic and yes looked quite clean with the ball. Cody Walker really does catch the eye from the squad though and was a decent mark and quite speedy. Another club-tied prospect in Tanner Armstrong put on a show. Found a lot of the ball, but probably wasn’t the best user - missing shots on goal and pressured kicks.
Lecras, also stood out. Looks to be quite athletic and moves around the ground. I missed the first half where he had played forward more.
I was impressed by the Nuke (Marlon Neocleous) who is just a gut running dude, and takes a lot of marks for someone his size. I just looked it up and he ended up with nine marks in that game.
Gabe Patterson looks very promising. He just looks quick and I imagine over time would have a real x-factor to his game. I don’t really know where he would be ranking in the draft, if he would be right in the top 10 or just out of it. Some plays were just a little off but could just be skill error rather than panic disposal.
I also really enjoy watching Noah Williams’ game. Probably not as good as last weeks but I do see similarities in the likes of Merrett and Gulden in some ways. I feel that he probably did just that less running in this game than last week but still showcased his kicking.
Harrison Chapman, a winger looked also promising and had some good two-way running. Can’t really say he did much wrong. Marks well, runs well. He would be a decent pick up for a side as that defensive winger.
Some defenders, who probably don’t get enough love, were Tate Hodgson, Kale Matthews-Hampton, Heath Mellody, Garrison Kenh (West Coast tied), and Xavier Ladbrook who won BOG. Those names mentioned just looked to be some of the better decision makers and users by foot out of defence and looked to mark and intercept the ball more.
It looked to be more of an uncontested style ball movement game for the academy squad, with some taking more advantage of it than others. Looking at guys like Butler, Williams, Lecras, HVH, and Benji Van Rooyen looked to me as ones who weren’t as afraid of the contest. I also thought it was interesting seeing the likes of Rooyen and Herbert taking on more forward craft work in this game which would make them more appealing instead of being more one-dimensional rucks. Will try to watch the game in full tonight in the background while at work.
5 Likes
Given we’re playing better and look significantly more competitive, it’s reasonable to think we won’t quite be in that very bottom 2. It probably feels like it might be in that 4-8 range, which likely gives us access to one of:
- Butler
- Edwards
- Williams
- Snell
- In season riser
This is based from my first Top 50 Power Rankings that I’ve now made public. I think at that part of the draft there will probably be players that our list build could do with, so it’s not a bad place to be.
The National Championships will no doubt shake things up, but so far the draft is quite curious. Very offensively geared.
10 Likes
A much better performance in game 2 from Xavier Ladbrook who was a wall across the defensive line for most of the game and was named BOG by the Academy coaches. He played tighter to his man than last week but showed the ability to read the play and run off proactively to intercept or overlap for rebounding moves. Like most of the Academy defenders Ladbrook struggled in the fourth quarter when their midfield was overrun and ball was flowing regularly into D50 but saved his best moment for last with a brilliant run down tackle to save what looked like a certain goal. At 201cm Ladbrook is genuine key position size and has a frame that should fill out over time.
2 Likes
Nah, that’s the umpires name.
1 Like
Another solid game from Neocleous who’s confirmed himself as a first round prospect across this two game Academy series. His ball use was a little less tidy than usual but his work rate to present as a link man pushing up off a forward flank was as elite as always. Considering his diminutive size he took some solid marks, highlighted by his effort early in the first quarter where he leaped over his opponent to mark on the goal line before snapping truly.
4 Likes
Big Harry was a little off in this one. He mistimed many of his leaps in the ruck, leading to him largely ceding the hit out battle to his opponent, and while he was typically competitive with his follow up work, he wasn’t always as effective as usual with the ball. When moved forward he competed hard in marking contests without clunking any cleanly outside of one lovely mark on the lead in the second quarter.
3 Likes
In NHH case
is it better to go play WAFL or SANFl (as he did) over playing as a 19 year old in the coates league?
Both approaches have worked in the past. I suspect that it can often depend on specific feedback from recruiters and clubs on what they want to see.
For a Vic kid like NHH, SANFL or WAFL involves moving interstate which shows your willingness to move out of your comfort zone and a dedication to footy as a career. It will show teams that you can compete against men (as long as you play well of course). From the perspective of the young lad, it also allows you to start earning money from footy which could be attractive.
Playing as an overager in the talent league is not available to everyone. I’m no expert, but I think the club needs to be open to having you for an extra year, and its typically offered to prospects that the coaches believe have the talent but weren’t able to get a good run at it due to injury.
4 Likes