SINCE the last column, the NAB AFL under-16 championships have been completed in Blacktown, Sydney.
Of great interest for Melbourne was potential father/son Jack Viney, the son of former club skipper Todd.
Like Todd, Jack is also a leader, having captained South Australia to its first under-16 title since the introduction of this carnival in 1996. It was a significant win for South Australia, considering its most recent under-18 win was back in 1995.
Jack had an excellent carnival and was named South Australia’s most valuable player.
He’s an inside player; he’s very brave and he’s clean. Jack’s also got awareness and good hands. While he’s an excellent stoppage player, he can play outside and push forward. When he has played forward, his pressure skills have come to the fore.
He’s an accomplished left-foot kick and his on-field leadership was really good.
He’s one player who is continually in the game - he’s always involved.
From that perspective, he was impressive.
Another potential father/son player for Essendon or Sydney Swans was Darcy Daniher, the son of Anthony and the brother of Darcy. He is a 197cm marking forward who dominated the first match of the carnival. Daniher is an exciting prospect for the Bombers or Swans.
The competition was very even and the talent on offer seemed a bit stronger than last year.
As an AIS-AFL Academy squad selector last year, we laboured over the picks. I can’t imagine this year’s selectors would’ve had that problem - there were a lot of players who picked themselves. The upcoming AIS-AFL Academy squad will be announced in the coming weeks.
I would imagine there would be more mature-age selections in the soon to be announced AIS-AFL Academy squad, with half coming from the under 16s and the rest coming from the players who are eligible to be drafted next year.
This will be a good result from a recruiting perspective, because the group has more relevance to the drafting year. Jordan Gysberts is a good example of this, as he graduated through the AIS-AFL Academy in his draft year.
Division two in the carnival was also interesting with South Pacific and World XVIII participating for the first time.
The AFL is looking to grow the game, which is a great idea. But from a club perspective, we’ve got to see where we’re positioned to maximise our ability in those markets. So that’s a decision we’ve got to consider as a football club.
International scholarship players could be claimed from those teams and that’s something the AFL is encouraging. Former Fitzroy, Collingwood and Hawthorn player Tony Woods is now involved with the AFL and helping grow the game internationally.
Woods, along with Dave Matthews from the AFL, recently spoke to the AFL recruiters about this area of the game.
The other interesting aspect of this year’s under-16 carnival is that pool will be the first crop of players to come through the draft post-Greater Western Sydney’s entry into the AFL. However, GWS will still have access to some players from this pool, although these rules have yet to be finalised.
But the bottom line is that recruiters still need to know the draft pool, because recruiters might be able to engage in some trading with GWS for these players.
Of further interest for Melbourne supporters was the fact Dean Bailey’s son - Darcy - played for Vic Metro.
Darcy acquitted himself really well against Vic Country, when Dad Dean was up there watching. I’m sure he would’ve been a very proud father watching his son play. Darcy is an impressive small forward/midfielder with good decision-making skills.
But unfortunately, there isn’t a coach/son rule at this point!
Overall, I came away thinking this group of talent would be pretty good and better than 2009.
Of great interest for Melbourne was potential father/son Jack Viney, the son of former club skipper Todd.
Like Todd, Jack is also a leader, having captained South Australia to its first under-16 title since the introduction of this carnival in 1996. It was a significant win for South Australia, considering its most recent under-18 win was back in 1995.
Jack had an excellent carnival and was named South Australia’s most valuable player.
He’s an inside player; he’s very brave and he’s clean. Jack’s also got awareness and good hands. While he’s an excellent stoppage player, he can play outside and push forward. When he has played forward, his pressure skills have come to the fore.
He’s an accomplished left-foot kick and his on-field leadership was really good.
He’s one player who is continually in the game - he’s always involved.
From that perspective, he was impressive.
Another potential father/son player for Essendon or Sydney Swans was Darcy Daniher, the son of Anthony and the brother of Darcy. He is a 197cm marking forward who dominated the first match of the carnival. Daniher is an exciting prospect for the Bombers or Swans.
The competition was very even and the talent on offer seemed a bit stronger than last year.
As an AIS-AFL Academy squad selector last year, we laboured over the picks. I can’t imagine this year’s selectors would’ve had that problem - there were a lot of players who picked themselves. The upcoming AIS-AFL Academy squad will be announced in the coming weeks.
I would imagine there would be more mature-age selections in the soon to be announced AIS-AFL Academy squad, with half coming from the under 16s and the rest coming from the players who are eligible to be drafted next year.
This will be a good result from a recruiting perspective, because the group has more relevance to the drafting year. Jordan Gysberts is a good example of this, as he graduated through the AIS-AFL Academy in his draft year.
Division two in the carnival was also interesting with South Pacific and World XVIII participating for the first time.
The AFL is looking to grow the game, which is a great idea. But from a club perspective, we’ve got to see where we’re positioned to maximise our ability in those markets. So that’s a decision we’ve got to consider as a football club.
International scholarship players could be claimed from those teams and that’s something the AFL is encouraging. Former Fitzroy, Collingwood and Hawthorn player Tony Woods is now involved with the AFL and helping grow the game internationally.
Woods, along with Dave Matthews from the AFL, recently spoke to the AFL recruiters about this area of the game.
The other interesting aspect of this year’s under-16 carnival is that pool will be the first crop of players to come through the draft post-Greater Western Sydney’s entry into the AFL. However, GWS will still have access to some players from this pool, although these rules have yet to be finalised.
But the bottom line is that recruiters still need to know the draft pool, because recruiters might be able to engage in some trading with GWS for these players.
Of further interest for Melbourne supporters was the fact Dean Bailey’s son - Darcy - played for Vic Metro.
Darcy acquitted himself really well against Vic Country, when Dad Dean was up there watching. I’m sure he would’ve been a very proud father watching his son play. Darcy is an impressive small forward/midfielder with good decision-making skills.
But unfortunately, there isn’t a coach/son rule at this point!
Overall, I came away thinking this group of talent would be pretty good and better than 2009.
