WITH the conclusion of this year's NAB AFL Under-18 Championships about to take place at Docklands, I thought I would reflect on my time coming through the system.
After playing juniors with Mt Eliza on the Mornington Peninsula and representing interleague teams, I combined football with study at Peninsula School and playing for the Dandenong Stingrays in the TAC Cup.
I found the TAC Cup was a really professional environment. I learned a lot with the Stingrays and really valued my time there.
I was lucky enough to play in the 2005 TAC Cup grand final at the MCG and, although we weren't fortunate enough to win, the experience was great.
For a TAC Cup player, you couldn't get any bigger than that – playing in the premier under-18 competition on AFL grand final day at the 'G.
I remember what my old man said to me in the lead-up to that grand final; "Good players play well in the big games."
So I really set myself for a big game and I was lucky enough to find a bit of the footy (36 disposals), even though it was disappointing we didn't get over the line.
In 2005 I also played for Vic Metro under David Dickson, who played in Carlton's 1972 premiership team.
I got along really well with 'Dicko' – he was a super coach and I loved the experience of playing for him.
He really helped me with my game. I had picked up some bad habits from playing school footy, and 'Dicko' guided me through how he wanted me to play for Metro.
A lot of class players played in the championships, so it was a big goal of mine to play well for Metro.
We were a strong side, and each player contributed in a way that it was positive for the individual and for the team.
This enabled us to win the NAB AFL Under-18 Championship division one title, and it also helped the players' draft prospects.
I was fortunate to play with the likes of Marc Murphy in the midfield. He was one of my close mates from that side.
I was also close to Ryan Jackson, who was later on Carlton's list. Greg Bentley, who was the Vic Metro captain and later went to Port Adelaide and is now with the Blues, is also a mate I keep in contact with.
I also played against Dale Thomas and Scotty Pendlebury in the TAC Cup grand final when they were representing Gippsland Power.
So playing for Metro and in the TAC Cup grand final went a long way towards me being drafted by Melbourne – my ultimate goal as an under-18 player.
Playing football at different levels has taught me invaluable lessons that have helped my career – particularly at TAC Cup and at state level in the championships.
I'm sure the players representing their states and territories on the final day of this year's championships will realise the same in the future.
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.
