Former #30 B. Zerk-Thatcher

[primmer1978]

@groundcontrol

Although he is 195 cm, I think he will be able to handle the bigger key forwards in time. He is strong skinny and will get stronger, has a great leap, great judgement and is very courageous. Interestingly May is 193 cm. Hope we can keep him, I have a sneaking suspicion he’s going to be a beauty.

he is just about 23 and been at the club for 4 years, i think it is a little Peter Pan to think he is going to be able to do more than what he is doing now

[WindsockBoy]

Look I rarely bag Essendon players, and when Zerk first started I had great hopes.
But he has serious deficiencies that he hasn’t been able to address- and I’m not sure increased confidence will sort many of them.
Pros - he’s a good contested player one on one. He tries hard.
Cons - he’s a poor kick, a poor handball, only average at endurance & pace. So he gets burnt by leading, mobile forwards. Not a strong intercept mark. Prone to lapses in judgment & general footy smarts.

In short I can’t think of a top side that carries a key back who’s so one dimensional.
The others can at least intercept mark, or have reasonable to very good foot skills, or are able to quickly assess a situation and give the ball off to a teammate in a better position.

You can get away with a key back like Zerk if you’re happy to dwell in the bottom half of the ladder. And applaud his contested work.
There’s a reason Paddy Ambrose was dropped from the back line. And he had a few more strings to his bow than Zerk.
But it won’t turn you into a very good side.

Note, I am not saying Stewart is the answer here.
But I can see the thinking.

[darkknightpheonix]

@primmer1978

@groundcontrol

Although he is 195 cm, I think he will be able to handle the bigger key forwards in time. He is strong skinny and will get stronger, has a great leap, great judgement and is very courageous. Interestingly May is 193 cm. Hope we can keep him, I have a sneaking suspicion he’s going to be a beauty.

he is just about 23 and been at the club for 4 years, i think it is a little Peter Pan to think he is going to be able to do more than what he is doing now

and yet people think stewart is going to magically become a great defender, when he’s almost 28, go figure.

[primmer1978]

@WindsockBoy

Look I rarely bag Essendon players, and when Zerk first started I had great hopes.
But he has serious deficiencies that he hasn’t been able to address- and I’m not sure increased confidence will sort many of them.
Pros - he’s a good contested player one on one. He tries hard.
Cons - he’s a poor kick, a poor handball, only average at endurance & pace. So he gets burnt by leading, mobile forwards. Not a strong intercept mark. Prone to lapses in judgment & general footy smarts.

In short I can’t think of a top side that carries a key back who’s so one dimensional.
The others can at least intercept mark, or have reasonable to very good foot skills, or are able to quickly assess a situation and give the ball off to a teammate in a better position.

You can get away with a key back like Zerk if you’re happy to dwell in the bottom half of the ladder. And applaud his contested work.
There’s a reason Paddy Ambrose was dropped from the back line. And he had a few more strings to his bow than Zerk.
But it won’t turn you into a very good side.

Note, I am not saying Stewart is the answer here.
But I can see the thinking.

i agree with all of this, i am not bagging him just saying people should not expect massive improvement from a player who has been in the system for 4 years. I am happy to have Zerk stay or if he finds more opportunities then take them up

He is not quick or overly skilled but he is very honest. His best spot imo is as an intercepting defender, I just don’t think he is good enough to do it consistently at the top level.

If he stays then great, it will be as depth and not a first 22 player I believe.

[somo84]

@WindsockBoy

But he has serious deficiencies that he hasn’t been able to address

Has he not shown enough to suggest he can improve these shortcomings? Legit question because I’ve seen little of him in the VFL.

@WindsockBoy

In short I can’t think of a top side that carries a key back who’s so one dimensional.

Agreed, but we are not a good side. We are developing so we can surely afford to carry a kid that might improve. Hell, we’ve been carrying mature players for years.

@WindsockBoy

There’s a reason Paddy Ambrose was dropped from the back line. And he had a few more strings to his bow than Zerk.

This isn’t a fair comparison. Zerk’s still young. It was established that Ambrose wasn’t best 22 when he was mature age.

[Deckham]

Is it possible that Zerk has been marked as a ‘hold & develop’ while we’re ascertaining whether to keep Stewart on?

[Ants]

@WindsockBoy

Look I rarely bag Essendon players, and when Zerk first started I had great hopes.
But he has serious deficiencies that he hasn’t been able to address- and I’m not sure increased confidence will sort many of them.
Pros - he’s a good contested player one on one. He tries hard.
Cons - he’s a poor kick, a poor handball, only average at endurance & pace. So he gets burnt by leading, mobile forwards. Not a strong intercept mark. Prone to lapses in judgment & general footy smarts.

In short I can’t think of a top side that carries a key back who’s so one dimensional.
The others can at least intercept mark, or have reasonable to very good foot skills, or are able to quickly assess a situation and give the ball off to a teammate in a better position.

You can get away with a key back like Zerk if you’re happy to dwell in the bottom half of the ladder. And applaud his contested work.
There’s a reason Paddy Ambrose was dropped from the back line. And he had a few more strings to his bow than Zerk.
But it won’t turn you into a very good side.

Note, I am not saying Stewart is the answer here.
But I can see the thinking.

On the cons, he’s actually a very good contested intercept mark at VFL level. And you mention the one deficiency several times (disposal); mentioning it multiple times isn’t really fair.

On the bolded, there have been plenty of premiership and Grand Final sides who’ve done so. Zac Dawson, Stephen Gilham, are both good examples of players who filled FB in teams contesting a grand final. Both very limited (arguably moreso than Zerk) but very good stoppers. The 2016 grand final had Laidler, Hamling and Morris filling key roles (and yes, Morris was a good player, but not really KP height).

So its an absolute furphy that you can’t be at the top and win premierships with a guy like Zerk.

Ambrose was mostly dropped because after cementing his place he couldn’t stay on the park.

[WindsockBoy]

I disagree with Zerk being a very good intercept mark at VFL level.
And I’ve seen him a fair bit.
He’s solid, not very good.
And the reason I mention different types of disposal is because a key back can get away with being for example a poor kick, if they can dish off quickly by hand to teammates in better positions. Or vice versa. Or being a penetrating kick, with a weakness for ground balls. Zerk has issues with all of these.

It’s also telling that you’ve had to really dredge for similar examples - 3 in the last half a dozen years actually reinforces my point.
The game has changed for backs.

A quick look at other current combos;
Cordy & Keath, Henderson & Henry, May & Lever, Allir & Houston, Rampe & McCartin, Andrews & Addams, even Grimes & Balta.
There’s a bit of a theme there, and Laverde & Zerk is a real outlier in terms of skill sets.
Keath is the only one close to Zerk in terms of limited skill sets, and he’s a very good ground ball player for his height as well.
Whereas Laverde & Stewart, or Laverde/ Francis/ Stewart is much more aligned with those combinations.
Laverde & Reid, with Reid’s kicking, or even Brand is a match for the future.

I’m not saying delist Zerk.
I am putting up reasons why he’s not figuring highly in the coaching selection.
And Ambrose was tagged for a move away from the backline before his injuries.

[Touchedontheline]

I second your call about his contested/intercept marking. I’ve seen him take some rippers at VFL level. One at Windy Hill a couple of years ago, over near the bowls club, it almost defied physics.

As for his disposal, he is not a great kick and I’m not gonna try to argue otherwise. But it’s been apparent from his first season that he understands his limitations and tries to play within them. On top of that, we’ve already got several guys in defence who can cover his deficiencies when it comes to distribution.

I am absolutely convinced that BZT will be a really solid player for us, given the opportunity. I hope he’s still a Bomber in 2022…

[Anabelle]

Same here!

I hope he starts but understand if he goes.

He is still a kid afterall and will only get better.

I’m hoping it was a development year for him

[Koala]

Essendon Football Club is pleased to announce the re-signing of defender Brandon Zerk-Thatcher to a two-year deal.

Drafted with pick No.66 in the 2017 NAB AFL Draft, Zerk-Thatcher has featured 17 times for the Bombers since his debut in 2019.

The 22-year-old is an exciting key back who possesses strong marking attributes, athleticism and core strength.

Standing at 195cm and weighing 89kg, Zerk-Thatcher is developing into a reliable one-on-one defender, already holding his own on some of the competition’s best key forwards in Josh Kennedy, Lance Franklin, Charlie Dixon and Tom Hawkins.

Zerk-Thatcher said he was delighted to remain at the NEC Hangar until at least the end of 2023.

“I’m thrilled to be at the club for the next two years,” Zerk-Thatcher said.

“As a key defender, I still have so much development ahead of me. I’ve been given real clarity on what I need to work on to best help me succeed. This off season is going to be a real opportunity for me which I’m really looking forward to.

“I’ve been blessed with the people I’m surrounded by, in particular, ‘Truck’ (senior coach Ben Rutten) and ‘Gia’ (defence coach Daniel Giansiracusa) who’ve helped my defensive craft.

“I’m really excited about this team and looking forward to contributing more in the coming seasons.”

General manager of list and recruiting Adrian Dodoro said he was pleased to have Zerk-Thatcher recommit.

“We’re really delighted to have ‘Thatch’ sign on for the next two years,” Dodoro said.

“It’s no secret talls take time to develop and he’s been someone who’s needed that time to fill out his body and get confident in the role.

“We have no doubt ‘Thatch’ will continue to grow in that position and become a really viable defensive option in the future given the attributes he already possesses.

“We can’t wait to see his development over the next couple of years.”

[loyalandproud]

Fantastic news. He’s shown plenty of improvement & has a great upside. Really pleased for him - and us.

[The_New_Coleman]

Yep happy about this. Think he can become a solid full back.

[Speedy_Gonzales]

Did not expect to see that

The old “seeking more opportunities” was expected, perhaps there wasn’t a lot of interest albeit we have given him 2yrs so had to have been some. But probably no one promising a role in best 22.

Either way it’s good that we are retaining his services and that probably rules out us taking Talia

[Sameolds2010]

[westozziebomber]

I don’t reckon anyone saw a two year deal coming, at all

[Dunnybrush]

Exactly. I’d have put my money on trade/delisting over 2 years. Happy though.

[Crod]

Very unexpected but not undeserved.

Glad he’s sticking around.

[Captain_Jack]

@Speedy_Gonzales

Either way it’s good that we are retaining his services and that probably rules out us taking Talia

That is a good move then, l didn’t want us to pick up Talia.
Well done BZT, next step is to prove the doubters wrong.

[bomber001]

Good news, I always thought he’s a solid defender and worth keeping. Let’s see more improvement from him going forward.