Senior Eric Hipwood (2015-)

[Elixuh]

Eric Hipwood

Drafted with pick 14 in the 2015 National Draft

Height: 202cm
Weight: 83kg
Club: Brisbane Lions Academy


Media Phantom Drafts:
Emma Quayle:

Pick 11 - Matching Adelaide's Bid

Super athletic tall forward, who looks just as comfortable down back. Wants to be involved in whatever's going on.

Callum Twomey:

Pick 12 - Matching Adelaide's Bid

Hipwood's versatility makes him an appealing prospect. Throughout this year the 202cm prospect spent plenty of time in attack, where he ran hard on the lead, jumped for his marks and kicked some smart goals. But he was also more than comfortable across centre half-back, where he could use his leap and athleticism to shut down opponents. Adelaide stocked up on a tall defender at last year's draft in Jake Lever but could go again with a bid on Hipwood, however the Brisbane Lions will have first call on matching the bid for their academy player.

Sam Landsberger:

Pick 15 - Matching Adelaide's Bid

Hipwood will be a ripper but needs serious time. The gangly but athletic goalkicker plays at both ends, boasts a thumping kick and can carry the footy.

Brett Anderson:

Pick 12 - Matching Adelaide's Bid

“He’d be the modern forward line player but he can play centre half-back too and he takes the ball at the highest point – you want your forwards to jump at it and that’s one thing he does do. His body size is going to take time – he’s a bit like Joe Daniher, but he’s got great agility, good speed and is a nice left foot kick. He has grown to 202cm so he will need to start filling out but he looms as our first draftee to the Lions academy this year.“ – Queensland high performance coach Adrian Fletcher

Quigley:

Pick 10

Hipwood is one of the most interesting prospects in this draft. I personally have no idea where he ends up playing. He has played mostly up forward and done pretty well, even in senior company, but he has not really dominated and kicked a big bag. He is a consistent 2-3 goal forward who will give a contest and clunk a few. Down back is where he has looked closest to dominating and is probably where he starts his career. The left field option and the one which might turn out the best is in the ruck. I have not seen him ruck but his around the ground ability could make him a star at AFL level if he can actually compete decently in the ruck contest itself. He has the height for it. The question might be whether he can put on enough weight to compete body to body. At the moment he is very thin.


Hipwood measured in at 202cm at the Combine and he plays to his height. On top of his height he has a good leap as he showed at the Combine. For most of his playing career to date he has been a medium tall type and he has retained the agility and playing style of a smaller player. For a ruck sized player he moves fantastically well. He is a fluid mover with good speed and the turning circle of a smaller player. Agility is what often gets the ruck sized defenders into trouble but that should not be a problem for Hipwood. At the Combine he combined a 2.96 20m with a 8.38 agility test both of which were great for a guy his size.


One of the big things I like about Hipwood, and one of the reasons I see him succeeding, is his aggressiveness. He is a big kid who loves to get in there and mix it up. He will attack the man and the ball whether it is on the ground or in the air. He loves a ruck contest in his area where he can play as a midfielder and wins a surprisingly high percentage of clearances in such situations. He is not just making up numbers, he will hit the contest at speed and has nice clean hands. When he collects the ball his junior opponents often don’t really know how to handle him and he gets it away nicely. Hipwood likes to take the game on particularly when playing at the back and he will run on and present as an option going forward.


His kicking is often raised as a concern about Hipwood but for me I think he has the potential to be an elite kick. He has a very relaxed style in his kicking and he is capable of really drilling a pass. At the back he takes very aggressive options and has been prone to turning a few over. He regularly takes kick-ins when he is at the back and that is a sign that his coaches trust his kicking ability. I am hoping he is just adjusting to having the ball need to fall further than it used to. Style wise as mentioned there is a lot to like but atm things go astray a bit too often. I like the aggressive options he takes even if he misses a few targets currently. He has a “take the game on” attitude that appeals to me a lot. He is an accurate shot for goal and will convert a good percentage of his chances.


Interestingly Hipwood appears to be a superior mark when playing down back but merely average one when up forward. Down back he will play a read and react role and back himself to read the ball better and then outmark the forward. In the games I have seen he is very rarely beaten in the air when in defence. His ability to read the ball in the air is great and with his height and jumping ability he is justifiably very confident in his belief that he will be the one to come away with the ball. He often plays loose and this is a role that he does very well. Down back he likes a mark but makes good decisions about when to mark and when to spoil. Up forward he will clunk a few and he competes hard but he is not the dominating presence he is down back. He goes up strong for the ball and held his own strength wise against junior opponents. In senior company he is going to struggle for a few years whilst he builds body strength. He needs to put on a lot of bulk to be truly effective at AFL level.


Hipwood likes to be involved going forward and is a good mark and run option coming out of defence. He runs hard to present and he genuinely seems to love that aspect of the game more than others. I have heard him compared to Fletcher in body shape and the way he plays and there is some merit in that. When I saw him play the player I thought he reminded me of in defence was Josh Gibson. Up forward he reminded me of Joe Daniher with his size and his impact up forward. Daniher was certainly the better junior forward but in senior company he has looked dangerous without dominating and this is what I have seen from Hipwood this year. He contests and will pick up his 2 or 3 goals a game but he has not torn anyone apart with 8. He picked up 4 in a quarter against Tassie at the Champs but did not pick any in the second half (somewhat unluckily admittedly).


Hipwood is a real presence on the field and is someone who could be a crucial element of whichever unit he plays on. There is a fair bit of risk of him busting but on the other side of the equation he probably has as high a ceiling as anyone in this draft.

Snoop Dog:

Pick 9

Wow this kid is a prospect. I actually think he good be the best player this draft produces. His ceiling is huge and he has so much talent its frightening. Has shown through his champ and NEAFL performances that he can play at a very high level and be not only productive but very influential. I think many of his draft watchers probably saw his game vs Tas when he just dominated them and arguably had the most dominant performance of anyone in the champs. Got great agility and elite speed (20m sub 3s) and is very adept at reading the ball either end of the ground. He can defend and intercept, he can lead and do it wisely and has a good pair of hands on him and in fact his contested marking is a real feature. Some of his games for the Lions post Champs very good. Saw a couple and super impressive.

Skippos:

Pick 23

Comparison (Back): Harris Andrews (with more of a natural offensive game)
Comparison (Forward): Josh Jenkins

Eric Hipwood is really, really raw - but there is a lot to like. Linked to the Brisbane academy, his performance against Tasmania in round two of the championships confirmed his status as a top prospect, swinging forward to kick four second quarter goals. He's very similar to Harris Andrews in a lot of ways - with both their movement, positional versatility and dimensions very similar. Like most kids with late growth spurts, Hipwood moves very well for someone of his size, possessing fantastic dexterity and agility for his height. As a defender, he looks promising, with his ability to close down opponents while competing well below the knees and at ground level, while also picking the right times to zone off and impact another contest all excellent. He has also shown some aptitude forward with his ground level game and athleticism handy - however he does not look completely natural inside 50, lacking solid leading patterns and a willingness to take pack marks. By foot he's shaky - however he backs himself to take risks. While he is a bit of a clanger king at the moment it is partially by virtue of him trying to penetrate and break open the game. If he continues to grow into his body and develop that kicking technique, he could actually develop into a very handy rebounder by foot with his mental side strong. At this stage he looks more favoured to be a defender though.

Knightmare:

Pick 8

Reminds me of: Jake Carlisle
Best position/role: Centre half back

Strengths:

Rapid rate of improvement – Hipwood has these past 12 months improved rapidly. He is continuing to grow (vertically) and his game is similarly continuing to improve at a rapid rate, as someone who seemingly is improving with each game. And with key position players, a big part of the equation is rate of improvement, and Hipwood is improving as rapidly as any tall from this draft class.
Production – Hipwood through the u18 championships managed midfield-like numbers with big disposal numbers, excellent mark per game numbers, and strong scoreboard impact when used forward. So for production, Hipwood well and truly ticks the boxes.

Ability to read the flight – Hipwood consistently reads the flight of the ball early and gets to the drop of the ball to be in best position to take the mark.
Intercept marking ability – Hipwood down back shows a real willingness, picking his times well to leave his man. As soon as he sees the ball in flight, he reads it early, gets to the drop of the ball, and will look more often than not to get under the ball and take the intercept mark. It’s just what comes natural to him, and is what down back makes him so effective.

Marking ability – Hipwood critically in addition to being 200cm and still growing, and having long arms, also takes his marks at the highest point in the most part. At times he can drop some marks overhead, but he will almost always get his hands to it, and also takes his fair share of marks at the highest point. His arms are long leavers, and add all this to the fact that he consistently gets to the drop of the ball first and Hipwood is a big time marking threat, forward or back. And his numbers back it up with no less than seven marks in his three u18 championship games where he played both back and forward performing strongly at both ends.

Contested marking ability – Hipwood with his long arms and superior ability to read the drop of the ball has shown that he can take some pack marks, just by getting to the drop of putting his longs arms up. He has strong hands overhead and with all these elements features of his game, he is a genuine contested marking threat, even with a still light frame, with his contested marking numbers also good with two contested marks in each of his three u18 championship games.

Versatility – Hipwood is able to play both as a key defender or key forward to a strong standard and offers a legitimate long term option at either end.

Endurance and movement – Hipwood at 200cm is an excellent mover. He has excellent endurance and covers a lot of ground each game for a key position player and also has good agility for a big man and pretty good pace.

Ground level ability – Hipwood at ground level is for a big man fairly clean with his pickups and has a good level of co-ordination below the knees for a tall.

Question marks:

Ability through the ruck – It’s mostly a case of something I haven’t seen, but something at his height a club probably at some point will investigate. Hipwood is a natural key position player, and that’s where he likely plays his career, but likely at one time or another he will be asked to at least play some relieving minutes through the ruck. Hipwood is tall and long which will work in his favour. Able at ground level, will tackle and pressure to an ok standard and can certainly cover the ground well and spread from stoppages. Just with his limited leaping ability he probably won’t be getting so many hitouts, and he isn’t someone I envisage would physically offer much impact in there either.
Decision making ability – With Hipwood at times it can be a mixed bag. At times in general play he can look really composed, make great decisions and hit his targets, putting it out in front of them or do something really constructive that players his height aren’t normally able to do. At other times though he will make poor decisions. As an example: in the back 50m he may look to switch to a player who is covered, or play on from a kickout and then looking to handball to the next target. Perhaps once he learns the game more, and learns those fundamentals and cleans up his skills, he should in theory be making better decisions, but he is still not nearly there at the consistency required so it will be an area requiring addressing for Hipwood.

Athleticism and strength – Hipwood while he has excellent endurance by position and moves well I wouldn’t describe as an athletic. He isn’t a high leaper or particularly strong which limits his potential as a ruckman as it will make it hard at centre bounces for him to compete. And while he moves well, I wouldn’t describe Hipwood as a particularly explosive athlete either as more someone who is covering the ground well more so than moving explosively. As Hipwood has grown relatively later and is still growing into his body, I suspect athletically and certainly physically there is still growth ahead in Hipwood, so while athleticism and strength are not areas of strength at this stage, Hipwood due to the nature of his body as someone who is still growing, I anticipate continues athletically and for strength to improve at, at least an above average rate.

Weaknesses:

Footskills – Hipwood by foot requires work. At times he will display good vision and put some kicks out in front of the leading player to run into or hit some inside 50m targets. But generally speaking, over short, medium and long distances Hipwood will regularly shank the ball or miss targets. Similarly when taking set shots on goal or kicks in general play on goal, Hipwood can at times kick some freakish goals, but similarly as with his field kicking to targets, he lacks that consistency and reliability on his kicking.

Work by hand – Hipwood by hand also has at times shown that he can miss some easy targets that he should be hitting, and just requires that consistency and reliability by hand.

Summary:

Hipwood has the opportunity with 3-4 years developing and once he puts some size onto his frame to develop into a 150 gamer and one of the more dominant talls in this draft class. Hipwood likely at the next level as he has in the u18 will take lots of marks and find lots of the ball, whether he plays back or forward.

News Articles:

AFL Draft 2015: Meet Eric Hipwood, a saintly would-be Lion

Kicking goals is good. Denying them can feel better. "I like kicking goals. Everyone likes that," he said. "But it's just as good a feeling when you stop someone else from kicking one. And whenever you play down back you learn more and more about how to play as a forward. You get to know all the things defenders don't like, and take them to the other end."

Doing it against good players has helped, too. "I remember going to America thinking, why am I here? But that was when I started to hit my straps and to think I could compete," Hipwood said. "At the start of the program I felt like I was getting towelled up all the time, but when I went away I thought, 'maybe it's not as tough as I thought.'

"Until then me and my parents had been thinking, 'this is all pretty good, let's go along with it and see what happens.' But ever since then I've wanted to be a bit more confident and make a bit more of it than that. This whole year's been such a big learning curve."

25 days to the draft: Meet the tall and agile Eric Hipwood

With his pace and long reach in the air, Hipwood presents as a unique forward option in this year's draft pool. Both of those traits were on show at the recent NAB AFL Draft Combine, when Hipwood ran 2.97 seconds in the 20-metre sprint and then backed it up to finish in the top-10 for the standing and running vertical jump tests.

The best thing about the 203cm prospect is his capacity to play at both ends of the ground. Throughout the under-18 championships he was used in defence and occasionally swung forward, including his four-goal haul against Tasmania in Geelong. That day he proved his versatility and brilliance – two of his goals were kicked from tight angles on the boundary line.

Hipwood is agile, uses the ball well on his left side, and loves to run. He can dodge past defenders and catch them out of position, and he enjoys flying for marks and taking things on. He averaged 21 disposals and seven marks a game during the national carnival.

NEAFL Rising Star Nominee: Eric Hipwood

The Brisbane Lions Academy has produced its third NEAFL Rising Star nominee in the first seven rounds of the season with teenage forward Eric Hipwood the latest to make his mark on the competition.

The 17-year-old Caloundra junior booted three goals in an important role up forward on Saturday when the Lions – who fielded 12 Academy players - went down to defending premier Aspley by 34 points at Graham Rd.

 

[Elixuh]

 

[ZoBlitz]

 

[mpal6]

"Get into Top 8 next year"... I like this lad already. Welcome !

 

[Panthera]

"Get into Top 8 next year"... I like this lad already. Welcome !

Geez, when Hippy, Andrews and Schache fill out in 2 - 3 years time...

 

[a mayes ing]

Geez, when Hippy, Andrews and Schache fill out in 2 - 3 years time...

Will be a nice spine.

Clarke
Andrews/Hippwood
Beams
Schache
Freeman

 

[dlanod]

He'll be wearing #30 for the Lions in 2016.

 

[ZoBlitz]

 

[ZoBlitz]

Hipwood Ready To Make His Mark

"You don't play footy to play in the seconds, I'm going to train my hardest and if I get a game that's fantastic, but it's more about earning the respect of the players," he said.

"It doesn't matter if you're pick one or 87, you're just like everyone else and you've got to work your heart out to prove yourself.

"We haven't done any time trials or anything like that yet, but just doing the normal training sessions are so much more intense.

"It's a lot to take in physically and mentally, but I've enjoyed every second of it so far.

"I just want to get back out there."

 

[knaf]

Hipwood Ready To Make His Mark

Appears to be a genuine statement. Eric knows he has more to do to make it. What a great attitude for the young bloke to have. Is it OK to start calling him the "Eel"?

 

[jjami15]

Appears to be a genuine statement. Eric knows he has more to do to make it. What a great attitude for the young bloke to have. Is it OK to start calling him the "Eel"?

He's as skinny as one.

 

[blynd_freddie]

A couple from the 2015 U18 Champs played in Geelong.

 

[ZoBlitz]

Eric Hipwood Developing Quickly

Eric Hipwood has been at the Brisbane Lions for just a couple of months – but, already, his AFL career has been brought into perspective.

The tragic death of 18-year-old Brisbane man Cole Miller – allegedly as the result of an unprovoked one-punch attack in Fortitude Valley in Brisbane – hit home for Hipwood, who attended the same primary school as Miller.

“It gave me a realisation about life and how quickly it can be taken away from you from some idiotic action,” Hipwood told aflplayers.com.au this week.

“The biggest learning I took out of that was it can happen to anybody. It doesn’t just affect him – it also affects the people around him. I hardly knew him, my sister hardly knew him [but] it affected us.

"It's very, very sad and very, very poor how someone can take action, trying to hit someone to eventually kill them.

“I feel for him and feel for his family.”

The message Hipwood wants to share with one-punch offenders is a simple one.

“You’re not just hurting that person, you’re also hurting the people around them. It effects so many people if you go around trying to hit someone like that.”

 

[ZoBlitz]

Checking In With Our Draftees

Eric Hipwood: Like his fellow Academy products, has come into the system in good shap. Working hard to put weight on his tall frame, but runs well and has to be held back to save himself from overtraining.

 

[ZoBlitz]

The Boys Who Have Bulked Up

Since Eric Hipwood entered ‘The Den’ in November he has made a 12.5 kg bench press improvement.

 

[ZoBlitz]

Reserves Wrap - Southport - 05/03/16 (Shane Woewodin’s comments)

Eric played key forward and pinch hit in the ruck. He’s going to be a really valuable acquisition for us this year as a young forward. Being able to jump at the footy and really launch at it. He took a couple of great inside 50 marks. He’ll create a few headaches for a few opponents this year with his ability to be good in offense. We’re working really hard with Eric’s defensive game at the moment to help him as a key.

 

[Pugz89]

Hey guys, just curious on how much we're likely to see of him this year, if at all? Cheers.

 

[jjami15]

Hey guys, just curious on how much we're likely to see of him this year, if at all? Cheers.

Personally for me I would say no, development year/putting size on.

 

[Lace Out]

Yeah would be a miracle if we see someone else do a Harris Andrews.Hopefully he gets through the year injury wise and puts on some pudding

 

[ZoBlitz]

Reserves Wrap - Gold Coast Suns - 26/03/16 (Shane Woewodin’s comments)

Limited output on the day. He still did a couple of good things. He looked to improve defensively in terms of what he is able to do – his three quick steps and his swivel head stance, which was pleasing to see. We’ll still look at his patterns and what he’s doing as a forward. We just need to see more pressure from our talls in our front half.

 

[ZoBlitz]

Reserves Wrap - Aspley Hornets - 23/04/16 (Shane Woewodin’s comments)

Pushed him forward this week. He’s been playing back all year so we just swapped him and Hamma just to give Eric a chance again to play as a key forward at senior level if given the opportunity. He kicked one goal for the day. He didn’t have the impact in the air as we would’ve liked. He missed a lot of marks, only took two for the day. We’re looking for Eric to make sure he’s impacting aerial contests, he’s showing his physicality, he’s working on his second efforts at ground level and his defensive pressure as a key forward. He’s shown he can run and have good agility so it’s important for him to be able to impact in those other areas. We’re hoping for him to bounce back against quality opposition in Sydney this week.

 

[ZoBlitz]

Eric Hipwood Extends Contract

The Brisbane Lions have secured one of their most exciting young key-position prospects until the end of 2019, with 18-year-old Eric Hipwood extending his contract with the Club.

Hipwood, who was already contracted until the end of 2017, signed a new two year deal. A Hyundai Help for Kids Lions Academy product, he joined the Club as a first-round pick in last year's NAB AFL Draft – No. 14 overall.

The Queenslander is yet to make his senior debut but has impressed as a solid performer with the Lions' NEAFL team. Hipwood becomes the 13th player to re-sign with the Lions since the end of last season.

"We’re delighted to extend Eric’s contract," said Brisbane Lions National Talent Manager Peter Schwab.

“We see Eric as being really critical to the development of AFL in Queensland and so we're very pleased to have him re-sign.

“We’re confident he’ll be a good key-position player for the Brisbane Lions in the short and long term.”

 

[ZoBlitz]

Reserves Wrap - Sydney Swans - 01/04/16 (Shane Woewodin’s comments)

Pushed him back forward like last week against Aspley. He had minimal impact this week. He only had it 10 times, in the back half of the game we pushed him back down in defence. He wasn’t marking the ball and wasn’t really providing the contest for us up-front. It’s probably for him to be able to forget. He hit the scoreboard with our first goal of the game late in the first. A big thing for Eric to be working on right now as a young key-forward is his ability to stay strong in the contest, keep his feet. He doesn’t have to mark everything, as long as he’s created the contest and is bringing it to ground and our ground level boys into play.

 

[Dylan12]

Lion cub not getting ahead of himself

Keays’ impressive debut is an inspiration to fellow Queenslander Eric Hipwood who has signed a two-year contract extension which will keep him at the Gabba until the end of 2019.

The 18-year-old is yet to play a senior game but Brisbane view the Caloundra junior as an important long-term prospect as he can operate as a key position player at either end of the ground.

The 200cm-tall Lions Academy graduate was taken by Brisbane at pick No. 14 in last year’s draft and is the 13th player to recommit to the club since the end of last season. “There is nowhere else I want to be. It was an easy decision,’’ Hipwood said.

 

[ZoBlitz]

Reserves Wrap - Sydney Uni - 14/05/16 (Shane Woewodin's comments)

Hit the scoreboard with four goals this week which was a much improved result. He had a couple from the 50 metre penalties but it’s all scoreboard pressure. He had it 16 times, again for Eric it’s still that – engage, separate timings with ruck stuff but his ruck pressure was outstanding for a key forward. He probably fatigued as the game went on and fell off a little bit but certainly put it on the line early when needed. It’s good to see our key forwards hitting the scoreboard.