THE Oakleigh Chargers kick started season 2018 with a huge 50-point thumping of the Eastern Ranges in the wet at Skybus Stadium on Saturday.  

Matt Balmer looks in depth at one of their possible draftees.

Isaac Quaynor is an athletic 180cm rebounding defender who showed great improvement in the latter half of the 2017 TAC Cup season, and was named in Chargers’ best players on seven occasions from his 17 games.

The Chargers player averaged 12 disposals and three marks, kicking at over 75 per cent by foot. His moments of X-factor shone through during the latter half of the season, which was a large reason behind his late inclusion to the NAB AFL Academy’s Level Two intake. Quaynor also showed some of his future potential with 11 disposals, four marks and four rebound 50s in the NAB AFL Under 17 All-Stars contest on Grand Final weekend in 2017. 

Luckily for Collingwood fans, they will have an opportunity to have first crack at Quaynor should he nominate for the draft, under the recently developed NGA (Next Generation Academy) system, where similar to father-son players – the Pies will have to match a bid for Quaynor should they want him. The Collingwood supporter falls into the multicultural academy, with his father hailing from Ghana. 

He is an attacking defender who possesses good speed and a decent leap, skills which have come from previous years hopping between football and basketball commitments, which are noticeable in helping him get two hands on the ball in the air.  He also tackles well and is an offensive defender than needs to be watched carefully by opposition forwards when there is a turnover in defence. 

Quarter by quarter: 

In terrible conditions, with water patches all over the ground and constant rain – like majority of his teammates, Quaynor had a few scrubbing kicks early in the contest, including a smothered kick on the wing. A nice dash across the half back flank allowed him to pick up the ball and find a target long on the wing. Quaynor laid some strong crunching tackles early on his Ranges opponent. 

Quaynor worked into the game in the second quarter and it was probably his best for the contest, where he was able to have two early kicks getting the ball into the attacking half of the ground for the Chargers. On one occasion he elected to spoil when he had the opportunity to mark the ball alone, 25 metres out from the Ranges goal. A nice mark on the wing allowed Quaynor to hit a target on the switch off his right foot. When defending one-on-one, at times he trailed his man but his pressure and tackling presence meant that it didn’t hurt the Chargers in the defensive 50. What was impressive was his second efforts. Late in the quarter when he dropped a mark, he immediately got back up and went to tackle his opponent who had picked up the ball and managed to stop them scoring from the contest. 

After half-time, Quaynor made a nice spoil to start the third quarter and again it was his multiple efforts that were impressive. In the wet despite a few fumbles, he was always attempting to get the ball forward to help out his teammates. A huge kick from half-back to half-forward was one of his longest kicks of the day.

The last quarter saw Quaynor collect seven disposals (his highest quarter for the match), but unfortunately was let down by a dropped mark, that despite the very wet conditions should have been taken. Overall, it was a positive day for the Chargers defender finishing the day with 19 disposals and two marks in the conditions that weren’t ideal for players looking to mark the ball overhead. 

Final stats:

19 disposals (nine contested)
15 kicks
4 handballs
2 marks
6 tackles
3 clearances

Posessing a good upside, Quaynor is a name to keep track of throughout the year – one player who could very well find a home inside the Top 30 come November’s 2018 draft. With his strong attributes and another full year in the football (TAC Cup/Vic Metro) system, there is plenty of development left in the Chargers rebounding defender.