Academy: Gold Coast SUNS Gun Factory

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Supersuns said:
Currently his weak point. Needs to figure out ways to beat opponents with more than just athleticism, cause once he gets to AFL there are a lot of guys just as strong and fast as him.
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Whilst you're right that it's something he'll need I don't agree there are lots of players that size, with that aggro and athleticism. Quite a rare combo.
 
Should be a great year for his development being in the afl academy. I'm sure they would do a lot of coaching and analysis of games and really focus on his running patterns and decisions with and without the ball.
 

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Supersuns said:
Currently his weak point. Needs to figure out ways to beat opponents with more than just athleticism, cause once he gets to AFL there are a lot of guys just as strong and fast as him.
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The good thing I suppose is that those things can be taught. Aggression not so much - see 2MP.
 
Another U18 Academy training session took place tonight.
  • First things first - Read is noticeably taller than Walter (Jed is approx 195cm) so I'd say he's definitely surpassed the 200cm mark now.
  • Walter's speed was reaffirmed tonight as well as his ability to jump and take a big hanger in the air. I was also impressed with his short kicks. Most of the taller guys don't seem to bother to fine tune their short kicks but Walter seems to have put some work into it.
  • Rogers showed a lot of the good qualities we've already talked about. Serious talent.
  • Lombard rejoined the main group tonight and was training with the mids as well as having some shots on goal. Also, the kid is seriously quick!
 
Walter at 195cm and serious speed and strength is in the mould of j brown, n reiwoldt, w carey. Unfair to expect him to be anywhere near the level of those champions but it's the type of player we are looking at. A perfect mix with the 200cm king and chol.
 
GC2015 said:
Another U18 Academy training session took place tonight.
  • First things first - Read is noticeably taller than Walter (Jed is approx 195cm) so I'd say he's definitely surpassed the 200cm mark now.
  • Walter's speed was reaffirmed tonight as well as his ability to jump and take a big hanger in the air. I was also impressed with his short kicks. Most of the taller guys don't seem to bother to fine tune their short kicks but Walter seems to have put some work into it.
  • Rogers showed a lot of the good qualities we've already talked about. Serious talent.
  • Lombard rejoined the main group tonight and was training with the mids as well as having some shots on goal. Also, the kid is seriously quick!
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Was the QLD preseason measurement and testing day the weekend before last?

Rookie Me Central were there, and have access to all the measurements, and use those for their player profiles on their database.

They have Walter listed as 194cm and Read as 200cm.
 
briztoon said:
Was the QLD preseason measurement and testing day the weekend before last?

Rookie Me Central were there, and have access to all the measurements, and use those for their player profiles on their database.

They have Walter listed as 194cm and Read as 200cm.
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I think you might be right about the testing day. If that's the case then I guess we don't have any reason to question 194cm for Walter and 200cm for Read. From what I saw, I would believe a 6cm difference between the two of them.

The good thing is both are in the acceptable range for their respective positions in the AFL. To put it in perspective, Jack Riewoldt is shorter than Walter at 193cm and Todd Goldstein is only 1cm taller than Read at 201cm. So both guys are a good size for where we want them to play in the future and both may still have some growth left in them.
 
While maybe not a great indicator, but the 2023 draftees article on the HS has Walter has 195cm, but we're talking very little difference lol

Jed Walter (Palm Beach Currumbin/Gold Coast Suns Academy/Allies)

A 195cm key forward, Walter is a member of the Gold Coast Suns Academy and is one of the leading draft prospects for this year. He is an athletic big man who works hard and has a physical presence in the air which sees him able to take some big contested marks. Walter managed just eight disposals and four marks in the under 17 Futures game on the MCG on AFL Grand Final Day last September, but had averaged 9.3 disposals and 2.3 goals across four under 18 national championships games for the Allies. He trained with Gold Coast over summer as part of the AFL Academy program.

 

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Caught the first quarter of the academy v Surfers Paradise match tonight and there were some impressive signs. I'll start with Walter. He was playing full forward and was crashing packs hard Casboult style. Despite coming from a long way back at times, his speed and vertical leap really gave him an opportunity to contest for the ball and at the very least he would make enough contact to prevent a defender from marking the ball and the ball would consequently hit the deck. It seemed like Walter was really on in the first quarter tonight which included two goals from either side of the sticks from about 35-40m out. In all honesty, he slotted them easily and never looked like missing. He basically did everything you could possibly want from a power forward and it's certainly encouraging to see him playing that way against grown men. There was one aspect I noticed that he needs to work on though - every time the ball was inside the forward 50 and there was a stoppage, Walter was called upon to play in the ruck and you can see that's an area he needs to work on if that's what is required of him in the future.

Read started really well in the ruck by winning the first tap of the match but it slowly turned into more of a 50/50 contest for him as the first quarter rolled on. Perhaps the thing I was most impressive with was his follow up work after contesting in the ruck. Certainly seemed hungry for the ball and didn't mind roving it himself if given the opportunity and even laid some tackles when the opposition would win the ball. Rogers seemed a bit quiet from what I saw but he certainly showed off his quick hands when he did have the ball in tight situations. Can't really give much more than that on Rogers unfortunately. Didn't see Lombard so can't give an update on him.

Overall the academy boys seemed to be holding their own against Surfers but there's certainly a weak point in the backline that could have see the team come unstuck later in the year. Didn't catch the score at quarter time but the two teams seemed to be going goal for goal for most of the quarter.
 
ccb0235a301ab2ac28cf34711e72461c.jpg


Looks like we kicked away after the first quarter


Sent from my iPhone using BigFooty.com
 
Watched GC v Surfers last night. GC too slick against ordinary opposition. Won an uninspiring game by 40 points. Will Graham standout BOG. Kicked maybe 3.2 from the middle. This kid is all footballer. Walters crashed packs, kicked a couple and Ethan Reed demonstrated hes way too agile for 202cm. Those are the 3 who youlle be talking about in November IMO.
 
Mister_Football said:
Watched GC v Surfers last night. GC too slick against ordinary opposition. Won an uninspiring game by 40 points. Will Graham standout BOG. Kicked maybe 3.2 from the middle. This kid is all footballer. Walters crashed packs, kicked a couple and Ethan Reed demonstrated hes way too agile for 202cm. Those are the 3 who youlle be talking about in November IMO.
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Surely about Rogers too.
 
Mister_Football said:
Rogers pace and agility is eyecatching. But 175 player need more. I have him well behind the other 3 i mentioned at the moment. I think the other 3 are top 40 talents
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Let's see how boys go this year. Still probably too early to predict how they will go in draft. I don't follow it closely but regarding height, funny enough Rogers mentioned he would like to play like Pickett (171cm) and Bolton (175cm). Zorko is also 175cm. IMO, height will not me a limiting factor. It will be interesting how many of them will end up on Suns list.
 
Jirik13 said:
Surely about Rogers too.
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I only saw the first quarter but I must say Rogers' involvement seemed fairly uneventful. Not sure if that's just adjusting to playing against men in the midfield but I was expecting more with how much he's been hyped. Having said that, every player has a quiet game here or there so I'm willing to give Rogers the benefit of the doubt.
 

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Academy: Gold Coast SUNS Gun Factory

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