Bailey Humphrey is the Round 9 Rising Star nominee after something of a breakout game against West Coast on Friday evening.
Humphrey battled injury early last year – forcing him to miss the Under 18 National Championships – but came back with a vengeance, averaging two goals and 20 disposals a game during the second half of the season.
Amongst these matches was an astounding 31-possession, 12-mark and four goal (and five behinds!) effort against the Northern Knights, where he displayed all his explosiveness and versatility. It is for those two attributes that he very quickly went from draftable to a certain first rounder in the space of a few months.
Humphrey stands 185 centimetres tall, and is already built like the proverbial brick outhouse. He uses that size to great effect both in the midfield and in the forward line. He is explosive and hits packs at full pace all over the ground, with his work at centre bounces being well renowned in underage football.
But it is his GENUINE (regular readers of mine may recall my scepticism regarding supposed goalkicking midfielders) ability forward of centre that had him climbing up the draft charts. Humphrey has a vice like grip and can play taller than his height due to his ability to take a contested mark but is also damaging at ground level – if he can’t dance around an opponent then he’ll run straight through them – meaning that he is an impossible match up.
Bailey Humphrey. (Photo by Daniel Carson/AFL Photos via Getty Images)
In his very brief career so far, Humphrey has shown glimpses of the junior footballer he was and the senior footballer he could become. He has certainly been inconsistent, which an 18 year old trying to make sense of being both a forward and a midfielder is expected to be, but he showed what continuity can achieve on Friday night against West Coast – 20 touches all over the ground, some good movement through the middle and an opportunist’s goal. His goal now will be to make this the norm as Gold Coast, hopefully, see some success in a very challenging next couple of months of footy. One thing of note is that he has rarely played much more than 70% game time, and this is obviously something he will need to work on if he’s to become the player his other physical attributes could allow him to.
But it might not be on-field that he really makes his name. Humphrey’s best friend committed suicide in early 2021, and he has subsequently been extraordinarily honest about his own depression and anxiety issues whilst expressing his desire to play with the memory of his friend at the forefront of his mind.
Humphrey skippered the Gippsland Power, and his leadership capabilities were said to have really stood out across the 2022 season, and now as an AFL player Humphrey can be – and wants to be – an inspiration to a generation of kids who are growing up in environments where they are encouraged to be vulnerable and to be open about their struggles.
Seeing a kid like Humphrey – strong, powerful, hard at the ball (and the man) and able to kick booming goals – speak openly about his travails can be an amazing thing.
Humphrey would need to increase his output considerably, and do so consistently, but an uptick in Gold Coast’s form could certainly see some poor publicity…
Cam Rayner has been one that has been suggested, but to my eye, Humphrey’s capabilities in the midfield are more apparent than Rayner’s. I think Jordan De Goey is the best comparison due to the real mix of midfield and forward play that is so rare.
As I’ve mentioned with others, it can sometimes be hard to judge how a player will go when they have been a man amongst boys during their junior careers, but if anything, exposure to an AFL environment that will allow him to increase his endurance won’t come at the expense of his power and is likely to only increase his athleticism.
He might have to set aside the pack-busting mentality for a couple of years, but that is a small price to pay if he can reach the level of a player like De Goey.
His finishing also requires some finessing because his goalkicking can be very hit and miss and can also get a rush of blood with ball in hand, but experience can sort plenty of this out.
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