Jake Lever

[Guest]

Is Lever really that slow or are people exaggerating?

He was slow even before the injury.

[Machsy 2,858]

He was slow even before the injury.

He's slow like JPK or Joel Selwood or Fyfe, yes.

[jabberwocky 2,301]

He's slow like JPK or Joel Selwood or Fyfe, yes.

Not quick like Blease and Nicholson?

[stevethemanjordan 6,952]

He was slow even before the injury.

What does that even mean?!

Slow when compared to who?! Usain Bolt?

It's like saying Nick Reiwoldt is not an accurate kick for goal when compared to Lloyd.

So nobody should have drafted him.

This 'slow' talk is absolute fluff.

[Ron Burgundy 8,584]

Brayshaw's the player I'm excited about.

Really hope the Saints don't pick this guy.

[binman 38,619]

From the AFL website

"Like many knee injuries, the incident was thought to be relatively innocuous. Lever jumped, stretched and punched the ball away in a contest, but came down on his leg the wrong way."

About par for doing an ACL - the vast majority are done either landing or chageing direction. This doesn't mean he has an inherent weakness like those on here wringing their own necks would have you believe. The knee for one reason or another rotates and bends inwards - from front on its called valgus ( bowing inwards). This happens in most landing and cutting movements however in ACL injuries, the angle is generally far greater than normal. Could be a technique issue or a lack of proprioception or the turf giving way or he was knocked off balance just before landing. The current thoughts on rehab and prevention are to teach how to land and turn/cut keeping the knee from bending inwards. It's all about leg control from the glutes/core. The research is showing good results with preventative training (following the PEP program/FIFA11 style exercises) The surgery and rehab is far better now than when Schwartz did his initially and in my opinion (after 20 years working in sports physiotherapy) poses no real further risk of injury if the surgery and rehab has been successfully implemented than any other young kid who hasn't gone through it and come out the other side.

Yes there are instances of particular people that have had numerous reco's but there is nothing to suggest this would be the case. And how many of those recurrent ones are due to inherent weaknesses? Could it be that the surgery or the rehab wasn't up to scratch? One would hope that serious improvements have been made in the last 2 decades.

I got everything up to 'From the AFL website....' (with apologies to Maxwell Smart).

Informative post Jako, ta. Really interesting that you don't think there's no more risk of injury if the surgery and rehab has been successfully implemented than any other young kid who hasn't gone through it and come out the other side as from a complete layman point of view it is what i was worried about in picking him up.

I'm guessing your view is shared by the club doc and if so reckon Lever will be a dee (assuming Petracca goes one). He seems the type of young man Roos would love to have at the club, a natural leader and a bright guy. A big part of what Roos is doing is building a culture and i suspect this aspect will be a huge factor in the drafting philosophy. Also he is big fella for a mid (which Roos has said is important) and as a defender will not have to learn the defensive mind set and focus that other, more attacking player would coming to the dees (with Roos ultra focus on the importance of defense).

Even the fact he had a year off could be end up being a positive as he seems to have studied the game from a coaches perspective and obviously avoided injuries and wear and tear playing in his pre draft year.

I've convinced myself. Lever is ours.

[dazzledavey36 48,929]

Just saw a comment on Facebook that a guy works with Jake Levers cousin and he said that apparently Roosy has already been around to his house 5 times to have dinner with them.

[TheoX 1,218]

Slow when compared to who?! Usain Bolt?

It's like saying Nick Reiwoldt is not an accurate kick for goal when compared to Lloyd.

So nobody should have drafted him.

This 'slow' talk is absolute fluff.

Use your brain, obviously he means it's slow compared to the average AFL player. He ran 3.19 for the 20m sprint as you know and you can't say that's fluff. Brayshaw isn't considered fast but he ran ~2.82. It's obvious from Lever's highlights that he's slow too. Good agility (before the reco at least) which makes up for it somewhat, but bloody slow.

Edited November 9, 2014 by TheoX

[Matt Demon 1,387]

Just saw a comment on Facebook that a guy works with Jake Levers cousin and he said that apparently Roosy has already been around to his house 5 times to have dinner with them.

Maybe Mrs Lever cooks a mean meatloaf...

[DeeSpencer 23,237]

Use your brain, obviously he means it's slow compared to the average AFL player. He ran 3.19 for the 20m sprint as you know and you can't say that's fluff. Brayshaw isn't considered fast but he ran ~2.82. It's obvious from Lever's highlights that he's slow too. Good agility (before the reco at least) which makes up for it somewhat, but bloody slow.

Really? Break down the bits of the video where he looks slow. Most of the fragments are too short to really say but I saw some good speed in some of them. Speed is important for key defenders though so I hope he has some toe. That 20m speed test isn't ideal but didn't Brayshaw do a 3.1 or something and then did some speed work to then run the 2.8. I wonder if Lever has been retested a few times since the draft combine as with more and more confidence in his knee plus some training he could lower it. Personally I dont know why they do a 20m sprint and not 40m as well.

[tappysquads 618]

Impressive video, love that he looks to sell candy and break lines.

BUT, this is a very important pick for our future, and having had 2 knee recos myself I know that you can do every little thing perfect and they can still fail for no reason. If the tissue slightly dies to early, the screw fails or the new ligament rips out of the screw your done for another year. You then have 2 dodgey ham strings as the second op needs to use the other hamstring. Also 2 years of being injured leads to things such as tilted pelvis or spinal issues. It's such a big gamble and one we can choose to avoid. Looks and sounds like a great kid, but this is business.

[Machsy 2,858]

Use your brain, obviously he means it's slow compared to the average AFL player. He ran 3.19 for the 20m sprint as you know and you can't say that's fluff. Brayshaw isn't considered fast but he ran ~2.82. It's obvious from Lever's highlights that he's slow too. Good agility (before the reco at least) which makes up for it somewhat, but bloody slow.

Come on mate, you list your favourite player as Colin Sylvia - you don't expect anyone to take you seriously, do you?

Fine. You think he's slow.

Great stuff.

Anything else you'd like to add?

Something worthwhile maybe?

[ChaserJ 3,964]

Emma Quayle on Lever:

AFL draft: How Jake Lever found other ways to be noticed

[Demoneyes 562]

We'll probably be saying this soon anyway, Welcome to the MFC Jake Lever!

[Machsy 2,858]

Hope so.

[TheoX 1,218]

Really? Break down the bits of the video where he looks slow. Most of the fragments are too short to really say but I saw some good speed in some of them. Speed is important for key defenders though so I hope he has some toe. That 20m speed test isn't ideal but didn't Brayshaw do a 3.1 or something and then did some speed work to then run the 2.8. I wonder if Lever has been retested a few times since the draft combine as with more and more confidence in his knee plus some training he could lower it. Personally I dont know why they do a 20m sprint and not 40m as well.

Where did you see any good speed? I see agility and good marking, never speed. Other players make ground pretty easily on him from that vision, not that any of it's ideal since it never shows him trying to sprint away from another player on his tail. We know he's slow from objective tests.

[ChaserJ 3,964]

I think it's fair to say that speed isn't the primary weapon in Lever's arsenal.

I think aggression and winning more one on ones than he loses will be his m.o. Add to that strong game sense and endurance running which are the attributes that may see him transition successfully into midfield.

Speed might not be displayed in the highlights package, but intelligent running off the ball and anticipation can be spotted, Jake might be one of those players that sees the game unfold a split second before others.

[DeeSpencer 23,237]

Where did you see any good speed? I see agility and good marking, never speed. Other players make ground pretty easily on him from that vision, not that any of it's ideal since it never shows him trying to sprint away from another player on his tail. We know he's slow from objective tests.

At the 54 second mark a guy makes ground on him but he maintains balance before kicking. At 1:07 he jogs along with the footy and a guy inside never closes. At 1:50 he puts in a couple of quick steps to make sure he can get a kick away (after first keeping his eyes down field). At 2:04 he toys with a little fella. At 2:30 he turns and sprints (mainly agility) to receive a handball. The rest of the time is him embarrassing forwards by being on their tail then judging and marking the ball.

You're right it's little sprinting speed and a lot more agility and mainly that at least in those highlights his football brain speed is warp speed compared to his opponents.

I don't conclusively trust the draft combine 20m sprints is all. I'd like to give him some more training in them, plus a 40m sprint and check out his agility. Mainly I'd like to see more footage on his pace shutting down a lead as well as running and carrying the footy.

[WERRIDEE 5,218]

Lever article on the AFL website.

The so-called "injury ravaged"* defender has shown in scans to have a fully entact ACL, with no damage around the area.

Pick him at 3, if he's still there. I'd laugh if McCartin went at 1, and Petracca ended up falling to pick 4.

*so-called by those who don't actually have any clue to his injury status.

So what?

Did clubs send out Johnston, Morabito, Menzel, Patton and Smith to train\play with a damaged ACL? That's how they done it again? Of course not.

Lever may never do his knee again but if he does serious questions will have to be asked regarding the recruiting department when the whole world knows he has a dodgy knee.

If the club thinks he is worth the risk then good them but he is definitely a risk.

[Whispering_Jack 28,010]

Might as well add Emma Quayle's pen picture from her draft combine harvester series:-

Jake Lever (Calder Cannons)

Born 5.3.1996, 193cm, 84kg

AFL biography: Competitive and aggressive tall defender who can shut down opponents while also providing good rebound. Missed entire 2014 after suffering ACL injury but on the way to a full recovery. His leadership is excellent as is his work rate and feel for the game.

Ian Kyte, Calder Cannons: "Jake had his knee reconstructed in December. He's back in training now and he'll be ready to go when he gets to a club. Had he played this year he would possibly have been the No. 1 selection. He's a tall, aggressive, competitive key defender who's a really good leader. He might have even spent some time in the midfield this year had he been able to play. His leadership qualities have improved this year even though he hasn't been able to play and he hasn't missed a beat with his recovery. He does everything right, to the point we had to force him to take a break at times."

Despite what Josh Mahoney might have said or inferred in that interview last month, I can't see us going past Brayshaw/Lever.

[chook fowler 18,327]

Jake is obviously a very impressive young man and seems hell bent on success however it is difficult to see how he fulfills our most urgent needs of mids and another key forward especially since we have recruited Frost.

[Ron Burgundy 8,584]

Unless, of course, the club thinks he's going to be a bloody good AFL player and he's the best available at pick 3.

[chook fowler 18,327]

He seems to be a good footballer with an exceptional attitude rather than an exceptional footballer with a good attitude.

His perceived lack of pace is a concern. The modern game requires a bit of toe especially if he is to move to the midfield.

Having said all that I respect our current recruiters and will back their judgement.

[jabberwocky 2,301]

He seems to be a good footballer with an exceptional attitude rather than an exceptional footballer with a good attitude.

His perceived lack of pace is a concern. The modern game requires a bit of toe especially if he is to move to the midfield.

Having said all that I respect our current recruiters and will back their judgement.

I think this needs to be challenged on a couple of counts.

He is at TAC level an exceptional footballer. In terms of talent I would not be surprised if he is rated by some recruiters as highly as Petracca.

The modern game does not require outstanding pace to play in the midfield. In fact many of the top midfielders in the game wouldn't necessarily be defined as quick. You do need a great work rate, a strong body, good game sense and the ability to work in traffic amongst other things.

Don't forget those qualities that took this bloke to an elite level in boxing. As mentioned earlier he also has an arm span of 204cm.

Edited November 9, 2014 by jabberwocky

[chook fowler 18,327]

I am reassured and chastened. Come on down Jake.