AFL stars join Rams for dinner

The 2013 Rams squad are in Melbourne for the NAB AFL Under-18 National Championships and preparing for their Round 5 clash against Tasmania on Thursday.

They were joined at a team dinner by former Rams players Matt Suckling (Hawthorn), Luke Breust (Hawthorn), Isaac Smith (Hawthorn), Taylor Duryea (Hawthorn), Ben Mabon (North Melbourne), Jason Tutt (Western Bulldogs), Mitch Clisby (Melbourne), Jarrod Witts (Collingwood) and Michael Hartley (Collingwood) .

Rams captain Lloyd Perris said it was an honour to be sitting in the same room as AFL-listed players, and almost surreal that some of his teammates could be playing in the AFL as soon as next year

“Just to sit down and relax with them, having a general conversation with them, you realise they are just normal blokes who are getting to live their dream playing in the AFL,” Perris said.

“It was good for all the boys to meet them and see that it could be them next year or the year after.”

The players sat amongst the squad, chatting about footy and their experiences in making it to the AFL.

Some players, such as Mitch Clisby, told the youngsters that just because you don’t get picked up as 18 year-old in the draft, doesn’t mean your AFL dream is over.

Clisby was drafted to Melbourne as a 23 year-old rookie and made his debut this season after playing in North Adelaide for the past four seasons. Clisby was a member of the Rams squad in 2008.

This year’s group of future stars will be finishing up their Championships series on Thursday after five tough rounds against the best young AFL footballers in the country.

NSW/ACT Rams coach Jason Saddington said the competition is a great opportunity for state players to experience AFL at the highest level. 

“The National Championships presents a fantastic opportunity for our players to test their abilities against the best in the land and we believe many have the attributes to stand up, be super competitive and turn heads,” Saddington said.

“We have fantastic resources on hand and aim to maximise the learning opportunity for all squad members through a challenging, enjoyable and rewarding environment.”