Deledio right on the pace
Lyall Johnson | June 7, 2008
IN TALES concerning rites of passage or boys maturing to men, you'll often hear the line, "But there comes a time in every lad's life …" which marks the turning point of the story.
For Brett Deledio, Richmond's 2004 No. 1 draft choice, the line might have a double-barrelled conclusion. For starters, Deledio's tale could probably continue, "… when he gets sick of being judged against others who were selected in the same draft", or equally, "… when he starts to establish himself in his own right and is not judged on the number he was selected at in the draft".
The former came to a head last year when Lance Franklin was emerging and the Hawks had just given the undersized Tigers a touch-up, "Buddy" and Jarryd Roughead sharing nine goals.
The Age columnist Robert Walls criticised the Tigers' draft choices and in the cross-hairs was Deledio (among others) who, he suggested, hadn't developed quickly enough. While Walls was probably correct, he was also premature, given Deledio had only just turned 20, was the youngest player taken in his draft year and effectively up to a year junior in mind and body to his fellow draftees.
Deledio took exception to the comments, perhaps showing his age, and has decided to black-ban The Age as a result. Thus, we won't be hearing from him here.
But what Walls noted about him — that he had not "learnt how to gut-run to shake a tag" — is in fact part of what Deledio has achieved this year, confirming that he has also begun to "establish himself in his own right".
According to Champion Data, Deledio this season has become one of the Tigers' "go-to" players, averaging a career-high and team-high 25 disposals a match. He also leads the team in handballs, inside-50s and score assists and ranks second in long kicks, uncontested possessions and handball-receives.
Also noteworthy is where he is getting his possessions — the 77.3% he gets in the midfield and 13.8% in the forward line show his role is far less defensive than it was a year ago.
"Really consistent" was how coach Terry Wallace described him last week but added that his improvement was still very much a work in progress. His body has developed into a strong midfielder's shape but the next step is to learn to use his pace and power to take on opponents and break open matches.
In many respects, the path ahead involves emulating teammate Nathan Foley, who shot into the elite when he released his pace.
"He's not that dissimilar to Nathan," Wallace said. "There's not a quicker player in the competition and I don't think he necessarily uses that break-out pace to the best advantage he can. I think he plays a really consistent, good game of footy but the next level is for him to use the dynamics he has got, the sheer power in his game.
"He's really got the ability to mark over and above his size (and is) a superior athlete to a lot of blokes going around. Buddy Franklin is that as a key-position player, Brett's a superior athlete to a lot of the midfielders.
"Early in a player's career, as a coach, you drive to games wondering whether he is going to be a seven-and-a-half out of 10 or a five out of 10. He's bringing to the table really even performances now. It's fair to say he hasn't necessarily had those break-out games, but that's the next level."
According to Wallace, that lesson will not be long in being learned, as Deledio, who is completing a coaching course, is, says Wallace, "a leader … who strives and wants to get better".
So should Deledio have taken Walls' opinion the way he has?
"He's his own person in that he is strong enough that if someone says do it a certain way, if he doesn't believe it is the right way, he'll say it. He's more of a leader and if you have got that pride in yourself, you're not that accepting," Wallace said. "I'm not saying he's not accepting. You might listen and take it on board, it doesn't mean you have to like it.
"But I think people sometimes get the wrong idea of him. He's sort of got that metrosexual Browny-type super-confident image but he's quieter than that as a person. And that, being quiet in himself, that's even another level that he can go to in terms of being more confident on-field.
"He's just a good country boy. Should he have been upset with the criticism? Well, he's a very proud kid and very proud of his footy heritage and his Dad and how he played the game and his upbringing in general and footy upbringing. And when you get that stuff shoved down your throat all the time …"
While the legacy of being a No. 1 draft choice is that, more than everyone else, he will be judged on his draft number, Wallace said he hopes that would become irrelevant as Deledio continued to perform well.
"I've always believed that you are judged more year-to-year than player-to-player," he said. "Some of the champions of the game haven't been No. 1 or No. 4, they all come in different sizes or shapes. We're happy with our lot, but would you like to have some of the other lot as well? Absolutely you would, we're all greedy. Otherwise, we're very pleased with his progress."
http://www.realfooty.com.au/news/news/deledio-right-on-the-pace/2008/06/06/1212259117518.html?page=fullpage
