Dylan Moore in action for Vic Metro during the under 18 championships in July. Moore’s work rate is “already AFL standard”. Photo: GETTY IMAGES

Footyology’s draft rankings – No. 20: Dylan Moore

DYLAN MOORE
Victoria (Eastern Ranges)
Small forward/midfielder

Born: 4/8/1999
Height: 175cm
Weight: 66kg
Disposals: 25.6
Kicks: 13.7
Handballs: 11.7
Handball efficiency: 77%
Kicking efficiency: 58%
Marks: 3.5
Tackles: 5.7
Goals: 1
Key attribute: Tank. At worst, he’s a small forward who will work defenders over with his endurance and endeavour; at best, he’s a prolific ball winner and fantasy football favourite
Best-case comparison: Lachie Neale

WHAT HE’S GOT
Tank: Moore’s work rate is “already AFL standard” according to Eastern Ranges talent manager Len Villani. Won the two-kilometre time trial at the Draft Combine.
Speed: If Richmond’s premiership taught us anything, it’s the value of tenacious small forwards. Providing he puts on more bulk, Moore’s speed and repeat speed will see him playing that role for an AFL club from the get-go.
Ground game: You can blink and this kid would have picked the ball up and dished it off to a teammate before you open your eyes.
Ball winner: Played large stints in the forward line and still managed to average 25 touches a game. Not particularly skilled, just works hard.

WHAT HE LACKS

Size: He’s small, but that’s not the end of the world – just ask Lachie Neale, Zach Merrett and Tom Mitchell. Moore will have to work hard on his core strength and upper body to ensure his tackling translates to the next level. I think he’s capable of it.
Foot skills: Should be more damaging but just isn’t at this stage. Misfired on 41% of his kicks in the TAC Cup. The good news is that he’s one of the hardest workers and watches footy religiously.

BEDE BRISCOMB CHATS WITH DYLAN MOORE

Dylan Moore competes in the Yo-Yo run during the AFL Draft Combine. Photo: GETTY IMAGES

With his excellent endurance base, the small forward demonstrated an exciting ball-winning ability throughout his 2017 TAC Cup campaign. Footyology sat down with Dylan to discuss how this can translate into the AFL.

What do you like most about football?

Just watching the grand final and seeing a group of guys getting together and wanting to win as a team, that’s what I love. Like “Dusty” [Dustin Martin] said, ‘It’s a million times better than winning the Brownlow’.

What do you like least?

Injuries.

Are you someone who lives and breathes footy or do you like to have a healthy balance with other interests?

I live and breathe it. I watch most games a week and have a kick at school every opportunity I get.

If you weren’t playing football what would you be doing?

I’ve already got a back-up in case things don’t go to plan football-wise. I’m pretty academic and I’m looking to get into commerce.

What do you feel are the weaknesses in your game?

Well, I stand at 178 centimetres and 68 kilograms, so I need to put on a bit of weight to be able to deal with the bigger bodies. Other than that, it’s probably contested marking. So if I’m playing that small forward role, I want to be able to beat my opponent one-on-one in the air. On the ground, I’ve got most people covered, but in the air I struggle a little bit.

How do you work on that? Is it purely practising or do you also really study the Nathan Fyfes of the world to imitate their marking ability?

I watch the small forwards. Someone like Toby Greene has great aerial skills, so I watch him and the way Eddie Betts uses his body to put himself in dangerous positions.

What AFL player do you look at now and say: ‘That’s the player I want to be when I’m at my absolute best’?

Tom Mitchell. Being that smaller inside mid and being able to get your hands on the ball first and dish it to the outside runners. I also look at someone like Dayne Zorko, someone who can push forward and kick some goals in the midfield. I’ve got a good balance between midfield and forward.

What one thing do you think you’re elite at? Obviously your tank is pretty good.

Yeah, aerobic capacity is elite, but probably my ground game. I’ve really worked on that this year. My forward coaches have really drilled it into me as something I have to be elite at and I think my numbers have increased in that area.

Do you have a number in mind in terms of where you’d like to be drafted?

I just want to be on an AFL list so I’m not too fussed.

Would you prefer to be drafted by an AFL team that’s a good chance to make finals with maybe less opportunity for younger guys, or a team that’s down the bottom with more opportunity?

Good question. I’d love to go to a club that will play me when the time is right so I wouldn’t be as worried about the success at that point. At the same time, it would be great to a club with an environment that is already successful because it would bring about really positive energies. But I’d rather just go to a club that will develop me as a player and take care of my personal interests.

Would you prefer to be drafted by a Victorian club?

Staying in Victoria would be great. I’ve obviously got family and friends down here. But my dream is to play AFL, so if I had to go interstate then I would.

What’s the one criticism about your game that you personally don’t agree with?

People tell me I can’t be an inside mid because of my stature. I tend to disagree, because you see players like Tom Mitchell and Lachie Neale who are small inside mids and we all see how much impact they have on a game.

Say you’re playing AFL and you start to hear some negative things toward you from social media trolls or get taunted at a game, how do you think you’d react?

I won’t try and read into it too much. If I play a bad game and get taunted, I’ll just cop the feedback. Just move on and look to improve.”

Flip it around. Let’s say you’re playing really good footy and it’s a bit like a Josh Kelly situation with the media gushing about you, how would you react then?

Well I’m a ‘footyhead’ so I read a bit, and I’d probably see it. I just think I’d continue to do what I do best. I’ve got the media love and publicity for a reason, so it would be a matter of staying with that routine.”

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve had this year, and who was it from?

Probably the best piece of advice I got is from Ed Philips (drafted by St Kilda last year). He told me: “When you’re at football, you need to 100 per cent focus on football and put all your energy into that. And when you’re at school, you need to 100 per cent focus on school.” So putting all your energy into one thing and not trying to overcomplicate or mix both of them is really important.

Do you think, as the player you are today, you could contribute in an AFL grand final?

Yeah, of course. You saw Charlie Cameron and Daniel Rioli have best-on-ground performances in this year’s preliminary finals, and Toby Greene performed well, too. So just the type of player I am, I’m consistent with my footy and I do the basics well, so I think I’d hold up fine.

You’re allowed to say yourself with this one – who do you think is the best player in this year’s draft?

Jaidyn Stephenson. He dominated at the All-Stars game and he always steps up in big stages. He’s very electrifying down the wing. He’s just got that x-factor, so I think he could potentially be the best player.”