Welcome to the Bulldogs Lachlan Smith

[Testekill]

He's not only undersized on pure height but also his vertical jump. Based on testing he is giving up 13cm-22cm against other rucks in his draft class in addition to 2cm-4cm of pure heights so he is absolutely going to be a a bash and crash type, hopefully in the Toby Nankervis mould.

The below was posted about Smith in the Joel Freijah thread back in November 2023 by someone who works in the industry:

Get him some Ben Hudson tapes, no better ruckman for him to study.

 

[ScragCity]

Nope. It is relevant to know when judging how a player, such as a ruckman, will perform in physical contests.

Why would you need to know that ahead of time? Are you on the selection committee?

Knowing whether a player has minor inflammation or sprains would also help us predict how a player will perform in physical contests - should supporters have access to players full medical records? Where do you draw the line?

 

[BrisDog]

Where do you draw the line?

Probably at height and weight.

 

[doggy_dog]

Smith looks roughly 199cms, undersized for a modern ruck so he'll have to focus on being a bash and crash guy.

Nankervis is 199cm and is probably the ideal player for Smith to mould his game on

 

[ossie_21]

It is now deemed insensitive to talk about their weight.

It’s going to be all guesswork, which is probably why we all can’t wait for Darcy to fill out his 227cm frame

 

[Lex22]

Admittedly, I’ve only seen him twice but Smith has decent enough forward craft and covers the ground pretty well.

He’s still learning how to use his body vs older rucks but that’s what the VFL is for and I don’t think he’s all that far away.

The Nank comparisons seem about right, although he’s a bit more mobile.

I could see him playing senior footy next year.

 

[Mojorisin]

Admittedly, I’ve only seen him twice but Smith has decent enough forward craft and covers the ground pretty well.

He’s still learning how to use his body vs older rucks but that’s what the VFL is for and I don’t think he’s all that far away.

The Nank comparisons seem about right, although he’s a bit more mobile.

I could see him playing senior footy next year.

His also shown better forward craft of late.

 

[Golden_6]

Why does he look so much shorter than 203cm? That would make him taller than number one ruckmen like Golstein, Briggs, De Koning, Marshall etc.

Maybe it's his lack of vertical athleticism?

EDIT - I just looked at the 2024 team photo and he's pretty much identical standing next to Alex Keath

42

Alex Keath

Age

32

Ht

198cm

Wt

93kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

14.0

4star

K

8.9

3star

HB

5.1

4star

M

5.1

5star

T

1.5

3star

MG

206.7

3star

D

11.0

3star

K

7.3

3star

HB

3.8

3star

M

3.6

4star

T

0.6

1star

MG

193.4

3star

D

11.4

3star

K

6.2

3star

HB

5.2

4star

M

4.6

5star

T

2.6

4star

MG

165.0

3star

who is in that 197-198cm range.

 

[doggy_dog]

Why does he look so much shorter than 203cm? That would make him taller than number one ruckmen like Golstein, Briggs, De Koning, Marshall etc.

Maybe it's his lack of vertical athleticism?

EDIT - I just looked at the 2024 team photo and he's pretty much identical standing next to Alex Keath who is in that 197-198cm range.

I think 203 is fudged. Like when Caleb grew from 167 to 172

 

[Dale4captain]

Why does he look so much shorter than 203cm? That would make him taller than number one ruckmen like Golstein, Briggs, De Koning, Marshall etc.

Maybe it's his lack of vertical athleticism?

EDIT - I just looked at the 2024 team photo and he's pretty much identical standing next to Alex Keath who is in that 197-198cm range.

He’s definitely around that 198cm mark. And even then he has the longest neck ever. Wish the AFL combine grew up and released wingspan.

Alex Johnson has said previously he’s very undersized for a ruck and will need to model his game on the bash and crash types.

 

[geoffjennings79]

Are shoe lifts customisable for footy boots?

Probably avoid sourcing them from North Korea though, even though Kim Jong Un has apparently won 7 Brownlows while using them...

 

[Mofra]

Get him some Ben Hudson tapes, no better ruckman for him to study.

Hudson was still the best at "blocking traffic" after a ruck contest to allow the mids to get the ball. His recovery after hitting the ground was actually remarkable.
A no-stat, underrated skill.

 

[out of finals]

Think we've got something good with the Fossil. Aware he hasn't been incredible the past few but I think he's really impactful at stoppages and his ability to push forward and impact on the scoreboard has been crucial considering our tall forward situation.

He's got a ways to go but has fantastic attributes - English seemingly on the verge of signing an extension complicates matters a little but regardless he (in my mind) is an exciting prospect, 23' draft crop panning out quite well thus far.