Bytel to debut!

[freely]

https://www.saints.com.au/news/792119?f ... xvSTzT2CwU

[Saintmatt]

Bloody magnificent news. Get another lad in there and give him a taste.

I thought we looked tired on Thursday night - if nothing else it will be good to get some fresh legs (& the enthusiasm of youth)

[bigred]

Hell yes.

Kid can play. Just need to get games into him.

[The_Dud]

Nice.

Get some fresh legs in there, hopefully we can pull off a win!

[bigcarl]

Go get ‘em Jack. Big game in which to debut.

[st sandy]

Well done to the young man

Seb must come back in
So which mid(s) who will be rested?
I thought that Zac Jones looked tired/sore late on Thursday - he has had a big 10 weeks!!

[SemperFidelis]

Great news indeed!

[johnearljames]

Will be a gun. Bookmark it.

[Leo.J]

Do we know who is out yet?

[Goose is king]

[quote=Leo.J post_id=1858709 time=1596943468 user_id=1179]
Do we know who is out yet?
[/quote]

When I read this I first thought why the hell would we know who is out yet you dumbass we just played the other day, but game day is tomorrow

[ace]

Well done to the young man

Seb must come back in
So which mid(s) who will be rested?
I thought that Zac Jones looked tired/sore late on Thursday - he has had a big 10 weeks!!

I suspect Long and Phillips are vulnerable based on the Gold Coast game.
Bytel probably means one of Ross or Geary won't play.
We probably need an extra midfielder with fresh legs in the team to see out the game.
More midfield rotations, less defensive rotations.

[Toy Saint]

Delighted with Bytel to debut against Geelong. But it's a tough ask against a very strong midfield.

I'd be OK to see 4 or 5 changes, we need to rest the blokes who need a break. From the outside it looks like Max King, Ryder and Membery could do with a rest. Abbot & Marsh could replace a couple of those guys. Reckon Ross and Geary are also likely to be back, ho idea who they replace, possibly Zac Jones and whomever else needs a break.

These short breaks are definitely compromising selection, our depth is pretty good, lets hope we capitalize on it.

[CURLY]

Great young player but obviously we are resting to reload v Essendon

[Dis Believer]

Will be a gun. Bookmark it.

Thanks JohnyRay

[Laurie]

Good luck and great to see another young gun breaking into the side.

[Vazelos]

At 6:45 tonight we I’ll know who comes in.
Heard so much about this boy he is a strong bull inside type with some other all round abilities.
Ross and Geary you would think come in.
Jones looked really tired I can see him and Phillips to go out...
In: Bytel Ross Geary
Out: Jones Phillips ( anyone’s guess).

[bigred]

Inside/outside ball winner dual sided.

There WAS a highlights package on youtube that has gone into the nether. The kid is a dead set gun.

Some highlights in this clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHOIgM7bu30

I still believe he would have gone top four in his draft if not for his back. Could be an absolute bolter for us.

[SaintPav]

Inside/outside ball winner dual sided.

There WAS a highlights package on youtube that has gone into the nether. The kid is a dead set gun.

Some highlights in this clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHOIgM7bu30

I still believe he would have gone top four in his draft if not for his back. Could be an absolute bolter for us.

Who do you reckon he plays like Bigred?

[saynta]

At 6:45 tonight we I’ll know who comes in.
Heard so much about this boy he is a strong bull inside type with some other all round abilities.
Ross and Geary you would think come in.
Jones looked really tired I can see him and Phillips to go out...
In: Bytel Ross Geary
Out: Jones Phillips ( anyone’s guess).

Kent.

[bigred]

Ollie Wines maybe, but cruisier.
With a fair bit of Pat Cripps.

He was a pretty light junior, but not any more.

He's 190cms and if he is under his listed 79kgs I'll go he. He would be at least 83kgs. He has put on a heap of muscle since we drafted him. His upper body is completey transformed. The year off hopefully got him ready. Well, two years really as his draft year was completely derailed.

Great kick off both sides and wins his own ball. I'm surprised we didnt get a look earlier when Byrnes got a crack. He's been mentioned in every scratch match report, not that it means much.

I hope he comes out and has 20+. It honestly wouldnt suprise me if he just plays his game.

Dont mean to talk it up. Will be great to see the #23 running around again.

[MC Gusto]

Is he right footed? Just watched highlights and he is very balanced on both sides but seemed to favour his right just a touch. That said he was very clean on both.

I’ve got a really good feeling about this kid. Reckon he might end up being and out and out star

[The OtherThommo]

In the 'hubchat' video I just posted in the 'Ashes' thread, Ratts has good things to say about how the young fella had used the 'scratch matches', at Noosa, to improve the inside/outside balance of his game (it was his outside game Ratts wanted to see him improve, which he obviously has).

[Plugger12]

This kid is a star, really good in heavy congestion. Waiting all year on news that he will debut.

[saynta]

May well be. Not yet. Hasn't played a game.

[saintsRrising]

https://afl.draftcentral.com.au/player/jack-bytel/
DRAFT ANALYSIS: "An inside midfielder who has top endurance, capable of winning a truckload of the ball and laying plenty of tackles."

OVERVIEW

Jack Bytel was a player who entered the year as one of the more talked about prospects, but a serious back injury derailed his year and unfortunately he was not able to finish off the season as he had hoped. Early on in the year he had a mixture of games, winning plenty of the ball and showing his strength at stoppages. While at times his kicking could be inconsistent, he had a penetrating boot which could travel more than 50m. He always got to the right spots and laid plenty of tackles, finishing the TAC Cup season with an average of 6.2 per game, albeit from just six games. He is not the quickest player, but he is not slow either, considered about average speed, Bytel could improve in that area, as well as being more effective on the outside. He was one that divided opinions about where he should be placed in the draft crop, but considering the injury, he is anticipated to be a third round prospect – a valuable pick for a club in the middle of the draft.

STRENGTHS

Inside game
Strength
Penetrating kick
Endurance
Accumulation
Tackling
Bytel has plenty of eye-catching traits in his game, but is also an old-school footballer in the sense that he sees ball, wins ball, and if the opponent has it, he wins the ball back. He has a simple brand of football that he plays, and that is to his strengths on the inside. He is a leader at the Calder Cannons, co-captaining the side along with Mitch Podhajski, and was crucial to their team’s midfield brigade. Bytel has a strong core that he uses to stand his ground in a tackle, and he can use quick hands out of a stoppage to find a teammate on the outside. He ran at almost 80 per cent by hand in the TAC Cup, and while his kicking was inconsistent at times – 58 per cent – he did have a penetrating kick that stood out once he got onto it.

The midfield leader had no trouble finding the football, which if you take out his seven-disposal game against Greater Western Victoria (GWV) Rebels, where he played at full-forward before coming off sore at half-time, Bytel averaged 25.2 disposals per game. He also did not lay a tackle in that match, making his average skyrocket up to a whopping 9.2 tackles per game – ranking him first in the TAC Cup. His ability to find the football and put in repeat efforts is due to his high endurance base, which saw him score 21.1 on the Yo-yo test in the pre-season. While his year has been somewhat derailed by injury, he still managed to play the three National Under 18 Championships games, albeit not purely on the inside. He averaged 13 disposals, two clearances and 4.7 tackles in those matches.

IMPROVEMENTS

Speed
Outside game
The two areas identified as ways Bytel could improve are in his speed and his outside game. He is so well suited to the inside, and has a body frame to match at 187cm and 81kg in the pre-season, and therefore that is likely the role he will play at AFL level. However, he could become more balanced if he can build more of an outside game, using his endurance to spread to the wings, finding the ball in space, and developing consistency through his kicking. It is one of those areas that is not crucial to play his role, but important to have as an extra string to his bow. Secondly, Bytel could continue to improve his speed, which while still average, can always be an area he can work on in order to exit stoppages more effectively, through speed rather than just brute strength.

DRAFT PROJECTION: 40+

SUMMARY

Jack Bytel is one of the more underrated inside midfielders in the draft crop. He is that pure inside mid at this stage, but with time, can develop to be more effective on the outside. He is a high accumulator of the football, and has a high endurance base with a strong defensive mindset. His penetrating kick is a weapon he can use to hurt opposition sides, and his presence at a stoppage is one that will see him ready to play AFL football early on in his career. While he does have a few areas of his game he can sharpen up, overall he looms as a valuable prospect who with a full pre-season could be a handy inclusion for a side craving a strong, inside midfielder.