millarsaint wrote:From Quigley's yearly...
37. Ben Long
Ben is the nephew of Essendon legend Michael and he does have a bit of the Long body shape. He has the same kind of long legged athletic build that Michael had. Ben is a 19 year old and still very light but I expect him to put on enough bulk to compete at AFL level. Despite his current lack of bulk and long legged build he is surprisingly strong and he is certainly capable of fighting above his weight division.
Long played seniors in the NT at the end of last season before coming down to board at Melbourne Grammar for the year. He played for the NT and Allies at the Champs before finishing the season playing seniors for Footscray in the VFL. He has also played significant minutes in the backline, midfield and forward line at different times of the year. So he has had to adjust a lot over the year to different team structures, teammates and positions. By all reports he has been very professional about it and he has performed very nicely at all levels. With that said I am sure he is looking forward to settling into a stable environment where he has only one position to learn and one set of teammates to get to know.
When I saw him at the Champs I thought he showed real potential as a lock down small defender who could give some nice offensive run. Footscray though had other ideas in their use of him in the VFL and now I have to consider that he might be better at the other end of the ground. In the VFL preliminary final against Collingwood, Long kicked 6 goals and showed some nice dynamism as a forward. Personally I still like him as a defender but having the flexibility to play up forward certainly helps his chances of being drafted.
Up forward Long tends to get most of his goals from crumbing the fall of the ball or as a result of his running ability. He is not a real leading target although he is a reasonable mark of the ball when he has to fly. He is clean below the knees and has pretty good finishing ability around goal from any angle. In space he is seems to be elusive although you do wonder a little why he is not tackled more than he is. He does not have a particular big or violent change of direction but he does sell it well and opponents regularly do not lay a glove on him. Wherever he is on the ground he will attack the ball on the ground and has the ability to collect at pace, balance and then use it well. This skill is particularly handy up forward where he can finish those type of plays with a goal. Another thing he offers up forward is very good defensive pressure. He has a very good burst of pace that he uses to run down unaware opponents and when he is in the area perceived pressure will be higher for opposition defenders.
In the Div 1 Champs he was a little quiet for the Allies playing mostly as a lock down defender. As a consequence he went unnoticed by most until the last game against Vic Country. In that game he was matched up on Ainsworth and basically shut him out of the game which was a significant factor in the Allies winning that game. Long was quick and smart enough to cover Ainsworth on his leads and strong enough to hold his own in body on body contests. He outmarked Ainsworth a few times and generally showed himself to be a very disciplined defender who has the tools to match up on the best. One of the other plays involving Long I noted at the Champs was against Vic Metro when Bunker tried a big don't argue on Long. Long just went straight through it and made a very good tackle. I think people seriously underestimate how strong he is. Long has good running ability but this wa not really showcased in the Div 1 Champs. It was on show however in his games for NT when he averaged 20 disposals per game. For the NT he showed some really nice dash coming from defence and on the wing and his skills were very decent at speed.
As is common from those who come from outside elite programs, Long did not test particularly strongly at the Combine and the results probably undersold his athleticism. He ran a 3.01 in the 20m, 25.9 in the repeat sprint, 13.4 in the beep test, 10.52 in the 3km and 8.54 in the agility test. Those were all lower than expected but within the margin of what you would have expected. I was a bit disappointed in his jumping results which were below average but I was encouraged by his kicking test which was in the top 10.
Overall I like Long and think he could well end up a very nice player. As far as a player comparison I would probably go with Zac Williams.
His kicking was a little better than Top 10 at the Combine;
"At the four-day screening of the nation’s most sought-after football talent, Long recorded a level 13.6 beep test as well as times of 10:52 in the 3km time trial, 3.03 seconds in the 20m sprint and 25.90 seconds in the repeat sprint test,
while also finishing equal-third in the kicking test."
http://websites.sportstg.com/assoc_page ... D=48643631
It seems he can stop, go and use it when he gets it.
Someone else mentioned him being just the 71 Kgs 'wringing wet'. Quigley up above seems to have been rather taken with his willingness and strength in a contest.
It's all relative, of course but, IIRC, Neil Elvis Winwar was around 67 Kgs when he arrived from the West (at 21, too, IIRC). And, while again emphasising "relative", there really are some players who don't need lots of apparent muscle to be very effective at various facets of the game.
'I have no new illusions, and I have no old illusions' - Vladimir Putin, Geneva, June 2021
