Three of the Territory’s best young players have been invited to attend the NAB AFL Draft Camp at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra from the 29th of September to the 2nd of October.
Three of the Territory’s best young players have been invited to attend the NAB AFL Draft Camp at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra from the 29th of September to the 2nd of October.
Thunder U18’s Co-captain, Deon Gordon along with Troy Taylor and Mitchell Taylor have earned invitations after catching the eye of AFL recruiters at the National U18’s Championships.
AFLNT Talent and Coaching Manager, Jarrod Chipperfield noted “Deon Gordon has sublime foot skills and poise under pressure & his improvement in winning contested ball this year made the scouts take notice. Mitchell Taylor is a super competitor who is just never beaten, he has cat like recovery and a great work ethic and Troy Taylor, well Troy was a real eye catcher. Taking some fantastic contested marks, kicking some wonderful goals and provided fantastic pressure on the opposition, some scouts are calling him the new Micky O (Michael O’Loughlin) based on some of the freakish things he did during the Carnival”
Another four Territorians have earned invites to State based draft screening sessions in Melbourne & Adelaide. Rugged defender/on-baller, Pierce Liddle, Robust midfielder & Thunder U18’s MVP, Roland Ah Chee and the smooth moving Charlie McAdam have been rewarded for their Carnival performances while Tiwi flyer & Thunder excitement machine, Bradley Palipuaminni caught the eye of recruiters during a fantastic debut season in the QAFL with the Thunder
NTIS AFL High Performance Coach, Brett Hand who coached the players in the U18’s Championships said “This year’s U18 National campaign has once again proven to be great opportunity for talented Territory boys to showcase their skill and talent. Six of the squad have been recognised and rewarded for their efforts with invites to the Draft Camp and State Screenings.
The three lads who have been invited to the State screenings are all wonderful examples of the over age concessions that we are lucky to have. They had chosen to further their careers by playing football in the Southern states, Roland has been playing with Norwood in the SANFL, Pierce with Casey Scorpions in the VFL and Charlie was originally playing with Corowa-Rutherglen in the Ovens and Murray League before being lured back to Darwin with the opportunity to play with the Thunder.
Roland, our Most Valuable Player for the carnival showed a fantastic ability to win the contested ball and use the ball effectively was a feature. It has been really pleasing to see the other three players’ progress to the Thunder QAFL team following the U18’s Nationals, in previous years they would have had to head south to continue with their football. It has enabled them to stay in Darwin while helping to keep them in the forefront of the recruiters’ minds following on from their excellent form at the Championships”
NT Thunder High Performance Manager Murray Davis added, “the introduction of NT Thunder into the QAFL has been a huge success story in a short period of time. In the case of the Deon, Troy, Mitchell and Charlie all have progressed through the junior Thunder program and continued onto the pathway into the seniors. Both Deon & Troy have been awarded Rising Star nominations for performances in the QAFL and both Charlie & Mitchell have shown they can play at State League level.
In the case of Bradley Palipuaminni, I’m just so pleased that his efforts have been recognised in the way of an invitation to State Screening. Here’s a 20 year old who might have thought his dream of playing at the highest level had passed. Everyone is aware of his talent and he’s now been able to show that at a higher level, he’s been the Thunder’s best player on two occasions against the Brisbane Lions reserve grade side and in round 12 won the rising star award in a dominant display where he kicked four goals.
It’s a credit to the players and everyone involved to have this representation at draft camp and screening. We certainly wish them all the best and hope the pathway continues for these players onto bigger and better things”