Lucas Herrington is a 17-year-old centre-back who plays for Brisbane Roar in the A-League. Herrington has established himself as a nailed-on starter for Brisbane this season after making the jump from their academy team. He has played for Australia at U-19 and U-20 level. 

Herrington has quickly established himself as a very effective defender at the A-League level. He is an extremely good 1v1 defender, rarely being beaten by dribblers. He’s very agile which makes it hard to get around him and pull away from him. Herrington is not the biggest centre-back, he’s listed as 6’1 (1.86M) and is quite thin. But despite this, he’s extremely strong in the air, both in terms of winning headers and directing those headers away from danger. We also have to remember that he’s only 17 so it’s likely he will get bigger over the coming years. Herrington is also very good at managing space and being in the right position to make an intervention. He is quite fast and can recover quickly or cover for teammates with his pace. 

On the ball, Herrington is not providing that much value yet. But there are some signs that he could improve in this area. Although he mostly plays it safe, he is generally able to keep his team in possession when pressed. He doesn’t break a lot of lines but he is very secure with the ball. He does not run with the ball often but he looks comfortable when he does so. As he gains more experience I would expect his passing to improve. His jumping ability also makes him a threat from set pieces, which is always a nice bonus. 

Herrington is very early in his career but what he has shown so far is very impressive. He doesn’t look at all out of place in the A-League so I would expect a bigger team to snap him up when he turns 18. In the long term, if his on-the-ball ability improves, I think he can make it to a smaller team in the top 5 leagues.