HAVING missed a significant amount of football through injuryin the previous two seasons, Ed Vickers-Willis was determined to thrivein 2014.
And thrive he did - things developednicely for the Sandringham Dragons defender, who averaged nearly 20disposals in nine games for the TAC Cup club this season.
Playingas a versatile defender, Vickers-Willis also made an impact for VicMetro during the NAB AFL Under-18 Championships to press his claims as afirst-round draft selection.
Ontop of his footy, Vickers-Willis is widely seen among clubs as one ofthe most impressive players to interview in this draft pool.
Intelligent,balanced and mature, his leadership skills were evident in his footyand away from the field too, as school captain at Melbourne Grammar.
Vickers-Willis is a disciplined defender, one who sticks to thetask he's been given and generally gets the job done. He can nestle intothe backline and generate some run, but also helps his side set thingsup.
At 190cm and 82kg he has the build to playon a number of types of forwards. At different stages through the seasonwith the Sandringham Dragons he was used to try and stop ChristianPetracca and Darcy Moore – two very distinct players.
Hespoils and defends well and, although in a relatively understated way,gives solid run off half-back. A consistent championships, where heaveraged 16 disposals at 81 per cent efficiency, saw Vickers-Willis winAll Australian honours.
He also has the ability to transition more into the midfield in the future with good endurance, pace and game sense.
Vickers-Willis could tidy up his kicking a fraction at times, butit's a pretty small knock and he tested well at the national combine byfoot (scoring 26 out of 30 in the kicking test). He won't play keyposition at the top level but there is certainly a role for him in theback half.
There is a bit of Dale Morris to Vickers-Willis in hissingle-minded approach to stop his opponent and do what's asked of him.They are the same height, even though Vickers-Willis might end up takinghis skills into the midfield more than the Bulldogs' veteran.
He's likely to be picked somewhere in the 15-30 range after a strong and consistent season.
Vickers-Willis might not be a highlights machine, but he does hisjob and does it well. Has proved his ability in defence and looks setfor a move up the ground in time. No fuss, and happy enough to do whathis coaches' ask him, Vickers-Willis has strong team-oriented traits.
