OVERVIEW

Toby Wooller is one of the more undervalued draft prospects in the 2017 draft crop. He is that awkward medium height which means he is just a tad short to be a key position forward, so the question raised is, does he become that third tall, or more of an inside midfielder? There is no reason he cannot be that roaming high half-forward who pinch hits in the midfield over time because he is strong, has a huge work ethic, an endurance base which sees him cover the ground well, and clunks marks. He hits the scoreboard whether he is playing deep or up the ground, averaging almost three goals a game at TAC Cup level. He is not the quickest player and his field kicking could do with some work, but winning a lot of his possessions in contested situations makes it difficult.

STRENGTHS

• Contested marking
• Scoreboard impact
• Work ethic
• Strength
• Leadership

Toby Wooller is one player who at his best is hard not to get excited about. He leads from the front and stands up when required. In the elimination final against Northern Knights, Wooller was best on ground before coming off in the dying minutes with an ankle injury which saw him crucially unavailable for the Chargers' preliminary final clash with Sandringham. He remarkably not only kicked goals, but found the football as well, averaging 18 disposals and 2.8 goals per game which as a primary forward leading up, it was quite impressive. He averaged 1.8 contested marks in the TAC Cup, the second highest recorded by a National Combine invitee behind ruckman Sam Hayes.

Wooller constantly worked hard to push up the ground and win the football, sending the ball inside 50 more than three times a game and being involved in six scores - whether it be goals, behinds or assists - per game, all of which were in the top five of Victorian National Combine invitees. He showed signs he could develop into that inside midfielder going forward, using his strong body to fend off opponents and win the ball before booting it forward. He tended to look up and hit-up longer targets, but also took it upon himself on many occasions to nail the crucial goal. He could play through the middle or continue as a third tall forward with hands more than capable of outdoing key position opponents.

IMPROVEMENTS

• Speed
• Kicking

The two areas of improvement for Wooller is his speed and his kicking. He ran a 3.12 second 20m sprint at the National Combine, which for a tall forward is solid, but if he wants to move further inside, he might need to improve that a tad. His agility likewise could be improved, so he does have that small deficiency in athleticism that comes with being a bigger bodied player that has primarily played as a key position player prior to his move up the ground. If he ends up playing as a third tall it is unlikely to impact him and if he can get it under 3.1 seconds then it will certainly not be a hindrance.

The second improvement is his kicking, which he went at 53 per cent in the TAC Cup. He did win almost half of his possessions in a contest, so he is not the worst field kick, but it could still improve. He is most damaging with the goals in sight and from a set shot, rather than ball in hand roaming through the midfield. Nonetheless, athleticism and kicking are both areas in which he could improve at the next level.

DRAFT PROJECTION: 25-40

SUMMARY

Toby Wooller is a player who is more ready-made than others and has a good endurance base to work with heading into an elite environment. He is not the most athletic player, but he makes up for it in his sheer willingness to get the most out of himself and charge at the ball, leading from the front with his contested work. He is strong overhead, puts his body on the line and hurts opposition teams on the scoreboard. He makes the right decisions as to when to go for goal and when to bring a teammate into the game. Wooller is an underrated player in this draft crop and expect him to land somewhere in the second round - a bargain for the team that could use his qualities to great effect.