2011 potential draftees thread

[one-eyed]

Ball at the feet of Clay Smith

    by: Jay Clark
    From: Sunday Herald Sun
    November 13, 2011



CLAY Smith has little regard for his own safety on the football field.

The onballer is one of the most fearless players in the TAC Cup, according to Gippsland Power regional manager Peter Francis.

He saw it in Smith's unwavering attack on the ball, and the way he played on with a strained medial ligament in the Power's first final last season.

The All-Australian crumpled on his right knee in a tackle in the first 10 minutes of the game, but willed his way back into the contest.

"Not a lot of boys would have gone back on, but he was determined to get back on the field and make an impact for his team, which he did," Francis said. "That shows you how tough he is."

Smith almost missed his call to the national championships this year, when his Vic Country invitation was sent to an previous address.

Realising at the last minute, the hardened ball-winner didn't disappoint at the carnival, averaging 10 contested possessions and 13 pressure acts a game.

"I don't like being beaten too much, so just getting in and under and feeding it out to the runners, that would probably be my strength," Smith said.

His competitiveness got the attention of recruiters, with all but three clubs interviewing the left-footer at the draft camp. At the same time, he set a personal best beep test, at 15.3, which ranked sixth overall.

Francis knew when Smith finished second to Essendon Rising Star winner Dyson Heppell in last year's Gippsland best-and-fairest as a bottom-ager that the NAB AFL Draft hopeful had a future.

Francis said the strong-bodied 18-year-old was an exceptional talent around the stoppages. "He is as hard as they come, just a tackling machine," he said.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/ball-at-the-feet-of-clay-smith/story-fnau1fjg-1226193510395

[one-eyed]

Top marks for Hayden Crozier

    by: Jay Clark
    From: Herald Sun
    November 14, 2011



HAYDEN Crozier is trying to shrug a stereotype.

Since the spring-heeled utility took one of the marks of the year at the national championships in June, he has been the talk of the recruiting world.

At his best, the lightning fast left footer and uncanny goalkicker is one of the most talented players in the draft pool.

Someone who, according to his Eastern Ranges' coach Darren Bewick, could "take mark of the year and goal of the year" in the same game.

When Crozier latched on to the screamer in Perth, he was catapulted into top-10 draft calculations.

But the learning curve since has been a steep one.

The 17-year-old was struck down by illness, stripping a few kilograms from his 68kg frame.

Even though his expectations remained high, it wasn't long before Crozier was down on form and low on confidence.

"It was pretty difficult after the national championships. From the mark on, I got sick and wasn't travelling too well," Crozier said.

"The first two games after the champs were really bad, I wasn't enjoying footy. I had a lot of pressure on me to perform, being a Vic Metro rep. From then on I had to make a choice because if I kept playing as bad as I was, I wouldn't get drafted."

In consultation with Bewick, the long-kicking forward shifted to the backline for the last part of the TAC Cup season.

"I had never played back in my life, but I had to change things up," Crozier said.

Suddenly, the burden eased. Crozier won plenty of the ball and worked hard to help create openings for his teammates.

His defensive pressure also improved. Most importantly, Crozier was enjoying his footy again.

Bewick said although the 184cm utility is viewed predominantly as a flashy outside player, his game has become much more rounded.

"They (the spectacular things) aren't important to him," Bewick said. "What has come to roost is that other parts of his game are more important to him.

"We knew what he could do when he had the ball. What we worked with him on was what he could do when the ball wasn't in his area, how to contribute.

"Things like his defensive pressure was a real priority for him. He worked harder."

By the end of a mixed season, Crozier averaged 19 touches, including nine contested, five marks and one goal a game.

At the draft combine, Crozier's 20m sprint time was ranked sixth. His running vertical jump, which enables him to fly high above most others, was ranked second. When combined with his neat left-foot kick, he had several exciting tools.

But where Crozier fits into the draft order has recruiters puzzled.

Bewick said the club that secured Crozier would be rewarded.

"He's got a really good footy brain and around the ground he knows how to win the ball," Bewick said.

"He's played a lot as a high, hit-up forward but with a few AFL pre-seasons under his belt, I think he could develop into someone who could push up into the wing.

"Some people think he's a Kade Simpson type, he's a left footer who kicks the ball well. I think he will flourish into a really good AFL player."

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/top-marks-for-hayden-crozier/story-fnau1fjg-1226193965701

[one-eyed]

Shane Nelson
Club: West Perth, Western Australia
Date of birth: 11/5/93
Height: 177cm
Weight: 69kg
Draft range: 25-40



NAB AFL Draft Combine: Nelson was limited in testing at the combine, but what he did do was impressive. His 2.87s time in the 20m sprint saw him ranked equal third overall and his agility test time of 8.13s saw him finish inside the top 10. He rounded out an excellent meeting by finishing first in the Nathan Buckley kicking test with a score of 29 out of 30.

Jason Phelan says: Nelson didn't participate in the endurance testing at the combine, but his workrate in a game setting is unquestioned. His ability to work to multiple contests from start to finish sees him accumulate plenty of the ball, with his clearance work a feature. He performed at a consistently high level in a WA team that struggled in division one company at the under-18 championships this year, and his ability to run and carry the ball will make him an attractive prospect for a club late in the first or early in the second round.

Kevin Sheahan says: Nelson averaged 22 disposals at the national under-18 championships. He is an effective user of the ball who works tirelessly. Has speed, can play midfield and move forward and kick goals. From Edgewater Woodvale JFC.

In his own words: I'm a midfielder who can run all day. I can read the play well which allows me to find a lot of the football. I also have the ability to go forward and kick goals.

http://www.afl.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/208/newsid/125963/default.aspx

[one-eyed]

Sam Frost warms to true love

    by: Matt Windley
    From: Herald Sun
    November 15, 2011



IF Sam Frost is picked up by an interstate club in next week's national draft, he will have no problems shifting from home.

That's no disrespect to his family or friends, but it wasn't long ago that Frost wanted to move overseas to pursue his dream of playing basketball in the US college system.

But like so many other talented youngsters, juggling two sports and school became too much for him. The 194cm Frost was forced to make a choice.

"In the end it wasn't a tough choice," he said.

"I'd always played both, always loved both, but I was emergency for the state basketball team and doing a heap of other stuff and just burned out a bit.

"After that I just lost a bit of motivation for basketball and started liking footy a bit more. By the time I had to make a choice, it seemed pretty obvious which was the right way to go."

Another sport, volleyball, took up a lot of Frost's time at high school, but not as much as some might suggest.

"Everyone seems to think I have this massive volleyball background, but that isn't really true," Frost said.

"It wasn't anything big. I moved to Wesley (College) and played in the first team for a few years.

"I did go to an AIS selection camp, but I was never serious about it. I can't remember where the rumours started. I love the sport, but it's not my background."

"Obviously, on the ball-handling side of things, it's helped heaps. I think it's also helped my awareness and ability to read the play.

"And I guess it's probably helped with some of my athletic attributes - the jumping and any explosive sort of stuff. It's all been good for that, as well."

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/sam-frost-warms-to-true-love/story-fnau1fjg-1226195030575

[one-eyed]

Ready for redemption after injury setback - Elliot Kavanagh
Emma Quayle
The Age
November 15, 2011



THERE'S a shoe rack in one corner, brimming with runners, boots and the odd pair of thongs. There's a pile of magazines by the table tennis table, bikes hanging from one wall and a Swiss ball rolling around underneath them.

The small home gym is pushed up against another wall, squeezed between a bright blue drum kit and an old, brown hairdressing mirror. The sun is out, shining through the open garage doors at Elliott Kavanagh's house.

Kavanagh didn't expect to spend much of the last year here. He had plans for this season: to play football for the Western Jets, for Vic Metro, for Essendon Grammar and the Australian Institute of Sport squad. This time last year he was the sort of on-baller every AFL club wanted: quick, and able to keep running. He could zip in and out of packs, beckon the ball to his hands and take it with him. He could see space, scoot into it and put the ball into places where his teammates could easily reach it. He wanted to enjoy the last little bit of life as a teenage footballer, but his body had other plans.

Because of what he had done - and what his left hamstring has barely let him do since - he is the curiosity of this year's draft, the kid that clubs can't be entirely sure what to do with. Can he still do all the things he used to do? Have other players edged past him? Is his leg better now, or will it continue to trouble him?

Kavanagh is intriguing, and he knows it; glancing up during his medical examination at last month's combine, he found 20 doctors and physios peering down at him. ''It was a little bit overwhelming,'' he said. ''It's like they don't really see you, you're just body parts.''

It was late last season that Kavanagh dived at a player to tackle him and felt his hamstring clutch, down near his knee. He looked after it, let it repair and didn't think too much about it. But when it happened again during the pre-season, higher up his leg this time, he started to wonder what was going on.

''The first time I did it I was thinking, 'OK, I'm going to get this right.' And for it to happen again, you don't feel all that sure,'' he said. ''A lot of people started to question it, to wonder what to do. They were all thinking, is his leg strong enough? And when you know they're not sure, it makes you start to question it too.''

His head filled with opinions, advice and plans-of-action, Kavanagh listened to what Michael Makdissi, the AIS doctor, told him. He stopped playing, stopped training and got his head around the thought that he wasn't going to start again for several months.

He spent part of every second evening in his downstairs gym in Williamstown, working his way through a list of small, subtle exercises, starting to slowly strengthen the troublesome tendon.

''A good day was when you would kneel down and have someone hold on to the back of your leg,'' he said. ''You'd lean forward, then try to lean back up again. If you made it, you felt as though it must be getting a bit stronger.''

Kavanagh was patient, because he needed to be. He was patient again when Makdissi told him to take a little longer and not play for the AIS in its three April games, and the same again when he realised he wouldn't be back in time to make the Vic Metro squad. He kept remembering what the doctor had told him - that if he did every little thing right, his leg would do the right thing by him - and it was an interesting time for his parents, to see how he coped.

''He just stuck with it. It takes a bit for Elliott to let his guard down, '' said his father, Tony. ''I remember when Michael rang the week before the AIS game. He said, 'I want you to have the best recovery you possibly can, so let's leave it a bit longer,' and I thought to myself, 'This will be interesting, will he drop the lip?' But all he said was, 'No, that's all right, if that's what I have to do, I'll do it.'

''He's had a lot of challenges thrown at him this year, but he's coped with it pretty well. Someone told us once that if you've had a good 17th year, it doesn't really matter if you get injured because at least you've shown people what you can do. I can remember Elliott wandering around the house saying, 'Thank God I had a 17th year, thank God I had a 17th year …' ''

A different test was to come. When he did get to play again, late in June, Kavanagh started with a half for his school side, then moved back to the Jets and built his game time back up all over again. He played nine or 10 games but missed the TAC Cup finals after corking a thigh, and in only one or two games did he feel like himself again. ''It was a bit of a relief,'' he said, ''when things started working. But it took a while to feel like that.''

Starting back out at school he was jumping too early for marks, asking the full-back to handball to him from kick-ins and being too hard on himself. ''He lost all his game sense and wanted to be in the midfield getting 35 possessions from day one,'' said his dad. ''He forgot how good it was just to be back out on the grass.''

Kavanagh was also conscious of his body, taking a while to trust it again. ''I think I was too cautious at times,'' he said. ''I had to try and stop that, to clear my mind, but there were times I'd half feel my hamstring pull and then realise it was fine, it was nothing. It gives you a bit of a fright and I felt like I got used to that, but it was hard to impact the game like I wanted to.

''I've had a few recruiters say I lost form coming back, but I found it hard to impose myself. I was focusing on what I couldn't do, and it was better when I just started to feel happy to be out there playing again.''

What happens from here? Kavanagh won't slide too far next week - he shouldn't get into the 20s - and he thinks about his hamstring in a scientific way now. He's done everything he was supposed to do, he's played on it, and it shouldn't cause any more problems. That said, he's as curious as anyone to find out how it handles the next step.

''I guess you just have to believe in what you've done for it,'' he said. ''Of course, you question it and you hope, a little bit, and wonder, but I believe in all the work I've done on it. I can't know that it will be all right, but I believe it will be and I expect it to be.''

http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/ready-for-redemption-after-injury-setback-20111114-1nflz.html#ixzz1dgz3lx10

[one-eyed]

Colt hit Manson hints at exciting future
Emma Quayle
November 16, 2011



WAYLEN Manson wasn't meant to be the reason people watched Waratah play Wanderers in the Northern Territory league last month.

Brendan Fevola played his first fly-in game for the Tahs that day, with Daniel Motlop the opposition side's drawcard. Fev did his bit, too, kicking eight goals. But he wondered the same thing as everyone else watching: who was the tall, quick kid taking high-flying marks all day?

''It was a little bit scary. I kept getting knees in the back of the head, but he was incredible,'' Fevola said. ''Everything he did was spot on. He was kicking them from absolutely everywhere.''

Manson finished with 10 that day, and they've kept coming: six the next week, then eight. So have the AFL clubs: four or five saw him have his first quiet day last Sunday, and others are heading up this weekend to work out whether they want him, where they're willing to pick him and how late they're willing to leave him.

The 18-year-old has timed his run perfectly - most other draftees stopping playing footy two months ago - and has everything you could want in a pre-draft cult hero: a huge leap, an ability to kick freaky goals, an ability to kick lots of freaky goals, little exposed form and an interesting background. He has also inspired some amusing rumours: that West Coast has been trying to ''hide'' him, encouraging him to go home to his desert community in the Kimberley after kicking eight goals for the Claremont colts side mid-year. That the Eagles were at it again late in the year, telling him to attend the draft combine under the name Zyrus, instead of Waylen. If that's what they've been up to, sending him to Darwin was perhaps not the best idea.

Manson has talent. He's 191 centimetres, and quick. He knows how to take marks and can do things that are hard to categorise, explain or expect. ''He can catch the ball and he knows how to lead,'' said Wayne Blackwell, who coached him at Claremont. ''From standing still to his first few steps he's really, really fast and once he gets the ball, his ability to evade is very good as well. If he gets it delivered OK and has room to run and jump he's going to be hard to match up on. He has some ability, no doubt.''

He also has plenty of work on. He has played two colts games in Perth, one reserves match and a handful of games in Darwin. He doesn't mind chasing, but it doesn't come as naturally as other things, and his kicking needs work. ''If he catches it five or six times you'd want him kicking four goals. He's got a bit of an awkward style and he's like any young kid, his work rate isn't really there yet,'' said Blackwell, who is convinced Manson wants to improve. ''He wants it in his head, I've got no doubt about that. But the attitude, the work rate, that fierce determination to make it, that's what you can only see in training and how hard he works. That's what clubs would be thinking: can he adapt to that?''

It's a big question. Manson is from Billiluna, about 180 kilometres south-east of Halls Creek. Waylen is his second name: he uses it out of respect for a deceased member of his community who was also named Zyrus. It takes several hours to get to Perth via bus and plane, let alone any further, and he has never been away for long.

Claremont was desperate to get him down at the start of the year and he came, but went back home after a few weeks of pre-season. He had another go later, playing three games before heading home again, then arrived in Melbourne for the draft combine last month in a pair of thongs. Handed a pair of runners and some boots he ran and jumped well, but decided after the repeat speed test that he was a bit too sore for the other endurance tests, jumping on a plane to Darwin and kicking 10 goals that weekend.

Everyone who knows Manson loves his cheeky nature. Last week, he told Fevola that he was going to start playing at centre half-forward and let the old man have the goal square. ''Hang on,'' said Fevola. ''Am I the old man?''

He has no't experienced a full-time football environment so the club that drafts him will need to be sure it can support him. ''He really is coming from a long way back,'' said Coffey, ''but I'd love to see him make it.'' Fevola too. ''He was telling me last week how much he wants to get drafted, so he's got the passion for it,'' he said. ''If he goes to a club that can teach him, he could be really exciting.''

http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/colt-hit-manson-hints-at-exciting-future-20111115-1nh5x.html#ixzz1dn7as95L

[one-eyed]

Tom Sheridan
Club: Calder Cannons, Victoria
Date of birth: 28/10/93
Height: 185cm
Weight: 76kg
Draft range: 18-30



NAB AFL Draft Combine: Sheridan showed off his big tank at the combine with a 15.7 beep test and a 9:57 effort in the 3km run, with both of those results ranking him inside the top 2 per cent. His score of 25 out of 30 in the Nathan Buckley kicking test placed him equal ninth.

Jason Phelan says: Sheridan is a really busy, team-oriented onballer with a healthy competitive streak. He has an elite endurance base and will run and carry on his own or link up with teammates. He's not the most penetrating kick, but he's very effective using his hands to bring teammates into the play. He also has good leadership potential having captained the Cannons for a period this year. Sheridan played 15 games for Calder and was named in the best players 11 times. TAC Cup Team of the Year member.

Kevin Sheahan says: Sheridan represented Vic Metro at the NAB AFL Under-18 Championships, averaging 14 possessions. He has good endurance and can bring others into the game by clever use of the ball. From Riddells Creek FC.

In his own words: I am a hard-working, team-oriented player who uses the ball well and has good decision-making skills. I'm versatile and have an elite endurance base.

http://www.afl.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/208/newsid/126090/default.aspx

[one-eyed]

Cannon still ready to fire - Michael Talia
afl.com.au
16 November 2011



One of the quirks of the NAB AFL Draft is the manner in which some players seem to rise up the draft rankings while others drop away in the weeks before the big day.

Calder Cannons key defender Michael Talia falls into the second category according to some draft watchers, but Cannons' region manager Ian Kyte is having none of that.

He believes any club that needs a key backman and passes on the TAC Team of the Year member and All Australian centre half-back in the first round will regret the decision.

"Michael's ready to step into a tall back position in an AFL team. You take him as he is now and you've got that for 12 years," Kyte says.

"How much more does a person need to be progressed? He's 192cm, runs a 14.7 … beep and a three second sprint. Some clubs were a bit unsure about his kicking, but it has improved a lot. What you see is what you get and you're going to get it for a lot of years.

"I've said to a few recruiting managers, 'stop looking for reasons not to draft them'.

"If there are 10 reasons to draft a player and one not to then why would you take notice of the one thing?

"If he drops down the order a little bit then there are going to be some clubs that will jump all over him."

http://www.afl.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/208/newsid/125751/default.aspx

[one-eyed]

They're buzzing about Devon Smith

    by: Jay Clark
    From: Herald Sun
    November 18, 2011



SOME days after games last year, Devon Smith struggled to walk. What he did know was that his hip was sore most weekends and he needed a dip in an ice bath before bed to help his recovery.

What wasn't clear for some time was that the problem causing him serious discomfort was overgrown cartilage.

The onballer toughed out the season - drawing the attention of recruiters - before surgery was called to trim the bone.

While it may have delayed his start to this year, the injury hasn't stopped the Geelong Falcons midfield dynamo from becoming a possible top-10 pick in next week's national draft.

"There were ups and downs, but I couldn't really complain because I really wanted to play national championships this year and I was lucky enough to play that," Smith said.

"I didn't play at my best, but I was pretty happy with what I could have produced (considering) the pre-season (interruption)."

Smith, 18, has been affectionately coined "a bee in a bottle" by AFL talent guru Kevin Sheehan.

He is a fearless clearance machine who averaged 27 possessions a game in the TAC Cup, including 12 contested. What elevates the 175cm midfielder above other prolific ball-winners is his decision making and ball use.

Falcons development coach and welfare officer Damien McMahon said the teen wasn't one to slap the ball on the boot.

His ability to pick the best option by hand or foot, then speed away to lend support, or pose a threat forward, enhanced his stocks.

"He will hold on to the ball until he has the right option," McMahon said.

 "He gets very angry with himself if he wastes a possession. If he does, you'll see him sprint 50m to the next contest to make amends."

Smith, from Lara, said his appetite for the hard ball was developed in the backyard.

"I grew up with two older brothers," he said. "We would always fight around, everything was contested, I just hate losing."

Falcons regional manager Michael Turner said attitude, professionalism, and attack on the ball made Smith the best small player to come through the club.

"Was Devon Smith as good as Jimmy Bartel at the same age? Yes he was," Turner said. "I rate him very highly ... small players like him have come back into vogue.

"If he goes to the right club he could probably play AFL footy next year."

In the second game of the national championships, Smith showcased his talents forward, kicking six goals from 27 possessions.

 As the Falcons' season fizzled with losses to Oakleigh and Western Jets, Smith battled trying to stem the flow of goals.

"Recruiters look really closely when the side is being beaten and we were getting smashed in the last round this year by 20 goals and he still had the ball 28 times," Turner said.

"I think he had the most tackles for us and got absolutely smashed a few times and just dragged himself up off the ground and got going again."

McMahon said he was a ferocious competitor who had high expectations of his football.

"When he had the hip problem it was tough for Dev because you have all these things running through your mind," McMahon said.

"Could he come back and play football the way he knew he could play, and would he be able to play in the AIS games and for Vic Country?

"But despite all that he showed a lot of mental strength to focus entirely on doing everything right so he could come back and help the team.

"He's very driven and there were a lot of times when he was coming back from the injury that we had to hold him back in his running and things."

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/theyre-buzzing-about-devon-smith/story-fnau1fjg-1226198346138

[one-eyed]

Will a goanna hunter be AFL's next big thing in the national draft?

    by: Jay Clark
    From: Herald Sun
    November 24, 2011


WAYLEN Manson is a freakish talent who may struggle to adjust to city life, writes Jay Clark.

WAYLEN Manson was in tears the first night of the draft camp.

The indigenous forward had arrived in Melbourne with little more than the clothes on his back and a dream to play AFL.

But after his first day, being physically tested and questioned by club recruiters at Etihad Stadium, Manson broke down. He wanted to go home.

On the other end of the phone trying to calm the spring-heeled goal kicker was Brett Claudius, footy co-ordinator for Garnduwa in the Kimberley region.

He is the man who has bussed Manson around central Western Australia for two years, with the belief he could be the next Liam Jurrah.

Claudius, listed on some documents as Manson's next of kin, has seen the 193cm jack-in-the-box stand on opponents heads, taking "some of the most amazing marks" he's seen.

Manson is raw, exciting, and, for clubs considering selecting him in tonight's national draft, a dilemma.

"When he runs and marks, he takes the ball at such a height that there's not much you can do to stop it," Claudius said.

"And if there is a pack in front of him, he just jumps over the top.

"Even at ground level in hard positions to mark, he just plucks them diving full length. I've actually never seen anyone mark the way he does."

Manson, 18, was believed to be on the Demons' radar last season. But this year the spearhead's reputation has exploded.

Running and jumping from the goalsquare, Manson's first two games for Claremont in the WAFL Colts this season produced 15 goals.

A streak of four games last month for Waratahs seniors in the Northern Territory Football League yielded 42.

Recruiters, increasing in number with each game, swarmed to watch the teen. In a thin draft like this one, on pure talent Manson is a stand-out.

At home, in his community of Billiluna, nine hours' drive inland from Broome, Manson spends his time playing football with mates, helping "fix fences and things", and hunting.

"There's lots of hunting and fishing," Manson said.

"We go to the creek, split up and look for goanna and all that. Anything you can find.

"I love playing footy. Sometimes I can't be bothered playing and training. Sometimes I want to quit.

"But (for the) love of the game I keep trying."

In the grand final of the Landmark championships in south-west WA mid-year, Manson bagged six goals, then took the match-winning mark in defence on the goal line.

"He was unstoppable," Claudius said.

"He had about five or six different opponents and he kept out-marking them over the top. He was just pointing for the boys to kick the ball up so he could just jump on them.

"On the siren, the opposition had a shot on goal and he went down the back line and took a huge pack mark on the goal line to stop the score, and we actually won by a point."

What clubs, such as the Demons, Hawthorn, Port Adelaide and Fremantle want to know is whether he can adjust to city life.

The draft camp "rattled" him, according to Claudius. The environment was foreign and in some ways, intimidating.

"As a character, he is quite funny, but put him in front of non-indigenous people, and it's a complete shutdown almost," he said. "That first night of the draft camp, he was very upset.

"Two days later he went straight to Darwin and kicked 11 goals in his first game."

Claudius, though, knows it can work. But only if any club which takes him, tackles his recruitment differently to most draftees.

Claudius has called for a staggered approach, balancing time between Melbourne, Perth, and back home. That way, he could adjust, slowly. Maybe.

"If he was to go to a Melbourne club and relocate next year, immediately, as most draftees do, I would go as far as saying he wouldn't make it," he said.

"He wouldn't get through one year."

But he said a staggered approach might make the difference.

"I do reckon he has that superstar quality about him because in big games, in big moments, that's when he has actually produced his best footy," said Claudius.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/will-a-goanna-hunter-be-afls-next-big-thing-in-the-national-draft/story-e6frf9jf-1226204211599

[one-eyed]

Hoops & dreams
Peter Hanlon
November 24, 2011


Ready to go: Benalla teenager Tom Downie has jumped from basketball to football. Photo: Cheryl Browne


NO AFL draft would be complete without a bolter and, befitting a young man who stands 205 centimetres tall, Tom Downie is about to raise the bar.

Basketball Australia's website hails the hooped pursuit as ''Everyone's Game'', and just three months ago it was very much Downie's. A national under-17 representative at the 2010 world championships in Germany, his path from Benalla via Ballarat to a college basketball life in Louisiana, Florida or Colorado was laid out before him.

Tonight, the 18-year-old is a likely second-round pick in a draft light on for ruck talent, possibly bound for the Brisbane Lions. It can safely be termed a speculative selection; Downie's football back catalogue amounts to the last two games of North Ballarat Rebels' TAC Cup season, and school outings for St Patrick's College that took his tally to a dozen games of footy - full stop - since the Benalla under-14s.

''Yeah, there's a big gap,'' Downie says of his CV, relative to the other hopefuls who are about to realise a dream that's been many kicks, marks, handballs and years in the making.

The decision to jump sports wasn't made lightly, even if his recall of what led him to finally bow to the urgings of Rebels' development manager Phil Partington points at least initially to convenience.

''I'd finished all my basketball commitments, and school footy had finished, and I just had a couple of free weekends to myself,'' Downie says of his late-August awakening. ''I said to 'Parto' that I'd come to training and see how I enjoyed it, and it just took off from there.''

The Rebels had been working on him all year, a project aided by head coach David Loader being a St Pat's staffer. ''We try and find athletes who've got elite talent that might be transferred across to football,'' Partington says.

Richmond drafted Matt Dea from the Rebels two years ago after a basketball-dominated teens, and Downie was one of three Australian under-17s in their program this year; Partington admits the footy club isn't exactly flavour of the month with basketball people in Ballarat.

Downie's attributes and application imbued a belief in the Rebels that, if they could just get his toe in the water, he would happily take the plunge. Midway through the school season, Adelaide spoke to him, ''just to make me aware of what could possibly happen with me in footy''. The Lions followed soon after, and still he hadn't played a TAC Cup game.

Finally, he debuted in the last round against Northern Knights, and came up against the standout underage ruckman in the country, likely top-10 pick Billy Longer. He didn't beat him, but did enough to impress. ''That was a good measure, it made me think I can do it,'' Downie says.

He was starting to come around, and last month's draft combine sealed the deal. Being a professional sportsman had long been his dream, and now it was coming into focus that he'd had the right ideal, just the wrong sport.

''It was a couple of weeks before the draft camp I said to myself, 'I'm going to really have a crack at this','' he says. ''That's the kind of person I am really.''

He threw himself into daily ball and gym work and, taking on board recruiters' question marks over his football endurance (over his entire two-game career!), swotted for the legendary beep test on a Benalla basketball court.

''I practised it several times, to maximum exhaustion, just to get myself ready. I had a fair crack at it.''

Growing up in a small town had taught him to be a soloist. ''That's been the story for me, I'm used to trying to get better without other people around me, I guess.''

Come the combine he was glad to have done the work. Partington says clubs were impressed with his work ethic, his willingness to push through pain, and his 14.2 beep test. On the first night Downie said to him, ''This is fantastic!'' The conversion was as good as complete.

Partington says interest in the past fortnight has spiked markedly from recruiters keen to know more about him. That they have seen little is a given; Downie's only appearance on YouTube is dunking a basketball, something he has been doing since he was 14.

All have been learning on the run. His primary school principal mum Gabby and father John, the school's maintenance man, along with little sister Frances, have long been attuned to the process of sending a boy from Benalla to Stetson Uni in Florida, or Nicholls State in Louisiana, but football in Melbourne, Brisbane or Adelaide is a whole new ball game.

''They've had to do a bit of a crash course on Australian rules, how the drafting process works, the draft combine,'' says Partington.

So, quietly, has Downie, who adds that he's prepared for the possibility of missing out, too. Either way, he thinks he'll stick with football.

In the blink of an eye, basketball has moved from the big picture to a release valve in the margins. Yesterday he was on the golf course, but admits he's had the basketball out a few times lately, for therapeutic reasons.

''I haven't completely put it away. I've been out shooting a bit this week, just to think of something different and get away from it all.''

http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/hoops-amp-dreams-20111123-1nv03.html#ixzz1eXqZ7imm

[Penelope]

Will a goanna hunter be AFL's next big thing in the national draft?

    by: Jay Clark
    From: Herald Sun
    November 24, 2011


WAYLEN Manson is a freakish talent who may struggle to adjust to city life, writes Jay Clark.

WAYLEN Manson was in tears the first night of the draft camp.

The indigenous forward had arrived in Melbourne with little more than the clothes on his back and a dream to play AFL.

But after his first day, being physically tested and questioned by club recruiters at Etihad Stadium, Manson broke down. He wanted to go home.

On the other end of the phone trying to calm the spring-heeled goal kicker was Brett Claudius, footy co-ordinator for Garnduwa in the Kimberley region.

He is the man who has bussed Manson around central Western Australia for two years, with the belief he could be the next Liam Jurrah.

Claudius, listed on some documents as Manson's next of kin, has seen the 193cm jack-in-the-box stand on opponents heads, taking "some of the most amazing marks" he's seen.

Manson is raw, exciting, and, for clubs considering selecting him in tonight's national draft, a dilemma.

"When he runs and marks, he takes the ball at such a height that there's not much you can do to stop it," Claudius said.

"And if there is a pack in front of him, he just jumps over the top.

"Even at ground level in hard positions to mark, he just plucks them diving full length. I've actually never seen anyone mark the way he does."

Manson, 18, was believed to be on the Demons' radar last season. But this year the spearhead's reputation has exploded.

Running and jumping from the goalsquare, Manson's first two games for Claremont in the WAFL Colts this season produced 15 goals.

A streak of four games last month for Waratahs seniors in the Northern Territory Football League yielded 42.

Recruiters, increasing in number with each game, swarmed to watch the teen. In a thin draft like this one, on pure talent Manson is a stand-out.

At home, in his community of Billiluna, nine hours' drive inland from Broome, Manson spends his time playing football with mates, helping "fix fences and things", and hunting.

"There's lots of hunting and fishing," Manson said.

"We go to the creek, split up and look for goanna and all that. Anything you can find.

"I love playing footy. Sometimes I can't be bothered playing and training. Sometimes I want to quit.

"But (for the) love of the game I keep trying."

In the grand final of the Landmark championships in south-west WA mid-year, Manson bagged six goals, then took the match-winning mark in defence on the goal line.

"He was unstoppable," Claudius said.

"He had about five or six different opponents and he kept out-marking them over the top. He was just pointing for the boys to kick the ball up so he could just jump on them.

"On the siren, the opposition had a shot on goal and he went down the back line and took a huge pack mark on the goal line to stop the score, and we actually won by a point."

What clubs, such as the Demons, Hawthorn, Port Adelaide and Fremantle want to know is whether he can adjust to city life.

The draft camp "rattled" him, according to Claudius. The environment was foreign and in some ways, intimidating.

"As a character, he is quite funny, but put him in front of non-indigenous people, and it's a complete shutdown almost," he said. "That first night of the draft camp, he was very upset.

"Two days later he went straight to Darwin and kicked 11 goals in his first game."

Claudius, though, knows it can work. But only if any club which takes him, tackles his recruitment differently to most draftees.

Claudius has called for a staggered approach, balancing time between Melbourne, Perth, and back home. That way, he could adjust, slowly. Maybe.

"If he was to go to a Melbourne club and relocate next year, immediately, as most draftees do, I would go as far as saying he wouldn't make it," he said.

"He wouldn't get through one year."

But he said a staggered approach might make the difference.

"I do reckon he has that superstar quality about him because in big games, in big moments, that's when he has actually produced his best footy," said Claudius.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/will-a-goanna-hunter-be-afls-next-big-thing-in-the-national-draft/story-e6frf9jf-1226204211599

saw this bloike play a couple of weeks ago and he outshone fat fev, kicking 11 goals. The comments about his marking are not an exageration.

the game when pettifer also kicked (along with fat fev) a bag he went MIA though.

there is talk that one club asked him not to play so he would stay under the radar. not sure if this is why he didn't play on the weekend or not.

This article doesn't give hopes of him making it though.