I'm waiting for the Buss!!

[Mitcha]

Interested in others thoughts about Jedd especially those that have seen more of him than myself (I'm looking at you MJP).
From my limited viewing and after speaking to friends in the recruitment space I am somewhat concerned that he lacks the necessary speed and agility to play on the top end forwards down the track. Seems to have no real burst speed out of the blocks which could ring alarm bells. If I recall correctly he was touted as an intercept defender when drafted but haven't seen that at VFL level and he seems to get most of his possessions when we are transitioning the ball out of our defensive end which is not the worst result but not how he was projected to be.
Hope this doesn't come across as a pile on a young and developing player but does anyone else have concerns and for those who have seen more of him is he, a future KPD or more of a third tall intercepting type as projected?

[ledge]

Interested in others thoughts about Jedd especially those that have seen more of him than myself (I'm looking at you MJP).
From my limited viewing and after speaking to friends in the recruitment space I am somewhat concerned that he lacks the necessary speed and agility to play on the top end forwards down the track. Seems to have no real burst speed out of the blocks which could ring alarm bells. If I recall correctly he was touted as an intercept defender when drafted but haven't seen that at VFL level and he seems to get most of his possessions when we are transitioning the ball out of our defensive end which is not the worst result but not how he was projected to be.
Hope this doesn't come across as a pile on a young and developing player but does anyone else have concerns and for those who have seen more of him is he, a future KPD or more of a third tall intercepting type as projected?

I am worried he won’t make it , he has the body for it and is a good player but the speed thing worries me, I don’t know what his tank is like either.

[Mofra]

He's quicker than Kreuzer and Sam Collins. And premiership fullback, Fletcher Roberts. If you're a defender and you're smart enough to cut angles you can still be valuable.

I do think he'll be a slow burn though - he's basically a young tall who missed a whole development year with his shoulder halfway through his u18 campaign and reco when he first joined us.

[Grantysghost]

He's quicker than Kreuzer and Sam Collins. And premiership fullback, Fletcher Roberts. If you're a defender and you're smart enough to cut angles you can still be valuable.

I do think he'll be a slow burn though - he's basically a young tall who missed a whole development year with his shoulder halfway through his u18 campaign and reco when he first joined us.
That 22 draft doesn't seem super strong in hindsight.
No one that went after him i'd jump at.

[hujsh]

He's quicker than Kreuzer and Sam Collins. And premiership fullback, Fletcher Roberts. If you're a defender and you're smart enough to cut angles you can still be valuable.

I do think he'll be a slow burn though - he's basically a young tall who missed a whole development year with his shoulder halfway through his u18 campaign and reco when he first joined us.

Matthew? Or do you mean Weitering?

[GVGjr]

When Busslinger arrived at the club I think it's fair to say that he was coming off a very low base in terms of fitness and strength.
A shoulder injury had curtailed his last season at the junior level and when we drafted him the limitations we are seeing now were evident in that draft year.
As a player he wasn't overly physical or quick but supposedly was a good mark and kick with his one wood being his ability to take intercept marks.
When he arrived at the club he started working out in the rehab group and he was a long, long way off being fit enough.
In late Jan 2023 3 Coates League players arrived at the club and started training with the boys. Croft look painfully thin but had a good leap and a bit of pace. Lual was quick and reasonably composed with the football in hand and the last player who I couldn't identify at the time was coming off a knee injury that interrupted his 2022 season. At times they all trained in the rehab area with Busslinger.
It was in the running drills with George Stevens who was regarded as a big midfielder that I could see how far behind Busslinger was.
Stevens could move quicker and was vastly fitter than Busslinger. At the end of 2023 Stevens was drafted late by Geelong.
I was told we had him on the radar but we overlooked him.
The reason why I've explained this is to highlight how far back Busslinger was when he arrived. Clearly rated as a project player by our recruiters and coming off an injury he was just never going to do much in his first year.

If we fast forward to now, Bussslinger is now running a lot better although he does have a different gait to most. He's added some size and the fitness team seem to do a bit of work with him on his running particularly around speed development.
In the practice games he's been okay at times and average in others but I think that is somewhat to be expected.

To me it's way too early to judge him and a fairer time might be around the half way mark of the season. We knew he was a project player when we selected him and we overlooked some very talented players to select him.

Why did we draft him is a bit mystery but lets see how he develops.

[Uninformed]

When Busslinger arrived at the club I think it's fair to say that he was coming off a very low base in terms of fitness and strength.
A shoulder injury had curtailed his last season at the junior level and when we drafted him the limitations we are seeing now were evident in that draft year.
As a player he wasn't overly physical or quick but supposedly was a good mark and kick with his one wood being his ability to take intercept marks.
When he arrived at the club he started working out in the rehab group and he was a long, long way off being fit enough.
In late Jan 2023 3 Coates League players arrived at the club and started training with the boys. Croft look painfully thin but had a good leap and a bit of pace. Lual was quick and reasonably composed with the football in hand and the last player who I couldn't identify at the time was coming off a knee injury that interrupted his 2022 season. At times they all trained in the rehab area with Busslinger.
It was in the running drills with George Stevens who was regarded as a big midfielder that I could see how far behind Busslinger was.
Stevens could move quicker and was vastly fitter than Busslinger. At the end of 2023 Stevens was drafted late by Geelong.
I was told we had him on the radar but we overlooked him.
The reason why I've explained this is to highlight how far back Busslinger was when he arrived. Clearly rated as a project player by our recruiters and coming off an injury he was just never going to do much in his first year.

If we fast forward to now, Bussslinger is now running a lot better although he does have a different gait to most. He's added some size and the fitness team seem to do a bit of work with him on his running particularly around speed development.
In the practice games he's been okay at times and average in others but I think that is somewhat to be expected.

To me it's way too early to judge him and a fairer time might be around the half way mark of the season. We knew he was a project player when we selected him and we overlooked some very talented players to select him.

Why did we draft him is a bit mystery but lets see how he develops.

I hope he works out. In the snippets that I have seen of him on video, he seems to have a good attitude and will make a good team mate. He will need his skills to outdo the speed and athleticism of Weddle.

[Go_Dogs]

Thanks for that great summary G.

If you were to project forward a couple more years, what current AFL player could we hope Buss can develop into?

[azabob]

GVGjr why do you say it’s a mystery why we drafted him? I would’ve thought he is the type of player we need.

Looking at the draft crop from that year there isn’t really a standout prospect taken after Buss, let alone a defender of Buss size.

[hujsh]

GVGjr why do you say it’s a mystery why we drafted him? I would’ve thought he is the type of player we need.

Looking at the draft crop from that year there isn’t really a standout prospect taken after Buss, let alone a defender of Buss size.
IIRC he wasn't a draft day reach either.

https://central.rookieme.com/afl/player/jedd-busslinger/
DRAFT RANGE: 5-15

Was pick 13

My guess would be we're looking for a Jake Lever type. Not fast but reads the ball/play well enough that it doesn't really matter

[G-Mo77]

I watched him a few times towards the end of last season as was comfortable with our selection. I think he would have been in the mix for a shot at AFL over that period as well.

[mighty_west]

Remember watching his draft and hoping we'd go for Busslinger or Weddle as they were the top two rated tall defenders and watching highlights packages, Weddle has certainly impressed at AFL level with his run off half back but i'm more comfortable now with Buss as i see Crofty similar to Weddle with his speed to break the lines for such a tall kid.

[GVGjr]

GVGjr why do you say it’s a mystery why we drafted him? I would’ve thought he is the type of player we need.

Looking at the draft crop from that year there isn’t really a standout prospect taken after Buss, let alone a defender of Buss size.

It's early days in his development but I do struggle at times who say they draft the best available (with some caveats) and then draft on perceived needs. I think Doc and I thought Weddle was a great option albeit not a KPP.
I'm okay with having Buss at the club but like what happens with a lot of talls we need to be patient in waiting for them to catch-up.

[Mofra]

Matthew? Or do you mean Weitering?
My bad, I do

[The Bulldogs Bite]

The lack of pace/agility isn't a major concern in isolation, but it means two things

1 - He needs to be ahead of the game in his ability to read the play and cut angles/take the body of the opposition off the line of the ball. Weitering does this better than most.

2 - He needs to be supported by athletic players around him. You can't have another lumbering KPD. At the moment we have Jones (not long term) and JOD (potential) as options to pair with him.

I haven't seen a whole lot of Buss to comment on him specifically, but in terms of skill set and complimenting pieces, he will need a few things to facilitate playing senior footy.

[Hotdog60]

I think you'll be waiting a bit longer for the Buss if todays game means anything. Although the camera work leaves a lot to be desired.

[GVGjr]

Thanks for that great summary G.

If you were to project forward a couple more years, what current AFL player could we hope Buss can develop into?

He reminds me a bit of Brennan Cox and seems to want to play a bit like the way Fremantle sets-up their back line.

[doggies ftw]

Really poor first half, probably not right from his illness but he was massacred early.

Thought it showed a lot of character to bounce back and have a really really strong second half, showed some great signs there today I thought. He’s still a long way off AFL level but I think he gets there, has some really desirable attributes he’s just going to be a slow burn but a lot of slight key defenders are