Melbourne football performance manager Alan Richardson has heaped praised on young ruckman Luke Jackson, saying he is doing things around the ground that not many tall players in the game can do.
The teenager was taken with pick three in the 2019 National Draft and played six games in his debut season last year, impressing onlookers with his mix of ruck work and ability to stay involved in the play away from stoppages.
Richardson said he enjoyed the “naivety” of how the 19-year-old plays his football and that “big things” are expected from him this year.
“There’s almost a naivety to him about the way he plays,” he said on SEN Breakfast.
“It’s as if he hasn’t read the book on how to be a tall player and that’s just to compete in the air and let others get to work on the deck.
“He rates tackle, ground ball and chase as highly as he does marking the ball in the air. He’s a special player, it’s like we have another on-baller around the contest when he goes into the ruck.
“It was a disappointing time for him to get injured after he just won a Rising Star nomination when (ruckman) Max Gawn didn’t play (last year).
“He's only a young bloke but we expect big things from Jacko.”
Jackson's hamstring tendon injury cut short his debut season after Round 11 last year.
Melbourne will take on Western Bulldogs at Marvel Stadium in their AAMI Community Series match on March 8 before meeting Fremantle on March 20 to kick off the season proper.