Player Watch #14: Luke 'Gav' Urquhart - selected with Pick 57 in the ND - Welcome to North Melbourne

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He looks like a good prospect. But drafting him to us, is he set up for success? From day one he's probably behind the below for midfield time:

Parker
LDU
Sheezel
Wardlaw
Powell
FOS
Phillips
Simpkin
McKercher

Most likely outcome is he does well at VFL level but too few dominos in front of him fall to give him a crack at the big time.
 
What player would you compare his style to?

Based off reports as a big bodied player with suspect kicking he sounds like he could have the ceiling of a Matthew Kennedy type.

We are missing a big body in the midfield but it will be incredibly hard for him to break in.
 

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What player would you compare his style to?

Based off reports as a big bodied player with suspect kicking he sounds like he could have the ceiling of a Matthew Kennedy type.

We are missing a big body in the midfield but it will be incredibly hard for him to break in.
andrew swallow but bigger
 
Goss is one of the biggest flogs in footy…..and it’s a pretty stacked field.
Worse caller around, especially when WA teams are involved. Shocker.
Which is mental given he goes for another team.

What player would you compare his style to?

Based off reports as a big bodied player with suspect kicking he sounds like he could have the ceiling of a Matthew Kennedy type.

We are missing a big body in the midfield but it will be incredibly hard for him to break in.

yes, but there are players in there who can play other position and well.

I have no issues with Sheezel playing forward, Wardlaw too if none of our smaller forwards come on. I'd also have no issue with McKercher playing HBF or wing for a bit longer if we need. Duursma stays forward with little periods of time in there... if he's good enough they'll be a spot open for him pretty soon.
 
Anyone know why he only played the 3 WAFL colts games this year and no league?
Could possibly be because he needs to monitor his load after having major surgery in 2023.

he developed problems that led to serious surgery in January 2023, after it was discovered his hip was permanently dislocated.”
 
Could possibly be because he needs to monitor his load after having major surgery in 2023.

he developed problems that led to serious surgery in January 2023, after it was discovered his hip was permanently dislocated.”
No wonder his times improved post surgery. How do you run at all with a dislocated hip?
 
Funny that there was a fair bit of chatter weeks before the draft about how we missed another potential FS with Urquhart, how good a prospect he was, etc. and now we have taken him how bad a pick he was.

I for one love this pick, at 57 I reckon he could be anything.
 
This had a lot of Kyron Hayden about it imo (I’m not saying that in a bad way either) just totally feels like the time and area / player we selected when we went with him.
Seems he is mentally stronger (not that Hayden was weak by any means), and a natural leader in a way that Hayden was never going to be.
 

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They already have hit their straps there - look at the development of RHJ and Archer.
Yep.

Sheezel had the best first year like, ever.. Colby nearly as good.. Xerri most improved player in the league.. Curtis getting moulded into a gun..
 
He looks like a good prospect. But drafting him to us, is he set up for success? From day one he's probably behind the below for midfield time:

Parker
LDU
Sheezel
Wardlaw
Powell
FOS
Phillips
Simpkin
McKercher

Most likely outcome is he does well at VFL level but too few dominos in front of him fall to give him a crack at the big time.
I think we'd have him on a timeline of a few years of development at VFL level whilst he learns off Parker.
He's got the body size to maybe come in at AFL level perhaps, but I wouldn't necessarily expect it.
But if he starts putting together some serious VFL form them that's pressure on the AFL mids and we're even better for it.
We might just have to separate him, Parker and Wardlaw at training though, could get competitive lol.
 
He looks like a good prospect. But drafting him to us, is he set up for success? From day one he's probably behind the below for midfield time:

Parker
LDU
Sheezel
Wardlaw
Powell
FOS
Phillips
Simpkin
McKercher

Most likely outcome is he does well at VFL level but too few dominos in front of him fall to give him a crack at the big time.
There's a few dominoes not on your list getting regular games who will - and need to - be knocked over if we're going to seriously progress.

So, given this lad's athletic traits, particularly his speed around the contest, not to mention his bolshie attitude, I can see him squeezing into a Clarko coached team very much sooner than later.
 
Seems he is mentally stronger (not that Hayden was weak by any means), and a natural leader in a way that Hayden was never going to be.
Kyron did show tremendous leadership on two key occasions. The first was when he spoke to the group about January 26 and his indigenous heritage. The second was in the ice bath when he told JHF to pull his ****ing head in.
 
I think we'd have him on a timeline of a few years of development at VFL level whilst he learns off Parker.
He's got the body size to maybe come in at AFL level perhaps, but I wouldn't necessarily expect it.
But if he starts putting together some serious VFL form them that's pressure on the AFL mids and we're even better for it.
We might just have to separate him, Parker and Wardlaw at training though, could get competitive lol.
He has heaps of time, and looks like a great pick. Whilst we have eight first round mids we don't have much midfield depth or anyone except Phillips developing in the twos.
 
He looks like a good prospect. But drafting him to us, is he set up for success? From day one he's probably behind the below for midfield time:

Parker
LDU
Sheezel
Wardlaw
Powell
FOS
Phillips
Simpkin
McKercher

Most likely outcome is he does well at VFL level but too few dominos in front of him fall to give him a crack at the big time.
Three of those blokes are in a completely different age demography and you will always need midfield depth. With the versatility of McKercher, Sheezel and FOS only one of that group will be playing VFL. Urquhart will be playing shotgun to whoever that is and now Watkins, Lazzaro and Greenwood are all gone he'll be racking up some major footy in the VFL giving him a good base to build a career on compared to a lot fringe mids who start substitute in the AFL side and fail to develop a good rhythm of game-time in their first couple of years.
 
Yep.

Sheezel had the best first year like, ever.. Colby nearly as good.. Xerri most improved player in the league.. Curtis getting moulded into a gun..
First year players who hit the ground running often don't garner praise for the development coaches. Curtis was pretty damn good in his first year. He then hit second year blues and developed some bad habits. The development coaches deserve all the credit for helping him break those habits and rebound in his third year that we just saw. Likewise, they can take some of the glory for helping Sheezel evolve and ensuring he had no second year blues. And Xerri's evolution speaks for itself. I have full faith that they will help deliver an even better McKercher in 2025.
 
It’s the combination of physicality, repeat efforts and endurance that is most exciting for mine. Most big bodied mids take a long time to develop their tank and Urquhart already is well developed in that space. Some inside mids don’t even develop it at all (Cunners/Ziebell).

Already has quite a developed body with potential to get even more solid quite quick.

Wouldn’t surprise me at all if he makes his debut at some time during 2025.
 

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Player Watch #14: Luke 'Gav' Urquhart - selected with Pick 57 in the ND - Welcome to North Melbourne

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