POSITION: Ruck

DRAFT ANALYSIS: “Allan is a towering ruck who has shown clean tap work around the ground for North Hobart"

Hamish Allan was a late call-up to the 2020 Tasmanian Draft Combine and with few readymade ruck options in the AFL Draft crop, Allan is one who breaks the trend. Standing at a whopping 205cm and having trimmed down four kilograms to 96kg, Allan has been hard at work this season for North Hobart trying to earn himself a place on an AFL list.

STRENGTHS:

• Size
• Ruck work
• Aerial presence
• Strength
• Work rate

IMPROVEMENTS:

• Endurance
• Kicking consistency

Having turned 20 this year, Allan is a couple of years post his top-age season, and lends to the fact that talls always take longer to develop. Having come into the season as a strong, tall ruck, Allan managed to cut back a bit of size to help with mobility, and the fact he runs a 20m sprint in 3.07 seconds (pre-season testing) is testament to the fact he is not as sluggish as one might think from his vitals.

By far his greatest strength is his size and ruck work around the stoppages, often giving clean taps to his midfielders in space. He nearly always gets first hands to it, and is stronger at throw-ins than ball-ups due to his strength compared to his leap, which is not as athletic as other rucks. Having at least a five-centimetre gap on most opponents in the TSL - if not more - Allan immediately has the advantage by holding his ground and then putting it into the path of his midfielders.

Furthermore, Allan's aerial presence is another feature of his game, and while he has not really impacted as a resting forward, he can be a target around the ground to clunk an important mark. In saying that, his general impact around the ground could lift. His kicking consistency and endurance need work, with Allan more of the traditional ruckman than the fourth midfielder types that are coming through the system.

As a whole, Allan is the type of ruck that clubs would look at if they need a ruck who is a couple of years into senior football, or can develop off a similar type ruck. Whilst he does have that senior experience, he is still raw and has those various areas of improvement to build upon going forward. As a confidence player, Allan can get ahold of an opponent like he did at times against James Deegan earlier in the TSL season when North Hobart took on Glenorchy. Deegan was dominant early but to Allan's credit, he fought back and levelled up the proceedings.

DRAFT PROJECTION: Rookie

It is tough for a prospective ruck to get on a list this year and Allan was a late call-up to the Draft Combine. In saying that, to get an invite, there is some interest out there, and Allan has been working hard on getting into the shape he needs to be to have more of a consistent impact across games and around the ground.

Picture: Solstice.Digital & Photography