Tac/u18 Thread

hey humble minion, do you know much about kane lambert? he won the Fothergill-Round Medal for the best under 23s player in the vfl and finished second in the jj liston medal, do you think he'd be available at our first pick and if so do you think hes worth picking up?

cheers

hey humble minion, do you know much about kane lambert? he won the Fothergill-Round Medal for the best under 23s player in the vfl and finished second in the jj liston medal, do you think he'd be available at our first pick and if so do you think hes worth picking up?

cheers

 We are definitely scouting him. Have heard good things about this mature ager.

hey humble minion, do you know much about kane lambert? he won the Fothergill-Round Medal for the best under 23s player in the vfl and finished second in the jj liston medal, do you think he'd be available at our first pick and if so do you think hes worth picking up?

cheers

saladin, DJR or HFF are the ones to ask here - I don't really get to see much VFL.

get around Jimmy Harmes.. :)

 

Good Kid and has really come on this year after initially being cut from Vic Country and then forcing his way back in..

 

Gone from a fringe player to starting Midfielder at the Stingrays

Heppell a chance Seen a fair bit early last year and showed good poise, very dedicated kid ,better of taking one that will give 100 percent than a brilliant footballer that give you 80 .

hey humble minion, do you know much about kane lambert? he won the Fothergill-Round Medal for the best under 23s player in the vfl and finished second in the jj liston medal, do you think he'd be available at our first pick and if so do you think hes worth picking up?

cheers

Would be a fairly solid option.

 

Before this year has played mostly as a tagger/run-with player at Nothern Blues/Bullants, but given more free reign this year.

 

In terms of skills is fairly even across the board, with not that many weapons. I would say his endurance/work-rate would be his biggest strength, although his defensive ability would be much greater than the average draftee, which is another plus. Doesn't appear to have many weaknesses either. So probably someone who won't be a superstar, but could fairly reasonably be like a Ben Howlett type level.

Team of the year

 

 

B          Zak Jones                   Fraser Fort                  Jake Owen

            Dandenong                 Geelong Falcons         Calder Cannons

 

HB       Louis Herbert              Darcy Gardiner           Tom Langdon

            North Ballarat              Geelong                    Sandringham

 

C         Billy Hartung               Matt Crouch                Josh Kelly                  

            Dandenong                 North Ballarat              Sandringham

 

HF       Ben Lennon                 Tom Boyd                   Lewis Taylor

            Northern Knights         Eastern Ranges          Geelong Falcons

 

F          Mitch Honeychurch      Michael Apeness         Josh Scott                  

            Eastern Ranges          Eastern Ranges           Gippsland Power       

 

Foll.     Jack Leslie                  Jacob Chisari              Michael Gibbons

            Gippsland Power        Bendigo Pioneers        Murray Bushrangers              

 

Interchange:

James Sicily               Christian Salem          James Tsitas

Western Jets               Sandringham              Geelong

 

Jay Kennedy Harris    Nick Holman               Marcus Bontempelli

Oakleigh Chargers      Murray Bushrangers   Northern Knights

Tom Langdon - was available last year but missed out, was in that 40 - Rookie range before the draft. Good junior who has been playing third tall, running half back for the zebras this year. Dedicated kid with leadership potential, strong head on his shoulders and I think he would blossom in the AFL system if given a chance. 

 

He has been invited to the draft camp and I think, considering what he has done after missing out last year, he should be rewarded with a chance - if he is available within our picks i'd have a crack.

 

HM - what are your thoughts on him this year?

Hi Tom :P

Hi Tom :P

mate of brothers actually ;) but he does warrant a discussion 

Couple of promising games tomorrow, TAC prelims are always good.  Won't be going, i'm pretty cheesed off with footy at the moment, but I'd encourage anyone in the vicinity of pricefixer park to go along and have a look.  Bring your own lunch though, cos if you buy at the canteen or cafe, Carlton get the profits...

 

I'll have a listen on TAC Radio though, I highly recommend their coverage.  They really know their TAC, and they treat it as a serious footy game rather than a draft audition, which is nice.  Red time sports app or else streamed on the TAC website.

 

Calder vs Dandy I find hard to judge, I haven't seen Dandy at all this year but their mids have been talked up quite a bit - Hartung, Harmes, Bastinac, Jones etc.  Calder have actually done better than I expected making it this far, I just didn't think they had the star power going into the year, and a lot of their oldethos seemed to have been lost with their coaching change, but they seem to have turned it around.  Still Not sure they can match it in the middle.  Out boy Clothier has really stepped up from being an occasional hbf at the start of the year to being one of their top-tier mids, he's been part of the reason for their improvement.  Discovering tall forward Wright and Kommer clone Mcconnell has helped too.  Just not sure they have the evenness make it through this game though.

 

Geelong vs Eastern is the other game.  Enormous in for the Ranges is Tom Boyd.  Falcons have the best tall backs in the league but even fort and Gardiner will have trouble with Boyd/Apeness, especially with O'Sullivan floating down there too.  They do have McCartin to throw back if things get desperate.  Geelong, even without Taylor, Boag, Lang should be just too strong in the middle - Eastern have some talented guys, but the most talented (Honeychurch, Keedle) lack consistency and the workhorses (Cavarra, Walker, Petracca) just don't quite have the sharp edge to match it with Tsitas, Maishman, Adams, Bourke, Hickey, Cameron etc.  And the slightly undersized Eastern defenders will really have their hands full with 195+cm guys in McCartin and Goddard who will get mountains of supply.  Boyd is very capable of kicking 7 even if his mids get smashed, but in his first game back against the best team in the comp and some very good tall defenders, i reckon it's too much of an ask.  Geelong should take it.

Tom Langdon - was available last year but missed out, was in that 40 - Rookie range before the draft. Good junior who has been playing third tall, running half back for the zebras this year. Dedicated kid with leadership potential, strong head on his shoulders and I think he would blossom in the AFL system if given a chance. 

 

He has been invited to the draft camp and I think, considering what he has done after missing out last year, he should be rewarded with a chance - if he is available within our picks i'd have a crack.

 

HM - what are your thoughts on him this year?

I can only speak for what I saw of him last year.  He was certainly one of the better players in his side (dragons, wasn't it?) but he was an overager, so you'd expect that, and I'm also not really sure where his position was as an AFL player.  Solid, reliable, good size but not a kpp, ok disposal but not a weapon, decent pace but not fast.  i wasn't surprised he didn't get drafted, (though a late or rookie pick wouldn't have surprised me either), he's just one of those guys who you're not sure what you draft him to do.  Matching it in the VFL is a big plus mark for him, though, shows he can handle the bigger bodies and wasn't just beating up the TAC kids as a 19yo.

 

VFL watchers could probably talk about his chances better than me.

posted this in the draftee thread yesterday, but it probably best belongs here...

 

Went down to check out the TAC cup prelims at Princes Park yesterday. 

 

Eastern vs Geelong & Dandenong vs Calder.

The first games I have seen live this year. 

Not fully across the historical form line of these guys,

so, I'm just going on my initial reactions.

Plenty of likely types running around.

 

I may add Dodoro was there and looking very chipper.

 

First player to mention is Jedd Clothier, our NSW scholarship kid. 

Had tonnes of the ball. Probably in the low to mid 30s, but a large percentage of those were just hacked skyward from stoppages, his efficiency would have been around 50%.

Massive unit. Built like Vlaustin. Not sure if we'd rookie him. Might be too much a Scania.

Likes the contest but doesn't really have cleanliness or vision in close.

Looks as slow as former EFC cult hero Hal Hunter.

That said he has some tools to work with. Possibly a chance to be rookied, thought wouldn't want to overlook TIPPA!

 

Whilst on the Cannons, thought that Josh Cauchi showed some pluck as a small forward.

Not sure if could make it happen at AFL level as he is a miniscule 170cm tall,

but has the attributes to be a great forward pocket. Gets to the right spots, sports clean hands and likes a goal.

 

The Stingrays had an abundance of quick outside players. So, there was plenty to take in.

Zak Jones was the stand out. Is the younger brother of Nathan (demons) Had agression to burn, won it in the clinches, spread hard when needed, and used it well by foot. 

 

Billy Hartung has the goods. Was playing off Half Back for the most part, made a few errors by foot in the 1st half, But there was one particular run in the 3rd quarter, where he carved his way through congestion at HB had 3-4 bounces through the middle and set up his man deep in the 50. It was scintillating. 

 

In the 2nd game, apart from Underage gun Petracca, who kicked a bag and was in everything, I loved Ben Cavarra. Has the pace, the ability to play inside and outside and a strong onfield presence. Not sure where he is predicted to go, probably earlier now considering he won the morrish medal - But he has ALOT of what we need.

 

If we are considering drafting a ruckman with one of our few picks in the ND (if Bellchambers goes) could do worse than looking at Michael Apeness. Has played FF in the absence of Boyd. And his body is ready to go. He ain't no twig. Can play fwd and is more than capable in the ruck for a guy under 200cm (stats show he has grown a few cm since the start of the season).

 

LOVED Jimmy Tsitas for the Falcons. I think HM had pegged him as a likely type in the TAC thread. Was hard at it and racked up 30 odd disposals with ease. Guaranteed to be a gun. 

 

In Summary, my favourites for today in relation to our needs.

 

Jimmy Tchitas

Billy Hartung

Ben Cavarra

Michael Apeness

Zak Jones

Josh Cauchi 

 

* Christian Petracca (will be a GUN next year)

Ridiculous how long it has taken to actually sit down and write this up.

 

Also took in my first ever TAC games. My eyesight is beyond shithouse so inside mids are a noticeable blindspot for me, will have to work on that if I go to more games in future.

 

Should've taken more notes, so its more going on recollection. The games were of a fairly good standard, but the drop in intensity from the Stingrays/Cannons game to the 2nd match was pretty stark.  

 

 

Dandenong

 

Capiron (under-age) - Back pocket/HBFer who attacks the ball hard and has very polished foot skills. Had whoever the scouts behind me were virtually cooing. One to watch next year.

 

Harmes - inside mid - Good hands in tight, got him and Pickess mixed up in the 2nd quarter, one of them had numerous kicks that quarter in space like Daniel Cross (ie. very average)

 

Gardiner - He's a decent set shot and mark on the lead. I know it‘s only one game, but he didn't seem to read high balls that well - twice in front of me in the first half he got caught under the ball and ultimately out-positioned by his opponent Thompson.

 

Soft Tissue's covered Hartung though I will say he's definitely got a fair bit of class about him and a fair kick as well.

 

 

Calder

 

Thompson - As mentioned previously was good defensively on Gardiner and his positioning particularly was good.

 

Clothier - Double clutches/fumbles way too much for my liking under pressure, which turned potential breakaways into ball-ups. That being said I agree with Minion, that in our situation we can‘t afford to turn down a free-hit.

 

Owen - Named on a HBF in the TAC Team of the Year. Really liked his ability to think his way through situations in traffic, generally had clean hands and made good decisions.

 

Lever – Underage. Played a very solid defensive game. Good kick for a key back as well.

 

McConnell - It is only one game, but I don't think I've cringed that much watching one player with the ball since I last saw Michael Quinn or Brent Grgic play. One piece of play summed up his game on Saturday at least he received the ball streaming out from the back half went for a bounce, the ball bounce back fine but he somehow managed to panic and clutch at the ball causing him to lose control of the ball, a Stingray picked it up and hit a teammate up for a goal. His field kicking was also quite poor

 

Prestia - Very very similar to his brother, bull in the china shop, runs headlong at the ball and will go through anybody that gets into his path.

 

O'Brien - For a key forward, he had this annoying habit of always starting from behind. Ok he is listed at 200cms but he rarely outmarked his opponent and didn't provide a great target either

 

Kovacevic - Underage ruck that had nice tapwork. Didn't notice him much up forward though

 

Christensen - Liked him. Played off a wing and had good skills and probably slightly above average pace. What really stood out was his defensive side though, had 2 really nice spoils on his opponent and stuck to him closely. Though he only played wing, you could use him as a tagger or a back pocket given his defensive side is already very pronounced

 

Wright - Underage. Really impressive. Already 202cms but as an underager could still add height. Can kick 50 fairly easily, athletic and leads up at the ball well as a forward and competed well in the ruck. His best bit of play for the day was winner a tap in the ruck and then following up to win the clearance handballing to a teammate which ended up in a goal for Calder.

 

 

Geelong

 

Gardiner – He reminded me of seeing Guthrie the first time, he just has that similar sort of composure in the backline, is a good kick and generally picked the right option. Unfortunately he got crunched just before half time and had to be helped off the field. I think he was back out there for parts of the 2nd half but was generally unsighted. At 192 he‘s the same height as Pears but I think he‘ll settle more into 3rd tall rather than KPD

 

Russell – Another HBF that had good disposal skills and generally made good decisions

 

Sharp – HBF/wing – Found plenty of the ball, has a bit of toe, his kicking was good generally, but had a few shanks in there as well.

 

Goddard – Underage. It wasn‘t his day, but I don‘t think he worked nearly hard enough and his 2nd efforts were lacking

 

McCartin – Underage. A real old school FF. He worked really hard to provide an option even double-leading if he was ignored the first time. He leads hard and marks in front to lessen the chance his opponent can spoil. Also took a few pack marks and his kicking for goal was very good, easy action and follow through.

 

Eastern

 

McStay – Fairly rare to find a defender with a Howe-esque leap. Didn‘t see much of him aside from one Howe-esque highlight reel mark over a pack of 5 or 6.

 

Belo – One of the longest kicks of any player on the day, can 60m and at least today he was extremely accurate

 

Petracca – FP/HFF. A tale of 2 halves – he had a mare in the 1st half including having a mark bounce off his chest under no pressure 20m out. The 2nd half he tore Geelong‘s defenders apart, having said that I‘m not as a big a fan of his as Soft Tissue is. Don‘t get me wrong he was very impressive, he was largely on Fraser Fort who was named FB in the Team of the Year and outbodied him regularly to mark the ball. Undoubtedly he‘s one to watch next year, but his natural instinct was to get into a body-on-body contest rather than lead – he‘s listed at 96kgs, Fort at 84kgs so it was fairly easy to bump and or just throw Fort out of the way, but he won‘t be able to do that at the next level so that is my main query on him – I‘d like to see more facets to his game.

 

Apeness – FF/Ruck – 199, 101. Leads well, strong hands (all one grab marks) and took a few very good pack marks. Thought his tapwork was OK but didn‘t get much of a sense of it as he was primarily played as the Eastern‘s key forward

Will post this here given it has some U18s

 

Young Guns Game

 

Got a huge glare immediately upon sitting down, not sure whether that was because I‘d happened to sit down in recruiter central or the GWS scout just didn‘t like I was wearing an Essendon cap. Not sure how many clubs were represented but SOS and his boys were in front of me, Scott Clayton and Gold Coast at the end of my row with Graeme Wright and the Hawks behind me. SOS was needling Wright throughout the game about “27 being Hawthorn‘s Buddy replacement”. There was a fairly buoyant feel pre-game but heading into the last Wright was commenting how it was like “looking for a diamond in a hell of a lot of rough” which was a fair description.

 

Onto the reviewers, with the same disclaimer from the TAC matches – eyesight is ■■■■ so I can‘t give any opinion on Pongracic, Gent, Curnow, Uysal and Rippon other than they were out there and Rippon‘s a tackling terrier and Uysal kicked a nice goal from 50.

 

 

Nick Jamieson – 21, 180, 80, Old Scotch – Outside Mid, found a fair bit of the ball and was good in patches but nothing that screamed draft me – you could say that about a lot of guys on the day

 

Ned Fallon – 20, 185, 86, VFL (Sandy) – Outside Mid. 2 games for Sandringham this year. I thought he was going to be something in the 1st quarter as he was everywhere, taking the game on, running the lines, probably had 7-10p…and then the 2nd quarter started and he‘d already stopped running, didn‘t notice him again until the 4th at which point he started running again. Huge tank question and his foot skills were just OK

 

Matt Farrelly – 20, 185, 75, VFL (Bendigo) – Half Back – 18 games for Bendigo this season. Had good foot skills but didn‘t find enough of it to really leave a lasting impression

 

Ben Bese – 21, 180, 85, Strathmore – Inside Mid – Can‘t comment on the centre bounce stuff but around ground he had good handball skills in close, but his kicking was borderline passable

 

James Linton – 22, 184, 84, Colac – Mid/Half Back – Played wing in the first half, then back flank in the 2nd. Has pace and did a few nice things, but again just flashed in and out of the play

 

Josh Cashman – 19, 180, 76, TAC (Gippsland) – Outside Mid – Quick, ran the lines hard, was good in traffic…and then he kicked the ball and it all fell apart. Reminded me of Jaxson Barham

 

Sandy Robinson – 25, 196, 92, Port Fairy/Geelong VFL – Forward/Ruck – 1 game for Geelong. Is Port Fairy‘s ruck and was drafted in from outside Geelong‘s VFL list to play ruck for them early in the year when all their other rucks were playing AFL or injured. BOG and I'd be shocked if he wasn't drafted on that performance. He was immense, leads strongly, has good hands and took marks in a variety of situations on the lead, diving forward, in packs, etc. Very mobile and didn‘t stop presenting all day, reminded me of the way David Hille played forward at his best, but a much more reliable kick. Can‘t assess his ruckwork as played purely forward as they had 2 rucks in the side already, but he could walk into the AFL as a forward alone. Hawthorn was certainly keen as Wright was talking about seeing whether Port Fairy had another game.

 

Angus Milham – 19, 210, 90, TAC (Oakleigh) – Ruck – First the positive, he‘s a beanpole, his tapwork was OK, acceptable handball and had a good long 50m kick on him. Now the bad – he is poor below the knees even for a ruck, and is a real liability around the ground. He was regularly outbodied and somehow outreached/jumped by a guy listed 10kgs lighter and 14cms shorter. Goes to ground way too easily for someone his size, as Wright put it “the wind blew him over”. He‘s the type of player you take a gamble on as a rookie and hope he improves rapidly.

 

Michael Boland – 22, 196, 80, VFL (Casey) – Ruck/Forward – 4 games for Casey. The guy I was referencing in Milham‘s entry. Good leap and is very mobile, but needs another year at VFL level before I think he might be draftable.

 

Sam Anderson – 18, 187, 72, TAC (Oakleigh) – Forward – Someone I‘d like to see more of. Had a good period in the 3rd taking two strong marks on the lead on the 50 and was an excellent kick for goal. Couldn‘t say whether he‘s draftable solely on that performance

 

Jake Best – 24, 186, 83, VFL (Casey) – Forward – 20 games for Casey. Played every game for Casey in his first year at VFL and is a real goalsneak. In this game he flashed in and out as he is prone to do, however he is quick and has real X-factor. Kicked a nice goal in the forward pocket that Steve Johnson would‘ve been proud of, he kicked 3 but should‘ve had 5, missing a couple of easy shots running in from 30m.

 

Lachlan Waddell – 18, 200, 87, TAC (Oakleigh) – Utility – Similar to Anderson, someone I‘d like to see more of as I think there is something there to work with. He played everywhere – key back in the 1st half, key forward in the 2nd half and lined up on the wing for the last 15 mins. Very athletic, took a couple of good marks up forward and was solid down back, in something of a rarity he was also taking the kick-outs which very few key backs do and he was good in role – kicking it 50-60m with regularity.  

 

Jason Robinson – 18, 187, 80, TAC (Jets) – Forward – An excellent day for guys named Robinson, I have no idea where he was for the first 3 quarters but he blitzed the last quarter. Almost every single ball that went inside the black team's forward line he marked, it was crazy. On the lead, in a pack, he marked it and all clean one grab marks too. Was almost a dead-eye on goal as well whether 30 or 50 out, the first 3 shots the goal umpire didn't move, unfortunately he ruined things by missing his last shot just slightly. An eye-catching display that certainly perked up the recruiters.

Was at the TAC Cup grand Final today.

 

Keep an eye on Mitchell Honeychurch.

 

Nice size about him and the ability is excellent.



Lachlan Waddell – 18, 200, 87, TAC (Oakleigh) – Utility – Similar to Anderson, someone I‘d like to see more of as I think there is something there to work with. He played everywhere – key back in the 1st half, key forward in the 2nd half and lined up on the wing for the last 15 mins. Very athletic, took a couple of good marks up forward and was solid down back, in something of a rarity he was also taking the kick-outs which very few key backs do and he was good in role – kicking it 50-60m with regularity.  

Is that written right - he is 200cm but was a good enough kick to take the kick ins, could play forward and back and was mobile enough to be on a wing? You would think he'd be a monty to be rookied. Only 18 as well.

 



Lachlan Waddell – 18, 200, 87, TAC (Oakleigh) – Utility – Similar to Anderson, someone I‘d like to see more of as I think there is something there to work with. He played everywhere – key back in the 1st half, key forward in the 2nd half and lined up on the wing for the last 15 mins. Very athletic, took a couple of good marks up forward and was solid down back, in something of a rarity he was also taking the kick-outs which very few key backs do and he was good in role – kicking it 50-60m with regularity.  

Is that written right - he is 200cm but was a good enough kick to take the kick ins, could play forward and back and was mobile enough to be on a wing? You would think he'd be a monty to be rookied. Only 18 as well.

 

Sounds like the raps on Kepler. Just with an extra couple of cms.

 

 



Lachlan Waddell – 18, 200, 87, TAC (Oakleigh) – Utility – Similar to Anderson, someone I‘d like to see more of as I think there is something there to work with. He played everywhere – key back in the 1st half, key forward in the 2nd half and lined up on the wing for the last 15 mins. Very athletic, took a couple of good marks up forward and was solid down back, in something of a rarity he was also taking the kick-outs which very few key backs do and he was good in role – kicking it 50-60m with regularity.  

Is that written right - he is 200cm but was a good enough kick to take the kick ins, could play forward and back and was mobile enough to be on a wing? You would think he'd be a monty to be rookied. Only 18 as well.

 

Sounds like the raps on Kepler. Just with an extra couple of cms.

 

And about 80+ places difference in the draft. Kepler's done pretty good for himself all things considered.

 

 



Lachlan Waddell – 18, 200, 87, TAC (Oakleigh) – Utility – Similar to Anderson, someone I‘d like to see more of as I think there is something there to work with. He played everywhere – key back in the 1st half, key forward in the 2nd half and lined up on the wing for the last 15 mins. Very athletic, took a couple of good marks up forward and was solid down back, in something of a rarity he was also taking the kick-outs which very few key backs do and he was good in role – kicking it 50-60m with regularity.  

Is that written right - he is 200cm but was a good enough kick to take the kick ins, could play forward and back and was mobile enough to be on a wing? You would think he'd be a monty to be rookied. Only 18 as well.

 

Sounds like the raps on Kepler. Just with an extra couple of cms.

 

Or Danny Chartres! Gun Colt... half-decent VFL player... NGE