Jarrod Brander is a versatile tall with excellent closing speed and good hands, capable of playing on both talls and smalls. Photo: AFL MEDIA

Footyology’s draft rankings – No. 8: Jarrod Brander

No. 8 – JARROD BRANDER
Victoria (Bendigo Pioneers)
Forward/defender

Born: 11/2/1999
Height: 195cm
Weight: 90kg

TAC CUP STATS
Disposals: 10.3
Kicks: 6
Handballs: 4.3
Handball efficiency: 70%
Kicking efficiency: 38%
Marks: 4.7
Tackles: 0.3
Goals: 1
One elite attribute: Overhead marking. Versatile tall with excellent close-out speed and a great set of hands – can be useful in a number of roles.
Best-case comparison: Michael Hurley

WHAT HE’S GOT

Versatility: Brander’s got the size and speed to play on the gun tall forwards of the competition and he’s got the agility to match up on smaller players, too. Can kick goals himself if needed.

Overhead marking: Brander won’t get pushed around because he’s very strong through the upper body. He doesn’t have massive hops, but he times his leap at the footy well and grabs the ball with firm hands.

Intercepting: He’s too good defensively to be a loose man in the backline, but he’ll still see plenty of intercept possessions by judging the play in advance and peeling off his man.

WHAT HE LACKS

Ball-winning ability: A lot of key position players in the modern game win their fair share of the footy. Brander doesn’t, but he possesses good ball skills so he should add this to his game. Needs to work hard on his tank.