Rhys O’Keeffe (North Adelaide/SA) - Draft Profile

Height: 188.3cm
Weight: 83.1kg
Role: Outside/Inside running HBF
Potential: 7-8/10

Strengths

> Good 2nd efforts and intensity - hard runner (not sure what his natural endurance is like – but mental endurance/toughness seems very good – provides plenty of run from defence/gets a lot of HBR and linking up for 1-2s to then kick long forward (can be a 80m player)
> Strong bodied and hard at the footy – hits the ball running – capable of winning the footy inside or outside traffic
> LF long passing can have very good hurt factor, particularly when given time and space – sound, economical technique, good penetration and weighting over distance
> Can kick goals playing through the midfield or off a wing
> Clean hands and good ball control below the knees
> Consistent – didn’t play a bad game during the championships – awarded with a SA MVP and a AA U18 jumper (HBF)
> Has played senior footy at SANFL level and showed solid form

Weaknesses

> Very one-sided
> All-round athleticism – however plays faster than he looks because he hits the ball running
> Below par DM – has tunnel vision/straight line player - also often tries to take too many on when his speed isn’t great
> Handballing isn’t consistently good – a lot of them lack power/HF and is prone to coughing it too often – lacks creativity/vision to play as an inside midfielder

Other

> Quite a significant reach disadvantage for his height, but nevertheless solid OH ability for his height (more of a marker than a spoiler as a defender)

Overall

O’Keeffe doesn’t have the full range of attributes to be an out and out star, but I’m quite confident he’ll make it in some capacity as an AFL footballer with what he has. Best case is a long term, very solid and consistent best XVIII HBFer, while worst case is a player that will always be thereabouts when selecting the team.