BRAYDEN Harkness believes Reagan Nutting embodies "a bit of all the back six" and expects the hard-nosed defender to play a major role in the Blues' fortunes through 2022.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Nutting was among the club's best in Saturday's triumph over a much-improved Dennington at home, helping restrict the Dogs to just 13 scoring shots.
Harkness said Nutting was a versatile prospect in the back-half of the ground.
"He's got an element of all our defenders in him. I think his unique quality is probably is that he has got little parts of each of our defenders in his game," he said.
He's as hard as a cat's head but he's got elite skills. He's super courageous but he has those elite skills.
- Brayden Harkness on Reagan Nutting
"He's as hard as a cat's head but he's got elite skills. He's super courageous but he has those elite skills.
"Generally you're one or the other, you like to be in and under the pack or you're an outside player, but he is genuinely both for us. It's massive to have that versatility and you know if you give him a job, he'll do it but also on the attacking side he can be really damaging with the ball as well."
That attacking flair is a prerequisite of playing under Harkness. Nutting, 22, understands the value of being clean by foot.
"That's our game plan. We want to hit those short kicks up," Nutting said.
"We use our skill and run as much as we can. That's what we want to do."
MORE SPORT:
"I don't mind playing in defence. You can read the ball pretty well and having the likes of (Mathew Lloyd) and Luke Weel, we've got a pretty strong defence so it's good."
Harkness said Nutting, who is coaching the Blues' under 18 side, had developed well since bursting on the scene in 2016.
"He's come along in leaps and bounds and has been one of the better juniors to come through the program," he said.
Nirranda will play an injury-hit Kolora-Noorat on Saturday.
Now just one tap with our new app: Digital subscribers now have the convenience of faster news, right at your fingertips with The Standard: