Young and Tutt to debut
Former NSW/ACT RAMS players, Sydney’s Tom Young and Canberra’s Jason Tutt, will make their AFL debuts this weekend for Collingwood and Western Bulldogs respectively.
Young, 19, from Sydney’s west, will become the fifth debutant at the Magpies this year and the 1092nd player to represent Collingwood since the inception of the VFL in 1897.
Originally from Bowral, Young played his junior football for the Wollondilly Football Club and senior football with Campbelltown and Sydney University.
The talented player signed with Collingwood on a NSW scholarship in 2008 and moved to Melbourne at the end of 2009.
He played every VFL match (20) for the VFL Magpies in 2010 and won the best player in the VFL award, the Joseph Wren Trophy.
The developing young gun excelled at halfback and averaged 19 disposals and four marks a game. He was elevated to the senior list at the end of last year and will get his chance to debut against Brisbane at the MCG on Saturday.
Another up and coming player from the AFL NSW/ACT Talented Player Program, Jason Tutt from Canberra, will also get his opportunity to impress in the AFL.
Taken at pick 31 in the 2009 NAB AFL Draft, the quick and skilful 20-year-old spent his first season at the club playing for Williamstown in the VFL.
Tutt has impressed this year and will play under caretaker coach Paul Williams for the very first time. He is seen as a long-term player at the club.
The Western Bulldogs take on Port Adelaide at AAMI Stadium on Sunday.
It is a fantastic achievement for Young and Tutt to join the growing number of NSW/ACT players in the AFL.