NSW/ACT Players of the Week

By Alison Zell

SYDNEY SWANS

Tony Armstrong – Burrumbuttock
It’s been an up and down year for Tony Armstrong, from the central Riverina area in southern NSW. Looking to cement a permanent spot in the Swans line up after playing eight games last year and being named as an emergency for the Grand Final, Armstrong has played seven games so far in 2013, stringing together five in a row between Rounds 3 and 7. His best performance was against St Kilda in New Zealand when he collected 21 disposals, but the half-back flanker hasn’t played since the Swans’ clash with Port Adelaide in Round 13.

Craig Bird – Nelson Bay
Tough midfielder Craig Bird played every game of the 2012 season, including the winning Grand Final, but had taken his game to another level in 2013. He missed the first game of the season but after beginning the year as a role player, he has cemented himself as a key cog of the midfield machine and been in top form, including 33 possessions and five tackles against Carlton. The Nelson Bay junior, who grew up barracking for the Swans, will notch up his 100th game against the GIANTS this weekend.

Harry Cunningham – Turvey Park
Wagga Wagga’s Harry Cunningham enjoyed a blistering start to his AFL career after a big 2012 pre-season, being elevated off the rookie list and making his AFL debut in Round 1. He was unable to break back into the Swans’ side that went on to win the Premiership but enjoyed some great form for the reserves side in the NEAFL Eastern conference. A serious knee injury meant the Turvey Park junior missed six weeks of football in the beginning of the 2013 season and is only now starting to play full games in the reserves. Signed until the end of the 2014 season, Cunningham will be looking to break through for the second game of his career.

Brandon Jack – Pennant Hills
When he was signed as a NSW Scholarship selection at the end of 2012, 2013 was always meant to be a learning year for Jack, the youngest brother of Swans co-captain Kieren. It has been a whirlwind rise for the quick half forward when he was a shock inclusion for Lewis Jetta in the Swans’ clash against Adelaide. He started the game as a sub and was dropped the following week but got another chance for the Carlton game, playing his first full game at the last minute when Mitch Morton was a late exclusion. He then starred in the Swans’ win over Melbourne last weekend when he kicked four goals – more than Kieren has ever kicked in one game.

Kieren Jack – Pennant Hills
2013 started on a bright note for one of the Swans’ best as the Pennant Hills junior was named as Sydney’s new co-captain alongside fellow NSW product Jarrad McVeigh. Jack has continued to improve since beginning at the Swans and has had a blinding start to this season with the 26-year-old now considered one of the competition’s elite midfielders. He has continued to rack up possessions as a key cog in the Swans midfield and is consistently one of the Swans’ best tacklers. Jack is sitting second in the AFL Coaches Association Award behind Gary Ablett Jr.

Ben McGlynn – Wentworth
After the heartbreak of missing out on last year’s Grand Final triumph due to injury McGlynn has thrown himself into the 2013 season with his usual ferocity. He has played every game this year in what has been a consistent, if not spectacular, season. His highest possession count was in Round 10 against Essendon while he has had three goals in two matches – against North Melbourne and the Adelaide Crows.

Jarrad McVeigh – Pennant Hills
Co-captain Jarrad McVeigh is one of the most experienced players in the Sydney line-up now and with the Swans’ injuries woes, McVeigh has been thrown to the half-back line to keep their defence steady. He has done an outstanding job and sits in the top ten of the AFL Coaches Association Award. He has had 25 possessions or more in 10 of their 14 games and kicked 13 goals for the year, with his best games against Essendon when he gathered 34 possessions, and four goals against the Gold Coast.

Sam Naismith – Gunnedah
Giant ruck recruit Sam Naismith arrived in Sydney from the Sydney Swans Academy via Gunnedah and the AFL Sydney competition. The 203cm rookie has been hampered by injuries since his arrival, with a thumb injury putting him out of the NEAFL action until Round 5 and then overtraining resulting in an indefinite knee injury which has meant Naismith has not seen any action this season. Naismith is seen as a long-term ruck prospect to partner Mike Pyke or Shane Mumford in the future.

Dane Rampe – UNSW-ES Bulldogs
Dane Rampe has been the surprise package of the Swans’ season. Last season Rampe was one of thousands of Sydney Swans fans cheering the red and white on to the 2012 AFL Premiership. Just six months later, 22-year-old Rampe made his debut with the Swans in a meteoric rise from AFL Sydney to the big time. The former UNSW-ES Bulldogs player and last year’s Phelan Medal winner has missed just two games in his debut year and injuries to some key Swans have helped him cement a permanent spot in the Sydney backline. Rampe’s stunning rise to the AFL has been rewarded with a new two-year contract.

Lewis Roberts-Thomson – North Shore
Former St Ignatius College product Lewis Roberts-Thomson has carved an impressive career for himself since arriving at the Swans and became a two-time Premiership winner last year. He was an invaluable part of the Swans’ 2012 line up playing both back and forward to give the Swans enviable flexibility. But after just four games of the 2013 season, the man known as LRT was ruled out of two months of football with a serious knee injury. His layoff has been a continuing one with the swingman still not training fully yet and no date put on his return.

Daniel Robinson – Mosman Swans
A standout for NSW/ACT at the 2012 NAB AFL Under-18 National Championships, Robinson secured a dream opportunity on the Swans’ rookie list. Formerly a NSW Scholarship holder, Robinson has shown promising signs as an insider midfielder in the NEAFL Eastern competition. Robinson has played 12 games this year with the 19 year-old beginning to show some good form through the midfield and up forward.

GWS GIANTS

Kurt Aylett – Leeton-Whitton
Riverina product Kurt Aylett has played just one game for the League’s newest club. Aylett made his AFL debut against Fremantle in Round 17 last year and collected six disposals after sitting out the early parts of 2012 recovering from an ACL injury. The athletic midfielder with elite endurance has played nearly every game for the UWS GIANTS in the NEAFL Eastern competition this year and has had some good games recently, named in the best in Round 14 and kicking a goal in last week’s big win against Tuggeranong.

Josh Bruce – Eastlake
Canberra’s Josh Bruce made his AFL debut in Canberra against the Western Bulldogs in Round 5, 2012. He played three senior games in his inaugural season in the AFL. With co-captain Phil Davis struck down with a back injury, the defender was able to string together seven games in a row from Round 6 to Round 12 before heading back to the NEAFL. The 21-year-old will be hoping to break back into the GIANTS line-up and secure himself a contract beyond 2013.

Phil Davis – Marist Canberra
One of the inaugural co-captains of the GIANTS, Davis was the only GIANT to play 22 games in the club’s first AFL season. The defender put in a number of impressive displays in 2012, his best game coming against Richmond in Round 12 when he racked up 23 disposals and seven marks. He played the first five games of the season before missing a huge chunk of the season with a back injury. He has played the past two games for the UWS GIANTS in the NEAFL Eastern conference and will be hoping for a re-call to the senior side against the Swans.

Anthony Miles – North Albury
Miles was a highly-rated zone selection for the GIANTS with the tough midfielder from Howlong a strong leader, captaining both the Under-16 and Under-18 NSW/ACT representative sides and selected in the 2010 NAB AFL Under-18 All-Australian team. After a tough first AFL pre-season, he made his AFL debut in Round 4, 2012 against Adelaide, collecting 15 disposals and eight marks. Miles played seven games in his first season in the AFL with an impressive average of 18.3 disposals and 4.9 marks. His most exciting display was against Fremantle in Round 17 when he amassed 27 disposals and took six marks. He has played four games for the 2013 season so far after battling some minor injuries throughout the year and is currently sitting on the sidelines with ‘turf toe’.

Joe Redfern – Wagga Swans
Captain of the UWS GIANTS NEAFL side, Redfern was selected by the GIANTS with pick number 51 in the 2012 rookie draft. An athletic forward from Wagga Wagga, Redfern played his footy with the Sydney Hills Eagles last year. Redfern is one of the first Slater and Gordon GIANTS Academy graduates to make it onto the GIANTS rookie list. He spent the first part of the season injured before debuting for the reserves side in Round 7. The 18-year-old has kicked 11 goals in seven games.

Sam Schulz – Culcairn
Sam Schulz made his AFL debut in Round 12 last year against Richmond. This was the midfielder’s only senior game for the 2012 season, with the Riverina recruit putting in a number of impressive performances for the UWS GIANTS in the NEAFL. Schulz underwent a shoulder operation at the conclusion of the 2012 season and has battled injury issues but made seven appearances for the reserves side before missing last week with a leg injury.

Jacob Townsend – Leeton-Whitton
Riverina recruit Jacob Townsend made his AFL debut in Round 1, 2012 and played eleven games for the GIANTS in his first AFL season. The tough, in and under midfielder averaged eight disposals and three tackles in 2012. Townsend was given the Coaches Award at the inaugural Kevin Sheedy Medal for his fearless attack on the football in his first year. He has made eight appearances in the senior side this year in a tagging role with his best game coming in Round 12 when he collected 18 possessions against Port Adelaide.

Mark Whiley – Finley
Whiley is a promising defender who made his AFL debut against Richmond in Round 12, 2012. The Riverina recruit played three senior games in his first year in the AFL and averaged 11.7 disposals and five marks. He has made a single appearance for the senior side in 2013, against Hawthorn in Round 8. He has played almost every other game for the UWS GIANTS with some strong and consistent performances putting him in line for a senior re-call.

Zac Williams – Narrandera
Williams was selected by the GIANTS with pick number 54 in the 2012 rookie draft. An athletic half-back from Narrandera, NSW, he was a part of the Slater & Gordon GIANTS Academy since 2011 and one of the first Slater & Gordon GIANTS Academy graduates to make it onto the GIANTS rookie list. He made his senior debut in Round 5 against the Gold Coast Suns and has played five games for the year, including 13 possessions on debut.