Knocking on the door - Neville puts his name before AFL clubs.
VFL Record
Round 6
For more than two seasons now, Alister Neville has been making all the right noises, but he’s still waiting for an AFL club to answer his call.
Neville, 21, is one of the young guns of the TRUenergy VFL, and has literally been knocking on the door of AFL clubs in a bid to showcase his ability.
He is endeavouring to join former teammates Ben McGlynn, Cameron Howat and Jake King, who, under Andy Collins’ tutelage, have progressed to the AFL.
“There is nothing more rewarding than seeing one of your teammates succeed like they have,” said Neville.
“Hopefully, I can be one of those guys, too. It’s all part of the journey, and if it happens, it happens, but if not, it’s important to keep trying hard and enjoying yourself.
“As long as you’re doing your best, there is nothing else you can do. There are still areas of my game that I can improve, and I think I’ve done that this year.
“Along with ‘Collo’ (Andy Collins), I have identified areas that I can work on to get even better. As long as I keep improving and enjoying myself, I figure a knock on the door is better than not knocking at all.
“I think a lot of it has to do with being in the right place at the right time.”
For the second successive season, Neville was offered the opportunity to do a pre-season with Richmond, but, instead chose to try out with St Kilda.
Neville said the vibe he received from Richmond was that it was not looking for a midfielder of his ilk and that the Saints were.
While clubs disclose little, word has it that St Kilda wrestled with selecting
Neville or Jayden Attard before they elected to go with the latter.
“It was a compliment to be asked down there to train, but I’m not playing football to train with AFL clubs,” he said.
“It was a great experience and you have to take something out of those things,
because if you don’t it’s a waste.”
Neville doesn’t hide the fact that his decision to sign on with the Coburg Tigers was influenced greatly by Collins, his coach at Box Hill, moving to Coburg.
“The main reason was that I believed I would get a good opportunity and that I have a good relationship with ‘Collo’. I think pretty highly of him as a coach.
“And I haven’t regretted it for one second. It’s been a lot fun.”
This was reflected in his 2006 season, when Neville dead-heated with Jake
King for Coburg’s best and fairest.
Now, Neville hopes that an AFL club will finally hear all the noise he’s been
making.
