POSITION: Medium Defender

Boasting one of the highest production levels in the NAB League this season, Northern Knights’ Joel Fitzgerald was a mainstay in the defence. He ticked a lot of boxes each week, racking up the ball at will, playing as the loose defender and then receiving a lot of ball to drive the Knights down the field in transition. He does play an accumulating-friendly role, and could impact the game greater with a higher contested game.

It is hard to fault Fitzgerald when it comes to sheer numbers, averaging a mind-boggling 28.1 disposals, 6.0 marks and 5.6 rebound 50s per game. Playing that intercepting role, Fitzgerald is able to read the ball well in flight, mark and then take off to use the ball neatly down the ground. Whilst a solid overall user of the ball, he can still be more damaging with his possessions, and increase both his contested and defensive work. As a whole though, this could come with increasing his strength, because in terms of pure ball-winning, there are not too many with Fitzgerald's knack for getting to the right spots and reading the ball well anchoring in defence.

STRENGTHS:

+ Production
+ Marking
+ Rebounding
+ Reading the play
+ Consistency

IMPROVEMENTS:

- Hurt factor
- Contested work
- Defensive pressure