A couple more notes on Brandon Ellis.
A facet of his game that we have not explored yet is is marking in front of packs. And rightly - nobody wants to see 18yos fed to adult monster forwards. Ellis can get air, he is fearless and the ball sticks in his hands. He can hold space. And he thrives on punishment. His aerial game will come to the fore.
He lacks explosive pace, is clean at ankle height but not elite. (Better at calf height - this matters.) Therefore not likely to make an inside clearance midfielder. But he'll do the miles. In time he will outstay them and the game is moving to endurance - fewer interchange players covering more ground over more time. Endurance is much about will.
His kicking is technically imperfect but he will raise his eyes and look for a hard target. (He doesn't do this much yet because he has not mastered the pace of the game, and learned to allow for his lack of the stuff.) He can execute.
The coach, although a much heavier specimen, probably sees Ellis as a very similar player to himself. Ellis is made of the same stuff. He will get a go.
There will be a lot more pressure for a game at Richmond next year. And he will probably get a bit of 2YB. But if Brandon can keep his body right he will give us something special over time. Effectiveness.
And last, the point of my earlier post about Shirley:
Ellis had a little highlight this year. The glamourous and brilliant Cotchin beat Gary Ablett jr head to head. That doesn't happen. Ellis may never do anything like that. But he got his own moment. Nobody lays Gary Ablett out. Doesn't happen. Ellis gave him a huge start in terms of ability and experience, not to mention mass and (physics) momentum, and cleaned Gary Ablett up. It's almost as rare as beating him head to head. Lester's moments are not as glamourous as a god's but he does and will have them.
Anybody who cares to think about it will tell you that Trent Cotchin's success is (and will be) based on his relish of small successes. Ellis has that in common with him. I feel like I can learn a lot from either of them.
