STRENGTHS:

+ Competitiveness
+ Defensive pressure
+ Endurance
+ Intercept marking
+ Speed
+ Work rate

IMPROVEMENTS:

- Disposal efficiency
- Size

Travaglia may have had a sour ending to his Under 18 National Championships campaign, having given up a dubious 50-metre penalty that saw a Vic Metro goal kicked after the siren. While it’s been well forgotten now, Travaglia didn't let it get the better of him, fuelling it as more motivation to work harder and to do what he does best to help him go one step further to achieving his AFL dream. This was shown by his consistent performances post-championships which reached greater heights with a move into the midfield.

His aerobic underpinnings have been highlighted with his recent results at the National Combine meet, managing to run a 2km time trial time of six minutes and thirteen seconds to finish second overall. Throughout his time in the pathway, his running capacity was demonstrated with numerous follow-up efforts at the contest, which was also shown in the Under 17 futures game for Vic Country against Queensland in 2023. His line-breaking speed was also a feature for the Vic Country side in the Championships and it helped him earn All-Australian honours.

Travaglia’s intercepting ability and play reading are well-known features of his game. In the CTL blockbuster in Round 3 2023 against Tasmania at Arden Street, he stood out in the backline with his defensive positioning and if he wasn't marking, he would be either locating well to either intercept or spoil the footy. His play reading ability was also shown when moved into the midfield with his sharp reactions and being able to read his ruckman's hitouts.

Despite being lightly framed, Travaglia is also quite strong. Throughout the 2023 season as a bottom-ager, he used his strength to break tackles and back himself against bigger, physical opponents with his overhead marking, taking strong contested grabs. This has proved to be a huge point of difference on Travaglia and the way he pays his footy, while his competitiveness was also shown against bigger bodied opponents in the AFL Academy games, especially against Coburg where he saved several certain goals.

Another important attribute of Travaglia’s game was his defensive pressure especially around the contest. Travaglia provided plenty of tacking and other pressure acts without the ball in hand highlighting his strong work rate and this was highlighted in the opening rounds of the season where he racked up the numbers in terms of tackles and they weren't all just any ordinary tackles, they also hurt the opposition.

Travaglia possesses plenty of attributes that are elite, however there is still plenty of areas for improvement in his game. While his disposal is seen as quite efficient, he still needs to work on making it more effective and this will come with better decision making. This was highlighted in the Under 17’s futures game at the MCG on Grand Final day in 2023 where he misjudged the distances required for longer options.

Once he has got this right he’ll become a more dangerous player coming out of defence and will also be able to push into the midfield becoming an even more dangerous proposition for opposition sides. To compete in the midfield though he’ll need to add to his size and while he competed very well above his weight, it's a whole new ball game at AFL level - he’ll also need to hold his footing around the contests, too.