Weight: 82kg
Preferred foot: Right foot
Position: HFF/Wing/FP/HBF
Potential: 7.5-8.5/10
Style like: Stevie Johnson?
Strengths
> Extremely good pace off the mark and over distance (in particular), BIG vertical leap (and uses it very effectively) and excellent all-round agility –seems to particularly find space very well in congestion
> Provides excellent defensive tackling pressure on a consistent basis – terrific closing speed and a very strong tackler - even if he doesn’t complete the chase with a tackle he is very good at creating implied pressure due to his speed
> I'm probably in the minority, but I rate him a good kick from what I've seen - penetrating, damaging and quite accurate kick over long distance (capable of kicking upto 60m on the run) - over shorter distance he is generally decent accuracy weighting wise – capable on his non preferred left foot, but doesn’t use it often - I've heard at TAC Cup his reliability has been a concern but I didn't see it during the U18 championship
> Whilst there are aspects that need refining I think he is capable of developing into a good all-round decision maker - he shows good awareness and poise – seems think his way through situations, has and can create time with the footy even under pressure
> Has genuine X-factor and the ability to create something out of nothing
> Competitive player with good attack on the football and good courage
> Excellent core/hip strength/balance to be able to stand up in (very difficult to be brought to ground – can imagine it will be even harder when he puts on further strength/muscle) and break tackles, especially considering he is fairly slim through the body
> Very clean hands – rarely fumbles
> Very strong overhead mark that is also very capable of ‘speccies’ (took a few in the U18 Championships vs VM and WA)
Weaknesses
> Low possession rate and consistency both within and from game to game (although he was consistent game to game at the championships, it doesn’t seem he has displayed so at TAC Cup level) - averaged at 13.8d U18 championships and has averaged 12.9dpg in the 2009 TAC Cup – he has played a lot of football at HF (inc as a key target at TAC Cup?) which has never traditionally been a role which lends itself to high possession tallies - he has shown he is capable of having significant impact on games despite getting a relatively low amount of the ball (overall impact with and without the ball is high), but no matter how much impact you have 13-14dpg is never enough for a flanker at AFL, even when you do offer excellent defensive pressure – however whilst he isn’t an athlete with no game sense, it (game sense) isn’t a strength of his (it his also important to note he only seems to have OK overall running capacity at present, which may be limiting some of his ability to display it) - I’d say he sits somewhere in the middle of the smarts spectrum between ‘excellent game sense’ and ‘no idea.’ – IMO it should be improvable given he hasn’t had great football experience or coaching at elite junior football levels and reports suggest he has been played in mostly defensive roles in footy prior to that? - but not sure to what extent...
Other
> Position - he is a genuine utility that coaches love – one that they can be comfortable of putting on any line - but can he play midfield? – I’m unsure yet (if I was sure I’d probably rank him higher) - he has all the physical and athletic attributes to (although whether he has or can develop the ability to read the play at stoppages is critical and will be key to the transition), he didn’t get a significant opportunity to demonstrate as such in the games I’ve seen him in, but his stoppage reading ability and positioning didn’t stand out to me
> 2009 AA U18 HFF and voted VC MVP
> 2009 TAC Cup TOTY HFF
> Didn’t make the Geelong Falcons U16 or schoolboys squads in previous years – was told “he wasn’t good enough” – only made the Geelong U18 squad this season (according to Rohan himself in an article published, he wouldn’t have tried out if it wasn’t for his mother’s encouragement.)
> Played senior footy for in 2008 for Cobden in the Hampden Football League – was named the league’s rising star as well as the BP in the TOTY
Overall
Rohan is a potential over production pick - he is a great story in perseverance as a late blooming junior. He is raw and their is risk (not that he will be a bust IMO – I think he’ll at least be a good player, but moreso that he may not reach his predicted heights) but he is a genuine excitement machine with an excellent range of skills and plenty of upside relative to the rest of the class, particularly given he has only been introduced to the TAC Cup and Vic Country system this year. It is hard to predict what level he’ll end up at given there is still plenty of improvement to come - I see him developing into an incredibly exciting and explosive medium genuine utility player that can play and impact on any line – the consistency and output will determine how he is rated – it’s hard to predict but at best I think he could be a top 25 AFL player. He is worth an early to mid 1st round pick IMO.
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