Athletic 15-year-old Tom Young is the second player selected by the Magpies under the scheme devised by the AFL in 2005 to provide a clearer pathway for elite NSW athletes to develop as AFL footballers.
Young, who hails from Bowral, about an hour and a half south of Sydney, plays his junior football for the Campbelltown Blues, and joins Scott Reed as a NSW scholarship holder at Collingwood.
The 188-centimetre prospect was introduced to the game by his father, who grew up in Ballarat, and explained what sort of player he is and his goals for 2007.
“I play centre-half back, and my strengths are my marking ability, and probably getting down low and giving the quick hands out,” Young told CTV at the Lexus Centre on Tuesday, shortly after the announcement.
“I’d like to play for New South Wales Schoolboys Under 15’s, that’d be great if I could make that team, and play under 18’s (for Campbelltown) this year, just trying to step it up a bit, a bit more physical, that’d be good.”
Young, who was initially part of the Magpies Academy Under 14 squad, has impressive physical attributes and has come on in leaps and bounds in recent times.
“Tom has been part of a development program that’s been run by Rod Carter for the past 12 months, and his improvement in size and speed in that time has been really encouraging,” Collingwood National Recruiting Manager Derek Hine told collingwoodfc.com.au.
“He has tremendous scope for development in his body, and has an insatiable appetite for football, which is indicative of his rapid improvement. We see Tom having all the attributes to potentially develop into a key forward or key back.
“We’re delighted that Tom has chosen Collingwood, as there was considerable interest from other clubs, and we look forward to Tom participating in our development program under the direction of Alan Richardson and Brad Scott ”
Under the rules of the scheme, clubs are able to select two youngsters from New South Wales each year and provide them with between $10,000 and $20,000 worth of development support per annum. The scholarship holders must be at least 15 in the year they are selected.
When the scholarship holder becomes eligible for the draft, the club will then have first rights to draft that player with their final selection in the AFL Draft.
Young will travel down to Melbourne during school holidays to train at the Lexus Centre.
