THE NAB AFL Under-18 Championships started off well for midfielders, with best-on-ground honours going to blokes in the middle in all four games.
Josh Green (Tasmania), Anthony Miles (NSW/ACT), Harley Bennell (WA) and Andrew Gaff (Vic Metro) were the standouts among the many promising performances from onballers who are expected to go in the national draft.
Andrew Gaff was as industrious as a pile of pistons in Vic Metro’s loss to Vic Country, churning out possession after possession in a performance that confirmed the expectation that he would go top five in the draft.
Vic Metro coach Rohan Welsh said Gaff was consistent throughout the carnival: he ran all day, he was clever in traffic, and he always used the ball well. The left-footer’s goal against South Australia was a gem; he gained possession on the wing before retrieving it in a pocket and snapping truly from a difficult angle.
“He plays exactly like Luke Power,” Welsh said.
The Vic Metro coach is happy to compare his midfielders to current AFL players. He likens Josh Caddy to Michael Voss. Caddy missed the first two of the five rounds of the carnival with a suspected stress fracture of the foot. Thankfully, it was just bruising.
Caddy was a hard and strong leader, and he saved his best until last with a powerful performance against Western Australia. He was named in the All-Australian team despite playing only three games.
Welsh put Aaron Young in the Steve Johnson mould after a carnival in which he far exceeded expectations. Young was lucky to make the Vic Metro squad after underwhelming performances in the TAC Cup and in a trial game.
The selectors were more or less testing the waters when he was chosen to play in Vic Metro’s opening game against Vic Country.
Young proved tough, quick, and a good mark overhead. There are doubts about his kicking, but it’s fair to say he grabbed his opportunity to impress.
Young’s teammate from school and the TAC Cup, Kieran Harper, had a carnival that was in stark contrast, starting slowly, playing well only in patches, before winding up with a head-turning performance against Western Australia.
He kicked four goals in that game, but it was the way he kicked them that made spectators sit up. Harper showed a knack for evading opponents and finishing off in such a way that he’s tipped to go in the first round in the draft.
“We started him in the midfield early,” Welsh said. “Then we found he was an elusive forward.”
Tom Liberatore (son of Tony) and Mitch Wallis (son of Steve) confirmed the expectation that the Western Bulldogs would take them with father-son picks. Liberatore showed ball sense, his attitude was spot-on, and he tackled like a demon.
“He got heaps of the footy at stoppages,” Welsh said.
Wallis showed himself to be an inside and outside midfielder, a hard-runner and a good decision-maker. It was unfortunate that he missed the last two games through injury.
Vic Country’s outstanding midfielder was Shaun Atley, who’s expected to go in the top 10 in the draft. Some have him as high as top five or six.
Atley can play as a creative midfielder, a half-back, a half-forward, or a run-with player. He’s good overhead, he has lightning pace off the mark, and he disposes to great effect.
His game against Western Australia in Perth was brilliant, but he was so impressive over the duration of the carnival that Vic Country coach Robert Hyde and his selectors named him their best player.
Mitch Hallahan was named Vic Country’s second best player after performances that elevated him far beyond his original place in the draft pecking order. Hallahan started in the opening game trying to keep Mitch Wallis from getting the ball at centre bounces and ended the carnival as one of the most fearsome, attacking midfielders in the competition.
It was an impressive improvement over a span of six weeks, and one that made him a likely second-round choice.
“He’s a great leader,” Hyde said. “He’s got a strong personality, and he’s hard as nails.”
Scouts would have noticed that Hallahan was happy to initiate body contact rather than try to withstand it, as is the case with most gun youngsters. Hyde exhaled in admiration when asked about Hallahan’s stoppage work.
“He’s nice and fierce in there,” he said.
Hallahan’s performances in the carnival probably pushed him past his Vic Country teammate Luke Parker in the draft pecking order. Parker can leap and mark, and he’s highly creative with the ball, but he was only solid over the five rounds.
Sometimes his ambition slightly exceeds his execution, but there’s plenty to work with. Most clubs would admire his strong points rather than mark him hard for his glitches.
“He does some outstanding work in traffic,” Hyde said. “He’s got a lot of development ahead.”
South Australian captain Brodie Smith was one of the best players in the carnival. His coach, Brenton Phillips, said that if Smith had not missed the game against Northern Territory, he might have won the Larke Medal for the best player in division one.
“He had a corked thigh, and we erred on the side of caution,” Phillips said.
Phillips described Smith as competitive, a good mark, strong in contests, with the ability to shrug tackles with a shake of the hips. He’s also fast, and he hits the ball at pace.
Smith has been playing in defence for the senior team at Woodville-West Torrens. His leadership style is steady. He could go in the first round but he’s more likely to go in the second.
Smith's Woodville-West Torrens teammate Jared Polec showed himself to be adept in the wet in the opening round against Western Australia and he was South Australia’s best in the second game against Vic Metro.
His output lessened in subsequent games, but he still did enough to earn himself an All-Australian guernsey and put himself into consideration to be drafted towards the end of the first round. He has super pace, but it’s his lethal left foot that earns most attention.
“He has ability to run and carry and kick a goal,” Phillips said.
West Australia's Harley Bennell is probably the pick of this year's midfielders, though. His wonky gait belies his turbo acceleration. He took a hanger in the goalsquare in the opening match against South Australia, and time and again he showed the ability to read the ball off a pack before anyone else.
Even in his one quiet game in the carnival, when Vic Metro’s Cameron Guthrie tagged him into submission in the final round, Bennell did something to make you drop your pen. After streaming out of the centre, he looked set to bomb the ball long only to pick out a teammate who was leading into the pocket against the run of play.
While spectators were scanning the area at the top of the goalsquare, Bennell plonked the ball slightly towards the outside of his boot, and it dropped neatly into his teammate’s hands. It was Bennell’s only productive touch, but it was a beauty.
West Australian coach Brad Wira believes Bennell will be an excellent attacking half-back in the AFL.
“His evasiveness is second to none. He has great vision, and he’s versatile,” Wira said.
Gold Coast has already signalled to Bennell that it will take him with one of their first three picks. Gold Coast has nine of the first 15 picks. A few of those mentioned above are likely to end up at the Suns with Bennell.
Vic Metro
Andrew Gaff, 16 June 1992, 183, 78, Oakleigh Chargers/Carey Grammar
Aaron Young, 6 December 1992, 188, 76, Eastern Ranges/Yarra Valley Grammar
Kieran Harper, 5 June 1992, 187, 78, Eastern Ranges/Yarra Valley Grammar
Josh Caddy, 28 September 1992, 186, 81, Northern Knights/Eltham
Mitch Wallis, 24 October 1992, 185, 79, Calder Cannons/St Kevin’s College
Tom Liberatore, 16 May 1992, 182, 77, Calder Cannons/St Kevin’s College
Vic Country
Luke Parker, 25 October 1992, 182, 82, Dandenong Stingrays/Langwarrin
Shaun Atley, 13 September 1992, 187, 82, Murray Bushrangers/Wodonga
Mitch Hallahan, 23 August 1992, 182, 77, Dandenong Stingrays/Sorrento
South Australia
Jared Polec, 12 October 1992, 188, 77, Woodville-West Torrens/Seaton Ramblers
Brodie Smith, 14 January 1992, 188, 79, Woodville-West Torrens/Henley
Western Australia
Harley Bennell, 2 October 1992, 180, 70, 70, Peel/Pinjarra
