Height: 191cm
Weight: 97kg (low skinfolds)
Preferred foot: Right/Dual-sided
Role: Midfield/Wing/HBF/HFF
Potential: 7.5-8.5/10
Strengths
> Powerful athlete – good pace off the mark and over distance (has gears), good evasive ability and vertical leap –what he does very well is he hits the contest and ball at pace and has great confidence to frequently carry the ball and break open a passage of play
> Very attractive height and build – 190+ and already has an extremely mature lean build with very thick thighs – excellent core strength/balance (very good ability to stand up in tackles and get away an effective handball - gives him that invaluable extra fraction of time to get rid of the football)
> Good all-round ball winning skills inside and out - generally reads the ball effectively at stoppages and around the ground and is capable of being a good, effective clearance winner (averaged 3.2 clearances per game at the U18 championships, whilst also spending a lot of time on the wing) – has developed good attack on the football (last year I would’ve considered it a weakness, but seems to have hardened up quite a lot) - I would say his natural style is as an outside midfielder than can play inside/win his own ball
> Extremely clean hands – often one touch at good pace
> Plenty of X-factor and high offensive hurt factor – very few cheapies and always seems to be looking to impact and take the game on - carries the ball over distance on a frequent basis, can kick goals starting in the midfield or wing and a lot of his possessions result in inside 50s
> Very versatile – ability to play a variety of roles all over the ground due to his size mobility and athleticism combo – I think wing/midfield roles will suit him best as that’s where he can have the most impact with his skillset
> Very strong OH for midfield/flanker standards
> DM with his hands is very good (can show excellent vision and timing) – I think he is underrated in this aspect and some of his best work (without flashy or spectacular as his outside work) is often done with his hands in traffic
> Good, effective feeder by hand - feeds typically have good power and accuracy and combined with his vision he is good at opening up the play
Weaknesses
> Has a tendency to be too selfish/overconfident with his DM on occasions i.e. not making the simple but effective decision, but preferring to show off with flashiness (you don't want him to stop taking the game on, but needs to harness this aspect of his game) and is an ordinary DMer at best by foot, especially under pressure (tends to blaze away and doesn't show great vision) - also seems to lack some awareness at times with the ball
> Somewhat low possession winning rate for a midfielder (averaged 16d per game at the 2009 U18 championships and 14d per game at WAFL League level, highest of 18 vs EP and Claremont) - has never been a huge possession getter in previous years either, although has been steadily increased average year by year – has a tendency to drift in and out of games - he is capable of continuing the upward trend as he increases his aerobic capacity/work-rate (currently OK at best, but not at the level of the better midfielders)
> Lack of kicking hurt factor
Other
> His kicking has caused much debate amongst many – IMO it is not as bad as made out to be, but not great either (Kicking DM is the main issue) - genuinely dual sided and quality is OK – technically not a textbook action and probably needs some further refinement - he should be a consistently more penetrating/powerful kick for his current strength/power capabilities – for kicks to targets his accuracy/weighting is rarely pinpoint, but generally reasonable - can get good depth (55m+) although not on a consistent basis as you’d expect – has a tendency to be up and under (lacks the sting and hurt factor of the better kicks) – kicking efficiency statistics would suggest he is a decent kick with 61.7% at a high CP rate of 45.8% - tends to be hit and miss with goal kicking on the run (stats would suggest too) but seems very good from SS - linear approach and relaxed style
> OK combined offensive/defensive work-rate at best – capable of chasing players down from behind, but needs to do it more often and with more purpose - tackling technique also needs work – he is capable of applying very strong tackles, but quite a few slip away from him that really shouldn’t for a guy of his strength levels
> Good wet weather footballer – saw him play live in the wet twice (WA Trial game and vs East Perth) and was very good on both occasions
> Biggest handspan at DC
> Adapted to senior football in the WAFL very well – consistent output with an average 14d and 1g per game – assuming fit, he’s ready for AFL action in his first season
> Hamstring injury ruled him out late season and didn't participate in DC with a quad injury?
> AIS-AFL grad
> Played in 2 U18 championships series (2008 and 2009) – 2008 played 3 games (hamstring injury pre carnival affected preparations), 2009 he played all 5 games and was awarded AA U18 Wingman and voted WA U18s MVP
> Awarded the 2009 West Australian newspaper’s WAFL rising star
> He is said to be a somewhat quietly spoken person, which is very surprising given his flamboyant playing style
Stats
Overall
Morabito is an very good tall midfield/utility prospect – he is very well suited to the modern game with his style of play and whilst he is mostly a pick based on potential, he has significantly improved his production this year to be deserved of a spot near the top of the class, as well as having a vast range of attributes that provide for very good development potential in a number of roles - however he does carry risk as there are highlighted areas of his game that need to be improved (they may not stop him from being a decent or even good player, but they will stop him from becoming, say a top tier AFL player if they aren't). He’s worth an early to mid 1st round pick in this draft.
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