Kieran Lovell
Club: Kingston Tigers/Tassie Mariners
Height: 174 cm
Weight: 80 kg                                                                                                                                                                         Position: Midfielder                                                                                                                                                               Strengths: Athleticism, Accumulation, Decision Making, Consistency                                                                     Weaknesses: Height, No left foot
Player Comparison: Leigh Montagna
First Year Impact: Near future prospect

Kicking: Above Average                                                                                                                                                       Marking: Average
Endurance: Above Average
Speed: Above Average

Twelve months ago, not many people would have heard of the pint-sized ball magnet Kieran Lovell, but after a gigantic TAC Cup and Under 18s Championships campaign we see Lovell move into second round contention.

The young Tasmanian has impressed recruiters and he’s gone on to win Tasmania’s MVP award and gain Under 18s All Australian selection.

Last year, not many recruiters outside of Tasmania would have heard of Lovell. He was toiling away in the Kingston Tigers state league team. He was just chipping away at his chance at the TAC Cup and when he got his chance he certainly impressed.

His first game for Tasmania in the TAC Cup resulted in 33 possessions, six tackles and 18 handball receives. He then went on to average 34 disposals and polled a staggering nine Morrish Medal votes from four games.

Earlier in the year he tested for the Tasmanian state team. On the beep test he got a 14.9 which puts him up there with the best inside midfielders of the draft. He has a burst of speed coming out of stoppages and he also broke the AFL agility test record by 0.17 seconds in an unofficial Tasmania testing day on September 2.

To add to his absolute elite agility, he has a sub three second 20 metre sprint.

Lovell averaged 34 disposals during his TAC Cup games and 35 during the u18 Championships.In all of his under 18 games this year he has only dropped below 30 disposals twice.

These numbers are of the same calibre of Matt Crouch’s 37 disposals per game who is making a name for himself at Adelaide.

Lovell has furthermore become an extremely gifted decision maker. We see Lovell rarely make a hiccup when disposing of the football. He always has that extra second of time due to the fact that he can weave and dodge through a contest with ease.

Although he might be an absolute jet, his height will drag his stocks down and could set him back into the third, maybe fourth round.

Lovell hasn’t shown whether he can kick on his left foot, preferring to go with a right foot snap or banana depending on the situation.  If he started to use his left more we could see him become a better clearance player and also better on the outside.

Lovell reminds me a lot of Saints star Leigh Montagna as that midfielder who can play inside/outside and can influence the game massively with his skills.

Lovell will add depth to any team and could hold down a position in any side if he is given the opportunity.