Does anyone have any combine stats on him? I imagine his speed is sub 3sec and his agility would be quite good too, his endurance numbers will give us a good insight as to how many games he might get next year.
Feel a lot better about this with Phillipou going to Saint Kilda, no way heāll reach his potential there. In all seriousness while he may not look like a list need now, we have a surplus of young inside mids and with Shiel/Merrett getting on and McGrath probably moving into defence we will need his speed and outside run sooner than we think.
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guess this kid will get No. 5
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Almost certainly.
Good luck to him. Bloody exciting times for a young lad.
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Great pick ! Bombers have lacked A graders, this kid wins B&F whilst playing only 6 games.
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Seems like a great kid
Given our issues in recurring injuries, poor bloke may only get to play 6 games a year.
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Tsatas in number 5 makes me happy
I havenāt read any of the comments yet so sorry if this has been coveredā¦ BUT, Clarkson gets smashed and leaves North and two years later, we get his disenchanted mate! Everyone likes a 2 4 1
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Elite in all the stats awesome
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Nah, Perkins thanks
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Hobbs
Caldwell
Merret
Perkins
Tsatas
Reckon we could afford to let got Parish as a FA?
The best part of him winning his B&F is that he apparently polled top votes in 5 out of the 6 games. Thatās a standout player. A dominate player. Thatās what you want from pick 5.
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ET!
It makes sense that Parish or Shiel finish up with us at the end of next season
Seems like a ripper kid. Canāt wait to see what he can do next year and beyond
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My profile on Elijah Tsatas here is the link to help give myself and the team some love but Iāll include the full profile here anyway.
https://central.rookieme.com/afl/player/elijah-tsatas/
Elijah Tsatas
SNAPSHOT: āOne of the most attacking midfielders in the draft Tsatas uses his speed and smarts to win plenty of the ball on the inside and outsideā
Elijah Tsatas has been a highly rated prospect for ahwile now with selection in SSA squads and some strong performances in 16s pre-season games, 17s Vic Metro and even a debut as a 16 year old for Oakleighs under 19 side last year. Tsatas has spent a lot of his time either as a stoppage midfielder or running wingman and has excelled at both roles.
Tsatas started the year in ripping form with some strong results in the pre-season testing and some big games for Oakleigh before APS started highlighted with a 42 disposal game against Eastern Ranges but a foot fracture during his game against Collingwood VFL for the AFL Academy ruled him out for 3 months missing a large chunk of the National Championships but would make a strong return through APS team Wesley with a 3 goal game followed by a 37 disposal and 10 clearance game.
Tsatasās return to NAB League couldnāt have been better with a dominant display against eventual premiers Sandringham with a stacked midfield including Will Ashcroft, Cam Mackenzie and Olli Hotton finishing with 38 disposals and 13 inside 50s and would back that up with a 34 disposal game against Bendigo in Oakleighs last game as the Oakleigh Vice Captain gave his all in a losing effort.
The natural ball winner would finally get to play for Vic Metro and would end the game with 29 disposals and 5 clearances and was only 2 possession of Will Ashcroft who was the highest ball winner for the game. Tsatas wasnāt able to back up his strong pre-season testing at the National combine but was impressive in interviews with the well spoken charger embracing the pressure and understands the draft and how he may have to play interstate at the next level.
STRENGTHS:
- Speed
- Agility
- Vision
- Clean Hands
- Consistency
- Production
IMPROVEMENTS:
- Strength
- Tackling
There is no player in the draft who can spread from a stoppage quite like Tsatas can; Tsatas uses his elite speed often to escape congestion usually after pouncing on the ground ball. Tsatas is hard to stop when he hits a stoppage at pace and takes the ball cleanly so if a ruckman can tap it to his advantage you can almost bank on Tsatas getting to the ball first and then sending the ball inside 50.
The Speed of Tsatas has been used to great effect whether on the inside or outside and formed a great partnership with teammate George Wardlaw on a few occasions this year with Wardlaw going the grunt work and Tsatas capitalising on the outside. That speed and agility combo will always bring attention to Tsatas so there is certainly no shortage of pressure whenever Tsatas goes for the ball because if you give him an inch he will take a mile as he also doesnāt fumble the ball.
Tsatas has been Oakleighās top possession winner in every game he has played and beaten only twice by the opposition top ball winner so its safe to say Tsatas has no problem winning the ball. Whether its winning his own ball when he goes to stoppages, leading to space around the ground on sweeping on the loose ball he has many avenues to winning the ball using his football smarts and natural ability despite having a rather low endurance based compared to others in this years crop.
Of course being Oakleighs top possession winner every game Tsatas has been very consistent this year averaging 33.8 disposals and not far behind Will Ashcroft who averaged 34.5 disposals. Ashcroft wins more contested ball as a more permanent midfielder but although Tsatas plays a more outside role he isnt just a receiver and wont hesitate to attack a loose ball at speed but his lighter frame makes it harder for him to play a more contested style to enhance his best attributes when playing in the centre.
Skills wise Tsatas certainly hits more targets than he misses and by hand he can be very clean and weight them well and to teammates advantage and this is what could see him have a great career as a more inside player especially with his speed and clean hands at stoppages. Kicking on the other hand could use some improvement with a lack of penetration at times and he tends to kick out one step after marks which can loop up and put his teammates under pressure but kicking inside 50 he often kicks to advantage and makes the right decisions so there is certainly no big concern but overall could be better.
The one big area for Tsatas to improve at the next level is his defensive running and tackling only averaging 1.3 tackles a game which is rather poor for a midfielder but not uncommon for a pure winger but it is certainly an area to improve with pressure becoming more important with each year. Tsatas will use his speed with ball in hand but doesnāt push as hard to put pressure on and it may come down to that lower endurance base compared to the likes of Ashcroft but you could argue Tsatas would be a more well rounded player winning 5 disposals less but averaging 3 more tackles per game.
DRAFT RANGE: 1-5
SUMMARY:
Despite missing 3 months of football in an important period Tsatas remains a big chance to be one of the first selected in this years draft, standing at 186cm and possessing elite speed and a good leap and couple that with his natural football ability and production its hard to ignore Tsatas in the top 5 picks in this years draft. There is also some upside with Tsatas as he is the least readymade out of the top mids and with an interrupted year who knows how much better he could have gone.
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Honestly excited for the likes of Parish, Merrett, Caldwell to release this guy on the burst.
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