THE SANDRINGHAM Dragons have made a habit of producing a slew of key position talents, and Max Ramsden is the latest prospect off Sandy’s ‘big boy’ production line. The 19-year-old has put his hand up as a mid-season draft candidate, having come into the NAB League system this year after impressing throughout the 2021 APS season with Melbourne Grammar.

At 202cm, the mobile ruckman has shown his wares across four promising NAB League appearances thus far, with his latest a 23-disposal and 25-hitout effort against Tasmania on Saturday. He has the examples of Max Heath and Jacob Edwards to follow, and former schoolmates like Josh Ward, Campbell Chesser, and Ned Long to lean on as he pushes to reach the next level.

We put his Round 4 performance under the Player Focus microscope.

Ruck

Max Ramsden

Height: 202cm

Weight: 86kg

DOB: 19-04-2003

Strengths:

Aerial ability

Athleticism

Clean hands

Mobility

Upside

Work rate

Improvements:

Limited exposure

Raw

Strength

2022 NAB League averages: 4 games | 14.5 disposals, 3.0 marks, 1.8 tackles, 2.0 inside 50s, 19.0 hitouts

2022 NAB LEAGUE – ROUND 4
Sandringham Dragons 21.14 (140) def. Tasmania Devils 10.8 (68)

Stats: 23 disposals (6 kicks, 17 handballs), 4 marks, 1 tackle, 3 inside 50s, 25 hitouts

FIRST QUARTER

The bigman made a great start, taking on the primary ruck duties for Sandringham and having little trouble getting his hands on the ball. Up against two 203cm Tasmanian rucks for the day, he would have to be at his best.

His athleticism and balance as a tall immediately stood out, as he leapt with fluency at centre bounces and used his reach to win hitouts. Around the ground, he engaged in the ruck wrestles and turned his body well when necessary, palming to space his midfielders occupied.

What was arguably most impressive from Ramsden was his ability to get involved in Sandringham’s ball movement. With clean hands and the ability to scoop it off the deck, he was not the speedbump some rucks prove to be in general play, and played within his limits to bring others into each passage.

SECOND QUARTER

Continuing his permanent ruck role, Ramsden’s work rate and running capacity came to the fore in term two. While it was a touch less fruitful possession-wise, Ramsden’s second quarter was one where he got to plenty of contests and showed great potential as a ruck who can impact around the ground.

While able to get to all the right spots, the 19-year-old’s rawness somewhat showed as he was bowled over a couple of times and couldn’t quite stick his contested marks. When he kept his feet, he recovered the ground ball quickly and looked to hand it off to a runner with little fuss.

He finished the half strongly and still looked clean despite a couple of hiccups by hand, able to carry if required but more than happy to allow smaller players to do so once his aerial work was done.

THIRD QUARTER

Given his percentage of time on ground, you could forgive Ramsden for slowing down his output. In a running sense, that was hardly the case as he continued to coast up and down the ground and compete in the ruck.

Easily his standout moment for term three was a lovely overhead mark at half-back as Sandringham rebounded long out of defensive 50. Sensing a surge, he handed off immediately to spark a scoring coast-to-coast venture for the Dragons.

Aside from that, Ramsden also got his hands on a forward 50 stoppage clearance, albeit with an awkward left-foot kick, and continued to play his role as Sandringham’s dominant bigman.

FOURTH QUARTER

Ramsden finished with a bang, producing some of his best moments in a 25-minute patch where he seemed to put all his best traits together. He clunked a couple of strong marks from long kick-ins and looked to hand off straight away, but was pretty assured in possession himself.

His most exciting passages were two running forays away from the centre bounce, which he capped off with kicks inside 50 on his favoured left foot. Ramsden also got a goal assist on the board as he chipped inside 50 to Harry Sheezel, making for a busy final term

Overall, the bigman’s athletic upside made for a great watch, as he backed himself with the ball a touch more and managed to hold the marks he was merely contesting earlier in the game. He looks a genuine mid-season draft chance with plenty of development left in him, but so much to like already.