Norwood midfielder Luke Partington off to US with AFL academy

LUKE Partington hopes to use an AFL academy training camp in the US as a stepping stone to a successful debut season with Norwood.

09/01/15 - Norwood AFL draft prospect Luke Partington is headed to the US with the AFL academy squad. Pictured at Norwood Oval. Photo Tom Huntley

LUKE Partington hopes to use a training camp in the US as a stepping stone to a successful debut season with Norwood.

Partington, 17, has been selected in a 35-strong, under-18 AFL academy squad for the 10-day trip, starting this week.

It follows the Tumby Bay-raised midfielder’s off-season switch from Port Adelaide to Norwood.

“I’ve got a (hip) injury at the moment so want to get that 100 per cent leading into the season and try to pick up things along the way from the other players,” Partington says.

“I can’t wait – it’ll be very exciting.

“Norwood is a very good side so it’ll be extremely difficult to break into that (league) team ... but that’s what I’m hoping to do.”

The under-18 squad, which features five other Croweaters, will train under former Western Bulldog Brad Johnson at Florida’s IMG academy.

“It’s all about emulating what it’d be like at an AFL club,” Partington says.

Partington, of Highbury, became a casualty of the redistribution of Port ­Adelaide’s zones in August.

As part of the deal to allow the Magpies to become the Power’s reserves last season, Port had to cede its juniors and zones to SANFL rivals.

Norwood claimed a large part of the Magpies’ Eyre Peninsula territory, including Tumby Bay.

“Early on I would’ve rather stayed at Port and didn’t really want to change because I was enjoying it, and had good friends there.

“But I’m loving it (at Norwood) now.”

Partington, a state under-18 representative last season, is seen as one of SA’s top AFL draft prospects this year.

“That’s obviously the major goal, to have my name called out at the draft in November, but there’s a lot of hard work to go in before that happens.”