Liam McBean has gone from being a long-term project to banging on the door of senior selection at Richmond.
The lightly-framed, tall forward, taken by the Tigers at pick 33 overall in the 2012 AFL National Draft, has made a major leap in his debut season with the Club.
So much so, in fact, that Richmond’s development coach, Mark ‘Choco’ Williams has revealed McBean has put himself in the frame for AFL selection, following a string of impressive performances at VFL level with Coburg.
“When he first came, he showed a little bit and we thought, well, there could be something there. But he’s really grown,” Williams said in the latest instalment of “Choco Cub Watch”.
“He’s obviously done a lot of work in the weights room and the fitness people have done some great work with him there.
“Having watched him play five or six games now in the VFL, he’s done some really good things . . .
“I can tell you, his name came up for selection – that’s how close he’s getting towards pushing for a spot in the side.
“At the start of the year, we thought he had no chance (of making his senior debut in 2013), but he’s moved along quite nicely, and he’s putting his name up for selection now.
“He’s a possibility . . . I would think that he’d play two, three or four games before the end of the year, and that’s be great for our club.”
Williams likens McBean to talented, versatile Port Adelaide ‘tall’, Justin Westhoff.
“He reminds me a lot of him. He’s got great agility or a tall guy, great hands, and he snap the ball as good as anyone I’ve ever seen,” Williams said.
“He can dribble the ball through the goals, he can kick it over his shoulder, left or right foot, and he’s a really good set shot.
“And he marks the ball really tall. Even though he’s tall himself (202cm), his arms are long and he actually marks the ball at the top of his range . . .
“As his body grows, and he gets stronger and heavier, I think we’ll see some great things from him.”