PEEL Thunder ruck Jackson Broadbent is a tall talent whose draft range is difficult to pinpoint, but the 201cm prospect can certainly do things not many other players his size can. He became a rare bottom-ager to gain League and state Under 18 experience last year, putting his name in lights as one to watch in 2022.

The 17-year-old is an AFL Academy member and turned out for his country against Collingwood VFL last month, before returning to WAFL Colts duties with the Thunder on Friday night. With terrific skills and a unique ability to cover the ground, Broadbent has been compared to West Coast champion Dean Cox.

With many other national academy members returning to club and school footy over the latest round of action, Broadbent was our choice for the weekly WAFL Player Focus. We recap how he fared in Peel’s heartbreaking one-point loss to Claremont.

Peel ThunderRuck

Jackson Broadbent

Height: 201cm

Weight: 100kg

DOB: 02-12-2004

Strengths:

Improvements:

Draft range: Pick 40-60

SEASON SO FAR

Averages: 4 games | 14.3 disposals (7.5 kicks, 6.8 handballs), 5.0 marks, 1.0 tackles, 3.0 inside 50s, 25.0 hitouts, 0.3 goals (1 total)

Having cracked the League grade as a bottom-ager, Broadbent has featured exclusively in Peel Thunder’s Colts side so far in 2022. Across four games, he has returned strong numbers for a ruck with averages of 14 disposals, five marks and 25 hitouts. His disposal output has remained ultra consistent – hovering no lower than 13 or higher than 15 – though Round 4 was the only time he took less than five marks. He has exceeded 20 hitouts on all bar one occasion, and Broadbent’s Round 6 effort produced the only goal of his campaign.

2022 WAFL Colts, Round 6
Peel Thunder 7.10 (52) def. by Claremont 8.5 (53)

Stats: 13 disposals (8 kicks, 5 handballs), 5 marks, 3 tackles, 2 inside 50s, 22 hitouts, 1 goal

FIRST QUARTER

It was a solid opening term for Broadbent, who arguably did his best work in the forward half having got on the board with one of Peel’s three majors. The Thunder bigman attended four of six centre bounces, rotating forward to be relieved by Mitchell Edwards.

Broadbent’s goal was sweetly converted via a set shot, which he earned with an overhead mark inside 50 – proving too big and strong for the Claremont defender trying to get a fist in. He very nearly added a second in the dying stages, baulking one opponent before putting his left-foot shot wide.

Though he showed off some nice moves on that second score, Broadbent was a touch laboured on the heavy deck and had to really stride into his leaps at centre bounces. While not overly dominant in the ruck, a lovely hit to Ethan Donaghy at a half-forward stoppage was on of Broadbent’s better moments.

SECOND QUARTER

Broadbent built on his steady opening quarter by beginning to impose himself on the ruck contest, getting his hand on the ball far more often. He even timed his leaps better at the centre bounces, adding to his usual craft around the ground.

For all his work in the ruck, arguably Broadbent’s most impressive traits are his skills and mobility – especially for a 201cm player. Impacting on the spread, the bigman got into space and in one eye-catching passage, speared a lovely kick from the wing to the leading Edwards at centre half-forward.

Again, for a player his size, Broadbent’s ability to be an asset in general play and move the ball on quickly is quite impressive. It meant he ended the half positively, working well in tandem with Edwards – a 205cm prospect himself.

THIRD QUARTER

The third term is where Broadbent began to really grow in confidence and show off a few of his tricks. He started off in ideal fashion, weighting a tap down the throat of Donaghy at the opening centre bounce to set the midfielder off for an eye-catching clearance.

After notching another touch within the next 20 seconds, Broadbent had a little quiet patch. That came to an end in style too, as the 201cm star produced another couple of positive moments. First, he hit up nicely for a strong mark at half forward, but soon after sold a bit of candy on the end of a one-two chain before kicking inside 50.

That kind of dexterity is what he’s known for, and it certainly got the crowd up and about. With Peel still in the lead at that point, it seemed he was having fun and despite not running absolutely rampant, showed glimpses of his potential with feats rare for a player of his build.

FOURTH QUARTER

With an extended run in the forward line, it was difficult for Broadbent to impose himself on the final term as Claremont nabbed a thrilling victory. The tall talent showcased a snippet of aerial ability early on with a mark on the wing, but turned over the resultant kick.

He also took the opportunity to snatch the ball out of the ruck where possible, before handballing away for Thunder clearances. Other than that, he wasn’t quite the man to get his side over the line.

Overall though, Broadbent’s little purple patches made for good viewing, and proved he can do things not many other rucks in this year’s draft pool can. His disposal and ability to impact away from the ruck contest are fantastic, though he can work on becoming more of a contested marking force in future.