Nick Vlastuin [merged]

[Smokey]

I reckon Heppel will be too

If he gets a haircut.

 

[Chuck17]

  

[Dubstep Dookie]

Oh my 

[Willy]

seriously though, he was flippin 18 for much of the season.

That's pretty much what I am talking about. Plenty of young players are a bit timid early on in their careers. Ellis will probably never be a hard man but he should be right. I reckon Heppel will be too

agreed.

[Yeahright]

The more I think about it, the more i am happy with this selection. Tucky and Cotch shoulder too much of the ball-winning burden. It's actually a list need when you consider the long term. I reckon he will be a much loved beast in a couple of years.
People always find ways to sook about our picks.
If we got Menzel, everybody would be saying that we weren't in a position to risk his injury concerns.

Brandon squibbed it a bit early, but he got tougher as the season wore on and his tackles started to stick. Seriously though, he was flippin 18 for much of the season.  I probably had a collective 16 pubes when I was 18. He still comes across as a boy. He'l be alright.

If we got Whitfield people would be complaining theres a reason he slipped and should never of got him

[Judge Roughneck]

Pick 23 – Sydney

Assuming Tippett is not the pick here Sydney are in a position where they can pretty much wait and just take whoever falls. They do have a few midfielders getting older and although Mitchell is waiting in the wings they could stand to add another decent ball winning midfielder to their squad. Vlastuin and Hrovat are two I think will come into contention and I have gone with Vlastuin because of his better size and ability to play back to start his career. A KP is also not out of the question.

Nick Vlastuin
DOB:19/4/94 Ht: 187 Wt: 86

Vlastuin is being talked up by some as a top 10 selection particularly to Richmond at 9. I don't agree with that ranking myself but Richmond do like to reach for this kind of player (eg Conca a couple of years ago). Vlastuin has a few nice things going for him but also a few inherent limitations which would see him fall to the mid 20s I think were he not the Vic Metro captain. Unfortunately a lot of teams share the bias toward Metro players and he will probably end up going higher than I think he deserves.

Okay first the good. Vlastuin provides a good physical presence no matter where he is playing on the park. He goes in hard and gets the ball and is not afraid to take a hit or two. He is a nice size and should develop into a powerful bodied player who can play the same way at AFL football. Despite lacking a yard of pace he moves through traffic well and to use a NFL term he identifies the seam and attacks it very nicely. He is not a big stepper but he swerves through traffic well enough and takes advantage of those who are not in a position to tackle him effectively. His ability to get through traffic is definitely a strength of his. The other big selling point for him is his leadership. He has captained at every level as far as I am aware and he leads both with actions and words. He was the guy doing the talking in the circle at the Champs and feedback from his coaches have been glowing on his leadership ability. He is also a player who does the team things that open the game up for others.

His kicking is also often talked up as a strength of his. Personally I think it is solid but not near the elite category. He is a right footer who can use his left but is a bit dubious with it. He needs to flatten his kicking out a bit as at the moment he has a bit too much loop. He has good penetration on his kicks and uses his long kicking about 80% of the time. Personally I do not really like his tendency to bomb long to a contest on most occasions. This might get him an effective kick in the stats line but it often does not do his team a lot of good. He needs to lower his eyes and start to pick out targets more in the short to intermediate range. Currently the hurt factor is not there on his kicks and if he starts to pick out targets more this should go up.

By hand he is often more damaging than by foot. He is probably the best exponent of the long handball in this draft and I watched him bring out a 30m ripper at the Champs to hit the man in stride and put him away. In contested situations he has shown nice quick hands and hits the receiver with a chance to use it. With the ball on the ground his hands are soft and he gathers or controls the ball nicely. In defence the ability to collect cleanly and go is an underrated skill and is something I am sure coaches would be interested in. At the back Vlastuin does nicely getting back and cleaning up messes.

Above his head his hands are a bit above average but probably not a lot more than that. His hands often look better than that because he has superior ability to judge the ball in the air and he works well into position to mark the ball. He drifts in front of contests and does not mind flying for the ball if it is warranted. When he flies he controls his body nicely and gives himself every chance to mark the ball. His hands are pretty soft but he does spill his share of marks many of which you would expect him to take.

Athletically is where a lot of the concerns are. Although he does gut run pretty well his tank seems pretty poor for a midfield prospect and given his experience and time in elite programs including the AIS I am inclined to think it always would be relative to other AFL players. He will get better for sure with focus on the problem but I would suggest he would have endurance levels below average and when we are likely moving into an era with capped interchanges that has to be considered. The other issue for him is pace. Although he does do some things nicely at pace he has a pretty low top end speed and looked slow compared to a few forwards he played against at the Champs like Mason Wood for one.

So where will he go? Take a step back and consider that we are dealing with a player who is athletically challenged and played predominately as a small defender at the Champs. When he went into the middle he did so to tag an opposition player as far as I could see and did not have the endurance to play there for extended periods. Then consider where you are going to play him next year. At the moment he does not have the endurance to play in the midfield at AFL level and small forwards are likely to beat him pretty easily for pace at the back. For those issues alone there should be no way he would be considered a top 10 pick.

http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/threads/quigleys-2012-mock.980920/

[jordie2tivendale]

Interesting read will be  reading this again in a few years , Hope FJ gets this right ..

[bojangles17]

Nup Heppel has balls and has shown it. Also has a tendency to pull out. How old is he? 20? Ellis was one of the softest players in the league last season and that never gets a mention. Is that because he plays for Richmond FWIW I think Ellis will be fine. He is young....so is Heppel

Ellis soft,  ..what games where you watching, yakanadanda thirds ...ellis is like a junk yard dog in the contest, always has 

I know you like to be positive but Ellis was a fairy last season. Tip toeing around on the outside of contests, constantly being second to the ball because he didn't want to get tackled, short steps and he has ducked his head. Admittedly he wasn't as embarrassing in the second half of the year but he was not a "junk yard dog". Give me a spell. Be realistic, BJ

did you actually go to any games or just watch the replay on the winners

[Phil Mrakov]

My Craltank friend "mate" says he can't believe we took this guy ahead of Menzel.

[bojangles17]

My Craltank friend "mate" says he can't believe we took this guy ahead of Menzel.

sadly bad knees go with the Menzels like bad luck follows the kennedys

[WA Tiger]

 

[Judge Roughneck]

My Craltank friend "mate" says he can't believe we took this guy ahead of Menzel.

Cause menzal looks like a teenage school girl.

Mcvlastuin will break him in half.

[the claw]

fell crap for doing this but im afraid if Menzel and Grundy starting smashing the comp i won't be happy

heres hoping vlas crunches judd come round one

I was on the 'Grundy train' but the selection of McBean eases the pain. As for Menzel he was not the type of medium sized player we had most need for in any case. His knees would always be an issue (real or imagined) as well. We needed and still need top quality specialist mids who can go forward or back....not the other way around.

im the same and agree with those comments. . i rated vlastuin very highly top 5 in fact.  but felt grundy also a top 5 pick but a much more list oriented pick.
very happy to have vlastuin think he will be a very good player i also think hes ready to go straight away.

not sure about mcbean i dont see him being a  ruckman.  but one can understand why they took him if they think he is one. this is the only pick im genuinely not happy about.
have said a few times would have traded for stefan martin as backup to ivan and taken jack hannath late in the nd. i would then be looking to take another junior as a rookie or in next yrs draft who isnt so speculative as mcbean.we cannot afford to put all our long term ruck hopes in mcbean we must take another.
i dont see timid players who shy from the contest making good ruckmen. obviously the weight and frame are issues as well.

imo theres more riding on derickx actually making it than stephenson being a fill in. i was a big wrap for tom when he was at claremont but geez hes done nothing since we have had him. at 25 or 26 next yr he has to show something. what i dont get is the fact they have not even played him as a ruckman i really do wonder what they think sometimes.
having watched orren at geelong i reckon hes bloody ordinary and less talented than angus graham still at least orren gives a contest or teies to every time.

[the claw]

dyson heppell. yep still believe we should have taken him.
has two things conca does not.
awareness he knows what is around him and his ability to find space and time he is rarely rushed. these two traits alone says he will be a good mid.
 at 189cm/ and 80kg when drafted he was a lovely size who would not take too long to bulk up. he played at 85kg this yr and that will improve again next yr  not just with actual size but core strength.
 finally from what ive seen of both thus far i reckon heppell a better skilled, better athlete  and eventually a much bigger  player than conca.
this is not a put down on conca i think he will be a decent player for us but i believe heppell will be the better of the two.

[Ruanaidh]

dyson heppell. yep still believe we should have taken him.
has two things conca does not.
awareness he knows what is around him and his ability to find space and time he is rarely rushed. these two traits alone says he will be a good mid.
 at 189cm/ and 80kg when drafted he was a lovely size who would not take too long to bulk up. he played at 85kg this yr and that will improve again next yr  not just with actual size but core strength.
 finally from what ive seen of both thus far i reckon heppell a better skilled, better athlete  and eventually a much bigger  player than conca.
this is not a put down on conca i think he will be a decent player for us but i believe heppell will be the better of the two.

I may be wrong but Conca IMO will be 'schooled' to be more inside whilst Heppell is 'outside'. At the time of the Conca selection we were in dire need of inside mids.....likewise with the selection of Vlaustin. However, I think a line-breaking mid will be on the cards next year...... hopefully.