Young Sun Mac Andrew is the Round 20 Rising Star after continuing his promising form in Gold Coast’s excellent win over the Lions in the QClash.
Andrew was a member of Melbourne’s NGA Academy, but any hope of him being selected by them by falling outside the first 40 selections in the National Draft was very quickly removed by the start he made to his top age season in 2021.
He collected 22 possessions for the Dandenong Stingrays, showing that he was not just all highlights and no substance, and in so doing ensured that those teams with picks at the pointy end of the draft would be taking a close look at him.
While 200cm tall, he is quick and nimble as well as having good hands and being impressive below his knees. His skills and reading of the play are sound, so he certainly has the building blocks in place. Finding his ideal position will likely be the greatest challenge.
After playing the final four games of the 2022 season, Andrew’s second season has not been without its challenges. He was caught drink driving during the pre-season and more recently received an internal suspension for missing a recovery session. Being off Broadway on the Gold Coast is probably to his advantage here as it allows him to, hopefully with the full support of his teammates and coaches, mature and grow as a person without having photographers doorstopping him as he walks into training or seeing his photo splashed all over the front and back pages of the newspaper.
Despite these challenges, Andrew is beginning to show more than just glimpses of the player he and Suns hope he becomes. His long limbs and impressive closing speed enable him to impact contests that similar height players just can’t manage, with a regular sight being him leaping from a distance and getting a fist to the ball at just the right moment.
Andrew is also a very nice kick with a solid action that belies his height and is trusted by his teammates as a link man. As alluded to above, though, finding his ideal position will be a challenge. At present he is mainly focussed on playing as an intercept defender with a license to push up the ground as required, but can he become a quality man-on-man defender as well? Will he ever have the size and strength to be an AFL ruckman?
Interestingly, in his 17 games so far he is yet to record a hitout.
Mac Andrew takes a mark. (Photo by Albert Perez/AFL Photos via Getty Images)
Chances of winning the Rising Star
This question has become more redundant with each passing week since probably George Wardlaw’s nomination. Mac won’t win it.
Plays Like
This is a hard one. Early Harris Andrews? Andrew’s size and skillset are unique, and the player he currently is could be very, very different from the player he becomes.
Ceiling
I don’t think the sky is the limit for Andrew, but his value is likely to lie in his versatility.
Like Essendon’s Nik Cox, Andrew is likely to be deployed in numerous roles across defence, midfield and attack as the need warrants. He has shown that he can play as an intercept defender who pushes up to the wing, but to get amongst the top 10 percent or so of players he will need to increase his production as well as be able to impact contests and matches when he’s not necessarily able to exploit his better natural athletic talents.
It may be in the middle where those athletic attributes can be best utilised by the Suns but this will also rely on whether he can put on the size required as the bang and crash of that position would destroy him in quick time at his current weight.
More broadly, even if they can run and jump like an NBA star, I always have a hesitation advocating for tall and skinny players who look like they’ll struggle to ever put on weight and I’m no different here.
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