...and some are comparing him to Matt Jones

Some = DMMA (only)!

Was mystified to why he was played as a forward in nearly half of his 14 games. Absolute gun in the midfield.

Didn't have the tank.

Awesome effort to play at the level he did given he came off the back of half a pre season.

Will be given more time on the ball this next season you'd think.

Rookie drafting done right.

Yeah, maybe better than 'right'...

I just don't think there are many talents out there that would last that long to get to the RD.

The reason that he only had us and one other club looking at him was because the NEAFL is so looked down upon.

If he was in the SANFL (he was on his way to Centrals for 2015) he would have been taken at 50 by one of the Adelaide clubs I reckon in the coming draft...

The only game he played full time midfield was against WB when Dom Tyson was out. He absolutely dominated! I still remember now he ran through packs like a raging bull and put enormous pressure and tackling around the contests. He was a man possessed! Can't wait till he builds his tank. He will be an absolute beauty!

The only game he played full time midfield was against WB when Dom Tyson was out. He absolutely dominated! I still remember now he ran through packs like a raging bull and put enormous pressure and tackling around the contests. He was a man possessed! Can't wait till he builds his tank. He will be an absolute beauty!

Well deserved 3 votes. Looking forward to many more of the same. One thing never in doubt is that he will give his all to get the best out of himself.

Edited September 29, 20159 yr by monoccular

Not at all. When Fyfe was injured, Barlow played his usual role in the middle. When Fyfe played along with Neale and Mundy, Barlow was relegated to playing up forward, and his numbers suffered.

If someone didn't point out VDB's disposal efficiency, would anyone accuse him of butchering the ball? The DE % is garbage, because it doesn't factor in hard ball gets, nor the distance and risk of disposal.

100% right on both counts, mo64.

Lachie Neale is getting the midfield minutes that Barlow used to get. It's been that way all year. Barlow only gets back into the first-choice midfield crew now if there is an injury, which I think is less of a reflection on Barlow and more of a reflection on the quality of Fyfe, Mundy and Neale.Those three are insanely good players. People saying that VDB is already better than Barlow are selling Barlow short. They are similar physically but Barlow is a long way in front at this point. Barlow does look a bit lost at half-forward though imo, he is at his best when told to hunt the footy.

To illustrate the worthlessness of DE% as a stat in isolation, VDB's DE% was marginally better than Jack Ziebell's this year. Is anyone going to hold that against Jack Ziebell, someone who goes harder at the footy than anyone else in the league? More than half of Ziebell's possessions were contested this year, which is going to bring down any player's efficiency (btw, VDB had a 48% contested possession rate this year). It's hard to be efficient with footy in hand when you have someone holding onto you who wants to bury you into the turf. DE% means nothing without context. It tells you nothing about the pressure a player is under when he gets it. To make any sense of DE%, you have to look at it alongside contested possessions, uncontested possessions, clearances, stoppages, clangers, etc, and even then you can only draw very basic conclusions at best about how well a player performs his role and the value he brings to his team.

Cult hero written all over him. Every club needs one. My nephew's favourite player and will win plenty more fans in 2016 as his fitness and skills base continues to improve

The only game he played full time midfield was against WB when Dom Tyson was out. He absolutely dominated! I still remember now he ran through packs like a raging bull and put enormous pressure and tackling around the contests. He was a man possessed! Can't wait till he builds his tank. He will be an absolute beauty!

yes I remember. he was sensational. had speed, size and Viney like attack on the ball. reminded me of Josh Kennedy.

I think he is also a naturally good decision maker, doesn't hesitate and choose first option pretty well.

Another pre-season, trim down a bit, and who knows how good he could be.

100% right on both counts, mo64.

Lachie Neale is getting the midfield minutes that Barlow used to get. It's been that way all year. Barlow only gets back into the first-choice midfield crew now if there is an injury, which I think is less of a reflection on Barlow and more of a reflection on the quality of Fyfe, Mundy and Neale.Those three are insanely good players. People saying that VDB is already better than Barlow are selling Barlow short. They are similar physically but Barlow is a long way in front at this point. Barlow does look a bit lost at half-forward though imo, he is at his best when told to hunt the footy.

To illustrate the worthlessness of DE% as a stat in isolation, VDB's DE% was marginally better than Jack Ziebell's this year. Is anyone going to hold that against Jack Ziebell, someone who goes harder at the footy than anyone else in the league? More than half of Ziebell's possessions were contested this year, which is going to bring down any player's efficiency (btw, VDB had a 48% contested possession rate this year). It's hard to be efficient with footy in hand when you have someone holding onto you who wants to bury you into the turf. DE% means nothing without context. It tells you nothing about the pressure a player is under when he gets it. To make any sense of DE%, you have to look at it alongside contested possessions, uncontested possessions, clearances, stoppages, clangers, etc, and even then you can only draw very basic conclusions at best about how well a player performs his role and the value he brings to his team.

Vanenderg also adds a point of difference with his size, but also he has some toe about him. not lightning but more like Brayshaw, has some zip.

Cult hero written all over him. Every club needs one. My nephew's favourite player and will win plenty more fans in 2016 as his fitness and skills base continues to improve

.......as the Howe cult wanes.

He should get his mates back at his old workplace in Canberra to mint a few medallions with his cheeky face on it.

Great pick up.

Love him!

The definition of a recruit that hit the ground running.

I reckon his best asset is that he's so hard to tackle, and breaks them with ease. Has a surprising amount of pace for someone who looks a bit on the porky side of things.

He didn't do a full preseason last year from memory. He should benefit a lot from getting in a full training load over summer and hopefully some more midfield time will come his way.

Love the way he goes about his footy! Needs a full preseason to build the tank (which will hopefully assist his DE) and probably needs to lose some of the bulk he's carrying to take the next step with the physical side of the game... he'll look like a Fremantle midfielder.

He's big, strong, dogged and nasty... get him in at the centre bounce!

This dude was a beast around stoppages, a true wrecking ball. He tackles with ferocity and tackles a lot. Love him.

Would loved to have been a fly on the wall at the vandenBerg household when "A vandenBerg, 3 votes" was announced on Brownlow night.

If he has low DE it's because he get's so much ball in contested situations and has to bullock his way out. He's an absolute beast, good size and pace and once he has a real pre-season I think he'll surprise us again with how good he is.

Really needs to improve hitting more targets has efficiency of 56%, if that does not improve then just another Matt Jones.

Don't know where you got the 56% effeciency

I checked AFL tables, and this shows 77% effeciency

Love him as a player - Hard at the ball, tackles strongly - We need him in the Mid field.

Looking forward to see him play next year after another preseason.

Could he cement a long term role as a medium forward rotating through the midfield?

I didn't see too many games this year but loved what i saw of him.

Other than injury his season was immense.

He got the speed of the game and his disposal isn't too bad, tackling and endeavour is first class and if he keeps that then he will stay in the side.

Great attack on the ball and man, but shabby disposal.

I remember Dennis Cometti commenting on vandenBerg during a game (can't remember which one) and saying he did everything very well, not brilliantly, but very well.

It will be interesting to see how he progresses in 2016. A full pre season should see him progress from very good to very, very good.

He certainly surprised me and played like he'd been in the system for 3 or 4 years - a solid B grader. I don't think he'll ever become A grade but B+ is not beyond him.

I remember Dennis Cometti commenting on vandenBerg during a game (can't remember which one) and saying he did everything very well, not brilliantly, but very well.

It will be interesting to see how he progresses in 2016. A full pre season should see him progress from very good to very, very good.

He certainly surprised me and played like he'd been in the system for 3 or 4 years - a solid B grader. I don't think he'll ever become A grade but B+ is not beyond him.

Very happy with his first season. I think he is the kind of player that we don't need to be A grade but just do everything that's asked of him.

I think of Max Rooke, he was never super talented but was used as an enforcer which I think vanDenberg is perfect for that role. He will be a key cog in the machine for the next 4-5 years.

I hope now he has earned his spot in the senior side and a contract, he doesn't stop competing and going the extra level to become even better and a consistent contributor. Blokes like Jordie Mckenzie come to mind when he first played with his ferociousness around the ball and tackling and we thought "Gee, we have a player here" I hope his attitude stays positive, we have had too many players in the past who choose to take the easy option after putting pen to paper.

Bring on 2016. Go Dees!

VDB + Frost = The Bash Brothers