Emerging Tiger Miles set to sign new dealTravis King
afl.com.au
August 10, 2014 2:49 PMANTHONY Miles' remarkable rise from the football scrapheap is set to continue, with the Richmond midfielder on the verge of signing a contract extension to keep him at Punt Road.
The 22-year-old has been a revelation for the Tigers since he was delisted by Greater Western Sydney at the end of last season.
He's played every game since making his debut against North Melbourne in round 12 and has taken some of the heat of skipper Trent Cotchin at the coalface.
The inside ball winner is averaging 11.1 contested possessions a game and 24.1 disposals after being picked up in the rookie draft and is now set to sign a senior contract.
"I think my manager's working through it at the moment, so I'm not sure of the finer details of it," Miles said on The Sunday Footy Show.
"I'm certainly hoping to stay at the Tiges."
Miles revealed there were no guarantees he would be given a second chance at the top level by Richmond.
The New South Welshman started looking around for a VFL or SANFL club before receiving a call from the Tigers.
"A couple of weeks before the rookie draft Richmond actually rang me and said look mate we aren't going to take you, just go and do what you do in the VFL or the SANFL and we'll have a look at you there'," he said.
"But Blair Hartley (general manager of player personnel and list management) fortunately rang me the night before the rookie draft and said ‘we might take you’ so it caused a bit of a sleepless night I got picked up, fortunately.
"Obviously being delisted at the end of last year by the Giants was pretty tough to swallow.
"My running ability was probably the main thing and then they touched on a few other things. It was a pretty tough time."
But instead of saying the Giants overlooked his talent, Miles believes his improvement has come from sheer hard work.
"I'd like to think I've improved. I went away after being delisted and worked on what they thought my deficiencies were," he said.
"I hooked up with a running coach back home, my uncle, and did some work there and the Tigers have been great for my development as well.
"The thing for me to was just to first-hand witness how these guys go about it. 'Lids' (Brett Deledio) and 'Cotch' have been great just to watch what they do on the track and in the weights room.
"Nathan Foley has been fantastic for me – he played his 150th on Friday night and he's been a great mentor for me as well."
Miles played 10 games for the Giants in two seasons and is set to equal that mark for Richmond against Adelaide in round 21.
http://www.afl.com.au/news/2014-08-10/miles-set-for-new-deal