Pick 62: Luke English

[one-eyed]

Welcome to Tigerland, Luke.

 

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Luke English (Perth)

180cm | 76kg.

Balanced Midfielder

OVERVIEW

Luke English is a midfield stoppage specialist who has a mature body and as such can play from round one next year. His draft prospects soared last year when he took out the Jack Clarke Medal, the WAFL Colts Coaches Award and his club’s Best and Fairest Award after a superb individual season in which he averaged 25 possessions, six tackles and booted 13 goals in 19 games. He followed up with a great season in 2018 with both Perth and the WA U18s State Academy. He is an accumulator who runs both ways and can hit the scoreboard which will attract recruiters to his game. While he is not the quickest off the mark through acceleration, or the most deadliest by foot, English ticks a lot of boxes as a real solid choice in November’s AFL Draft.

STRENGTHS

    Prolific ball-winner
    Goalkicking midfielder
    Two-way runner
    Tackling

An inside midfielder who plays similarly to Adelaide star Matt Crouch, Luke English has an innate ability to find the football. For the Perth Demons Colts in 2018, English averaged 28 possessions, while in his only game for Perth’s Reserves team, he accumulated 18 possessions. For Western Australia, he was the leading possession winner for the Black Ducks and ranked fourth overall with 92 total possessions at an average of 23 per game.

English has also shown an ability to be dangerous around goals. In 33 WAFL Colts games, he booted 23 goals and 14 behinds to be one of the most dangerous players inside attacking 50. For Western Australia he booted three goals in four games to finish sixth overall in their Leading Goalkicker Award. It is this area that can set him apart from other midfielders, because he can not only impact through the middle, but go forward and hurt opponents on the scoreboard.

Finally, he is not just a front-running midfielder. He has demonstrated a will to chase, and tackle or at least put on excellent defensive pressure to try and win the ball back for his team. In his 33-game WAFL Colts career, English has laid 160 tackles (an average of five per game), which is remarkable for someone his age. There is not much of him in terms of size, but he cracks in, and is a great team player who can win the ball in traffic, but also spread to the outside through hard running.

IMPROVEMENTS

    Speed
    Disposal Efficiency

Unlike some of the other midfielders in this year’s draft pool, English does not boast lightning pace to break away from stoppages. However, his endurance is very good and he uses it to his advantage. He instead burns his opponents into the ground over time, working hard with gut running to get to the outside of a contest and win the ball then send it forward. A full AFL pre-season behind him may very well help English improve his speed. Another area he could improve upon is his disposal efficiency, especially via foot. He has a neat kicking style but does not have a penetrating kick, and while he is able to hit targets, being able to increase the variety of kicks to hurt opposition teams will be an area in which he can continue to develop.

DRAFT PROJECTION: 50+

SUMMARY

Overall Luke English is a solid midfield prospect, with his mature body, ball-winning acumen, two-way running and his ability to impact the scoreboard. He can play from round one next year if a team that selects him sees fit. English is a player who is hard to judge where he lands in the AFL National Draft, but it is seeming he is looking like a late third rounder onwards. He could be good value early in his career, making an impact across the ground, having already played against senior bodies at Reserves level for Perth.

https://www.afldraftcentral.com.au/player/luke-english/

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[one-eyed]

Here is a summary of what Richmond fans can expect to see from English on-field...

Club: Perth
State: WA
Height: 182cm
Weight: 79kg

Luke is from the Perth Football Club and had a wonderful National Carnival for Western Australia. Playing through the midfield, he averaged 23 disposals, six tackles and one goal a game and was rewarded with All-Australian selection. Back at WAFL Colts level, he won plenty of the ball averaging 30 possessions while displaying great leadership as captain.

Luke is a natural accumulator of the ball with an enormous engine and work ethic. His running ability is already at elite AFL level and he has shown that he will play whatever role the coach asks of him.

We believe Luke will be a good addition to our midfield stocks with his endurance, competitiveness and leadership traits.

http://www.richmondfc.com.au/news/2018-11-23/english-to-richmond

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VIDEOS:

From the RFC website:
http://www.richmondfc.com.au/video/2018-11-23/draft-2018-pick-62-luke-english

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'I'm one of the most dedicated footballers in the country'

AFL.com.au
Ryan Davidson
Nov 18, 2018

WHILE many school leavers will eagerly flock to the 'schoolies' celebrations around the country later this month, Luke English will happily make another sacrifice in his fanatical dedication to football.

The West Australian prospect wants nothing more than to hear his name called at this week's NAB AFL Draft, and he's spent the last few years doing everything in his power to achieve his lifelong dream.

Whether it's undertaking boxing classes, hiring a sprint coach or abstaining from alcohol, English said bypassing the time-honoured teen gathering was an easy decision.

"I'm not going to go to 'schoolies' because it's too close to the draft and I don't want to lose my fitness if do get selected," English told AFL.com.au.

"I want to make a good first impression, so I'll give it a miss.

"Some recruiters have asked me if I drink, and I don't.

"I'm one of the most dedicated footballers in the country."

While English has always loved the game, the decorated junior's commitment to it went to another level when he missed selection for the Western Australian under-16s two seasons ago.

From that point on, the hard-running inside midfielder hasn't concluded a season without a major accolade, winning 2017 Jack Clarke Medal as the best colts player in the WAFL, while he finished this year's NAB AFL Under-18 Championships as a well-deserved All Australian.

"I really had to switch on after missing state under-16s, so I undertook boxing to help my fitness and a got a sprint coach to help me with my speed," English said.

"I've always wanted an AFL career, and I knew I had to build on winning the best colts player last year without getting ahead of myself.

"Going into the under-18 championships I just wanted to play well, but to be named an All Australian meant a lot to me because it vindicated all the hard work I'd put in.

"After some failures in my footy career, it was one of my proudest moments."

Along with averaging 23 disposals, five tackles, two clearances and four score involvements throughout the championships, English, sporting his trusty sky-blue helmet, also wowed recruiters with his extraordinary GPS results.

With several state running titles to his name, the Perth Demons product believes his elite endurance isn't the only attribute that will hopefully see him realise his long-held desire by the end of the week.

"I see myself as inside midfielder who can play a number of positions like small forward and on the wing," English said.

"I've got the flexibility, but the main goal is to play as an inside midfielder.

"I think that suits my work-rate and that helps me get to many contests and run my opponents into the ground.

"My game awareness is also pretty good, but I just need to tidy up my decision-making, so I've been working really hard on that.

"I've been really happy with my season considering I set some small goals with my manager Cam Read, and that was to play good footy and also perform well at the Combine (fifth in the 2km time trial), so I thought I did pretty well.

"Hopefully I've done enough to get drafted."

http://www.afl.com.au/news/2018-11-18/im-one-of-the-most-dedicated-footballers-in-the-country-draft-prospect-english

[tdy]

He comes across pretty well.Letsnhope he's got a level head in AFL traffic.

[one-eyed]

Luke English pledges commitment to Richmond teammates

Bridget Lacy
PerthNow
November 25, 2018

A “ferocious” Luke English has promised to give everything to his new Richmond teammates after the Perth midfielder’s AFL dream became a reality yesterday.

Likened to retired West Coast champion and 2014 Brownlow medallist Matt Priddis by Peter Sumich on his way to All-Australian honours in the under-18 national championships this year, English was made to sweat before hearing his name called out by the Tigers as pick No.62 in the national draft.

The 18-year-old and his family were at his neighbour’s house in Thornlie watching the Fox coverage because they don’t have the pay TV service at home.

“I’m pretty over the moon,” English said.

“I was starting to get really worried but I’m just so glad that I’ve been given this opportunity.

“They are such a great club and I’m sure it will be a great experience.”

English’s character, endurance and ball-winning ability prompted 2017 premiers Richmond to swoop in the fourth round.

“Just know that I’ll give it everything to help my teammates and put my best foot forward,” English said to Tiger fans.

“I’ll be ferocious and I’ll use my endurance and my tank to the best of my ability.”

English is excited at the prospect of playing alongside the likes of superstar pair Dustin Martin and Trent Cotchin.

He is confident a bout of glandular fever late in the WAFL season is behind him.

“I missed maybe the last five rounds,” English said.

“I’m fine now. All the tests are positive so I’m back and running. Everything is going well with me.

“I’ll probably set myself small goals going into next year.”

The Manning junior plans to work consistently on his game.

“If the coaching staff think I’ve worked hard enough and I’m good enough to fit in, I’d love to play,” he said.

He expects to fly to Melbourne today. “I’m trying to spend a bit of time with the family now,” he said.

“I know mum is pretty upset but she is so excited and she really wished the best for me.”

https://www.perthnow.com.au/sport/afl-draft/afl-draft-2018-luke-english-pledges-commitment-to-richmond-teammates-ng-b881031236z

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"Luke's work rate and running ability is really strong. You wouldn't find too many people that wouldn't say that's the case with him in all parts of his life, whether it's off-field or on-field," Clarke said.

"At that stage of the draft, we thought we couldn't go wrong with great character and guys that work really hard, and can really run."

http://www.afl.com.au/news/2018-11-23/richmond-draft-news

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“Luke’s another inside-outside sort of mid, great character, great work-rate, both on and off the field, ability to win his own footy, pressure, tackle . . . he does all those things you like. So a little bit of a theme with the players we picked late – Fraser (Turner) and Luke – with their running ability. We think they’re athletically capable to give themselves a chance to go further.”


http://www.richmondfc.com.au/news/2018-11-24/draftees-dissection

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Meanwhile, English – a hard-running ball-winner – says he's feeling no ill effects of the glandular fever that saw him miss the last month of the WAFL season. 

The 18-year-old started running two weeks before testing at the October NAB AFL Draft Combine in Melbourne, where he still managed to impress in the running assessments. 

English finished equal second in the Yo-Yo test and fifth in the 2km time trial despite only recently overcoming the debilitating virus. 

"It's all behind me. I had to spend two weeks in bed, just doing nothing so that was pretty frustrating, coming closer to draft when I wanted to get my fitness up," he said. 

"But I'm all good now and my body feels great.

English is currently the only West Australian from this year's draft crop to land at Punt Road but he's been allocated fellow statesmen Ben Miller and Liam Baker as his "buddies" to help him find his feet.

Compared to Brownlow medallist Matt Priddis, English can find the ball on the inside and out and works hard to dig the ball out of contested situations. 

He also stands out for the helmet he's worn for the past three seasons, which he has no plans to pack away now he's at an AFL club.

"In 2015 I had a concussion before a state carnival, so I was told to wear it for that," he said.

"I wore it that week and I got so comfortable with it, I just kept playing – I think it gives me a bit more confidence going in.

"I'm pretty happy wearing it but I wouldn't be too fussed if I had to get rid of it."

http://www.afl.com.au/news/2018-11-28/tiger-cub-says-potential-new-teammate-would-stack-up

[one-eyed]

I know this kid personally and you guys definately have a draft steal here. Hes an elite trainer and player and will give everything and anything for his club and teamates. Was at one stage early rated a top 25 pick untill he got sick(glandular fever). He was the school captain and also an amazing mentor to the younger kids. He will run for days and is as hard as a bulls head. Wears the helmet out of habit and ritual now moreso than having any ongoing concusion issues. He will win your timetrials and yoyo tests for the next ten years and be a fan favourite in no time. Enjoy your draft steal tiges

https://www.bigfooty.com/forum/threads/welcome-to-richmond-luke-english-pick-62.1209116/page-7#post-58980600