Liam McBean [merged]

[Judge Roughneck]

iam McBean
DOB: 25/8/94 Ht: 203 Wt: 87

Most people have no real idea where to stick McBean in their mocks and I am a bit the same. He has got the talent to put very high in the draft but he has some big holes in his game as well which might cause him to drop down the order significantly as well. When I first saw him I was very impressed with him and what he could do at his height but the closer I watched the more warts I saw. I am still inclined to be drawn to the size/talent he has but I am wary as well.

For those who haven’t seen him play he is a lot like Alex Keefe from Collingwood. That is a true ruck sized player who moves like a much smaller guy and whose best position is a key position rather than in the ruck. He is very agile and a smooth mover for such a big guy. His pace is solid as is his ability to read the play.

The biggest problem that I have with McBean is his pathological avoidance of contests. He seems afraid of body contact and steers clear of it if at all possible during games. This is not going to cut it at AFL level. He is never going to be a bulky guy but he is going to be carrying a bit of weight by the time he is finished and he needs to be able to throw that around a bit. At the moment he stays outside of contests and hopes the ball comes to him. I have also noticed that when flying for a mark under pressure he often doesn’t commit to getting in line with the ball seemingly worried about the contact. He is also moved around pretty easily and is pretty weak even taking aside his relative skinniness. I can see a lot of gym and contact work in McBean’s future over the next couple of years.

If you can get the physical aspect of his game up to scratch there is a lot to like. He has played a lot up forward but moved down back this year including at the Champs and I thought he showed some potential as a KPD especially if he is allowed to play loose. He reads the ball well in the air and judges his arrival at the ball nicely. His height and decent jump allows him to get up above virtually anyone else and he is a capable mark of the ball. He is has a pretty good spoil when caught behind and again his height and reach make him pretty formidable in this regard.

He is agile enough that he is not turned around that easily and when he is he recovers pretty well and showed enough pace and nous to compensate. AFL forwards will obviously outbody him at the moment but down the track he should be a difficult proposition to handle. With the KPFs getting taller and taller including the likes of Daniher this year and Boyd next year, having a ruck sized KPD has a lot of appeal especially if they can go into the ruck. I am sure many coaches are intrigued by his height.

In the ruck contest thought his strength is really found out and I am not sure he will ever be a full time ruck. You never know though and he is already up to 203cm and still growing. If he stops growing upwards and starts bulking up and growing into his body then there is a chance. Put it this way though he is going to have height on every other KP/Ruck in the competition (barring Keefe maybe) and with some targeted coaching in a full time environment he should at the worst be serviceable as a team’s second ruck and there is potential that he could be significantly better than that.

He is a very relaxed kick for a big man and has a lot of confidence in his kicking ability. That is sometimes misplaced and you will get a few errors each game at present but you can definitely see the potential for improvement there. He is good off either foot and is a penetrating kick when he goes long. He tends to go short to intermediate as his first option and does misjudge the weight of his kicks not infrequently and he is also prone to leaving too much loop in his passes. A lot of his problems I think might be focus related and I think his coaches will be drubbing into him that he needs to concentrate on what he is doing when he is kicking first before he moves onto what to do next. He is an accurate kick for goal but he doesn’t tend to be a big goal kicker. I note his coach thinks he is an elite kick so maybe I am being a bit harsh on him.

Below the knees he is very good for his height and when he gets the ball he is very capable by hand. He can occasionally deliver a hospital handpass but usually he is pretty effective in clearing the ball to a man in space. He does have a bit of an odd jogging style where he splays his feet a bit as he runs like a lifesaver wading through water and I wonder whether this might make him more predisposed to injury.

Overall McBean is an intriguing mix of talent and he is such a long way from a finished product that it harder to see where he will end up than it is for the more finished products who will be available. Whoever takes him is going to need to be patient with him and the supporters should not expect to see him for a couple of seasons at the very least.

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

[1965]

Liam's no Daniel Jackson. Let's hope he can play footy.

 

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/special-reports/liam-mcbean-juggled-school-and-footy-during-his-vce-year/story-fn4n10rz-1226538647329

IT'S been a big year of juggling school and footy for Liam McBean.

Hard slog comes to a perfect end

There was VCE at St Bernard's College in Essendon, where he was also the sports captain, there were footy commitments with the Calder Cannons, a scholarship which saw him travelling Europe to play with the Australian Institute of Sport and there was school footy.
 
"It was pretty full on, but you just adapt," Liam said.
 
In November, the 18-year-old was selected by Richmond as the No. 33 draft pick. The 203cm ruckman/defender overcame another hurdle yesterday when he got his VCE, with an ATAR of 60.05.
 
Liam hopes to look into sports journalism or a nutrition course, once he's settled into life at Richmond.

[Coach]

Liam's no Daniel Jackson. Let's hope he can play footy.

 

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/special-reports/liam-mcbean-juggled-school-and-footy-during-his-vce-year/story-fn4n10rz-1226538647329

IT'S been a big year of juggling school and footy for Liam McBean.

Hard slog comes to a perfect end

There was VCE at St Bernard's College in Essendon, where he was also the sports captain, there were footy commitments with the Calder Cannons, a scholarship which saw him travelling Europe to play with the Australian Institute of Sport and there was school footy.
 
"It was pretty full on, but you just adapt," Liam said.
 
In November, the 18-year-old was selected by Richmond as the No. 33 draft pick. The 203cm ruckman/defender overcame another hurdle yesterday when he got his VCE, with an ATAR of 60.05.
 
Liam hopes to look into sports journalism or a nutrition course, once he's settled into life at Richmond.

Not even slightly funny. WGAF about his school results.

[WA Tiger]

Good pick up this kid...

Will show Edwards up soon enough...

[one-eyed]

Beany happy about get new wheels belonging to our major sponsor....


http://instagram.com/p/Vvw7JQpn2y/

[yellowandback]

Liam's no Daniel Jackson. Let's hope he can play footy.

 

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/special-reports/liam-mcbean-juggled-school-and-footy-during-his-vce-year/story-fn4n10rz-1226538647329

IT'S been a big year of juggling school and footy for Liam McBean.

Hard slog comes to a perfect end

There was VCE at St Bernard's College in Essendon, where he was also the sports captain, there were footy commitments with the Calder Cannons, a scholarship which saw him travelling Europe to play with the Australian Institute of Sport and there was school footy.
 
"It was pretty full on, but you just adapt," Liam said.
 
In November, the 18-year-old was selected by Richmond as the No. 33 draft pick. The 203cm ruckman/defender overcame another hurdle yesterday when he got his VCE, with an ATAR of 60.05.
 
Liam hopes to look into sports journalism or a nutrition course, once he's settled into life at Richmond.

Not even slightly funny. WGAF about his school results.

I thought it was slightly funny

[bojangles17]

certainly beefing right up

[Penelope]

what are you alluding to BJ?

[Gigantor]

why is he giving us the reverse peace sign?..lol

[Phil Mrakov]

Beany happy about get new wheels belonging to our major sponsor....


http://instagram.com/p/Vvw7JQpn2y/

$50,000 first car on your p's.. Gotta be happy with that

[Phil Mrakov]

why is he giving us the reverse peace sign?..lol

Was it not a hand sign from Nazi Germany

[Bengal]

why is he giving us the reverse peace sign?..lol

You just showed your age..

[Gigantor]

yes yes i was at woodstock

[the claw]

certainly beefing right up

lol whats he at now 85kg.
they all manage good gains in the first yr its after that it becomes hard.

still think he will be a kpp. which is fine by me 200cm kpds are all the go it seems.  still think we should have taken a mid like nick graham with this pick.

[Danog]

certainly beefing right up

lol whats he at now 85kg.
they all manage good gains in the first yr its after that it becomes hard.

still think he will be a kpp. which is fine by me 200cm kpds are all the go it seems.  still think we should have taken a mid like nick graham with this pick.

Was Nick Graham the last genuine mid available?