Tigers draft ‘elite’ Miller The West Australian
Neil Watkinson
27 November 2017Ben Miller starts pre-season football training this morning with AFL premiers Richmond at the club’s Punt Road base in central Melbourne.
There was no time to waste after the Tigers selected the Kalgoorlie-Boulder 18-year-old with pick No.63 of the AFL National Draft on Friday last week.
Club officials were immediately on the phone to Miller, and they told the Railways Football Club and Subiaco ruckman-forward he was booked on a flight to Melbourne yesterday.
Miller watched the draft at his Lamington home with several other family members and his girlfriend, Finlay McMillan.
Railways’ Ben Miller in action against Boulder last season.Picture: Louise White / Kalgoorlie MinerWhen the Kalgoorlie Miner visited them on Friday night, there was still a feeling among everyone of “is this really happening?”.
The man of the moment said: “Words can’t really describe how I feel right now.”
He said he was delighted Richmond had picked him.
“They are a great club,” he said.
“I can’t wait.”
Miller paid tribute to the support his mother, Leanne, and father, David, had given him.
“Dad taught me how to kick the football,” he said.
Mr Miller said his son’s AFL selection had left him “over the moon”.
Mrs Miller simply said she was “thrilled to bits”.
Miller’s brother Jacob, who plays for WAFL club Subiaco, said the family had realised the AFL dream could become a reality when Miller was selected to play for the WA team at this year’s under-18 National Championships.
Jacob said this put his brother among the top young players in the State, and in a position to catch the eye of recruiters.
Jacob said his brother was a “raw talent”.
“He can burst through the ceiling, but he will need to put the hard work in,” he said.
Richmond said in its website article on Miller that the 196cm, 93kg tall utility was an “elite athlete”.
“We feel Ben is still in the early stages of his football development and that he has huge scope for improvement in an AFL environment, considering what he has been able to achieve to this point, while being based in a remote location,” the club said.
“He’s a big, powerful kid, who has the speed, athleticism and skill to develop as a key-position player at either end of the ground.”
Miller played football in Kalgoorlie-Boulder for Railways, and said they had made a huge contribution to his success. He played in this year’s Railways Football Club premiership team in Goldfields Football League, and made some appearances for Subiaco’s colts team this year. He was one of two Goldfields-Esperance players to be drafted, with West Coast selecting Esperance midfielder Brayden Ainsworth with pick No.32.
Ainsworth, a product of Ports Football Club, played alongside Jacob Miller in Subiaco’s premiership-winning reserves team this year. Subiaco said on its website that Miller and Ainsworth were beneficiaries of the club’s commitment to its regional zone.
“Miller from Kalgoorlie and Ainsworth from Esperance each developed strongly across the past two seasons,” the club said.
“Miller and Ainsworth had been highly regarded at their respective towns, having played senior football as teenagers and each collecting a number of local awards.”
https://thewest.com.au/news/kalgoorlie-miner/tigers-draft-elite-miller-ng-b88671755z
