Jackson is a very intelligent kid who is laid back (not in the slack sense but in the sense of not being a "footy-is-everything ", single focus type. It is expected that he will absolutely thrive on AFL and in an AFL environment and, although still just learning the game, has already demonstrated that he is learning at a very fast rate.
As you can gather, I believe he can be seriously good AFL, perhaps even a gun. That's the best-case scenario. Worst case, 10-15 on an AFL list. There are some players who you suspect have high upside but who are so lacking in current demonstration of their perceived potential that they must be rated a greater than normal risk of failing to deliver. Brent Hall is one. Jackson is not. Subject to injury, I see Jackson, despite being somewhat of a "no name", as "no risk", a "no-brainer" draft selection. (Note the "er").
*DISPOSAL, DECISION-MAKING, SMARTS:
(see above)
- Currently not much idea at ball-ups, especially centre bounce. Seems to be unsure where to position and when / how /where to make a move so tends to spectate a bit in that situation.
- Other than that situation, reads both play and ball very well and displays excellent traffic management. Seems to be wherever the ball is and seems to do the right thing on most occasions.
- Is a thumping kick. Somewhat unusual, but effective, kicking style - sometimes holds the ball very much out in front of himself as if his arms don't bend. (Usually OK off the boot but kick occasionally goes left). Kicking for goal is a mixed bag, more mix than bag. Overall though, I would describe him as "generally accurate".
- Good mix of disposals, hand or foot, shortish or long (although preference for longish, whether by hand or by foot). Plenty of power, hand or foot, but also weights well.
- Very good poise, generally looks around for options even under great pressure, and keeps arms free. (At this stage he occasionally doesn't quite "look up" when charging out of traffic with an opponent on his jack and hurries a quick kick "somewhere" downfield. However, if in that scenario an opportunity to feed by hand presents itself, he does routinely spot and deliver.)
- Quick brain, will be a reliable decision-maker.
*HANDS:
- Extremely clean and sure, all levels.
*OVERHEAD MARKING:
- Also very clean, sure. Good pack mark for size and crashes the pack. Can take a very big grab, any angle, but especially from behind. If he gets his hands to it he usually takes it.
*ATHLETICISM, INTENSITY, ETHIC, CONSISTENCY:
(see above)
- Works hard. Routinely runs to block, runs on to present an option, etc.
- Intelligent and listens attentively to coaches.
- Generally very good intensity. Stats tell only part of the story with Jackson as he is so competitive and works very hard whether he has it, his team mates have, the opposition has it, or the ball is in dispute. Is very physical, purposeful. Attacks man and ball and closes quickly and aggressively .When he tackles or bumps, he means it. Hits hard.
- Good balance, strong over the ball, keeps his feet.
- Courageous and mentally tough. Stands his ground under great pressure. Works hard even when injured.
- Very good evasion - side step, 360, sell the dummy, etc. And sudden, not telegraphed.
*BY WAY OF EXAMPLE....:
- I can understand how much of this assessment of a relative no-name may sound like over-the-top bullsh* so in this section I want to get into specifics. Oakleigh were not a strong side in '03. On the one hand that means it is easier to stand out. On the other hand you have to do more of the work yourself and playing in a strong team (eg Calder) engenders the confidence to do things in the knowledge that you are surrounded by plenty of talent to support you. A good test for a player in a low team is how well you perform against a top team. In that context, it was fortunate for me that Jackson played twice against the virtually invincible Calder Cannons. Let me re-visit my notes from those two games as they demonstrate the range of Jackson's capabilities, versatility and where he is currently at. This is warts and all, but excluding all positive summary conclusions and including the single negative summary conclusion.:-
- 3/5/03 (his 2nd game): "Tagged" McLean from mid Q2. McLean still did many nice things and, in fairness, it was McLean's 1st TAC game for the year. At the end of the day, Jackson 8 disposals, Mclean 19 (quite a few before Jackson was on him) but I was impressed by Jackson's application and general manner. McLean is very young but Jackson even a bit younger. Despite only 8D, Jackson still managed
1. two vice grab oh marks at half forward.
2. a hard ball get under great pressure mid traffic and in which he kept his feet while tackled and spotted and fed, showing poise and class.
3. a good punchaway.
4. a pick-up and feed in same motion.
5. an unselfish block then 2e, running after the ball then a diving strong tackle (moved well).
For the record, his biggest crime in that game that I noticed was choosing to kick across ground once to a one-on-one.
- 16/08/03:
Pros:
1. Broke tackle then non-pref left hand feed HBF, showing poise under pressure, spotting, balance, clean hands.
2. Charged into heavy traffic in BP, clean hands gather, sidestep, sidestep, sidestep then feed, showing excellent traffic management, very sharp evasion, balance, poise under great pressure.
3. Very high overhead mark on a strong lead at CHF.
4. Immediately ran hard, after feeding, to present an option.
5. Hardball get mid-traffic under great pressure then jumped very high straight up in the air from a standing start to feed while high in air & riding a bump. The feed went over the top of traffic 15m to a team mate in the clear. Magnificent athleticism, leap, poise under great pressure, balance, smarts. Excellent spotting and long feed. Also great courage as the ball he got was high in the air & he had to run with the flight into heavy traffic to take it as a hospital air gather.
Brilliant.
6. And then he did a similar thing later but a difficult gather off the ground & in only light traffic midfield.
7. Excellent reflex smother then quick recovery to take the same spill under great pressure, barging into traffic. Kept he feet while being tackled, then fed off. Showed willingness to attack both man and ball, balance, very clean hands, quick reaction and thinking, poise and decision-making under pressure.
8. Ran hard 10m to smother. Desperate. Excellent closing speed.
9. High one-grab overhead mark from behind one-on-one (albeit against the 177cm Hartigan).
10. Rode shotgun to protect a team mate who was carrying the ball on the run.
11. 360 degree turn out of trouble the feed while tackled..
Cons:
1. A not very committed attempted tackle. Easily pushed off marking contest by rover Ezard.
2. (General note) Seems unsure of how / where to position himself and when / how to move at ball-ups. Needs coaching in this aspect.
- One other important example was round 18, played in a continuous heavy downpour. It was significant to me because it showed that Jackson was mentally tough and prepared to push himself (as attested to by his DC/SS Beep result). He injured his leg (corkie? quad?) mid Q1 and was clearly genuinely inconvenienced after that, often grimacing. I mean "genuinely" because there are players who cop something minor and feel a need to exaggerate throughout the game, as if observers will marvel at their melodramatic heroics, their pretend pain threshold. These are guys who actually worry me. In Jackson's case, the inconvenience was indisputable and his discomfort in certain actions was genuine automatic reaction. Despite that, he still continually pushed himself to chase, tackle, throw himself into packs etc with exactly the same intensity as he would uninjured. I think the coach kept him off from ½ time until late game but when he came back on he continued to throw himself at everything, even contesting some ruck contests, and stiil at times clearly inconvenienced. Still picked up 11 possessions plus heaps of non-stats stuff. AFL players have to learn to push themselves through pain barriers as they are often 'carrying" some sort of niggle into a game. Jackson proved in that game that he has that mental toughness.
- Note the routine ability to do things well under great pressure. Note also that I haven't even mentioned either of the 2 games in which het got Morrish Medal votes (and 20+ possessions).
- Great scope for continuous improvement. (see above). I rate he and Hall as arguably the players with the most scope in this year's draft. Will improve in leaps and bounds as he continues learning the finer points about strategies, positioning etc.
*AFL VERSATILITY:
- Should be very versatile. Stints at U18 level in most roles, both ends and midfield, including FF and CHB, despite being only 186cm. Not that he would be KPP at AFL of course but it does show that he plays fairly tall.
- I think he is ideally suited to running HBF, where he could be outstanding at AFL level. However, is also a natural wingman. Has the potential in time to be excellent as a run-with and might develop into a "ruckrover-type" onballer in his own right, once he learns what stop play strategy is all about. At the very least he is capable of playing anywhere down the flanks. As a forward, he is not the world's best shot for goal but gets the pill and also works very hard to keep the ball in the forward line and to clear a path for team mates.
*SOME STATS:
- TAC: Averaged 12 disposals in 8 TAC games (split into a pair of 4 games at a time). 2.3 marks, 2.9 tackles, total 6 goals-9. 50% of disposals are kicks. 19% of his possessions are marks. At least 20 disposals in 3 games.
- Mid-way trend .. % change in disposals was 143%. % change in marks was 56%. % change in tackles was 52%.
