Brock Mclean: The Luke Ball of 2011? | Thebigtip

When Carlton elected to trade its pick 11 for Brock Mclean in the 2009 Trade Week, many football critics raised their eyebrows at what they believed was a high price for a footballer who has never reached his full potential. After a year on the Carlton list, many of these critics would feel vindicated after Mclean only managed 6 games during the 2010 season.

On the surface, Mclean has many limitations as a player. Foot-speed, injuries and the tendency to go missing in games are the obvious deficiencies. He will be 25 heading into the 2011 season, so it would be an easy assumption to make that his major development as a player is already behind him.

However, looking deeper into Carlton’s list, it’s easy to understand why they were so keen to obtain his services. You need not look any further than the reigning premiers Collingwood and the value they gained from Luke Ball.

If anything, Brock Mclean’s story is very similar to Ball’s. At 25 years old, Ball was written off as a player and fell out of favour with his club. He had massive concerns over his groins (he suffered from OP), and the ability to run out a full season. He was slow, had a terrible kick and had a poor motor. The word coming out of Collingwood during the 2010 pre-season was that they were shocked at how bad Ball’s endurance was.

It was not like Ball improved in any of these areas of deficiency in 2010 either. He was still a turnover king, lacked real pace and he only played around 70% of match time throughout the 2010 season. This was well below other Collingwood midfielders such as Swan, Pendlebury and Thomas who were all around the 80% mark.

Nonetheless, Ball added so much grunt in the middle and added a toughness to the Magpies around the stoppages. He was one of Collingwood’s leading clearance winners, and was the clubs leading tackler. Malthouse made comment towards the end of the year that the addition of Ball meant that Scott Pendlebury and Dane Swan could sit off the contests, receive the feed from Luke Ball and use their class to provide a more efficient clearance. This was in direct contrast to 2009 where it was left to Pendlebury and Swan to win the majority of their own ball from the stoppages.

Despite the class in the Collingwood midfield, it lacked the grunt to take the next step. Ball was pivotal in this area. It made his team-mates stand taller whenever he threw his body on the line. Importantly, at 25, Ball added a very mature body to a young side. It is unlikely that a player will continue to improve at the age of 25, however there is much to be gained from the fact that a mature body can take more hits and is far more balanced and accustomed to the vigour’s of AFL football.

Turning my attention back to Mclean and Carlton, and the similarities are striking. McLean was brought to the club to add grunt in the engine room. He is there to tackle, win clearances and throw his body around. He shares similar deficiencies to Ball, but at his best he also shares the same attributes.

It may seem an over-statement, but I don’t think there is a more important player on Carlton’s list than Brock Mclean heading into 2011. A fully-fit Mclean will be uch a benefit to the other higher profile midfielders on the Carlton list. They are also a young team and need experienced bodies around the stoppages.

Importantly, his presence should make Judd and Murphy more effective players. Chris Judd had a terrific season, capped off with a brownlow. He was more consistent and won more of the footy than he has in the past. However, I thought he was far less influential on matches.

In his glory years at West Coast, Judd was not the highest possession winner. He was also the sort of player who worked in bursts. You could contain him for large chunks of the game, then he would rip you to shreds in the space of 5 minutes. He also had Cousins, Kerr and Fletcher to do a lot of the stoppage work and feed him.

At Carlton, Judd is needed at the bottom of the packs, at the feet of contests, forward of contests and wide of contests. Simply put, he cannot do it all. Marc Murphy is a gallant side-kick, however the Blues need his speed to break the lines. If Carlton is able to get McLean playing consistent football, he will be the one putting his head over the ball, whilst Judd can play a bit wider and use his class to really dominate games of football.

It would also benefit Bryce Gibbs. Ratten seems intent to use Gibbs behind the ball and to utilise his foot-skills coming off half-back. Although he was effective in this role in 2010, it was clear the Blues also needed his class on the ball. Getting McLean into the side means Ratten has far more flexibility with Gibbs.

Further, Carlton now have 2 genuinely talented ruck options to work with. Warnock showed towards the end of 2010 that he is going to be a real handful to play against, whilst Kreuzer will be looking to re-ignite his career following his knee reconstruction. However, a ruckman can often be rendered useless if he doesn’t have good midfielders to palm it down to. Just look at Aaron Sandilands who has always been a giant, but has never had the midfield to work with until now.

To date, Carlton has been very predictable from stoppages. It has all been about Chris Judd. McLean will add a genuine alternative because he will fight for the ball, he can read it well off hands and at worst he will ensure the ball isn’t cleared by his opponent.

Brock does not have to be a big possession winner. Luke Ball in 2010 only averaged 21 disposals which is only par from a midfielder. Given the fact McLean is prone to the odd clanger and his footskills are far from elite, all he has to do is play the percentages and bring his higher profile team-mates into the game.

Injuries are obviously the concern for McLean who had 4 operations through the 2010 season. That’s nearly as many operations as games. Up until the point he was drafted to Carlton, his work-ethic was also an area of concern. Although the injuries Mclean sustained throughout 2010 were unwelcome, the one positive for Carlton was that they were largely due to over-training during the pre-season and working his body to the ground.

This at least proves that he is committed and is fair dinkum about fulfilling his potential as a player. The early signs in the 2011 pre-season are also very positive. Brock looks fit and looks as if he is about to put in a huge pre-season. He is putting the pressure on himself in the media and is making his intentions clear that 2011 will be in a sense a break-out year.

For now, all Carlton needs from McLean is 20+ games. I feel as though if he starts stringing games together, he will start feeling more confident in his body and he will get a better feel for the pace of the game. He looked a step behind the play in 2010. Again, Luke Ball also had the same struggles at the beginning of the year. It took Luke a good 2 months to really start finding his feet at his new club and to feel comfortable. The difference was that Ball was able to stay healthier and worked his way into the season. The more he played, the better he got.

It may not be the cross-roads for Brock McLean, but there is no doubt that 2011 is his most important year to date. Carlton have cemented themselves as a top 8 side, but making the jump to a top 4 side is going to require a gun in-and-under midfielder. They have drafted well in the Key Position department, and have some real talent all over the ground. What they lack is grunt and support for Chris Judd. McLean seems the perfect compliment to the side. However, he needs a bit of luck and to keep his head straight. I’m predicting a big season for the former number 5 draft pick, and in-turn, he could be a vital component of a Carlton side that will be pushing for the top 4 in 2011.