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How far away is Matt Jefferson?

Floody100
Floody100
in Melbourne Demons

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1 hour ago, Roost it far said:

Currently on track to be delisted at the end of next year

Surely you could have been a bit more negative - where is spud or list clogger ?

From what I have heard he is a footballer, a good mark and kick who needs more meat on the bones. 

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    39 minutes ago, ElDiablo14 said:

    The question should be, who's the next McVee? Or the next Bowey?

    The team seems to bring a star player out of nowhere every year.

    Oh wait maybe it will be Harley Reid.... Sorry wrong thread.

    Hopefully Howes?

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    I'd give him a go.

    Earlier on he looked unable to get to the right spot and find the ball.

    Lately he has been showing some improvement, development and is scoring.

    He can find separation, and pops up in unexpected places. 

    With better delivery and structure at AFL level he could flourish.

    If he fills in till say Fritta or TMac is ready, he would get some confidence that the club rate him and some understanding as what it may take to get up to standard for the next, or probably the following season.

    Though realistically, they could give our other development player, in Grundy, a look at the forward spot.

    Edited by kev martin

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    1 hour ago, Roost it far said:

    Currently on track to be delisted at the end of next year

    Heard the same thing said about McVee early this year! Wasn't you, Roost, by any chance?

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    He’s really good over head, and is a very clean kick. I think what’s holding him back is his fitness. The stress of playing on bigger bodies drains him of energy quickly, and so he often looks to struggle to stay in the contest.

    I’d say he’s still 12 months away, but he has the assets.

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    Jefferson isn't supposed to be a JVR type. That's not to say he's ready, just that he's a different sort of player. 

    I would suspect it's more about his tank, forward craft and body work than how many kgs he has. Think of Fritta. Still super skinny, but he's a great reader of the flight of the ball and uses his body well.

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    1 hour ago, Jaded No More said:

    Apparently JVR was minutes away from playing in the elimination final but Gawny was declared fit.

    Sitting near the bench in that game, with Gawn popping painkillers like candy, nobody in a Melbourne jumper looked fit to me. It was a complete nightmare. 

    Pedantic, but we didn’t play an elimination final last year. 

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    46 minutes ago, monoccular said:

    Surely you could have been a bit more negative - where is spud or list clogger ?

    From what I have heard he is a footballer, a good mark and kick who needs more meat on the bones. 

    I watched a lot of Casey this year. I just don’t see it with this kid. Where’s the hunger, that edge that makes key forwards intimidating. My 13 year old daughter is more intimidating 

    19 minutes ago, waynewussell said:

    Heard the same thing said about McVee early this year! Wasn't you, Roost, by any chance?

    Nope but happy to go back and add some 

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    Second half of 2024 at the earliest assuming all goes well for say a run of three games.

    One of the problems at Casey this year is they have had too many tall forwards at times (T Mac, BBB, Grundy, Smith etc) which when combined with byes makes consistent development a challenge

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    18 minutes ago, The heart beats true said:

    He’s really good over head, and is a very clean kick. I think what’s holding him back is his fitness. The stress of playing on bigger bodies drains him of energy quickly, and so he often looks to struggle to stay in the contest.

    I’d say he’s still 12 months away, but he has the assets.

    From my limit vision of him I agree. 

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    Just now, Diamond_Jim said:

    Second half of 2024 at the earliest assuming all goes well for say a run of three games.

    One of the problems at Casey this year is they have had too many tall forwards at times (T Mac, BBB, Grundy, Smith etc) which when combined with byes makes consistent development a challenge

    Once again DJ this stupid vfl system is exposed as very poor. 

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    He’s our riskiest first round pick. Low possessions, no standout athletic traits and whilst brave in the air not a physical player. 

    But the same could be said of JUH who is a pretty similar package with more output and maybe a touch more speed. 

    JUH was nowhere near it year 1. Played 1 good game year 2, and is now a star in year 3.

    I think we’ll know by mid way next year if Jefferson is on track to being a regular in years 3/4 or a genuine project player.

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    7 minutes ago, DeeSpencer said:

    He’s our riskiest first round pick. Low possessions, no standout athletic traits and whilst brave in the air not a physical player. 

    But the same could be said of JUH who is a pretty similar package with more output and maybe a touch more speed. 

    JUH was nowhere near it year 1. Played 1 good game year 2, and is now a star in year 3.

    I think we’ll know by mid way next year if Jefferson is on track to being a regular in years 3/4 or a genuine project player.

    Agree, but I think he's a beautiful field kick. There was a patch of games at Casey where it just looked like his head wasn't in the game. He lacked intensity and focus. He's certainly not a physical player yet. He seems to more switched on recently and looking to impact the game. I was surprised in the recent re-signing interview where he said he had put on 6 kgs since arriving at the Dees. He still has a lot more to add. I like the Jarred Waite and early days JUH comparison.

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    2 hours ago, adonski said:

    Taller Fritta 

    Sounds like a weapon.

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    • Demonland changed the title to How far away is Matt Jefferson?

    1 hour ago, Rocknroll said:

    Needs a mcvee summer

    Hopefully Judd can act as an inspiration for some other young players in the squad. Get the form in and have a good off-season and pre-season and anything can happen. I mean Maxy was calling Judd for Rising star in March before the season started .

    That being said don't see them rushing Jeffo in, but clearly see things they like in him

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    44 minutes ago, DeeSpencer said:

    He’s our riskiest first round pick. Low possessions, no standout athletic traits and whilst brave in the air not a physical player. 

    But the same could be said of JUH who is a pretty similar package with more output and maybe a touch more speed. 

    JUH was nowhere near it year 1. Played 1 good game year 2, and is now a star in year 3.

    I think we’ll know by mid way next year if Jefferson is on track to being a regular in years 3/4 or a genuine project player.

    I agree the comparison with JUH is probably the closest.

    Whether or not he reaches that standard is anyone's guess, but he certainly has shown some similarities in the early stages of his career.

    I recall looking at JUH and really wondering if he'd live up to the hype given the lack of any physical presence. He was capable of the odd mark - just like Jefferson but never really looked like making a big impact in games. 

    Jefferson really needs to get stronger which is not great surprise - lots of gym time over summer may help just like it has with JUH who now looks physically up to competing with seasoned defenders.

    By mid-next season we will have a better idea of how Jefferson is progressing. Hopefully he will be starting to impact games more consistently, taking more marks and scoring regularly. Tick those boxes and he will be pushing for selection. If he is still performing at the level we have seen this season at Casey we can start to get a little concerned we have another Weid mark II.  

     

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    3 hours ago, Roost it far said:

    Currently on track to be delisted at the end of next year

    lol clearly you dont watch much football

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    3 hours ago, Roost it far said:

    Currently on track to be delisted at the end of next year

    You are being sarcastic I presume.

    If he puts on muscle over summer, will play some games next year.

     

    Edited by Redleg

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    1 hour ago, Roger Mellie said:

    Agree, but I think he's a beautiful field kick. There was a patch of games at Casey where it just looked like his head wasn't in the game. He lacked intensity and focus. He's certainly not a physical player yet. He seems to more switched on recently and looking to impact the game. I was surprised in the recent re-signing interview where he said he had put on 6 kgs since arriving at the Dees. He still has a lot more to add. I like the Jarred Waite and early days JUH comparison.

    I saw that interview and found it interesting that he brought up the point that he had managed to avoid serious injury for the year, perhaps an indications of his mindset. 
    I think it will take at least two more full preseasons to get his body and tank built up enough for AFL games.  Can’t be easy to try and do both at the same time- put on muscle while increasing your aerobic ability. 

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    From what I've seen in the VFL so far this season, 'Starship' has a good pair of hands, a big leap and a reliable set shot. However, physicality and defensive pressure is definitely something he'll be working on during the off season which is nothing to be ashamed about considering his inexperience.

    Still, he's kicked 21.14 from 16 VFL games so far this season which is a decent effort for a first year tall forward.

    Pending improvement and opportunity, I could definitely see a Woewodin type situation where he's given a taste of senior action for 3-4 weeks sometime next season before he hopefully pushes for regular senior selection in '25.

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    Whilst everyone talks about his body, which is undeveloped at this early stage, he actually has very few problems influencing aerial contests in the VFL despite being underweight. I think the biggest issue for him at this point is just his ability to do AFL/VFL style running at the moment. The possessions he wins are the difficult types, where he outmarks 3 opponents or wins a hard ball on the ground when he's part of a contests. What he doesn't do enough of right now is get to those contests so that he can be a factor. He does the difficult stuff (the stuff he's supposed to do) really well right now despite his lack of weight, so his likelihood of being a good AFL player is actually really good, IMHO. He needs more AFL preseasons to get into AFL shape, which will take time. 

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    Aaron Cadman was the #1 pick in last year’s draft. He’s around the same height as Jefferson and probably weighs a bit more. GWS have given him three AFL games but he’s way off the pace which is par for the course for KPF’s in their first couple of years. 

    Jefferson isn’t all that far behind Cadman but I wouldn’t be expecting a great deal from either until 2025 which will be the third season after being drafted. 

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    1 hour ago, Sydee said:

    If he is still performing at the level we have seen this season at Casey we can start to get a little concerned we have another Weid mark II.  

     

    Weid cannot mark consistently. 

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    8 minutes ago, Whispering_Jack said:

    Aaron Cadman was the #1 pick in last year’s draft. He’s around the same height as Jefferson and probably weighs a bit more. GWS have given him three AFL games but he’s way off the pace which is par for the course for KPF’s in their first couple of years. 

    Jefferson isn’t all that far behind Cadman but I wouldn’t be expecting a great deal from either until 2025 which will be the third season after being drafted. 

    Jamarra Ugle-Hagan was a true #1 (I would suggest that Cadman was a specific requirement of the Giants and that Ashcroft and a couple of the other mid sized players like Sheezel, Wardlaw were rated ahead of him). It took JUH until late in his second season before he started taking off and look where he’s at in his third. We’re doing well if Jefferson follows that path but in any event, he is calling out for patience and there’s no need to rush him in early.

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