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AFL website . Search U18 Boys and it should come up.
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We have them where we want them, everything is going according to plan! -
There’s a 16y.o lad in the Academy squad named Ben Lenarduzzi. He’s 201cm tall, and still growing, of course. An elite runner, he’s been playing ruck due to his height. Athletic and with that height sounds a promising prospect. Still early days after a change from League, but he’s been in the squad a year now and developing nicely. I have great hopes, as he seems a taller version of Blicavs.
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The Allies play WA on Sunday at 12.05pm Central time. The Swans now have 6 players in the side, with over-ager Gander coming in to play as a forward flanker. Rookie Me has a brief preview.
PREVIEW | AFL U18 champs double-header hits Adelaide - Aussie Rules Rookie Me Central
I assume that it will be streamed via the AFL site.Comment
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I'd say it was a more enjoyable quarter than the 1-5 to 1-3 scoreline suggests. The early pressure from WA was very strong and they were on top. Then the Allies started to match them and they finished the quarter stronger. Kirk was probably the best of our Swans and possibly the best so far for the Allies. Although the Tasmanian, McKercher, is continuing to enhance his reputation. Gander has done some nice things, but hasn't quite taken his opportunities, while Cleary was getting busy later in the quarter.Comment
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Nice lead and set shot goal from the boundary by Rider. He does take his chances.Comment
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Excellent quarter by the Allies to be in front 42 to 11 at half time. Of our players in that quarter, Cleary was probably the best, with a number of effective hard ball gets. I also thought that May was very good. Won a number of ruck contests, had a few clearances and tackles, and also contested the ball strongly in marking contests. Kirk continued to play well. Rider scored a quality goal and had a few useful possessions playing further up the ground. Cabor had a few nice touches, from limited opportunities playing as a small defender. Not sure if Gander had much game time in that quarter, but he played an important role in a late Callinan goal, with a contested possession and nice handball under pressure.Comment
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Nice rebound work by Cabor to initiate that goal scoring move.Comment
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Nice mark and goal on the siren by Gander, put an exclamation mark on another excellent quarter by the Allies. They're now in front 76-20 and seem to have quality all over the field. Our Swans continuing to do well, with Cleary, Kirk and May providing plenty of drive in close.Comment
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Nice 50m set shot from Rider.Comment
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McVeigh has done a tremendous job molding a lot of high end talent and a strong supporting cast into a really cohesive team. Last week they fell away in the second half and looked a bit scrappy but today was a powerhouse performance, played in an "AFL style", at least in terms of ball movement. Possibly less so in terms of ground defence, but the back 50 group was as well structured as the forward 50 group.
Our guys were more in the supporting cast group than the star turns, but they all showed they can play some good quality football. It's hard to know how to order them at this stage, but I wouldn't be disappointed with any of them if they landed up on our list next year, either with late ND picks or on the rookie list.
They mentioned on the broadcast that the Allies now have a fortnight's break before their next game of the championships. I hope we get to see one or two (or more) of our academy lads co-opted into the VFL side for a couple of weeks. Kirk and Cleary have already played some games. They're probably the most likely to get another game shortly, but I'd like to see how Cabor and/or Gander look at the next level up.Comment
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Excellent performance by the Allies to win 106-20 (although that final score might be a few points out either way?). Cleary was very good today and probably the best of our Swans. Not sure how many possessions he got, but the Tasmanians, McKercher and Sanders got 40 and 39 respectively, and I don't think he was too far behind. A lot of his possessions were contested and he seemed to lay quite a few tackles as well. On McKercher and Sanders, both are rated top ten prospects and Tasmanians will be really hoping that they get homesick in a few years time.
All of our Swans players did well. Kirk was busy, tough and efficient, and I'm now wondering what the draft rules are regarding over-age players. As in, can we still match a bid on a father/son prospect, if they weren't taken in their draft year? I also thought that May enhanced his draft prospects and the comparison to two of the other rucks in the game, Read from the Suns and Edwards from WA, is interesting. The Rookie Me power rankings have Read at 7 and Edwards at 8, while today's commentary team expect both be taken high in the draft. If anything, May in my opinion looked the best ruck on the field today; although the other two are obviously more athletic. I suspect that recruiters think that they will have greater upside when they add more muscle, but I think May is doing a lot right and is genuinely draftable.
Our other players also did well. Cabor was never going to get a heap of possessions, playing as a small defender against a side that was being soundly beaten in the midfield, but he acquitted himself well when the ball came his way. Rider also made the most of his opportunities at the other end. He can find space and is an accurate set shot. He also had a few useful involvements when venturing further upfield. At 186cm, I'm not sure if he quite has the bag of tricks to be drafted as a medium forward, but he keeps on performing well and would probably be an upgrade to our VFL list. Gander also performed well and showed his versatility; spending a bit of time as a third tall forward and also having a bit of a run on the wing. I don't think he played defence today, but he can. So with that range of skills, he also could be an upgrade to our VFL list.Comment
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Yes, you can. But even if you couldn't, you certainly can for Academy players so long as they nominated the previous year (which Kirk did) and he qualifies as both FS and academy.
Watching Kirk alongside the likes of McKercher and Sanders, I suspect he probably doesn't quite have the game to make it as an AFL midfielder. At his size, he probably needs a better burst of speed. But he does share a lot of attributes - strong endurance, good footy IQ, concentration, consistency - with Jake Lloyd. Lloyd might be a tiny bit quicker, but Kirk has more natural defensive instincts and I think is likely stronger overhead, not that this is important at that height/role at AFL level. I could certainly see Kirk taking over that kind of role from Lloyd in a few years time, when Lloyd's ready to retire.
I have no idea whether we plan to hold onto our first round pick this year, but if we keep we do, it will probably be in the second half of the top 10. O'Sullivan as a truly tall key defender looks like an enticing prospect for where our list is at. He's from Albury so there won't be anything luring him "home" to another club.Comment
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