OFFICIAL Draft 2003 Thread

[liz]

"Tim Schmidt

I was ultra-impressed with his performance against Vic Metro, he gathered a stack of possessions, and importantly many of them were clearances. He has a good ability to get a kick away, even when under heavy pressure. His kicking is very good."

I like the sound of that.

With Erikson, the main concern seems to be his desire to get physical but then the same could have been said about Goodes a few years ago.

Still baffled about Buchanan. Wasn't very surprised when he was delisted and surely 2004 would have to be his last chance. It does indicate that the club believes Schneider will make it as a genuine midfielder, because otherwise it wouldn't make sense having the two of them and Willoughby.

Pretty happy that we've addressed our main need of some quality inside footballers, although neither sounds like they are big enough to have much of an impact for a couple of years.

[chammond]

Re: Willoughby Photo

I think this is Tim Schmidt

http://www.rbe.net.au/~robby/sporting/foot_archives_02/images/foot-achieve-TS-AIS-Squad(1).jpg

[Robelosis]

Erickson

G'day guys.

I'm actually a Melbourne supporter, but I stumbled across this place looking for a reaction to the drafting of Andrew Erickson.

I went to school with him down here and played junior footy and basketball with and against him when he was starting out with East Malvern. I can tell you he's come a long long way since he began. Given his size (he was 6"4 when we started year 7), he was chased by the Melbourne Tigers to play basketball for a while, even playing in their 4th team at one stage, but gave it up to concentrate on footy.

His work ethic won't be a problem, he's a good kid and he wants to make it, but he is extremely light. Given his height and jumping ability he would have an impact straight away as a tap ruckman, but at throw ins he'd have trouble. When we played against him we use to use a smaller stronger ruckman and just body him, but he'd still win the majority of hit outs, simply because of his size. Working with Adam Goodes will help him a lot, even though they are a different style of ruckman.

From what I know of the Swans I'd say you could put him into the lineup as a backup for Goodes or Ball if either were injured. Like I said he isn't hugely bulked yet, but that will come, as it takes time with big guys. With Ball nearly retiring he could be a very good pick up as a replacement in a couple of years.

Cheers.

[liz]

Thanks for the info Robe.

[Newbie]

Robe,

Is Andrew the tall guy in the first picture?

http://www.scotch.vic.edu.au/Gscot/GSSep01/p18ats1.htm

Thanks.

[Steve]

That is Ericksen.

[monopoly19]

Willoughby was just interviewed on 10 news. Didn't say much except that he was excited about getting drafted and hopes that someone gives him a map to find his way around Sydney.

[jimmytootle]

Well we really went for size this year ... like small, except for Eriksen. Mind you it's been a while since we've had a Bell, Stevens, Harvey midfielder type.

[Newbie]

Colin Wisbey's notes on Tim Schmidt and Josh Willoughby. Both seem to be (abeit smalls-size) highly skilled players to me. Exactly the offensive midfielder type we were crying out for.

http://www.voy.com/51976/15160.html

Josh Willoughby (Glenelg)

176/70 bottom age right foot (dual-sided) onballer/small forward.

I rank him at 16. Likely to go quite a bit later than I rate him. Clever, cool, dynamite around goal but needs to lift his intensity. Definite AFL despite lack of size. Might have the potential to be seriously good. Ready year 2.

*STYLE LIKE: O'Bree?

*TRADEMARK:

- Deft gather and cool disposal at the spill.
- Difficult goal from the pocket after showing clean hands, smarts, poise, evasion.

*SUMMARY ASSESSMENT, RECOMMENDATION:

Impressive in a traditional small man way, albeit without a huge dose of intensity. Creative rather than hard-nosed. Seems to have at least goodish pace. Courage. Reads well. Good in close. Moves well. Has plenty of time.

Can gets his own ball and thinks quickly in close. Also good off the pack and at linking. Is an even mix of getter and receiver.

Quiet achiever who is a natural footballer. Is bottom-age and shows a range of AFL-quality skills. Will be a good user of the ball at AFL level.

Some interesting stats from his 3 games in the '03 U18 Champs show that he got 11 SP clearances including 3 cbc & 6 other b/u, and got 6 HBGs, so he is certainly handy in close. And clever.

On the other hand, from 3 games he laid just one tackle and I do have a query re intensity.

OP, multiple leg injuries significantly disrupted his '03 season so we have to factor that in significantly, especially in judging his pace and intensity.

*DISPOSAL, DECISION-MAKING, SMARTS:

- Footy smarts. Great decision-maker. - thinks quickly, makes right decisions, quick hands. Reads both play and ball extremely well. Very good in close and at the spill. Vision, good at quick feeds, including lookaways.

- Doesn't feed as much as I would expect his type to. Ditto for short passes.

- Good balance, poise.

- Very slippery and deadly anywhere within range of goals but particularly around the pockets. Very good at setting up scoring opportunities for team mates also.

- Very dual-sided.

- Kicking around the ground is fairly good but has the potential to be very good. Limited right arm movement and occasionally early releases or drops close or doesn't kick through the arc (finishing facing sideways). Holds the ball for set shot for goal like Nathan Brown does. Is inclined to kick across his body, even set kicks. Other aspects of his kicking seem fine. Gets good depth.

- Has a pointless habit (not every time though) of bouncing the ball at the beginning of a run.

*HANDS:

- Very clean, all levels.

*OVERHEAD MARKING:

- Is not one of those small high fliers but is reliable and clean overhead for those times when he could be reasonable expected to mark, even under pressure. Plays in front and holds his ground. Generally plays small.

*ATHLETICISM, INTENSITY, ETHIC, CONSISTENCY:

- He has been suffering OP and his season was disrupted through knee and ankle injuries so, although he did quite well athletically at the '03 Champs for example, he has more athletic scope, especially aerobically, than he was able to show this year. Skin-fold result certainly indicates room for conditioning. I've taken a little liberty in judging his pace and aerobic capacity on that basis, and perhaps I should be a bit lenient re intensity also.

- I don't have a handle on the upper limit of his pace. Like Kellett, he plays within his limitations. Normally gets and disposes on the spot. Seldom tries to run much with the ball at pace. He loves a dash, but his dashes tend to be though open space in cruise mode. There are times when he does look quick but, with OP effects and his right knee bandaged, and no DC results for a guide, it's just too hard for me to be sure.

- Very good evasion.

- Sometimes displays poor intensity at traffic (especially some stop plays), waiting virtually stationary instead of burrowing in. In fairness, I'm not sure of the impact of his OP.

- Generally does the team stuff and 1%ers though.

- Good balance. Generally manages to get his feed off during a tackle.

*SCI (SCOPE FOR CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT):

- Should be pretty good, having been held back in '03 by OP and leg injuries.
- There isn't much of him at the moment but he is bottom-age (albeit almost mid) and looks to have a body that will fill out easily enough (eg doesn't have the stick legs that often accompanies guys who struggle to add weight).

*AFL VERSATILITY:
- Will make a dangerous small forward but should have the aerobic capacity to be best as a creative midfielder down the track. Despite his size, could play there, HFF, FP and wing on an opponent who wasn't too tall.

*QUERY:
- Pace?? (although it may be fine)
- Intensity?

*SOME STATS:
- Stats summary '03 U18 Champs:
Averaged 20 disposals and 5.3 marks in 3 U18 Rep games.
Kicks vs feeds: 39-20, strongly favouring kicks every game.
Tackles: only 1
S.P. clearances: 11 incl 3 cbc & 6 other b/u
Gets own ball?: 25/59 TD were HR. 6 HBG
Kicks long vs short: 21-12 (consistent pattern).
Kicking accuracy: 6/39 were ineff
Handball accuracy: 4/20 were ineff/clang incl 2 clang
Marking: 16 (incl 1 contested)

*OTHER STUFF:
- All Aust TY.
- AIS
- Shared '02 Sheehan Medal (U16 Div 1 B&F) with Schmidt.
- Played SANFL Reserves, Seniors '03.
- OP, multiple leg injuries detracted from his '03 capability but still managed played couple of SANFL Reserves, Seniors games as a skinny bottom-age.

http://www.voy.com/51976/15161.html

Tim Schmidt (West Adelaide)

179/84 bottom-age right foot (has other foot if necessary) midfielder.

Footy-smart, highly-skilled. A genuine footballer. I rank him at 12. Only 179cm and will go a bit later than I rate him, perhaps quite a bit later. Ready year 1.

*STYLE LIKE: Riccuito (I know it sounds odd linking Schmidt to him but see below)

*TRADEMARK:

- Clean hardball get mid-traffic then quick feed under pressure, showing excellent awareness, balance, poise, smarts and disposal.

*SUMMARY ASSESSMENT, RECOMMENDATION:

Team man, very clean, moves well inside and through traffic and has good vision, clean hands and good disposal. Gets own ball but also links well. Deceptive pace.

Bottom age but only 179cm (although strongly built), but he slightly compensates height-wise by a 3cm reach advantage over the average guy of 179cm.

Only looked special in cameo at '03 U18 Champs but is capable of better impact on a whole game. I was told he came into the Champs carrying or recovering from injury.

Draft camp results were disappointing. What actually disappointed me is that it would seem he presented in poor shape at the camp. However, because of that, I am inclined to go on what I have noted in games and largely ignore most of his test results.

I'm told he has a good work ethic off-field but he just didn't look very fit at the '03 U18 Champs and 3 months later his skin-fold measurement at DC was simply appalling.

So were his jump tests, which suggested he can't jump over a jam tin. He is reliable overhead though and can take a grab. He is a strong over the ball type rather than a skinny high flier but his leap is good enough for me to class him as strong overhead, even though he was unable to show it to any extent at the U18 Champs.

I have to assume his injury never allowed him to be properly fit in '03.

Regardless, I just strongly suspect that he can be chiselled down, conditioned up and be able to add a significant extra dimension to his game by virtue of the extra streamlined power athleticism he would have.

His DC speed times (beating virtually 70% of the 170 DC/SS participants) were more reflective of his true capability than his other results were.

Schmidt is a class player as is but at this stage he mainly plays slow. He is more inclined to quick feed as soon as he gets it instead of carrying the ball. A style more like Misiti or A Stevens, maybe Scott Burns, and virtually nothing like Riccuito except skills, hardness and when inside traffic. Recruiting is more about predicting what a player COULD be than limiting an assessment to what he currently is. In making the comparison at the top of this assessment I've taken licence, looking into the future. Schmidt plays slower than he is capable of. I believe he has the underlying pace and should use it more to become somewhat explosive like Riccuito. I'm not suggesting he is as quick as Riccuito but just that he is capable of playing the Riccuito style somewhat and giving more burst and run than he currently does.

*DISPOSAL, DECISION-MAKING, SMARTS:

- Excellent in close. Great vision, clean hands to get, very clean reliable hands to accurately feed, (and with power). An excellent decision-making with serious smarts and skills.

- Relaxed kicking style. Excellent accuracy and depth, even on the run (although it occasionally let him down at the '03 U18 Champs). A power kick.

- Good mix of disposal types and distances.

*HANDS:

- Very clean.

*OVERHEAD MARKING:

- Not a regular high flier but is very good overhead for his size. Soft hands, normally one-grab.

*ATHLETICISM, INTENSITY, ETHIC, CONSISTENCY:

- I actually rate his pace as "good", with plenty of scope for further improvement once he is in great shape. Unfashionable build - very big legs, only 179cm. His heavy-looking legs are deceptive because he has good pace. Some people think he lacks pace but I suspect they are judging him more on some assumptions about the size of his legs than on how he covers ground in a game. I can't quite get a confident handle on his endurance but I believe his pace is very good and his DC speed tests (about the only tests in which he did well) attest to that. His legs are a bit bigger than I would like but there are a couple of important points. First, chunky calves are bad for pace. Second, strong quads may not be great for endurance but they are the power drivers for sprinting. (Witness Olympic 100m runners). It is Schmidt's quads that are big but his calves are not chunky. Strong quads are also handy when you want to brace yourself as an immovable object - especially useful for over-the-ball players. And his hammies are a suitable size.

- Is exceptionally well-balanced. I don't mean in the context of having strong legs to stand his ground under pressure (although that is true). His balance on the run, both going for the ball and when he has it is excellent. Moves like a real footballer.

- Endurance might be a query but, again, he is not very fit / defined at the moment. I strongly doubt that endurance will be a problem long term.

- Great intensity, attack on ball, attack on man, etc.

- Does the team stuff, 1%ers well.

*SCI (SCOPE FOR CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT):

- Plenty of scope to refine his body and condition him, which will automatically lead to various athleticism improvements.

*AFL VERSATILITY:
(see above)

- Subject to how his pace and endurance come up when fit, I see his future as a physical but highly-skilled onballer. However, he could play HFF right now. Could also be suited to long-kicking HBF, even though he is only 179cm. However, I'm more looking at him long term as a midfielder who rests HFF (or even FP).

*QUERY:
- Maybe endurance but it is not something I'm concerned about really.

*SOME STATS:
- Stats summary '03 U18 Champs:
Averaged 16 disposals and 4.0 marks in 2 U18 Rep games.
Kicks vs feeds: mixed
Tackles: 1
S.P. clearances: 3 incl 2 cbc
Gets own ball?: 13/31 TD were HR. 2 HBG
Kicks long vs short: n/a
Kicking accuracy: 4/17 were ineff/clang incl 3 clang
Handball accuracy: 2/14 were ineff/clang incl 2 clang
Marking: 8 (incl 0 contested)

*OTHER STUFF:
- AIS
- Shared '02 Sheehan Medal (U16 Div 1 B&F) with Willoughby.
- Came into '03 Champs carrying (recoverring from?) injury.
- Played SANFL Reserves '03.

[barry]

Now thats what I love about Aussie rules. You can get a 3 screen full dosier on a 17 year old unknown with more analysis than you could find on a wallaby.

AFL. Its so intense!

[Robelosis]

Yep that's him on the left, next to Cam Brown, who's at Hawthorn, and our first 18 captain from 2003.

[SWANSBEST]

matt Davis


On the North Adelaide site there is a reference to Matt Davis . He was recently promoted from the U 17s to the senior squad . However, there are no more details than that.

PS

one Ryan O'Connor won the B and F at North after winning the Magery at Port Magpies in 2002

[Tuhob]

Ericksen

I've found some comments on Ericksen by Colin Wisbey

http://www.voy.com/51976/10/10676.html

--------------------------------------
Andrew Ericksen.

>the only thing between him and becoming a serviceable ruckman is his work ethic off the field.

Not the only thing, Patto, but you have hit the nail pretty much on the head. Like Jason Laycock last year, he is not a committed trainer or preparer (although seems to be improving). Earlier in the year, particularly, he was much much not putting in on the training track.

His best is excellent but only seen in very tiny cameos. He is a basketballer / athlete (primarily field) who is not a natural footballer but he does have a quick mind - when he decides to switch on.

At his best he is extremely agile, mobile and quite pacy for his height. At his best. And that is rare.

At his best he can do some lovely directed tapouts, even against a quite good opponent. At his best. And that is rare. He is also regularly beaten by 6?2 - 6?4? ?journeymen? U18 rucks.

At his best he can take a big grab. At his best. And that is extremely rare.

He does block etc when he thinks to do so.

You can see the trend in my comments though.

Averaged 12TD in his 7 TAC games, which is quite good for his type. Tellingly, though, in 5 of his career U18 TAC games he totalled just 2 marks and in his 2 U18 Champs games (admittedly with a fair bit of bench time) he took just one mark.

On face value, the lack of genuine rucks in Vic footy is such that, with his attributes and even allowing for him coming from a basketball background, he could reasonably have been expected to have dominated in a fair proportion of his games, but such was not the case.

>If he could jump

No, he is a high jumper (athletics). He can leap very high. Whether he chooses to or has the footballer instincts to know when to, is another matter.

>and lift a few more dumbbells

No question about that. I am told he is apparently still growing (!). Is about 90kg but will fill out. (He won?t face the same battle that Josh and particularly Stretch face to bulk up to the required strength).

>he could become something quite good I believe.

Certainly has very much to work with physically ... but very much to work on mentally.

An 'outside ruckman' is a very fair description. I?m not reflecting on his courage here, but his intensity. Tends to spectate way too much, even when very close to the play. Sometimes he will but in a terrific 2nd effort, even diving at the ball under a pack and looking great. The exception rather than the rule however.

Has a quick brain and can do some clever stuff, especially in traffic. Again, only in cameo though. I?m not convinced he thinks like a footballer around the ground. He is not a natural. He will have to learn by picking up through experience / observation what other players do and adapting his own game. The kids who grow up pre-teens / early teens laying footy have a very significant head start in terms of ?instinctively? knowing what to do on a footy field in later years. Many kids who instead come from a basketball (or soccer) never quite reach that point.

> Wiz, what do you think of his chances come draft time?

Would I take him? Definitely ... but with my heart convulsing in my mouth. If he and Laycock had been in the same draft, who would I take? Laycock in a heartbeat.

Will get drafted and, as you say, will take a long time. I agree his upside seems terrific. I think Laycock, a similar type at a similar age (though very versatile, unlike Andrew), is likely to be a top player. I?m not nearly as confident about Andrew but, IF he could somehow learn to do routinely what he currently does in cameo, he could become anything. Note that my ?IF? is in capital letters, though.

[Charlie]

Well... it seems not even the North Adelaide fans on Bigfooty or www.rocketrooster.com know anything about Davis... this kid has earnt a new nickname with me already... he is now officially "The Invisible Man".

[SWANSBEST]

Charlie

Read my previous post , Davis is an under 17 player recently promoted to the senior list . Obviously the North supporters do not know their own players.