BRYNN Teakle has the upside and natural talent to help solve Port Adelaide's ruck riddle in the short term before establishing himself as a forward/ruck in the mould of Fremantle's Rory Lobb, according to his former WAFL coach.
Teakle will make the incredible leap from state-league big man to AFL No.1 ruckman after just 17 days when he lines up for the Power against Sydney at Adelaide Oval on Saturday.
The circumstances of the 22-year-old's rise have plenty to do with Port's own ruck issues, but that should not discount the Northampton product's own talent and determination to earn a chance at the top level.
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East Fremantle coach Bill Monaghan has been pushing Teakle's name to AFL clubs for three years and said the charismatic big man should flourish in a full-time professional environment.
"I think there's a fair bit of growth in his game and he probably gives Port something they don't have, which is an athletic big man who runs and gets involved in ball movement," Monaghan told AFL.com.au.
"We actually talked about whether he could play as a wingman in our competition, so it's hard to pigeonhole him as a ruckman and we think he's more of a Rory Lobb type player.
"He's done very little ruck craft, so his ruck work has all been natural ability as opposed to being taught the intricacies of being an AFL ruckman.
"There's a fair bit of upside with him you would think and he's a legitimate late developer, so he's probably 22 going on 20 in terms of his physique."
Teakle was plucked from the Sharks with pick No.8 in the NAB AFL Mid-Season Rookie Draft as Port Adelaide targeted a specific need for the second half of the season.
His instant impact at the Power has seen him move past Sam Hayes for now and encouraged coach Ken Hinkley to play a ruckman after his team's makeshift set-up in round 13.
As late as Thursday morning this week, tall forward Jeremy Finlayson was again expecting to carry the ruck against the Swans alongside fellow key-position player Charlie Dixon and with help from midfielder Sam Powell-Pepper.
But with Teakle's arrival the club can inject an athletic ruck option into the 22 and have confidence that he has mixed it with AFL-standard big men before.
"What piqued a bit of interest in him was when he was rucking against Lloyd Meek from Fremantle's list in round one in a WAFL game and he more than held his own," Monaghan said.
"He was competitive at the stoppages, but he was probably better than Meek around the ground, and Meek has turned into a pretty decent ruckman when he has played at AFL level.
"That showed people he can play against that type of player."
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Teakle will debut against former Power ruck/forward Peter Ladhams, who was a solid back-up to Scott Lycett in recent seasons before leaving in search of more opportunities.
Ladhams' improvement at Sydney in the absence of the injured Tom Hickey has been significant, averaging career-best disposals (16.7), hitouts (21.4) and clearances (4.1) at his second club.
Teakle measures up almost identically, however, at 203cm and 97kg, after putting on up to eight kilograms in an off-season that saw him grow in confidence.
Hailing from Northampton, he joins Jamie and Patrick Cripps, Josh Kennedy, Harry Taylor, Paul Hasleby, Tarkyn and Andrew Lockyer, Daniel Chick and Liam Anthony as AFL players from the small town in WA's north-west.
"He's a really personable kid, he's got a good sense of humour, and he warms to people straight away," Monaghan said.
"He's got a bit of personality and he's got a lot more confident in his own ability, so he would have got to training and he's not a shrinking violet. He would have had a bit of a crack.
"He's not afraid to do the work."
