NSW/ACT talent at an all-time high

By Alison Zell

2013 has been one of the most successful years in history for NSW/ACT talent with 11 players already making their senior debuts in the past 17 rounds.

The debutants, from eight different clubs, make up just over a fifth of the NSW/ACT players on AFL lists.

“It’s the highest in my time, so eight years,” said Darren Denneman, Manager – Talent & Coaching NSW/ACT.

“It’s a great result and speaks wonders for the work the whole organisation is doing.”

25 year-old Sam Rowe, from Walla Walla in the Riverina area, made his debut for Carlton in Round 2 but it was a long journey to the AFL for the forward who was originally rookie listed by the Swans in 2006 before being delisted and spending four years playing for Norwood in South Australia.

Jarrod Witts had played just a handful of games for St Ives in Sydney when he was offered a scholarship by Collingwood at the age of 15. He continued to play with Sydney University and was officially placed on the Magpies’ list in 2012 before making his debut in Round 6 this year.

Hawthorn, who have five NSW players on their list, have had two debutants this year with Wahgunyah’s Taylor Duryea making his debut in Round 3 after being upgraded off the rookie list for injured Wagga Wagga star Matt Suckling. Sydneysider Will Langford, the son of 303-game Hawks legend Chris Langford, made his debut last weekend in Launceston.

At Melbourne, mature-age rookies Dean Terlich and Mitch Clisby, both 23, have made their debuts this year. Terlich hails from Osborne in the Riverina area and was once rookie listed by the Swans while Clisby comes from Broken Hill and played junior football with good mate and Adelaide star Taylor Walker.

Former St Ignatuis Riverview student Will Sierakowski played his first game for North Melbourne in Round 6 while Holroyd-Parramatta junior Jackson Ferguson made his first appearance for St Kilda in Round 10.

The two Sydney clubs, unsurprisingly, have the most local talent – the reigning Premiers leading the way with 11 NSW/ACT listed players. Of those 11, four are playing regular senior games and two more have made their debuts this year.

Dane Rampe has been the surprise packet of the Swans’ season, cementing a spot in their backline after playing local football for the UNSW-ES Bulldogs in the AFL Sydney competition last year.

Another surprise has been the development of Brandon Jack. The younger brother of Swans co-captain Kieren, Brandon made a shock debut for the Swans against Adelaide and has gone on to play five games in the red and white including a four-goal performance against Melbourne at the MCG.

Over at the GIANTS, they are close behind with nine NSW/ACT players and Slater & Gordon GIANTS Academy graduate Zac Williams, from Narrandera, making his debut this year.

“The 11 debutants are spread across varying ranges of how long they’ve been in the AFL system,” Denneman said.

“So you’ve got a Zac Williams who has gone from an elevated rookie to playing senior footy in his first six months and you’ve got a Dean Terlich who has gone to South Australia, Dane Rampe who went to Victoria and came back and the types like Langford who has been there for a long time and taken a bit of time to develop.

“Taylor Duryea has been outstanding in terms of getting in, staying in and fulfilling that role that probably Matt Suckling would have had and obviously Dane Rampe has had a great year.

“I think it just goes to show that at the time of these players being exposed to our program and they’ve all been through our program in some form, they were prepared – particularly the ones that had to take some time – to listen, take some advice, go and act upon it and now they’ve been successful at AFL level.”

The group of debutants are most remarkable in that many have come off rookie list spots and earned their debut as mature-age players.

“I think what it does it that it probably highlights the fact that AFL clubs need to be a little more patient with NSW/ACT players and it may take them a little bit longer potentially to develop,” Denneman said.

“But once they do develop, they become regular fixtures in a side and I think that’s been proven by eight or nine of those debutants this year.”

The Under-18 NSW/ACT Rams put in a strong performance at the NAB AFL Under-18 National Championships with captain Lloyd Perris starring, winning the NSW/ACT Rams MVP and the AIS-AFL Ben Mitchell Medal.

At Under-16s level the Rams went undefeated through the NAB AFL Under-16 National Championships in Division 2 with Callum Mills winning the Rams’ MVP, Division 2 Best and Fairest and the Carbine Club Scholarship, proving the future is bright for aspiring NSW and ACT talent.

“The 18 AFL clubs are all extremely professional these days and they’re all trying to gain a competitive advantage,” Denneman said.

“The fact that they’ve been exposed through our people in our organisation who have run good programs over a long period of time- from participation through to talent – really speaks volumes for what’s happening.

“I think the spread of players at clubs hopefully increases and it’s great to see that we’ve got 50 players across a broad range of clubs.”