Hugh Davies Draft Profile

ClaremontKey Defender

#39

Hugh Davies

height: 196cm

weight: 90kg

D.O.B: 28-09-2004

Leagues: WAFL Colts, AFL U18 Championships

Snapshot
Analysis
Summary

SNAPSHOT: “An aggressive intercept defender who likes to get involved offensively, Hugh Davies shapes as one of the value key defensive options of this year’s draft pool.”

In a draft crop that has been considered by some to be bereft of genuine defensive talent, Claremont’s Hugh Davies could be one of the options clubs look towards to sure up a key defensive void on their list.

Having only played three Colts games for the season due to school football commitments at Christ Church, Davies flew under the radar somewhat but he impressed with every opportunity he had to take the field to earn himself a late call-up to the state squad for the National Championships.

For Western Australia, Davies was thrown into a baptism of fire, given the job on highly touted top 10 fancies Matthew Jefferson (Vic Metro) and Aaron Cadman (Vic Country) in what was a steep learning curve for the youngster.

But Davies came out the other side of those matchups well and showed glimpses of his aerial prowess and poise with ball in hand to impress recruiters enough to earn an invite to the national combine and put him in the picture to be picked up.

STRENGTHS:

+ Accumulation
+ Composure
+ Intercept marking
+ Positioning
+ Reading the play

IMPROVEMENTS:

- One-on-ones
- Strength

Davies has many of the attributes that clubs are looking for in the prototypical intercept defender. His best attribute is his ability to read the ball in flight and launch into a contest to impact, either through intercept marking or spoiling. He has good courage when flying for the ball and will often back himself to take the mark despite being the defensive player.

Davies does his best work as a higher defender, where he can roam up the field and get himself into a proactive position to intercept. A smart reader of the play, Davies is good at putting himself in a position where he is the loose man to chop off the incoming ball and springboard defence into attack. As a result of his aggressive positioning, Davies is also able to get involved offensively and is often the beneficiary of receiving a switch of play on the open side of the ground.

Davies is also an adept user of the football and is calm in a crisis, showing good composure when he has ball in hand under pressure deep in defence by opting to assess his options instead of just clearing the ball aimlessly. These traits help him accumulate good numbers for a key defender, having averaging 19 disposals for Claremont and having some games in the high twenties at school level.

While Davies is a damaging player when he can free himself higher up the ground, at this stage, he is more vulnerable when forced to defend one-on-one. In West Australian colours, with Jedd Busslinger the primary intercepter, Davies was forced to play a more accountable role on some of the country’s best key forwards. While he performed admirably against a high volume of entries and showed flashes of his intercepting skills, he showed he still has some work to do when forced to play back shoulder on a dangerous forward.

He would also look to add to his frame over the next few pre-seasons to get himself physically ready to matchup on the big forwards at senior level. Naturally, that would also lift his ability to compete in one-on-one tussles.

DRAFT RANGE: Late

In a draft which is not deeply stocked with key defensive options, Davies presents as one of the better tall back choices in the pool, particularly as a ball-using high defender. While still a raw prospect, Davies has some genuine talent and although he likely shapes as a prospect for the later rounds, given how well some of his traits would appear to translate to the top level, it would not be inconceivable to see him get picked up earlier.