Player Watch Tom Jok

[Chief Ten Beers]

hit out stats don't tell the full story (if they ever do).

They do for Melbourne posters when comparing Gawn to Grundy

 

[BPikkers]

He isn’t tall enough to tuck. Still very skinny as well. Very quick and was explosive through traffic. Could easily play on the wing

 

[Snoop Dog]

Not sure on Tom. If he was there as a rookie I would take him but his kicking needs a lot of cleaning up. Everything else works. Had same issue as a junior.

 

[jackcass]

Arguably our best performer yesterday. Be very happy to see us take him with a late pick or in the rookie draft if we get a chance. Would certainly take him ahead of Hore.

 

[Moeydw]

Arguably our best performer yesterday. Be very happy to see us take him with a late pick or in the rookie draft if we get a chance. Would certainly take him ahead of Hore.

Looks very raw, if we do take him it should be as a rookie, will probably take around 3-4 years to be ready.

 

[jackcass]

Looks very raw, if we do take him it should be as a rookie, will probably take around 3-4 years to be ready.

People were saying the same about Stephenson during the preseason. Most of Jok's issues seem to be about physical size. He gets pushed off the footy too easily, but even at his current build I could see him slotting into a HF or wing position year 1 if needed. By year 2 he'd have a 2nd preseason under his belt and I'd reckon he'd better hold his own in those contested situations. I think his height and athleticism make him a tantalising prospect.

 

[Moeydw]

People were saying the same about Stephenson during the preseason. Most of Jok's issues seem to be about physical size. He gets pushed off the footy too easily, but even at his current build I could see him slotting into a HF or wing position year 1 if needed. By year 2 he'd have a 2nd preseason under his belt and I'd reckon he'd better hold his own in those contested situations. I think his height and athleticism make him a tantalising prospect.

Difference with Stephenson was that he was rated top 5 in the country by most as a kid and had a well rounded game. As snoop said Jok has a lot of issues with kicking and is hard to see him playing on a wing in the AFL with those issues. If drafted I think he becomes a 'project player'.

 

[Robroy22]

The first wave of South Sudanese lads that had a go at footy (think Majak) had no spatial awareness for the game coming from soccer / basketball backgrounds and even limited coaching there). Allir Allir has had a good deal of 1:1 coaching and he is next level to Majak in awareness. Tom Jok is like the 3rd generation where he has the ability to find the ball in the air, on the ground and in contested situations. Specialised coaching for these guys is exponential, they have traits that AFL players their size just don't have.
And for people wanting players that can run both ways the South Sudanese lads all have the ability to run all day (at speed), they don't need the "tank" work that others do to build up their aerobic capacities its intrinsic to them.
I'm really looking forward to the next 10 years when South Sudanese players will become as exciting as our own indigenous girls and boys. But following quickly in their footsteps will be the Afghani's, the Karen and the Kiwi's. They all display traits (both culturally and physically) that will revolutionise our game in the future too.

Exciting times!

 

[Copeland]

Even though he's so skinny, he is hard to tackle to the ground. But for some reason he would lose his footing after jumping in the ruck which was disappointing.

 

[Robroy22]

Even though he's so skinny, he is hard to tackle to the ground. But for some reason he would lose his footing after jumping in the ruck which was disappointing.

He's not a ruckman!
In centre bounces and when given an opportunity to "run and jump" he was a meter above the opposition ruckmen. Essendon quickly adapted to bodying him out of "jumping" and this took away his advantage. His opponents had 5cm and 30kg advantage in size! Their bodying tactics often unbalanced Tom and he ended up on the ground. Surprisingly though he was often one of the first to the next contested ball!

 

[jackcass]

Difference with Stephenson was that he was rated top 5 in the country by most as a kid and had a well rounded game. As snoop said Jok has a lot of issues with kicking and is hard to see him playing on a wing in the AFL with those issues. If drafted I think he becomes a 'project player'.

Where'd I suggest he wouldn't be a project player? I said I could see him slotting in at HF or wing IF NEEDED. May well be raw but certainly not in the Daw range of needing 3-4 years development raw. He'll be 22 before the season starts and a solid preseason or 2 may well be the making of him. He's already exceeded the expectations of many of us with his VFL performances this year. Will his disposal ever be elite... doubtful, but he's shown it's not as bad as some project.

 

[mwhop]

i think majak took so long to come on because roos played him as a forward. if you are athletic but still learning the finer points of the game, defence is usually the best place to hone your craft, I would have thought. I could see jok being great taking marks in the backline and then running off his man.

 

[PorkyPie]

Is this guy a rookie chance? I think he can become a great player?

 

[TradeDraft]

Is this guy a rookie chance? I think he can become a great player?

He is a Rookie Chance I reckon

 

[MayneSpudHunter]

Is Jok or Hore a chance to be rookied? I know Hore has attracted lots of interest in The VFL, i also like to see Jok rookied due to his running ability, would be a unique player off half back and wing but needs time for his skills to develop

 

[sr36]

The first wave of South Sudanese lads that had a go at footy (think Majak) had no spatial awareness for the game coming from soccer / basketball backgrounds and even limited coaching there). Allir Allir has had a good deal of 1:1 coaching and he is next level to Majak in awareness. Tom Jok is like the 3rd generation where he has the ability to find the ball in the air, on the ground and in contested situations. Specialised coaching for these guys is exponential, they have traits that AFL players their size just don't have.
And for people wanting players that can run both ways the South Sudanese lads all have the ability to run all day (at speed), they don't need the "tank" work that others do to build up their aerobic capacities its intrinsic to them.
I'm really looking forward to the next 10 years when South Sudanese players will become as exciting as our own indigenous girls and boys. But following quickly in their footsteps will be the Afghani's, the Karen and the Kiwi's. They all display traits (both culturally and physically) that will revolutionise our game in the future too.

Exciting times!

Good post, but Basketball and soccer are games where spatial awareness is key. The issue with the first wave of Sudanese wasn't a basketball or soccer background, the issue was that they spent their formative years in refugee camps not playing any sport. The ones who will come through now grew up in Australia with access to our sporting facilities. We're going to see some absolute stars.
I'm not as bullish about the Karen. Physically similar to the Vietnamese, who despite larger numbers being here since the 1970s are still yet to have an impact in the AFL.

 

[Bored_Pie]

Rookie Draft.

 

[sr36]

Rookie Draft.

With us keeping senior list open for academy points, when we add our last bloke, we'll likely to have the option to take him in the national draft before the rookie draft. Considering he's been at the club for a while now, if we are interested, you'd think that we'd be willing to contract him for 2 years and thus take him in the ND rather than running the risk of him going before we get a selection in the National Draft.

 

[Frank Gallagher]

Gifted athlete, he looks taller than he is, think he's around 193cm, has an enormous leap and good speed, noticed him pointing where team mates should go etc which is a great sign, could play KB on some key forwards and pinch hit in the ruck, i wouldn't mess around waiting to rookie him i'd take him in the ND.

 

[Frank Gallagher]

This is the future.
Majak Daw, Allir Allir, Tom Jok....pretty soon these types of athletes are going to be commonplace upon AFL lists. Tom did great job today and I'd love to see us rookie him in 2019.

Exactamundo, some of the Sudanese kids are athletic freaks, there's a kid doing the little athletic circuit ATM named Nelson Banigo, i watched him at the state champs last year (under 9), ran the 70-100-200-400, won them all, times were mindboggling, think he went mid 13s for the 100, and he was 8.

 

[Dead Eye Didak]

Is Jok or Hore a chance to be rookied? I know Hore has attracted lots of interest in The VFL, i also like to see Jok rookied due to his running ability, would be a unique player off half back and wing but needs time for his skills to develop

I believe Melbourne are right into Hore, so could see him rookied with the Dees or even taken late by them in the ND.

 

[Bored_Pie]

With us keeping senior list open for academy points, when we add our last bloke, we'll likely to have the option to take him in the national draft before the rookie draft. Considering he's been at the club for a while now, if we are interested, you'd think that we'd be willing to contract him for 2 years and thus take him in the ND rather than running the risk of him going before we get a selection in the National Draft.

He won't be on a senior list. He'll be a rookie. He's showed a few things but nothing concrete to say he's worth a senior list spot.

 

[Timmy from Thomastown]

With us keeping senior list open for academy points, when we add our last bloke, we'll likely to have the option to take him in the national draft before the rookie draft. Considering he's been at the club for a while now, if we are interested, you'd think that we'd be willing to contract him for 2 years and thus take him in the ND rather than running the risk of him going before we get a selection in the National Draft.

Doubt there is room for ANYBODY to be taken with a live ND pick. Not without some unexpected delistings. We have three academy players in the pipeline plus Roughead and Beams already, and the promotion of Thomas (assuming we dont promote Mihocek).

Thats six spots we need to create just to make room for the newbies. And after losing Fas and dropping Broomy to the rookie list , that leaves four more to go, five if we want a live pick.

 

[FIGJAM]

Not sure on Tom. If he was there as a rookie I would take him but his kicking needs a lot of cleaning up. Everything else works. Had same issue as a junior.

Really? I actually think his kicking is one of his better attributes, along with the ability to rip in a freakish mark with some degree of consistency.

It's most of the rest of his game that I don't rate highly. Can only be a flanker type in the AFL for his size and will get bossed around physically. Doesn't have the burst required for this role. You don't want blokes who are impressive every now and then at AFL level. Need blokes who can rack numbers consistently, kick bags, be reliable intercepts or jump on grenades. Jok has none of that from my point of view.

Hope he gets drafted and proves me wrong though. Just wouldn't draft him myself!

 

[MayneSpudHunter]

I believe Melbourne are right into Hore, so could see him rookied with the Dees or even taken late by them in the ND.

Cheers for that. Hore is a talent and deserves to be given a chance in the top flight.

For what its worth i was at Lakeside Stadium about a month ago and oversaw the Gold Coast selection committee looking at tapes of Collingwood VFL against Port Melbourne, i think. It looks like the GC are interested in some of the VFL boys as well.