City’s youth a goldmine of AFL talent
This article first appeared in the Area News: Griffith, March 11 edition, page 23
A handful of talented locals are poised for selection in a talent camp in Sydney next month after AFL NSW/ACT development coordinator Che Jenkins labelled Griffith an “untapped” Australian rules goldmine.
Jenkins oversaw athletic assessments for Indigenous and multicultural kids at two local schools last week in search of the next big star, and came away thoroughly impressed.
Students between 12 and 17 years old at both Griffith High and Wade High were under the microscope on Thursday, put through their paces by AFL testers looking to unearth the next Lance Franklin.
The top tier of performers in the state throughout a series of athletic tests will be either selected for the NSW/ACT Indigenous side or be flown to Sydney next month for a multicultural talent camp.
“Speaking to the indigenous and multicultural programs manager, he said there’ll definitely be kids from Griffith involved in that,” Jenkins said.
“If we get four or five from southern NSW that’s a pretty good return I would have thought.
“There’s a lot of athletic kids and a heap of untapped talent here in Griffith I’d like to get in the AFL system.
“A lot of the kids were from a rugby background, most of them, but their athletic ability was quite good both girls and boys.
“In comparison to other kids who have been tested in metro Sydney or out in Broken Hill, the locals were up amongst the better results.”
Teachers will be notified next month if any students at their school have made the cut.
“Multicultural” is defined as having either one or two parents born overseas or if the player themselves was not born in Australia.
