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CTV in South Africa > Scott Reed interviewAt 17, Scott Reed is entering the third and most significant season of his time as one of Collingwood’s New South Wales scholarship holders.
The athletic midfielder/half back from Terrigal on the Central Coast will be eligible to be drafted by Collingwood at the end of the 2008 season if the Magpies decide to commit their final pick in the AFL Draft.
Reed, who stands at 192 centimetres, was originally signed by the Magpies in 2006 as the club’s first ever NSW scholarship holder.
Under the scheme introduced by the AFL in 2005, aimed at giving the best young athletes in NSW a clear pathway to AFL football, each AFL club is able to sign two NSW youngsters per year, with first option of selecting those players with the club’s final pick in the draft in the year the player becomes eligible.
Since signing Reed, Collingwood has added Tom Young and Nick Perry, with an eye to more players joining the list in 2008.
CTV recently caught up with Reed in Potchefstroom, South Africa, where he was taking part in the club’s intensive high-altitude training camp.
Given he doesn’t get to spend a lot of time in Melbourne training at the Lexus Centre with his potential team mates, Reed cherished the experience.
“It’s been really good to train with all the boys, they’ve made me feel really at home and helped me fit in,” he said.
“I hardly get to come down (to Melbourne) much during the year, so two weeks over here, to spend time with them, is a really good thing for me, because I get to see what it’s like from both sides, both socially and professionally, so it’s a great experience.”
Collingwood has set up a structure allowing the club to customise and maximise the development of its NSW scholarship holders.
“Last year I didn’t get to come down (to the Lexus Centre) too much because of national representation, so I mainly deal with Alan Richardson, ring him up, get some advice.
“I also work with Justin Blumfield, who’s been employed with Collingwood to help and train one-on-one with me, and he talks to them directly too, so it’s pretty easy to get what I need.”
Combining his solid 2007 season with the fact his development was fast-tracked by spending two-and-a-half weeks training and playing intra-club matches with senior Collingwood players in South Africa means Reed has laid a solid foundation for the upcoming season.
“2007 was a good year for me personally.
“I just came back from a year off with a few injuries, played in the Under-18 NSW-ACT Rams side which won division two (of the national under 18 championships competition) pretty comfortably, and my local team, Pennant Hills, we got knocked out in the semis, but I got to play a few first-grade games with them so that was a really good experience.
“Hopefully, when I get back, I’ll have a look at the Rams side and see how that all goes.
“Hopefully, if New South Wales and the AFL let me, I’ll come down and play one or two games with the Collingwood reserves, if that’s what Collingwood wants, if not I’ll play for Pennant Hills first grade and see how we go there.”
