Nathan Buckley loved the look of North Melbourne draftee Zane Duursma in his first AFL game on Saturday in the loss to GWS.
The 18-year-old finished with two goals, 10 disposals and three marks and Buckley can already see signs of stardom in the No.4 draft pick.
While commentating the game for Fox Footy, Buckley compared the forward to a young Nat Fyfe – who also started off his AFL career as a skinny flanker/midfielder who was strong above his head.
Buckley thinks that Duursma shares similar attributes to Fyfe when he started and former wingman Matthew Lappin for his ability to read the ball well and float across the front of packs to grab marks.
“I really like the look of Duursma from North,” Buckley said on SEN Breakfast.
“He's a lanky young fellow. Did you see that (he reminds you of a young Nat Fyfe)?
“What Nat Fyfe turned into was so different to what he first came into the competition as. I'm not talking about what Nat Fyfe is now.
“What he was when he first started was like a Matty Lappin type … a 6’2 player who plays well on the ground but can float across the front of packs, reading the ball so well and being at the highest point before anyone else.
“He finishes really well, he missed a shot that he would be kicking himself about, but he finishes really well.
“I know that this would be happening, but you hope that his coaches are encouraging him to keep going for his aerial (marks).
“If you have that in your game as a midfielder (it is huge) … there is just something about him.”
Kane Cornes couldn’t agree more that Duursma is reminiscent of a young Fyfe, believing the youngster shares attributes with the now two-time Brownlow Medallist.
Even though Duursma shows early Fyfe signs, Cornes thinks that he should be developed as a medium forward like Toby Greene instead of transitioning to an inside midfielder as Fyfe did the longer his career went on.
“I was actually jealous of that opinion,” Cornes said.
“I was like, ‘Bucks said he’s like Nat Fyfe’ and I was like, ‘That’s it’.
“You can just Google Nat Fyfe and you can see what he looked like when he first came in.
“The model of his career, I don't think it's ‘let's go midfield’.
“That may happen in time, but the model of his career should be, ‘Let's be Toby Greene’ … if you can be a 50-goal medium forward for the rest of your career you’ll be an Australian Football Hall of Famer.”
Duursma will hope to continue his strong form when the Roos meet Fyfe and the Dockers at Marvel Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
