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Hindsight is an exact science, but some of Wisbey's comments about Walker are on as the mark as with Russell's!
Courtesy of Colin Wisbey at Extreme Black'n'White
Andrew Walker (Bendigo Pioneers)
189/83 bottom age right foot (dual-sided) outside HBF/wing.
Outside half back flanker / wing who, in time, might be capable of becoming an attacking CHB, perhaps an outstanding one..
Definite AFL, and he could be anything, because of combination of athleticism, ethic and being dual-sided. I am extrapolating a fair bit though as he still has improvements to make and weight to add. Walker will go top 10 and possibly top 5. I rank him at 6. All the ones I have earlier than him are more natural footballers which is the main reason I have Walker a little further down than many would have him. Frankly, though, I could have thrown my top 7 around in any order without losing sleep over it. Walker will definitely be a player and a very exciting one. Will play in year 1.
*STYLE LIKE: N Smart
*TRADEMARK:
- Pick up on the run at speed then dash away, gliding over the turf, leaving the chaser in his wake, then long kick (though not necessarily targeted.
- Speccy (or at least an attempted on).
*SUMMARY ASSESSMENT, RECOMMENDATION:
Can run the lines, jump and link well. Kicking style and accuracy worries me a bit at the moment as does an occasional use of a silly bouncing technique. However, as a bottom-age nicely built 189cm athlete, he epitomises the modern footballer. Great upside. Definite AFL. As a bonus, he is very bottom age He got better and better as '03 wore on (mid-way trend up 32% statistically) .
Arguably as attractive a package as anyone in the draft if you tick off the things you like to see in the modern footballer.
Good versatility due to combination of pace, size, marking, dual-sidedness, leap, general athleticism. Clean hands. Moves well. At AFL best early role may be "wing" or run-the-lines HBF and maybe a dashing CHB later on. Has the pace, endurance & agility to go with a small and exploit overhead, and is good enough overhead to handle a reasonably tall opponent and exploit pace & endurance.
Has got a number of improvements to make but has tremendous upside. You wouldn't know it to look at him but he is part aboriginal and has some of that magic aboriginal-type quality about him. A quality kid. Will take time to iron out some flaws but will debut in '04 and could be anything.
Compulsive outside dasher who, like Tenace, always seems to be cruising. Great pace and acceleration off the mark.
Is predictable - get, run, kick and kick long. Too predictable.
Gets a lot of ball. (29th in TAC) and marks (17th in TAC, 5th among the players over 187cm).
A natural free runner, a 90m run-the-lines dasher. Covers plenty of ground but is prepared to be accountable and is effective at shutting down an opponent when he has such a job. Good spoiler whose athleticism enables him to reach over from behind, even on the run.
*DISPOSAL, DECISION-MAKING, SMARTS:
- Very predictable. His game is basically run, mark/get, run, kick long. Almost always kicks and almost always kicks long. I think he needs to learn to mix it up more.
- I think he is athlete first and footballer 2nd so he is not instinctively smart like a Tenace is.
- Is a right footer (although uses left frequently). Oddly, he is a left hander.
- Tends to kick across his body with the left foot on the run (but right is OK).
- Accuracy is borderline OK. Is recently tending to hit targets more. However his kicking style right foot bothers me. Low take (I'm not a fan). Left arm goes out OK then bends vertically then rotates fwd. (I;m not sure what that does to his balance). Early and/or double-handed loose release (which concerns me). Right foot goes way back but then gets cramped on impact (which also bothers me). Sometimes only follows through half way when I would expect him to go all the way. (This may be the result of being cramped). Sometimes has a short plant stride - not that that is a big deal in itself but it adds to the likelihood of him being cramped on impact, as does dropping the ball a little close due to slight arm bend.
- I don't yet have a handle on his smarts. eg In one game the coach gave him a roving commission across half back in one quarter but he had only 3 possessions, which is poor for a roving commission, given that play was in his half a fair bit.
- Sometimes tries to do too much and gets stripped.
- Runs hard, mainly wide in space, but doesn't always have the impact on a game that his natural talent should deliver.
- Sometimes uses a shocking bouncing technique which leaves him vulnerable to losing control. Tucks ball under arm, bounces ball with left hand but outside right leg!!! (instead of out in front). Bounces and retrieves one-handed with the left hand & bounces the ball on the flat part of the ball instead of the pointy end & out in front of him. Hence he struggles to keep control of bouncing ball even under no pressure. I haven't noticed this recently.
*HANDS:
- Clean
*OVERHEAD MARKING:
- Fairly reliable overhead. Goes for a lot but does take a fair percentage. Will not die wondering.
- Can take screamers. Huge leap, loves a speccy (most likely from the back of the pack).
- I could be wrong but he gives me the impression that he sometimes closes his eyes in a marking contest. At such times he hasn't shirked the contest so, if my observation is correct, it is probably just a subconscious thing. His intensity re making contests is mixed but mainly good and he loves a big fly. On the one hand, I've seen him take a number of very courageous hospital marks. On the other hand, every so often he displays a bit less intensity than I would like.
- Tends to most often mark from behind and sometimes goes for such marks as if no-one is in front to reach the ball first (i.e he sometimes "waits" for the ball and finds the player in front takes it first).
*ATHLETICISM, INTENSITY, ETHIC, CONSISTENCY:
- Absolutely outstanding athleticism - outstanding acceleration, very good pace, great endurance, huge leap.
- Good at closing down (corralling) an opponent then front-on tackle - not violent but effective.
- Occasionally tries to bump when he should tackle.
- Runs hard to chase down an opponent, and closes quickly. Doesn't do a lot of tackling though. 7 of his 16 TAC games have been zero or 1 tackle.
*SCI (SCOPE FOR CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT):
- Good.
- Will improve and become more versatile with more weight.
- Is possibly still growing.
- Can improve accuracy by working on his kicking technique.
*AFL VERSATILITY:
- Obvious dashing HFB but also dangerous on wing. Subject to weight, has potential as a CHB but at this stage is very outside.
. Onball is a query as I'm not convinced of his smarts and he is very outside. Could pinch hit HFF but he is suited to straight-line.
*QUERY:
- Kicking style.
- Occasional silly bouncing style (He may have already eliminated this).
*SOME STATS:
- TAC: Averaged 22 disposals in 14 TAC games (29th in comp). 5.4 marks, 1.7 tackles, total 5 goals-7. 82% of disposals are kicks. 25% of his possessions are marks. At least 20 disposals in 11 of his 16 games '02-'03, incl a 32 and 29. 7 marks or more in 6 of 14 games '03, incl 9 three times.
- Mid-way trend .. % change in disposals was 32%. % change in marks was 4%. % change in tackles was -21% (from an already low base).
- Stats summary '03 U18 Champs:
Averaged 16 disposals and 3.7 marks in 3 U18 Rep games.
Kicks vs feeds: heavily favouring kicks (as per TAC pattern). 39-10.
Tackles: 5
S.P. clearances: 3 incl 0 cbc
Gets own ball?: 20/49 TD were HR. 3 HBG
Kicks long vs short: 28-8 which is his TAC pattern also. Almost always kicks and kicks long.
Kicking accuracy: 3/39 were ineff
Handball accuracy: 2/10 were ineff/clang incl 1 clang
Marking: 11 (incl only 1contested)
*OTHER STUFF:
- All Aust TY.
- TAC Team Of Year TY: Wing.
- 1 Morrish Medal vote '03.
- MVP for Vic Country '03 U18 Champs
- AIS
- Played '03 finals for Echuca seniors.
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