David Astbury
Age: 18
Statistic averages in the 2009 TAC Cup for North Ballarat:
| M | 10 |
| Last | 6/09/2009 |
| Gls | 9 |
| Bhd | 10 |
| HS | 3 |
| HSDate | 3/05/2009 |
| HSVenue | Buninyong Recreation Reserve |
| HSOpp | Western Jets |
| B | 1 |
| NB | 1 |
| GlsAv | 1 |
| KE | 51 |
| KIE | 38 |
| HE | 25 |
| HIE | 5 |
| HR | 21 |
| Mks | 49 |
| Tks | 22 |
| FF | 7 |
| FA | 7 |
| HO | 7 |
| CM | 12 |
| UCM | 48 |
Position: Key position forward or back
David Astbury is an agile tall who can kick goals and is a very good over-head mark. He has a good lead and will normally end up with the ball in his hands when the ball travels in the air to his area. Astbury sees himself as more of a leading half-forward in the Riewoldt mould than as a defender.
One weakness David Astbury has shown is that he doesn’t wait for the right option and often resorts to just bombing it long to a contest which doesn’t suit most modern game plans. He makes up for that though because of his above average pace, endurance and agility for his size of 193cm. At 79kg he is too light, as most of the tall draftees are.
David Astbury does have very strong hands; often out-marking opponents due to the cleanness of his hands. He also has a excellent read of the flight of the ball and often marks when the ball is coming over his shoulder comfortably. David Astbury is a good pack mark and seems to just float in to the flight of the ball at just the right moment with crisp hands.
David Astbury can also swing forward and kicks goals due to his marking ability. He possesses a simple kicking action which is pretty accurate. Unlike some of the other defenders he actually chases and tackles which is a real asset in a big man. His disposal by hand is adequate and he can kick on both sides of his body.
Astbury did the 3km time trial in 10.57 mins at NAB AFL Draft Camp, which for a player of his size is quite good. He also obtained a top ten ranking in the kicking test at Draft Camp with 70% efficiency. He doesn’t have the best statistics though from when he was playing, but he does seem to have plenty of potential. I would expect him to go second or third round in the AFL draft, it’s very hard to pick where the key positions are going to be taken in 2009.
Further Research
Video – http://www.afl.com.au/Video/tabid/76/videoid/50822/david+astbury+highlights/Default.aspx#VideoPlayerB
Statistics of Astbury – http://www.sportingpulse.com/team_info.cgi?player=David%20Astbury&action=PSTATS&pID=188650932&client=0-3020-27610-0-8058800
Meet the draftees: David Astbury – http://www.afl.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/208/newsid/86432/default.aspx
Draft rater: tall defenders – http://www.afl.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/208/newsid/85991/default.aspx
2009 NAB AFL Draft Camp attendees: Tall defenders – http://www.afl.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/208/newsid/83609/default.aspx
U18 eye-catchers: week three – http://www.afl.com.au/tabid/208/default.aspx?newsid=78593
Read about other 2009 AFL Draftees including Tom Scully, John Butcher and Jack Trengove.
Do you think you can predict the first round of the 2009 AFL Draft? If you do you should enter our competition, we are offering a $100 cash prize to the person who is closest. For more information check out the competition here.
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