Kane Lucas (East Fremantle/WA) – Draft Profile

Height: 187cm
Weight: 79kg
Preferred foot: Right/Dual Sided
Roles: Midfield/HFF/Wing
Potential: 7.5-8.5/10 (very low skinfolds)
Style: Scott Pendlebury

Video Footage

Strengths

> Excellent all-round athletic package - good pace off the mark (OK over distance – doesn’t seem to possess the higher gears), very good vertical leap, evasiveness, balance/agility and endurance – slippery moving through traffic and in general play, however rarely a lengthy ball carrier/linebreaker
> Very good game sense and adaptability – ball magnet that can play a number of different spots with good effect (HB/W/M/HF) - reads the ball well both at stoppages (including 1st hands) and around the ground in a midfielders role - averaged
> Very good decision maker by hand and foot that also shows good vision/creativity in traffic
> Good user by hand – can lack a bit of power at times, but typically clean, efficient, rarely makes significant errors and complements his good vision
> Hard runner with a good work ethic – links well around the ground and chases and pressures (inc repeat efforts) very effectively
> Very good overhead mark – good leap, clean hands and gets front position very effectively in marking contests
> Good balance
> Clean ball handling below the knees – he does fumble on occasions, but is also capable of some excellent high difficulty takes

Weaknesses

> Lacks strength and slim build at present -
> Weak tackler – reaches with the arms too much and doesn’t commit the body enough

Other

> Can be a little inconsistent with his intensity and attack on the ball - I think some will mark him hard in this area
> Depending on who you ask, he is rated anywhere from a poor to elite kick – I think he has OK-decent disposal by foot over short to medium range and generally weights his passes well – his best passes are very good and often have very good hurt factor both in the speed and accuracy of the kick and the ability to get the ball in damaging positions forward of the centre, but he is a bit inconsistent on occassions and tends to drop the ball from quite high too, which leaves him open to errors that reduce his reliability and consistency of his kicking to be considered a good or better kick IMO - mixed trajectory (can be low and fast or high and slow) - right footed but capable of using his left effectively over short distance - capable of kicking longer >55m (including long goals), but plays a predominantly short-medium game, which lessens his hurt factor somewhat (as he also isn’t a big ball carrier) as an outside player – kicking on goal is very good on the run, but not as good from set shots
> Decent goal kicking ability as a midfielder/forward combo – averaged 1.2g per game (inc. 3SS per game) at the U18 championships
> Played in 2 U18 championships series (2008 and 2009) – played all game in 2008 and in 2009 as well as receiving AA U18 HFF honours.
> Has played 12 WAFL League games this year – started somewhat slowly (looked like a deer in headlights on a number of occasions in the early games I saw of him) and was dropped to colts after 4 games, but returned after the championships and played league football at a higher level and with more confidence in his ability albeit still some inconsistency between games, with his last game (albeit against the weakest team in the competition) being an absolute standout with 27d, 11m and 3g.
> Despite still being physically underdeveloped, he is a chance of playing some AFL games next year outside of inside midfield roles, given his significant league experience in 2009 at WAFL level - he strikes me as someone that may start a bit slowly and need some time to find his feet at AFL and develop confidence
> Reports suggest he is a very hard worker off the field
> AIS-AFL squad graduate

Stats

2009 WAFL League and Colts Stats
2009 U18 Championships Stats

Overall

Lucas is yet another very promising midfield prospect from East Fremantle. He had a good year on the field in 2009 (got better as the year progressed) and added a string to his bow in demonstrating his versatility by playing off half forward very effectively in the U18 championships. A safe prospect that I'm confident should be a very good player in his own right and at best amongst the top 50 in the AFL. Worth a mid to late first round pick in this draft.