potentially allowing either club to secure Van Hattum<\/a> while adding another high-end prospect in the first round.<\/p>\nTigers land pick 5 in huge pick trade | 00:44<\/p>\n
Richmond this month signed ex-Giant Kieren Briggs as a free agent to partner club captain and triple premiership ruck Toby Nankervis, but delisted back-up duo Samson Ryan and Oliver Hayes-Brown.<\/p>\n
With 32-year-old Nankervis edging closer to the end of his career \u2013 and reportedly considering a move to Tasmania ahead of the Devils\u2019 2028 AFL entry \u2013 Van Hattum could emerge as a long-term option at Punt Road.<\/p>\n
But Van Hattum could also appeal to Melbourne as a long-term successor to legendary Demon Max Gawn, learning from the nine-time All-Australian over the next few years before eventually taking over.<\/p>\n
Van Hattum earlier this month at the draft combine said he\u2019d received \u201ca little bit more\u201d interest from clubs with early draft picks.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not too concerned about where I go,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhichever club takes a chance on me, I\u2019d love to repay that as much as I can. Whether it\u2019s interstate or staying in Melbourne, I wouldn\u2019t care at all.\u201d<\/p>\n
One scout told foxfooty.com.au Van Hattum was a \u201cgenerational\u201d prospect, pointing to his impressive skillset, hit-out craft and ability to become a fourth midfielder after ruck contests. His leap is another weapon, highlighted by his 95cm running vertical jump at this month\u2019s combine.<\/p>\n
Harry Van Hattum during the vertical leap test. Picture: Michael KleinSource: News Corp Australia<\/p>\n
\u2018ALWAYS BEEN THE TALLEST KID\u2019<\/p>\n
Van Hattum\u2019s path to becoming a ruck has been different from that of another athletically gifted big man, All-Australian Tim English.<\/p>\n
Before being drafted by the Western Bulldogs, English stood just below 190cm and played as an on-baller at school. A gradual growth spurt over the next three years saw him progress through the key-position ranks before passing 200cm and moving into the ruck. The natural agility and aerobic base English had developed pre-spurt ultimately made him a tantalising prospect for AFL clubs ahead of the 2016 draft.<\/p>\n
By contrast, Van Hattum has \u201calways been the tallest kid on the oval\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve never really played much forward, back or anywhere else. I\u2019ve always played ruck and been pretty lucky to have that natural athletic ability.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve just been able to develop, get in the gym and go even further.<\/p>\n
Asked what a good game looks like for him, Van Hattum said: \u201cBeing super physical and super competitive, taking big pack marks, dominating my ruck craft and following up really well.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s always been a huge natural part of my game: Being super physical and super competitive. But it\u2019s not just in myself, I try to drive that for everyone else.\u201d<\/p>\n
Oliver Hayes-Brown of the Tigers and Harry Van Hattum of the AFL National Academy compete in the ruck. Picture: Morgan Hancock\/AFL Photos\/via Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images<\/p>\n
Van Hattum said he analysed superstar Fremantle ruck Luke Jackson closely.<\/p>\n
\u201cI watch a fair bit of vision of him and his game. I\u2019m definitely trying to implement as much as I can from what he does,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Van Hattum particularly admires Jackson\u2019s ability to get involved in transition, becoming an extra on-baller or positioning himself down the line to take pack marks.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of ruckmen get seen as guys who tap the ball and stand there without doing much else, so I try to get involved as much as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jackson has also thrived under the AFL\u2019s new ruck rules in 2026, which Van Hattum believes suit his own style.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been in the Talent League too, so I\u2019ve tried a few tricks to see what I can do with it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m more of a run-and-jump kind of ruck, so it helps me because instead of bodying opponents, I can run and jump with them. <\/p>\n
\u201cAlso, if they jump really early, I\u2019ll let them come over and step over the line and I\u2019ll get a free kick. I\u2019ve used that a few times! I\u2019ve watched enough vision of it, so I understand it pretty well now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harry Van Hattum during the agility test. Picture: Michael KleinSource: News Corp Australia<\/p>\n
ROLLERCOASTER YEAR EXPLAINED<\/p>\n
Van Hattum admitted his 2026 season \u201chad its ups and downs\u201d.<\/p>\n
The ups included school football, a deep run in the Talent League finals with a talent-laden Knights side and Vic Metro\u2019s unbeaten 4-0 carnival campaign. He also described a week of training with Collingwood as part of his national academy experience \u2013 and living the life of a full-time AFL player \u2013 as \u201cthe best week I\u2019ve ever had\u201d.<\/p>\n
The downs were early-season injuries \u2013 first a quad issue then Achilles bursitis \u2013 that affected his preparation for the national championships.<\/p>\n
Van Hattum conceded he \u201cdidn\u2019t perform the way I wanted to\u201d at the championships, but stressed his injury-interrupted preparation was important \u201ccontext\u201d when assessing his performances.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot being able to play footy for a month leading into the championships wasn\u2019t ideal,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI went into the championships a little bit underdone and unfit \u2026 I guess that\u2019s footy sometimes.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hadn\u2019t really done much ball work or any jumping for four weeks then went straight into a high-level ruck battle against WA and two good ruck prospects. It was pretty hard.<\/p>\n
Harry Van Hattum of Victoria Metro and Jonah Harris of the Allies contest the ruck. Picture: Jordan Sacchetta\/AFL PhotosSource: AFL Photos<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d love to replay those games, but there\u2019s not much we can do about it now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Van Hattum still earned Under 18 All-Australian selection, producing an imposing 17-disposal, six-clearance performance against Vic Country in which he showcased his mobility and penetrating field kick<\/a>.<\/p>\nHe said he went into that final game for Metro with a point to prove to himself.<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew I belonged at that level. I wanted to go into that game knowing there was no excuse anymore and no context to put around it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought I played those first three games to build up and find my feet again then use that last game to show I could dominate and perform really well.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt obviously takes a little bit of time to find your feet again. In those first three games, I was a little bit out of it the whole time. Finally, things started to click again in that last game and it all came together a little bit more.\u201d<\/p>\n
‘Compromised’ draft to cause chaos? | 05:44<\/p>\n
THE PEOPLE SHAPING HIS GAME<\/p>\n
Van Hattum credited Northern Knights coach Anthony Rocca with helping develop his forward craft and contributing to his growth off the field.<\/p>\n
He also credited Vince \u2018Vinny\u2019 Dattoli \u2013 the father of young Swans forward Jesse Dattoli \u2013 for his guidance when taking external training sessions.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll his training is heaps of fundamentals: Kicking, handballing, being clean below the knees and lots of marking,\u201d Van Hattum said.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome of that stuff comes a little bit naturally, so it\u2019s probably more about refining it and building from there. I\u2019ve been with him since I was 12 or 13, so developing that over the past four or five years has been huge.\u201d<\/p>\n
Asked how he hoped the AFL world would be talking about him in five years\u2019 time, Van Hattum said: \u201cI\u2019d love to be spoken about as that Luke Jackson or Maxy Gawn-type player. I\u2019ll try to come in and implement that as much as I can and become the next Luke Jackson, I hope.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Harry Van Hattum has a point to prove. Rucks are rarely seen as a safe bet with a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":942401,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[64,63,85],"class_list":["post-942400","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/942400","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=942400"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/942400\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/942401"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=942400"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=942400"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=942400"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}