THIS week we look at James Strauss, pick 19 from the 2008 draft.
As we discussed with Sam Blease, there was a strong direction for speed and kicking attributes on our list. While we couldn’t bank on a Sam Blease being available at pick 17, we were very confident that James Strauss would be there at 19. As a result we were able to get all stakeholders involved to assess his ability to fill this need.
The rebounding defender has evolved into one of the more important roles in the game. Those players who can be part of your back six, and bring the ball out of defence to set up scores, are like gold. We even tag them these days, such is their influence. This has brought about the arrival of the defensive forward - who would have thought?
As a development coach, you witness players forge a career from early beginnings. In my coaching role at Eastern Ranges, I coached Lindsay Gilbee and Nick Malceski. I had close association with Lindsay and his family, probably more so than most others I coached. He was drafted at the end of the 1999 season. I also coached him at Werribee in 2003-04, when he was out of the Western Bulldogs team. These were frustrating times for Lindsay. He was in-and-out of the team and he performed poorly at Werribee. Generally, there was a lack of belief in him and he knew it. In fact, had he not been contracted, he was off to Sydney in 2005.
But in stepped in a new coach, who saw the glass half full, and to cut a long story short, he played for Australia in the 2005 International Rules series and was All-Australian in 2006.
Nick was a similar player, a great kick, outside and not a great defender. As his PE teacher and coach I got to know that he Lindsay and had similar psychological traits.
Drafted in 2002, Nick finally broke into the team in 2006 (17 games for 13 disposal average) to be part of a grand final.
Their emergence as players also arrived with the emergence or dominance of their teams. That isn’t a coincidence.
Whilst coaching Werribee, I also coached against Corey Enright and Heath Shaw. I remember at the time questioning the ability of those boys to ‘make it’. There was a lesson. Don’t judge a book by its cover. Once again their arrival coincided with that of the team.
I first saw James in a practice match at Victoria Park. He played half-forward and his class stood out. He played a lead-up role and delivered the football inside 50m with precision. His ability to get off his opponent, roll on and set-up players inside 50m was eye catching. His speed, work rate, lateral speed and kicking were hard to miss.
As we followed his progress that year, he settled into a half-back role with runs in the midfield for Oakleigh Chargers, while playing exclusively across half-back for the successful Vic Metro team.
In the NAB AFL under 18 championships, he was serviceable without being dominant, but coming out of defence and hitting Jack Watts on the lead was something you could clearly picture in the red and blue, as he did in this team.
As we discussed with Sam Blease, there was a strong direction for speed and kicking attributes on our list. While we couldn’t bank on a Sam Blease being available at pick 17, we were very confident that James Strauss would be there at 19. As a result we were able to get all stakeholders involved to assess his ability to fill this need.
The rebounding defender has evolved into one of the more important roles in the game. Those players who can be part of your back six, and bring the ball out of defence to set up scores, are like gold. We even tag them these days, such is their influence. This has brought about the arrival of the defensive forward - who would have thought?
As a development coach, you witness players forge a career from early beginnings. In my coaching role at Eastern Ranges, I coached Lindsay Gilbee and Nick Malceski. I had close association with Lindsay and his family, probably more so than most others I coached. He was drafted at the end of the 1999 season. I also coached him at Werribee in 2003-04, when he was out of the Western Bulldogs team. These were frustrating times for Lindsay. He was in-and-out of the team and he performed poorly at Werribee. Generally, there was a lack of belief in him and he knew it. In fact, had he not been contracted, he was off to Sydney in 2005.
But in stepped in a new coach, who saw the glass half full, and to cut a long story short, he played for Australia in the 2005 International Rules series and was All-Australian in 2006.
Nick was a similar player, a great kick, outside and not a great defender. As his PE teacher and coach I got to know that he Lindsay and had similar psychological traits.
Drafted in 2002, Nick finally broke into the team in 2006 (17 games for 13 disposal average) to be part of a grand final.
Their emergence as players also arrived with the emergence or dominance of their teams. That isn’t a coincidence.
Whilst coaching Werribee, I also coached against Corey Enright and Heath Shaw. I remember at the time questioning the ability of those boys to ‘make it’. There was a lesson. Don’t judge a book by its cover. Once again their arrival coincided with that of the team.
I first saw James in a practice match at Victoria Park. He played half-forward and his class stood out. He played a lead-up role and delivered the football inside 50m with precision. His ability to get off his opponent, roll on and set-up players inside 50m was eye catching. His speed, work rate, lateral speed and kicking were hard to miss.
As we followed his progress that year, he settled into a half-back role with runs in the midfield for Oakleigh Chargers, while playing exclusively across half-back for the successful Vic Metro team.
In the NAB AFL under 18 championships, he was serviceable without being dominant, but coming out of defence and hitting Jack Watts on the lead was something you could clearly picture in the red and blue, as he did in this team.
We observed a player who could really attack and rebound. And with the departures of Daniel Ward and Nathan Brown - and the continual evolutionary importance of this role - he could fill this void.
We also observed he was committed to defending. When he was taken back to the square, he was arm across and got the job done, whilst being mindful that this was a dominant team.
James concluded his football obligations to Scotch College, where he was a dominant player in the 150-year celebration game in the curtain raiser before our Geelong match. It really demonstrated the value of his kicking skills at the MCG and his ability to run and work the ground. His work rate stood out given he had a limited preparation.
His year finished on a high personally. Murray Bushrangers were the dominant side of the year and the game of the year was Murray versus Oakleigh at Lavington. It was the last home and away game and James and Steele Sidebottom vied for best-on-ground honors in a very high quality match. He won clearances, rebounded with precision and stood-up in a high pressure game and backed up that form in the finals.
He was a dominant player in their two finals. His possession rate and run off half-back was outstanding. In his first final at Visy Park, with the old stand demolished, his kicking - on a day where three finals were played - was the stand out of the day, in difficult windy positions.
The clincher on his elite potential was the NAB AFL Draft Camp. He backed his ability to play the game with excellent results, which included third in the agility and fourth in the repeat speed tests. He was committed to the game and committed to improving and he had performed under pressure.
What did we see in James Strauss? Mostly this has been outlined, but in summing up, we saw a rebounding defender who could help address the need for this role and the need for his attributes on our list. Like the other draftees, he brings a skills’ set, which breeds versatility into our list, as he could play multiple roles.
What did we expect in James Strauss? We knew he had the physical capability to step-up quickly with his powerful frame. However, we also knew he would take time as he had shown he takes a while to adapt to new levels of pressure. It would also take time for him to develop into his required role. Learning to defend and attack out of the back half is very difficult and it has become more difficult in his development phase. When a Gilbee, Malceski, Enright and Shaw learned their craft, they won the ball and looked up and saw space - not 36 players in one half. They also didn’t have more than one quick pressure forward to rush their possession. So these are much more difficult times to develop such players and we have seen experienced defenders recently struggle with this development in the game. We expect James will adapt and build, be more suited to the space of AFL grounds and give the run and rebound we need.
What are we getting from James Strauss? James is progressing steadily. He is finally getting continuity after leg injuries hampered his start in 2009 and he missed the last eight games for shoulder surgery. In 2010, he played the first two games, but ran into a rampant Hawthorn and an inspired Campbell Brown with his forward pressure. He then backed up against Collingwood marking the likes of Alan Didak, Paul Medhurst and Leon Davis, while assuming kick-in duties. That was a baptism of fire and one which is a great learning curve for him and will hold him in good stead. He continues to build and there has been a big focus on developing his defensive side which, as it happens sometimes, compromises your attack while you learn to get the balance right. His start to the year has been good. His defence has improved and last week against North Ballarat he gave us a look at the package he will deliver in the red and blue.
In finishing, the selection of James Strauss is a bit like the television I bought last week. I should have looked in the box thoroughly and shown more patience in reading the instructions before I rang the manufacturer to say it doesn’t work properly. In fact, tonight I might read the manual thoroughly to see all the great things it can do. In James’ case he has the pieces, but like many others, is taking a little while to put them together.
We also observed he was committed to defending. When he was taken back to the square, he was arm across and got the job done, whilst being mindful that this was a dominant team.
James concluded his football obligations to Scotch College, where he was a dominant player in the 150-year celebration game in the curtain raiser before our Geelong match. It really demonstrated the value of his kicking skills at the MCG and his ability to run and work the ground. His work rate stood out given he had a limited preparation.
His year finished on a high personally. Murray Bushrangers were the dominant side of the year and the game of the year was Murray versus Oakleigh at Lavington. It was the last home and away game and James and Steele Sidebottom vied for best-on-ground honors in a very high quality match. He won clearances, rebounded with precision and stood-up in a high pressure game and backed up that form in the finals.
He was a dominant player in their two finals. His possession rate and run off half-back was outstanding. In his first final at Visy Park, with the old stand demolished, his kicking - on a day where three finals were played - was the stand out of the day, in difficult windy positions.
The clincher on his elite potential was the NAB AFL Draft Camp. He backed his ability to play the game with excellent results, which included third in the agility and fourth in the repeat speed tests. He was committed to the game and committed to improving and he had performed under pressure.
What did we see in James Strauss? Mostly this has been outlined, but in summing up, we saw a rebounding defender who could help address the need for this role and the need for his attributes on our list. Like the other draftees, he brings a skills’ set, which breeds versatility into our list, as he could play multiple roles.
What did we expect in James Strauss? We knew he had the physical capability to step-up quickly with his powerful frame. However, we also knew he would take time as he had shown he takes a while to adapt to new levels of pressure. It would also take time for him to develop into his required role. Learning to defend and attack out of the back half is very difficult and it has become more difficult in his development phase. When a Gilbee, Malceski, Enright and Shaw learned their craft, they won the ball and looked up and saw space - not 36 players in one half. They also didn’t have more than one quick pressure forward to rush their possession. So these are much more difficult times to develop such players and we have seen experienced defenders recently struggle with this development in the game. We expect James will adapt and build, be more suited to the space of AFL grounds and give the run and rebound we need.
What are we getting from James Strauss? James is progressing steadily. He is finally getting continuity after leg injuries hampered his start in 2009 and he missed the last eight games for shoulder surgery. In 2010, he played the first two games, but ran into a rampant Hawthorn and an inspired Campbell Brown with his forward pressure. He then backed up against Collingwood marking the likes of Alan Didak, Paul Medhurst and Leon Davis, while assuming kick-in duties. That was a baptism of fire and one which is a great learning curve for him and will hold him in good stead. He continues to build and there has been a big focus on developing his defensive side which, as it happens sometimes, compromises your attack while you learn to get the balance right. His start to the year has been good. His defence has improved and last week against North Ballarat he gave us a look at the package he will deliver in the red and blue.
In finishing, the selection of James Strauss is a bit like the television I bought last week. I should have looked in the box thoroughly and shown more patience in reading the instructions before I rang the manufacturer to say it doesn’t work properly. In fact, tonight I might read the manual thoroughly to see all the great things it can do. In James’ case he has the pieces, but like many others, is taking a little while to put them together.
