AFL Player #24: Nick Bryan

[Lore]

Contract Status: Out of contract 2025
My Boy Draft 2024: Pick 16, ant555

 

[Lore]

From the OP;

Blue = Elite
Green = Above Average
Yellow = Average
Red = Below Average

DRAFT ANALYSIS: "A developing ruck who has terrific athleticism and a high ceiling, Bryan just needs to build his consistency and have more of a presence around the ground to further build his game."

ONE player who was the talk of the AFL Draft crop at the start of the year was Nick Bryan. The Oakleigh Chargers’ ruck burst onto the scene after being not in draft contention as a bottom-ager, but through hard work and his testing results, was suddenly in the eyes of most clubs. Through no fault of his own other than being a phenomenal athlete, Bryan was talked up by some draft watchers as a first round pick. He blitzed the 20-metre sprint in the NAB League Fitness Testing Day, clocking up a 2.91-second 20-metre sprint, which for a 202cm player is remarkable, and showed in patches what he is capable of as a bottom-ager in limited games. As the season went on, and the Under-18 National Championships showed, Bryan still has a long way to go despite his obvious athleticism and upside. In the NAB League finals series, Bryan pieced together a number of strong performances on the big stage, and showed recruiters just what he could do once again, but as a whole, he still has plenty of development – and more importantly time – on his side.

STRENGTHS:
Ruck work
Vertical leap
Speed
Upside
Skill

IMPROVEMENTS:
Consistency
Scoreboard impact
Contested marking

While it might be said Bryan did not produce the hype that many had thought pre-season, the hype surrounding a 202cm player should always be fraught with danger. His best is very impressive, with his ruck work, vertical leap and athleticism highlights of his game. But at the end of the day, outside the top elite talents in each draft, most talls are still raw and developing, and Bryan, considering he has not had as much time in an elite system compared to some, is no different. It is more his presence around the ground with his contested marking and scoreboard impact, playing a role as a forward and consistently impacting the contest in that way. When at ruck stoppages, Bryan is hard to beat with his vertical leap and when he chooses to use it, his breakaway speed. In the pre-season testing, not only did Bryan clock up the 2.91-second 20-metre sprint, but also recorded 78cm on the running vertical jump. He improved that to 85cm at the National Draft Combine, while his standing vertical improved from 56cm to 69cm, showing he had been working hard off the field. His 20m went above the three seconds, but Bryan also spent time building strength on his lighter frame, which ultimately slows players down.

While Bryan’s inconsistent year saw Luke Jackson claim the standout number one ruck draft prospect title, Bryan is among a number of others, such as Charlie Comben, Callum Jamieson and Jack Bell who received National Draft Combine invites and are next in line in terms of ruck stocks. Bryan is likely to be second or third selected with Comben, and his upside certainly helps. One aspect where Bryan stands out from many other talls is his skill by hand being able to feed his midfielders and give it off cleanly though the middle. Any ruck that can have that speed and vertical leap as a combination makes him an interesting prospect. His work during the NAB League Finals series was very good, taking control against stronger rucks who he might have been outbodied against in the pre-season, now he was beating. In his final three games, Bryan had season-highs of 13, 15 and 20 touches, getting more involved around the ground, taking a combined nine marks in his two final games – showing improvement in his contested marking. He was dominant early in the first term of the Grand Final, setting the tone against the much stronger Riley Smith, but working his way to 20 touches, 26 hitouts and four marks, including 10 in the first quarter. It showed just what he is capable of, and if clubs look past the inconsistency and work earlier in the season while he was still developing, then Bryan is a player who has a bright future ahead of him. He is likely to be that mid-draft selection, which is normal for a ruck, and with his big-game experience late in the year, Bryan will have turned a few heads with his performances.

DRAFT RANGE: 35-65

Last week;

 

[TheUnicorn]

He starting to look a lil T H I C C

 

[andleanback]

That'd be a fair way behind English. He was pretty damn solid in his second year when injuries struck - and then was a genuine no.1 ruck in his 3rd year. I think the whole 'ruckmen take a bit longer' bit is overstated.

Bryan was healthy all year and was third in line in his 3rd year.

I think/hope Scott will give him more of a chance this year, but he isn't anywhere close to where English was at the same stage.

If he's stuck in the VFL all year again this year, he'd be crazy not to look for a move.

They literally brought Martin in 2021 because they weren’t confident in englishs ruck work.

 

[bombreys]

They literally brought Martin in 2021 because they weren’t confident in englishs ruck work.

They needed another ruckman…

 

[Red Black and Blue]

A bit of a disappointing hit out, got towelled up early and improved as the game went on. Thought his pressure and tackling were his best attributes. I'm confident he's of good AFL quality in two years, I'm not sure he gets two years. Needs to get 10+ games you'd think.

 

[ant555]

A bit of a disappointing hit out, got towelled up early and improved as the game went on. Thought his pressure and tackling were his best attributes. I'm confident he's of good AFL quality in two years, I'm not sure he gets two years. Needs to get 10+ games you'd think.

Agree. Did not do much early. Needs to be a marking presence and also not sure what went wrong with some of the tap work but he was getting clear hits to space there was no one in. Unless he wants to go I think he will be safe. Phillips will get injured at some stage anyway.

 

[Vander18]

I'd think most are 105 - 115 - Natanui at 112kg and 202cm seems about right, he's a big unit, Draper seems 5kg under.

112kg - Nic Naitanui | AFL

111kg - Max Gawn | AFL

104kg - Brodie Grundy | AFL

110kg - Sean Darcy | AFL

105kg - Sam Draper | AFL

Pretty sure Hawkins has said he's under 100kg these days, so if that's accurate then Natanui being ~ 15kg heavier than Hawkins would be about right.

There is no way on Earth that Hawkins is under 100kg.

 

[BrunoV]

There is no way on Earth that Hawkins is under 100kg.

 

[BrunoV]

A bit of a disappointing hit out, got towelled up early and improved as the game went on. Thought his pressure and tackling were his best attributes. I'm confident he's of good AFL quality in two years, I'm not sure he gets two years. Needs to get 10+ games you'd think.

It will be the word of the year following Bryan, 'frustration'. So close but so far.

But I wouldn't invent or anticipate a crisis here. He's 22 late in 2023. Plenty of ruckmen have barely played to this point in their careers (I'm talking age here not necessarily on list).

In some ways Bryan is an easier player to get a read on because he can play. The weight is coming and he looks to me like he can carry a lot more (as he will need to).

If in the second half of 2024 Bryan is still struggling I'll be worried. Draper burst onto the scene in the middle of year 4 (yes he had an ACL but he was much more physically advanced, recruited at more than 100kgs).

Draper also struggled in year 5, needing Phillips in the team, when I know I was expecting he'd really come on. He was very average at the start of year 6, too.

Someone mentioned something about the rising star. I'd strongly consider a special cat B rookie spot for 18 yo ruckmen. You want to incentivise talented tall athletes to play but it is a massive investment to take most of them at 18, particularly having lost 2 list spots.

 

[Vander18]

It will be the word of the year following Bryan, 'frustration'. So close but so far.

But I wouldn't invent or anticipate a crisis here. He's 22 late in 2023. Plenty of ruckmen have barely played to this point in their careers (I'm talking age here not necessarily on list).

In some ways Bryan is an easier player to get a read on because he can play. The weight is coming and he looks to me like he can carry a lot more (as he will need to).

If in the second half of 2024 Bryan is still struggling I'll be worried. Draper burst onto the scene in the middle of year 4 (yes he had an ACL but he was much more physically advanced, recruited at more than 100kgs).

Draper also struggled in year 5, needing Phillips in the team, when I know I was expecting he'd really come on. He was very average at the start of year 6, too.

Someone mentioned something about the rising star. I'd strongly consider a special cat B rookie spot for 18 yo ruckmen. You want to incentivise talented tall athletes to play but it is a massive investment to take most of them at 18, particularly having lost 2 list spots.

Has anyone really played consistently and effectively as a ruckman before age 23-24 in recent times? Many seem to emerge even later than that as they are plucked from state leagues.

 

[Vander18]

View attachment 1614521

Think it gets overlooked that he’s also 198cm - he doesn’t look that tall. He’s all of 1 inch shorter than Nic Nat.

He is an enormous human.

 

[ant555]

Has anyone really played consistently and effectively as a ruckman before age 23-24 in recent times? Many seem to emerge even later than that as they are plucked from state leagues.

Unless they have been one of the absolute stars of the game the answer to that question is no and even then the likes of Gawn have taken 5 plus seasons on the list to really get going.

 

[BrunoV]

Just for a bit of extra context Bryan is 4 months older than Moyle.

I thought he was better than Moyle in the head to head stuff without the marking impact. Moyle came into the system as a 19 year old, mid season recruit.

Moyle, who will grow into a big man, was dwarfed by Draper who was dwarfed by Witts.

 

[citizen-erased]

Id be watching the dual star ruck projects of melbourne and freo.
If gawn/grundy and darcy/jackson work then the blueprint for bryan to play alongside draper is there.

If not, and bryan can't do anything but ruck, then we have an asset that we take to the trade table if he wants to leave.

 

[kelvin_sheedy]

Turning point for this kid will be the haircut. Keep rocking what he's got right now and it'll be an uphill battle.

Short back and sides... There's a chance.

 

[jdstorm]

Id be watching the dual star ruck projects of melbourne and freo.
If gawn/grundy and darcy/jackson work then the blueprint for bryan to play alongside draper is there.

If not, and bryan can't do anything but ruck, then we have an asset that we take to the trade table if he wants to leave.

From what we’ve seen preseason both those setups will be different.

SetandForget are splitting Ruck 50/50 and spending the rest of their time forward as marking talls.

in Freo it’s 75/25 with Jackson playing as a wing/half forward as his 2nd position.

It really depends on the skill sets of the players and how they gel. See Blicavs at Geelong who plays Ruck/wing/Halfback

Given Drapers propensity for WTF brilliance in front of goals, I wouldn’t be surprised if he became a Ruck/Key forward dual position guy like a mulleted Rowan Marshall and Bryan took on the main Tap Ruck role next season.

Bryan doesn’t seem ready yet this season.

 

[The Devils Advocate]

Turning point for this kid will be the haircut. Keep rocking what he's got right now and it'll be an uphill battle.

Short back and sides... There's a chance.

Ah Kelvin, you relic you.

 

[naraku]

It will be the word of the year following Bryan, 'frustration'. So close but so far.

But I wouldn't invent or anticipate a crisis here. He's 22 late in 2023. Plenty of ruckmen have barely played to this point in their careers (I'm talking age here not necessarily on list).

In some ways Bryan is an easier player to get a read on because he can play. The weight is coming and he looks to me like he can carry a lot more (as he will need to).

If in the second half of 2024 Bryan is still struggling I'll be worried. Draper burst onto the scene in the middle of year 4 (yes he had an ACL but he was much more physically advanced, recruited at more than 100kgs).

Draper also struggled in year 5, needing Phillips in the team, when I know I was expecting he'd really come on. He was very average at the start of year 6, too.

Someone mentioned something about the rising star. I'd strongly consider a special cat B rookie spot for 18 yo ruckmen. You want to incentivise talented tall athletes to play but it is a massive investment to take most of them at 18, particularly having lost 2 list spots.

I agree with this.

I think Bryan just needs to stay fit and be given opportunity for continuity in the VFL. He has had a few knocks and niggles and as many have said, some ruckmen just take time.

 

[Pweter]

Ah Kelvin, you relic you.

That's Kelvin on the right

 

[Lore]

He doesn't seem to have played in the VFL... was originally named on the team sheet but not in the stats and not in the player review And I don't remember seeing him either.

 

[ant555]

Big start for my boy. Did not play. No idea why as yet.

 

[ant555]

Something fluffy to pad out this space.

Bryan embracing dual position role

Nick Bryan is ready for 2023.

www.essendonfc.com.au

 

[Hamez]

From the injury report:

Young ruckman Nick Bryan will miss the next several weeks after injuring his hamstring at training.

The 21-year-old missed the VFL Bombers’ round one clash due to the injury.

“Nick picked up a hamstring injury training last Friday and he was obviously unable to take part in the round one VFL game,”

McPherson said. It’s not a major strain, but it’s going to cost him two to three weeks.

 

[ant555]

Get your own guy

 

[ant555]

Seen walking laps.