Jack Graham profileafldraftcentral.com.auInside Midfielder | North Adelaide/South Australia
25/02/1998 | 183cm | 83kg
Player Comparison: Anthony Miles
Snapshot:The 2016 Larke Medalist has impressed a lot this year with his ball winning and his clearance work. Hailing from North Adelaide, Jack Graham enjoyed a great year in 2015. Last year he played consistent football in the SANFL Reserves which led to him finishing runner up in the Reserves best and fairest for North Adelaide, as well as playing some League football later in the year.
For South Australia Under 18s, he played to a high level and gave us a glimpse of what he can do. This year he has become one of the best clearance midfielders in the draft class and put himself up many draft boards.
For North Adelaide this year, Jack Graham split his time between the Reserves and the Under 18s. For both teams he impressed with his willingness to do the tough stuff in the midfield. He was regularly the leading disposal-getter on the ground and provided lots of grunt which was unrivaled in the league.
But it is his National Under 18 Championships campaign which he impressed the most. Alongside AFL Academy teammate Jonty Scharenberg, Graham was one of the best midfielders during the carnival. He won plenty of his own footy during the carnival and was the standout clearance midfielder. He averaged 25 disposals, five clearances and four tackles leading to him winning the division one best and fairest.
Jack Graham is your old style midfielder who wins the clearances, tackles hard and takes the game forward.
Statistics:
Strengths: Clearance work
Work rate
Contested ball winning
Accumulation
TacklingGraham’s greatest strength at this stage is his clearance work. In stoppages he is unstoppable with ball in hand as he reads the taps to perfection and gets great position in stoppages. He pushes off his opponents superbly in stoppages and get momentum when taking the ball so he is hard to tackle. Graham’s clearance work allows him to take the ball forward unlike most inside midfielders in the draft.
Another strength Graham has is his contested ball winning. He exploits his large frame with his ability to win the ball under pressure. He averaged 11 contested possessions which put him in the top few players in this category. This ability to win his own footy makes him more consistent and reliable then other players as he doesn’t rely on any other player to do the dirty work.
An underrated skill Graham has his work rate. He is one of the hardest working midfielders in the draft. He is one of the best follow up players and makes it to nearly every contest. This makes him a hard player to match up on as you know you will have to work hard to keep up. Players who have work ethic like he does, are valuable assets as they are always consistent in their output.
Tackling is another crucial part of his game. He loves to chase and lay bone crunching tackles on opposition players. In stoppages, Graham makes sure he makes the defensive efforts as well as trying to win clearances for his team. This makes him an intimidating player to say the least as they know Graham will crunch anyone with the ball in their hands.
Graham is also a known accumulator. He is close to the biggest accumulator in the draft crop and it is not hard to see why. Jack’s combined ability to win clearances, gather the contested ball and spread from the contest make him a very balanced midfielder who can find the footy around the ground. Add his high work rate into the calculation and you have yourself a midfielder who has the ball on a string week in, week out.
Improvements: Kicking
Scoreboard impact
EnduranceJack Graham’s biggest improvement as he comes into the AFL season is his kicking. His field kicking is quite poor as he has an inconsistent ball drop. This makes him not as damaging as other midfielders as he can cut the opposition up with ball in hand. This will tough to improve as he has kicked like this his whole career.
Graham also does not have the scoreboard impact other midfielder have. This is disappointing as midfielders who can kick goals are now invaluable in the game. This is something I would like to see him develop at AFL level as this will take his game to a whole new level.
Graham also has question marks on his endurance. He does not have the best endurance which is now critical to the AFL as the interchange rotation rules has changed over the last few years. This will improve rapidly under an AFL program but might take a few years for it to be at the level which is required for an AFL standard midfielder.
Highlights: https://youtu.be/jrAM0GU2d5gSummary:A player who came to mind when thinking of a comparison for Jack Graham is Anthony Miles. The Richmond ball winner is has similar strengths as they have great work ethics and thrive on the tough stuff in the midfield. Miles’ kicking, like Graham’s is not outstanding, but has improved from where it was at in the juniors which Graham should try to emulate.
Graham looks likely to go anywhere in the second and third rounds of the draft. Players like Graham will attract the interest of lots of clubs but the most likely candidates include Gold Coast, Hawthorn and Richmond who all need big bodied young midfielders.
Graham is the type of player who will win the contested ball, win clearances and tackle hard in the midfield consistently. This holds Graham in great stead as he looks likely to have a long career at AFL level as players who can win their own football are invaluable.
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