In 2008, Matthew Richardson almost won a Brownlow medal as a key forward turned roaming wingman. He averaged career high possessions and still kicked 48 goals for the season. Since, I’ve often wondered why clubs haven’t felt compelled to do something similar.
As Lance Franklin has been showing in this NAB Cup, an athletic forward starting on the wing with license to roam can run through the midfield wreaking havoc, give a chop-out down back as third man up, and then contribute a steady flow of goals in the forward half.
Not every club has a Buddy or a Richo, but let’s have a look at the ten players most likely to dominate in such a role. We’re looking for as many attributes as possible out of height, athleticism, aerobic capacity, marking power and goal sense.
Adelaide
Taylor Walker immediately comes to mind. He covers four of the five bases, albeit missing the most important. One suspects that he’ll need another 2-3 years working on his ‘tank’ before he could be fully utilised, but few know where the goals are like he does. To see a player of his X-factor allowed off the chain would be most exciting indeed.
Brisbane
Jonathan Brown has had the odd run in the middle over the years, but I actually think the candidate for the Lions could be Matthew Leuenberger.
I’m certainly not the first to compare him to Dean Cox, but his ground level skills for a man his size are simply phenomenal, his marking is ever improving, and he’s starting to show that he can snag a goal or two. I’d love to see him roam the ground at will in years to come.
Carlton
Jarrad Waite is a no-brainer for the Blues, and with plenty of forward options in the side, the opportunity is there to provide him with some freedom. He showed what he was capable of in a similar free-running role before he got injured in 2009. Over that four-week period he averaged 26 touches, nine marks and one goal a game. You know it makes sense.
Essendon
Patty Ryder is one of the most obvious options in the league. Not many tick every box like this Bomber, especially at his age. Fits the bill of a player in the category of ‘just let him play’, and does his best work when given a free hand. He’d cause no end of headaches for opposition coaches if he were to be given his head from a wing.
Greater Western Sydney
It may be folly to nominate Israel Folau before he’s even played an official game, but he already has a couple of tricks, not least of which are that he’s an athlete who can mark. Reading of the play would obviously be his issue, but perhaps we can see him unleashed in 2014-15?
Hawthorn
I’ve written about Franklin all pre-season. If he can avoid the head-high bumps, he’ll be winning the Brownlow. Hawks will win 18-plus games, Buddy will kick 80-plus goals, and he’ll also be standing on the dais being interviewed by Bruce McAvaney on the last Monday in September. Just back him already, and when he wins we’ll all celebrate in the pub together.
Melbourne
No one has been bashed more by the press and on social media this pre-season than Jack Watts (I admit to being one of them on Twitter). His intensity is often lacking, but he can play, as evident when he played further up the ground between rounds 8-15 last year.
Would you take a player who could average 20 efficient disposals and 1.5 goals a game roaming through your midfield? Add in six marks a match, and considering the much-maligned former number one draft pick is only in the infancy of his career at 20 years of age, he is one who could reap major benefits from a permanent move to the wing.
St Kilda
Nick Riewoldt struggled to have an impact as a key forward in 2011, and debate has raged over whether it was merely mental baggage or the advent of the ‘press’ pushing too many opponents into his space and causing the game to pass him by.
Hopefully we don’t have to wonder any more, as new coach Scott Watters has surmised that Saint Nick might often start up the ground in 2012. We all know what he’s capable of when on song, and if it transpires, it would have the added benefit of giving all a look at the likes of Rhys Stanley and Arryn Siposs inside forward fifty, away from the shadow of the big skipper.
Sydney
Adam Goodes has been doing what he likes all over the field for years, and the result has been a glittering career containing almost every honour available in AFL football. I don’t think it’s a coincidence.
West Coast –
Nic Naitanui already has a lengthy highlights reel, and hopefully he has only scratched the surface. John Worsfold has realised that there is little point in wasting the talents and athleticism of Cox and Nic Nat in just a ruck/deep forward combination, so they often start together in the middle of the ground.
Here, they dominate hit-outs and clearances, and also kick a couple of goals a match between them. Look for even more this year.
My ultimate contention is that it is a waste to keep your most athletic players locked into one position over the course of a game. They should be kept where the ball is as often as possible so they can have the most impact. You’ll also see that their goal tally won’t necessarily suffer as a result.
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