#15 Jayden Laverde - 𝐋𝐢𝐯𝐞𝓛𝓪𝓾𝓰𝓱 𝕃𝔸𝕍 (Part 1)

Stewart has him well covered atm.

In fact, by the end of last year, it was actually Laverde V Begley, and Lav wasn’t winning that one either.

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The discussion wasn’t about Stewart’s prowess in the ruck, it was a comparison between Lav & Stewart and who is a better option.
Do you have Stewart in your best 22 or Lav or both ?

I’ll admit a large part of what I see in Laverde is from his pre-AFL days.
He’s also a friend of my son, so I’m a little biased.

There wouldn’t be much between them. Laverde is a much better body player and shows a lot more intent and aggressiveness in contested situations. Stewart may be tall, but he’s really a link man who gets into space through work rate. He regularly gets out-bodied by smaller opponents.

Every time Lav played seniors, … (up until last year when he came in after blistering 2’s form,… then sort of went Deer in the H/lights like…), … he showed real brilliant stuff.

I remember when he played his 1st handful of games before injury, he didn’t miss a goal in about 10 shots, … then I said, …a DJR ish …“He doesn’t miss!!”, … after which he promptly started missing. but until then he looked fantastic, & destined to be the next big thing.

I’m not sure what happened when he got back in the ones last year, … but after such fantastic reserves form for 2 weeks, … had to assume he was learning a new role, & was a bit like a Duck out of water.

I reckon he’s got plenty, … and now he’s more mature of mind & body, … we’re going to see it.

I’ve said it before,… but I reckon Lav & Lang will be our new ((size upgraded for modern footy) Mercuri/Misiti like Mid/HFF combo.

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Dons lose big man - essendonfc.com.au - Essendon Football Club
m.essendonfc.com.au › news › dons-lose…
12 Mar. 2017 · It is likely forward-ruck Shaun McKernan will be forced to fill the vacant ruck position with James Stewart and Patrick Ambrose potential back-ups. With Tom Bellchambers on the recovery trail

Stewart had Laverde covered for contested possessions as well as contested marks.

Stewart’s contested game is far better than given credit for. If the ball was in dispute at ground level I would back Stewart in.

His marking is a work in progress but I saw real improvement throughout the year.

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FFS, … that’s near InstaBan worthy. My heart was truly in my mouth for a second.

Don’t do shitt like that!

Tells me how vital TBell is to our team, and how much I hope Draper et al are coming along.

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Yea its scraping the barrel.

Agree. Also Lav is easy to knock over when bending over. Compare with Stringer, who has incredible core strength. Having said that, we are comparing Adonis with a Gorilla.

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Whats your thoughts on the matter Ivan?

they both have attributes which add to the team and i suspect they can both play a very similar role as a 3rd tall/medium forward come midfielder.

they both have areas of their game they need to enhance and if they were able to do so and harness their full potential they could make it difficult for the other.

adding stringer to the team also squeezes both these guys a little.

Laverde needs to stay in the game more, stay fit and improve his midfield craft and work below his needs.

stewart needs to get his hands stronger in the marking contest, hold his position better and develop his ruckwork.

stewart has the runs on the board obviously but it isn’t beyond laverde to demand a spot. i think both can contribute in the forward line but not at the same time and i think ultimately it will be a question of who can contribute more in other areas of the ground. An in form laverde who is wracking up numbers and goals in the twos will have stewart very nervous and neither would want to put in a quiet JLT.

i wouldn’t have even considered this a debate until some recent training reports pushed Lav’s name up.

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My two cents.

Stewart’s value is inflated currently for mine. I reckon there is a bit of the ‘shiny new toy’ effect going on with him and I think his flashy finishes and regular involvement in highlight reels is also a contributing factor.

Laverde as a player - I still really like. This is not based on exposed form, it is simply my read on footballers and I rate him as a player. I don’t think he was ‘right’ fitness-wise at all when he came back last year - and his patchy at best output has really been used to define him and reinforce perceptions of a player who lacks impact and drifts out of games for too long. I simply don’t think we’ve seen anything like what he could produce when fit and in form. I also think he looks like a confidence player who could absolutely take-off given continuity in his footy.

I reckon we have a lot to look forward to with Laverde - I think he has potential as a midfielder which I think will see him better placed to retain a place in the 22, unlike Stewart who I agree will be placed under pressure from both Stringer and potentially Smith, Langford and other forward-midfield rotations.

I’m not writing Stewart off, nor do I think he cannot play - but I need further convincing and I wouldn’t be surprised if his market value drops this year in the eyes of supporters as the shine wears off.

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Looks at LAV’s TAC cup highlights which show what he can do. That is what I am excited about, replicating that confidence and borderline arrogance with the football. I don’t think we have seen 30% of what he can do with a good injury free run at it.

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Yep. This.

Young man. beautifully written , well thought out and is the reality. Jayden is the multi dimensional real deal. Langford is the real deal and the jigsaw is coming together for a sustained period. Stewart is very talented and will play some good footy but how versatile is he or can he be.

I tend to agree on Stewart. I’m not convinced at all yet that he’s going to be a best 22 player in a really good side. I don’t think he’s a good enough mark (and may never be) to make it as a genuine 2nd tall.
But his running capacity and ability below his knees for a guy that tall is very rare, so he’s definitely got some things to work with. Plus he’s a good kick.
Oh bugger it…he’s back in the best 22 :slight_smile:

Seriously though, I think it’s pretty hard to get a read on where he’ll go from here.

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Laverde is a mid sized powerful burst player, who’s not great above his head, lacks sideways agility, and is relatively poor at ground ball gets.
Stewart is an agile running tall who isn’t a strong contested mark, and can’t really chop out in the ruck or move to the backline.

They each do something’s really well, but have areas to substantially improve on.
They are not comparable players in our set up - Stewart demands a tall defender (he can out mark smaller blokes).
Laverde as a forward requires an ordinary mid sized flanker to defend him.

So a significant selection decision isn’t head to head, but based on team structures. At present Stewart does more to open opportunities for Joe and Hooker than Laverde does.

Given the Stringer and Smith arrivals, and hoping that Laverde can improve at least some of his weaker areas with a good injury free run, I think his best chance to become an automatic best 22 is actually as a mid, and then more as a Zaharakis type - running in straight lines rather than as an inside mid, for all his body strength.

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They’re not comparable in how they play just where they play.

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See sentence about team structures - they don’t actually play the same position.