Player Watch #31: Oleg Markov

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For a second i thought we had father/sonned with the great John Makrov. Welcome Oleg.


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From the draft edition of Inside Football...

From North Adelaide - DOB 8/5/96 - Height 188cm - Weight 76Kg
"Oleg is the son of world champion pole-vaulter Dimitri. He's a 19 year old who did his shoulder twice last season but overcame that and played some good footy at times this year. Played one senior game towards the end of the season and performed well. Plays forward/wing and while he's very light he's super athletic, agile and is capable of doing some freakish things." - North Adelaide football development manager Neil Sanders
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Markov's combine highlights
4th best in Relative vertical jump - 69cm
3rd best in 30M repeat sprints - 24.32 sec
7th best in Agility
9th best in Shuttle Run (Beep test level) - 14.8
Tied 1st in Goal Kicking (Max 30) - Perfect score of 30
 
Last edited:
wrennyboy said:
Bishop I know Hardwick was gone by this pick but who is the better player in your eyes: Kerbetieh, Hardwick or Markov and why?
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I wouldn't take Hardwick. I question whether he'll make it at AFL level, 181cm not super quick and played as a deep forward which I cant see him doing at AFL level.

Markov and Kerbatieh both have speed, Markov's endurance is better and he's had an extra year in the system to develop. Richmond were keen last yr, but held off.

Kerbatieh averaged 20.4 disp in the TAC Cup
Av 11.4 in the National Champs

Markov averaged 12.8 disp in SANFL reserves and did play 1 game in the seniors. Overcame injuries from last yr, playing on a wing/HF

Av 13.0 in the National Champs
 
Um he lays a Sheppard in his highlights, we don't do that shit at Richmond

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THE_GUN said:
Somebody really need to open a McDonalds on swan st near punt road

Rioli,Markov,McBean,Menadue they weigh 286 kgs combined .
4 of them need to gain 50kgs combined


I feel like Richmond is playing in the Ethiopian league
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Strap them together and we can have two tall fast durable goal kickers running up and down the wings.
 
Got to say having watched some game footage he reminds me a lot of a young Nathan Fyfe (first season at freo). Had an uncanny sense of timing his lead so that he doesn't have to get into an awkward position to take the mark, whilst he can come from nowhere and take a mark. The other attribute he has is how light on his feet he is, as soon as they touch the ground he is ready to spring right back up and move to the next contest.

Will be interesting to see how he develops.
 
Profile from Bound for Glory - very much a project player with potential.

Oleg Markov (North Adelaide)

Height: 187 cm
Weight: 70 kg
Position: Midfielder
Strengths: Athleticism
Areas of improvement: Accumulation
Player comparison: Dean Towers

The son of Australian outdoor pole vault record holder Dmitri Markov, the Belarusian born Markov is an interesting story and one of the biggest unknowns in the draft. Having broken his collarbone twice in 2014, Markov missed the National Championships and only recently got back on the park in the SANFL under 18s. Despite his year to forget, he still secured an invite to the national combine such is his athletic talent.

Markov’s major strength is his athleticism. At 187 cm, he has played predominantly as an outside mid in his career so far but he can also play off a back flank or forward. He runs the 20 metre sprint in 2.92 seconds, has a beep test above 15 and is also in the top echelon for the vertical leap. It’s very rare for someone to have such an incredible speed, fitness and leap combination and Markov does.He also has school records in both the high jump and the long jump.

With ball in hand Markov generally makes good decisions and is technically a sound kick. He’s not someone that’s going to break sides open with his kicking but he’d be one of the better kicks in a side at peak. At under 16 level he kicked 19 goals in 6 games which indicates some level of forward ability, just one that we haven’t seen due to injuries and positioning.

The knock on Markov is all to do with performance. At the start of the year his name was mentioned but he was hardly considered a top prospect. As one of those lower down speculative type prospects it’s important to play a solid year of football in your draft year, a player can’t just get away with a long term injury like the top prospects can and still be selected.

In missing the championships and a considerable portion of the SANFL season, Markov has very little exposed form. Since returning, Markov has played in the SANFL under 18s and hasn’t really imposed himself, only accumulating between 10-20 possessions a game and has not featured in the bests across his five week stretch of games.

The concern is that if Markov isn’t excelling in the under 18s or finding much of the ball, what could he do at the significantly higher level that AFL?Most South Australian draft prospects are playing league or reserves football, so for Markov to really put his name forward he’d at least have wanted to find more of the ball and impose himself more in the under 18s.

Markov has a lot in common with Laine Wilkins, a prospect from two years ago who was an exciting wingman with freak athleticism, with his speed and leap a particular highlight. However Wilkins was passed over despite being an expected draftee, a fate Markov will be eager to avoid.

As for a current comparison, Dean Towers is someone who too shares a lot in common with Markov. Both are quick and dynamic tall midfielders with an incredible vertical leap, both are late bloomers and both struggle to find the ball and impact games despite their athleticism.

The best case for Markov is that he ends up at a similar level to Will Hoskin-Elliott. Both are relatively tall wingmen/forwards who have that rare speed, endurance and leap combination and both projected as late bloomers.

While there is still a lot of water to go under the bridge and Markov is by no means a similar level junior to Hoskin-Elliott, with some time, the right development and some application, Markov could develop at a similar rate and play a similar role to Hoskin-Elliott in the AFL.
 
Very much a development pick. Amazing athleticism, good kick, poor footy brains. Needs muscle. VFL for 2-3 years and then we'll see.
 

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Player Watch #31: Oleg Markov

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