Tom Rockliff – Murray Bushrangers
180cm, 78kgJunior position: Forward/midfield
Projected AFL position: Medium sized forward

Forward/midfield Medium sized forwardStrengths
Goal sense
Overhead skills for size
Strength

Weaknesses
Athleticism

Question marks
Lacks a big resume because of a long term injury as a 16 year old. Was he a flash in the pan in the second half of the TAC Cup season, or is he the real deal?

Comments
Rockliff came out of extreme obscurity right into draft calculations after making his TAC Cup debut in Round 10 this year. He suffered a bad leg injury at the U/16 Nationals in 2006, so he had no pre-season this year.

When he finally debuted with the Bushrangers he was an instant hit, kicking seven and six goals in his second and third games respectively. He’s not overly athletic, but more of a natural footballer and he plays the role of a small/medium sized forward well.

He is a bottom aged player with very good goal sense. Apart from two games this year he was almost deadly accurate, kicking 40.20 (literally half of his behinds came in two separate games) and leading the Bushrangers goal kicking off only half a season. His disposal in general is usually quite good. The team’s resurgence literally started when he made his debut and the only TAC Cup loss he has ever played in was the Grand Final.

His overhead skills much better than you would expect for someone standing 180cm, so he can play a bit taller than he really is, but his work at ground level makes him a dangerous threat when the ball hits the deck. He has a livewire style, so given his versatility it makes him a very good option that may present match up difficulties if he continues to develop.

Rockliff has a stocky sort of build and a good attack on the ball. He has a strong upper body, which he uses to burst through traffic and break tackles – but on top of this he’s also elusive so he can be difficult to catch but once caught, still difficult to tackle. He would have a fair bit of work to do as far as playing in the midfield, but he has had some promising stints on the ball for the Bushrangers.

There is a lot to like about Rockliff and he would be rated a lot higher if he had perhaps played the full season, represented Vic Country and did all the things that everyone else with more fanfare did. Still considered slightly speculative because of his comparative lack of experience, but has certainly done enough to wind up on an AFL list and to suggest he can succeed.

Hard to gauge where he’ll get drafted. Likely third round, but a possible bolter on the day.

Stats
2007 TAC Cup Season
12 games played
40.20
131 kicks (106 of them effective)
83 handballs (70 effective)
54 tackles
18 contested marks
33 uncontested marks