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Heath Grundy (Norwood)
- Height: 192cm
- Weight: 92kg
- Top-Age
- Right Footed
- Dual-sided
- Strong Key Position Player (Full Back or Centre Half Forward)
*STYLE LIKE:
- Steven Paxman / Anthony Rocca
*TRADEMARK:
- (Defence) Glove spoil reaching over.
- (CHF) Strong body-on-body mark in front one-on-one.
*HURT FACTOR: (Offensive/Defensive/Negative):
- (Offensive) Medium
- (Defensive) High
- (Negative) Low
*SUMMARY ASSESSMENT, RECOMMENDATION:
- Unspectacular, but solid, strongly-built 6'4" blue-collar dour defender/CHF who does the job without getting big stats.
- Showed some promise as a forward this year at the U18 Champs (although he also played mainly forward in '03 SANFL reserves games including a bag of 5). As a forward, almost always plays in front.
- If he makes AFL, I think he could possibly pinch-hit at CHF but I see him almost exclusively as a FB and have assessed him as such.
- Was effective at FB at the '03 U18 Champs and as BP/FB at SANFL Seniors level this year.
- I'm not convinced re what AFL role would suit other than FB / 3rd tall defender but he is determined and purposeful. Is strong and mentally tough but I'm not entirely comfortable about recovery agility (although it has improved markedly this year).
- Major attributes will probably be accountability and strength (Likely to become 100kg in time).
- Is already quite physically developed and I'm not sure he has much scope for physical improvement. Were he about 195cm I would be more confident / enthusiastic.
- As it stands, I have ranked him at 24, a flattering ranking. I list him that early purely because:
1. he is virtually plug 'n play (if he is good enough),
2. has a 4cm reach advantage compared to the average player of his height.
3. is generally a good kick
4. has proven himself against men at SANFL Seniors level
5. has proven he embraces all challenges given to him
6. is accountable, concentrates and has the ticker/nerve to play FB
7. makes the right decisions (as a defender)
8. at least in a pinch, on the right opponent, can arguably play both ends
9. has fewer convictions and/or better credentials than most other talls behind him in my rankings
10. this draft is not deep
11. I wanted to balance the player types on my list so I upgraded a couple of talls.
- I would not actually use a pick as early as 24 on him on Draft Day but he is probably worth a late 2nd round or so pick
- I'm not convinced he is the real deal but his improvement trend is encouraging and he keeps standing up to all challenges over the past 2 years.
- Frankly, I would have him lower in some other drafts but he is just one of a number of talls particularly that in this draft I had to "gift" a higher ranking than they probably deserve in terms of the AFL potential they have shown to date and where I would have them in other draft years.
- For any AFL role, he has to be quicker than his '04 Draft Camp 20m time (3.19) indicates. As it happens he did 3.12 (which I can accept in his type) the year before and he was definitely running at better than 3.19 pace in the games I saw this year so I believe anyone wanting to judge him on Draft Camp times should go on last year's (at worst).
- Possibly ready year 1, but more likely year 2.
*DISPOSAL:
- Kicking: Good depth and generally hits targets, especially Kick Out's. I'm basing that on his defence roles. Both his accuracy and his hurt factor were well down in this year's U18 Champs but I don't think he is suited to the forward line. In defence, his kicking is good.
- Good by hand - accuracy, power, hurt factor, quick hands.
- Surprisingly, is inclined to lack power in his feeds sometimes. Perhaps it is a judgement of distance issue. Regardless, a number of his feeds drop short, causing the team mate to have to arrest his momentum to take it at stretch or low down on the bounce.
*DECISION-MAKING, SMARTS:
- Reliable decision-maker as a defender. (Somewhat less so as a forward but I don't see him as a forward).
- Quite a quick thinker, usually looks for options.
- Good vision.
- Poise under pressure.
- Has a tendency to throw himself to the ground to push the ball away from his opponent. Regularly succeeds but, in doing so, renders himself unable to protect the ball further after the spill, especially when the original effort was one on one with no other players nearby to assist later. The result is that sometimes his opponent gets another crack anyway and Grundy has to hope a further lunge late will smother the kick or pressure the opponent enough. In fairness, Grundy doesn't take much time getting back to his feet after the dive but sometimes even a little time is too much time.
- Nice "static" evasion.
*HANDS:
- Hands overhead are good this year. Not perfect, but good. Mixed bag at other levels but improving and generally OK.
*OVERHEAD MARKING:
- Quite a reliable contested mark but won't be a Carey. Good judgement, now holds his ground well, quite good hands.
- Can take a well-judged mark, even a very big grab, from in front or behind. (As a FB he is primarily a spoiler who wears opponents like a glove and gives them nothing). Certainly has a big leap and crashes the pack.
- 4cm reach advantage helps, especially in a defender and most especially in a FB.
*ATHLETICISM:
NB: I am ignoring his Draft Camp results this year as they are well down on his '03 results and his skinfold was up a little. He jumped 14cm lower this year than last, taking him from top 92% to bottom 20% of all-time Draft Camp/State Screening attendees in his 189-194cm height group. If there was a few years in between I'd question whether he had one of those bodies that just "aged" quickly. But it's only 1 yr diff and he has added just 3kg so I'm assuming either he had some problems this year or that the Draft Camp coincided with a period where he is trying to fast-track his weight increase. I am viewing last year's results as being representative, not '04's.
- Big leap.
- Agility seems to have improved this year. Straight-line agility is fairly good as is semi-stationary agility (eg lunging) but not so good lateral recovery, especially when he has to double back. Can still be wrong-footed but not as easily as last year.
- Pace quite good off the mark (needed for FB) and OK for his type beyond that but he is no Dunkley or Michael. (I'm ignoring his times at this year's Draft Camp - see above). Skinfolds are currently ordinary so I'm hoping some improvement in that will see a little lift in his pace.
- Strong body on body in terms of strength.
*INTENSITY, ETHIC:
- Good ethic.
- Intensity generally very good.
- Very good spoiling and crowding technique. He's all over you and all around you like a preying mantis. Good at spoiling the opponent's arm movements.
- For a naturally accountable defender, surprisingly few tackles at both '03 and '04 U18 Champs. At the moment, although he spoils very well, opponents sometimes tend to get away from him after 20m or especially if he has to double back. He must become a frequent, effective tackler if he is to make AFL FB. Improvement needed.
- Runs on.
*CONSISTENCY:
- Solid.
*SCI (SCOPE FOR CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT):
- No special factors.
*AFL VERSATILITY:
- Limited. Played in various positions both ends at '03 and '04 U18 Champs (mainly FB) and SANFL but I can't see him as other than a FB or 3rd tall defender (most likely the latter initially), AFL-wise.
*QUERY:
- Lateral recovery agility
*SOME STATS:
- Stats summary '04 U18 Champs:
Averaged 13 disposals and 6.0 marks in his 3 games. (Best TD 15).
Kicks to feeds: 28-12 (2.3:1).
Kicks long vs short: 9-12 (1:1.3).
Kicking accuracy: 7/28 ineffective incl 2 clangers.
Handball accuracy: 1/12 ineffective incl 0 clangers.
Total accuracy: 8/40 ineffective incl 2 clangers.
Gets own ball?: 7/40TD were HR. 6 HBG.
S.P. clearances: 1 incl 0 BU incl 0 CBC.
Tackles: 2
Marking: 11 of 18 were contested.
- Stats summary '03 U18 Champs:
Kicks vs feeds: mixed
Tackles: 2
Gets own ball?: 9/23 TD were HR. 3 HBG
Kicks long vs short: mixed
Kicking accuracy: 1/13 were ineff/clang incl 1 clang
Handball accuracy: 3/10 were ineff/clang incl 1 clang
Marking: 3 (all 3 contested)
*OTHER STUFF:
- All Aust TY.
- AIS
- SANFL Seniors '04 (handy form).
- Measured at '04 DC as 92kg but had been listed as 88.
- Height: 192cm
- Weight: 92kg
- Top-Age
- Right Footed
- Dual-sided
- Strong Key Position Player (Full Back or Centre Half Forward)
*STYLE LIKE:
- Steven Paxman / Anthony Rocca
*TRADEMARK:
- (Defence) Glove spoil reaching over.
- (CHF) Strong body-on-body mark in front one-on-one.
*HURT FACTOR: (Offensive/Defensive/Negative):
- (Offensive) Medium
- (Defensive) High
- (Negative) Low
*SUMMARY ASSESSMENT, RECOMMENDATION:
- Unspectacular, but solid, strongly-built 6'4" blue-collar dour defender/CHF who does the job without getting big stats.
- Showed some promise as a forward this year at the U18 Champs (although he also played mainly forward in '03 SANFL reserves games including a bag of 5). As a forward, almost always plays in front.
- If he makes AFL, I think he could possibly pinch-hit at CHF but I see him almost exclusively as a FB and have assessed him as such.
- Was effective at FB at the '03 U18 Champs and as BP/FB at SANFL Seniors level this year.
- I'm not convinced re what AFL role would suit other than FB / 3rd tall defender but he is determined and purposeful. Is strong and mentally tough but I'm not entirely comfortable about recovery agility (although it has improved markedly this year).
- Major attributes will probably be accountability and strength (Likely to become 100kg in time).
- Is already quite physically developed and I'm not sure he has much scope for physical improvement. Were he about 195cm I would be more confident / enthusiastic.
- As it stands, I have ranked him at 24, a flattering ranking. I list him that early purely because:
1. he is virtually plug 'n play (if he is good enough),
2. has a 4cm reach advantage compared to the average player of his height.
3. is generally a good kick
4. has proven himself against men at SANFL Seniors level
5. has proven he embraces all challenges given to him
6. is accountable, concentrates and has the ticker/nerve to play FB
7. makes the right decisions (as a defender)
8. at least in a pinch, on the right opponent, can arguably play both ends
9. has fewer convictions and/or better credentials than most other talls behind him in my rankings
10. this draft is not deep
11. I wanted to balance the player types on my list so I upgraded a couple of talls.
- I would not actually use a pick as early as 24 on him on Draft Day but he is probably worth a late 2nd round or so pick
- I'm not convinced he is the real deal but his improvement trend is encouraging and he keeps standing up to all challenges over the past 2 years.
- Frankly, I would have him lower in some other drafts but he is just one of a number of talls particularly that in this draft I had to "gift" a higher ranking than they probably deserve in terms of the AFL potential they have shown to date and where I would have them in other draft years.
- For any AFL role, he has to be quicker than his '04 Draft Camp 20m time (3.19) indicates. As it happens he did 3.12 (which I can accept in his type) the year before and he was definitely running at better than 3.19 pace in the games I saw this year so I believe anyone wanting to judge him on Draft Camp times should go on last year's (at worst).
- Possibly ready year 1, but more likely year 2.
*DISPOSAL:
- Kicking: Good depth and generally hits targets, especially Kick Out's. I'm basing that on his defence roles. Both his accuracy and his hurt factor were well down in this year's U18 Champs but I don't think he is suited to the forward line. In defence, his kicking is good.
- Good by hand - accuracy, power, hurt factor, quick hands.
- Surprisingly, is inclined to lack power in his feeds sometimes. Perhaps it is a judgement of distance issue. Regardless, a number of his feeds drop short, causing the team mate to have to arrest his momentum to take it at stretch or low down on the bounce.
*DECISION-MAKING, SMARTS:
- Reliable decision-maker as a defender. (Somewhat less so as a forward but I don't see him as a forward).
- Quite a quick thinker, usually looks for options.
- Good vision.
- Poise under pressure.
- Has a tendency to throw himself to the ground to push the ball away from his opponent. Regularly succeeds but, in doing so, renders himself unable to protect the ball further after the spill, especially when the original effort was one on one with no other players nearby to assist later. The result is that sometimes his opponent gets another crack anyway and Grundy has to hope a further lunge late will smother the kick or pressure the opponent enough. In fairness, Grundy doesn't take much time getting back to his feet after the dive but sometimes even a little time is too much time.
- Nice "static" evasion.
*HANDS:
- Hands overhead are good this year. Not perfect, but good. Mixed bag at other levels but improving and generally OK.
*OVERHEAD MARKING:
- Quite a reliable contested mark but won't be a Carey. Good judgement, now holds his ground well, quite good hands.
- Can take a well-judged mark, even a very big grab, from in front or behind. (As a FB he is primarily a spoiler who wears opponents like a glove and gives them nothing). Certainly has a big leap and crashes the pack.
- 4cm reach advantage helps, especially in a defender and most especially in a FB.
*ATHLETICISM:
NB: I am ignoring his Draft Camp results this year as they are well down on his '03 results and his skinfold was up a little. He jumped 14cm lower this year than last, taking him from top 92% to bottom 20% of all-time Draft Camp/State Screening attendees in his 189-194cm height group. If there was a few years in between I'd question whether he had one of those bodies that just "aged" quickly. But it's only 1 yr diff and he has added just 3kg so I'm assuming either he had some problems this year or that the Draft Camp coincided with a period where he is trying to fast-track his weight increase. I am viewing last year's results as being representative, not '04's.
- Big leap.
- Agility seems to have improved this year. Straight-line agility is fairly good as is semi-stationary agility (eg lunging) but not so good lateral recovery, especially when he has to double back. Can still be wrong-footed but not as easily as last year.
- Pace quite good off the mark (needed for FB) and OK for his type beyond that but he is no Dunkley or Michael. (I'm ignoring his times at this year's Draft Camp - see above). Skinfolds are currently ordinary so I'm hoping some improvement in that will see a little lift in his pace.
- Strong body on body in terms of strength.
*INTENSITY, ETHIC:
- Good ethic.
- Intensity generally very good.
- Very good spoiling and crowding technique. He's all over you and all around you like a preying mantis. Good at spoiling the opponent's arm movements.
- For a naturally accountable defender, surprisingly few tackles at both '03 and '04 U18 Champs. At the moment, although he spoils very well, opponents sometimes tend to get away from him after 20m or especially if he has to double back. He must become a frequent, effective tackler if he is to make AFL FB. Improvement needed.
- Runs on.
*CONSISTENCY:
- Solid.
*SCI (SCOPE FOR CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT):
- No special factors.
*AFL VERSATILITY:
- Limited. Played in various positions both ends at '03 and '04 U18 Champs (mainly FB) and SANFL but I can't see him as other than a FB or 3rd tall defender (most likely the latter initially), AFL-wise.
*QUERY:
- Lateral recovery agility
*SOME STATS:
- Stats summary '04 U18 Champs:
Averaged 13 disposals and 6.0 marks in his 3 games. (Best TD 15).
Kicks to feeds: 28-12 (2.3:1).
Kicks long vs short: 9-12 (1:1.3).
Kicking accuracy: 7/28 ineffective incl 2 clangers.
Handball accuracy: 1/12 ineffective incl 0 clangers.
Total accuracy: 8/40 ineffective incl 2 clangers.
Gets own ball?: 7/40TD were HR. 6 HBG.
S.P. clearances: 1 incl 0 BU incl 0 CBC.
Tackles: 2
Marking: 11 of 18 were contested.
- Stats summary '03 U18 Champs:
Kicks vs feeds: mixed
Tackles: 2
Gets own ball?: 9/23 TD were HR. 3 HBG
Kicks long vs short: mixed
Kicking accuracy: 1/13 were ineff/clang incl 1 clang
Handball accuracy: 3/10 were ineff/clang incl 1 clang
Marking: 3 (all 3 contested)
*OTHER STUFF:
- All Aust TY.
- AIS
- SANFL Seniors '04 (handy form).
- Measured at '04 DC as 92kg but had been listed as 88.
Useless!!! 
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