Bombers coach Kevin Sheedy is again the coach of choice for the next generation of potential AFL stars.
A survey of 200 players competing at the NAB AFL Under 18 Championship ranked Sheedy number one as the AFL coach that the players would most like to play under and learn from.
Sheedy recorded a staggering 34 per cent of the votes cast by the players with West Coast Eagles coach John Worsfold (12 per cent) and Brisbane Lions’ coach Leigh Matthews (11 per cent) making up the top three.
Other coaches prominent in the voting by the young State and Territory representatives were Mick Malthouse (7.5 per cent), Mark Thompson and Paul Roos (both on 6.75 per cent).
The survey also found that West Coast midfielder Chris Judd was again the player that the next generation of AFL players most wanted to model their AFL career on.
Judd dominated the voting which was done on a 3-2-1 system, receiving 14 per cent of the three votes – nearly doubling the next most popular role model in James Hird (8 per cent). Others to figure prominently were Nick Riewoldt (4 per cent), followed closely by Andrew McLeod, Jonathan Brown, Scott West and Daniel Kerr (all on 3 per cent).
Asked why they wanted to play AFL football, the overwhelming majority (77 Per cent) of the players in the NAB AFL Under 18 Championships nominated “for the love of the game” as their number one reason. Eight and a half per cent of players said their main reason was “fulfilling potential” while mateship (6.5 per cent), competitive nature, financial rewards (both on 2 per cent), media or public profile (1.5 per cent), and full-time career prospects (.5 per cent) were also nominated.
The players were also asked to nominate the players in their own side and in their division that they believed had the most talent, potential and the work ethic to succeed at AFL level.
The players’ favourite player in the competition was Tasmania’s Tom Collier followed by NSW/ACT’s Craig Bird (both from Division 2 which included Tasmania, NSW/ACT, NT, Queensland) with the player’s third favourite player VIC Metro’s Matthew Kreuzer (Division 1 which included WA, VIC Metro, VIC Country and SA). Not surprisingly these three players were also nominated by their own team-mates as the top picks in their state.
Others nominated by their peers as the team-mate with the most talent, potential and the work ethic to succeed at AFL were SA’s Levi Greenwood and Brad Ebert, NT’s Cyril Rioli, VIC Country’s Ben McVoy, VIC Metro’s Jack Grimes and WA’s Rhys Palmer.
The players were asked to rank in order from 1-3 the players in their team they thought had the most talent, potential and work ethic needed to succeed at AFL level.
The top five from each team were:
1. Tom Collier. 2. Tom Bellchambers. 3. Jay Bowden. 4. Aaron Joseph. 5.
Aaron Cornelius.
1. Cyril Rioli. 2. Marlon Motlop. 3. Cameron Stokes. 4. Austin Wonaeamirri. 5. Peter Rolfe.
Vic Country
1. Ben McVoy. 2. Nick Suban. 3. Scott Selwood. 4. Dan McKenna. 5. Patrick Dangerfield.
1. Levi Greenwood. 2. Brad Ebert. 3. Tom McNamara. 4. Scott Blesing. 5. Sam Fairclough.
Victoria Metro
1. Matthew Kreuzer. 2. Jack Grimes. 3. Trent Cotchin. 4. James Polkinghorne. 5. Addam Maric.
NSW/ACT
1. Craig Bird. 2. Simon Drum. 3. Taylor Walker. 4. Ranga Ediriwickrama. 5. Tim McIntyre.
1. Rhys Palmer. 2. David Myers. 3. Chris Masten. 4. Nicholas Naitinui. 5. Daniel Rich.
1. Dayne Zorke. 2. Brendan Whitecross. 3. Sam Reid. 4. Ben Gibson. 5. Aaron Rolfe.
The players were also asked to rank in order from 1-3 the players in their division (but not from their own state/territory) who they thought had the most talent, potential and work ethic to succeed at AFL level.
The top 10 players in each division – as voted by their peers were:
Division 1 (SA, Vic Metro, Vic Country, WA) | Division 2 (Qld, NSW/ACT, TAS, NT) |
1. Matthew Kreuzer (VIC M) | 1. Craig Bird (NSW/ACT) |
2. Rhys Palmer (WA) | 2. Tom Collier (TAS) |
3. Brad Ebert (SA) | 3. Cyril Rioli (NT) |
4. Trent Cotchin (VIC M) | 4. Marlon Motlop (NT) |
5. Chris Masten (WA) | 5. Brendan Whitecross (QLD) |
6. Ben McEvoy (VIC C) | 6. Sam Reid (QLD) |
7. Hamish Hartlett (SA) | 7. Aaron Cornelius (TAS) |
8. David Myers (WA) | 8. Tom Bellchambers (TAS) |
9. Jack Grimes (VIC M) | 9. Stewart Rioli (NT) |
10. Nicholas Naitanui (WA) | 10. Reece Phoenix (NT) |
For Under 18 All-Australian information go to: http://afl.com.au/Season2007/NABAFLRisingStarsProgram/NABUnder18s/tabid/276/Default.aspx
The NAB AFL Under 18 Championships are part of the the NAB AFL Rising Stars Program, which supports young players from the grassroots to the elite level.
The NAB AFL Rising Stars Program provides recognition and a clearly identifiable direction for a player's career, and comprises the following elements:
· NAB AFL Rising Star
· NAB AFL Draft
· NAB AFL Draft Camp
· NAB AFL Under 18 Championships
·
· NAB AFL Under 16 Championships
