Crow Wayne Milera destined for greatness, says recruiting mastermind
The man who convinced Adelaide to draft Wayne Milera has forecast superstardom for the brilliant playmaker, saying he could become one of the greatest indigenous players of all time.
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The man who convinced Adelaide to draft Wayne Milera has forecast superstardom for the brilliant playmaker, saying he could become one of the greatest indigenous players of all time.
As Milera prepares for just his 44th game in the Crows’ premiership-season opener against Hawthorn at Adelaide Oval on Saturday, former Adelaide recruiter and development coach Alan Stewart said the 21-year-old had the potential to be in the “top bracket’’ of indigenous footballers.
Stewart labelled Milera a Shaun Burgoyne clone after scouting him in his draft year in 2015.
He now says he is on track to play 250 AFL games and could emulate the remarkable deeds of four-times premiership star Burgoyne, who at 36 is entering his 19th AFL season and will play his 359th match against the Crows this week.
“Wayne reminds me a lot of Shaun, always has,’’ said football mastermind Stewart, who last year was honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the AFL Coaches’ Association for his contribution to the game.
“And I think Shaun is among the best three indigenous players to ever play. He is an outstanding player.
“When I watched Wayne play early on in his draft year, I quickly took a liking to him and made the comparison to Shaun in my draft reports.
“I was really strong on the fact that this bloke had some traits like Shaun — the speed, beautiful movement, versatility and unbelievable ability to see the game really well.
“He could go into traffic, take the ball cleanly and then make a really good decision to get the ball out to advantage.
“Wayne has a great future and I know it’s a big statement but he could become of the finest indigenous players we’ve seen, that's how highly I rate him.’’
The Crows selected then forward-midfielder Milera from SANFL club Central District at pick 11 at the 2015 national draft in Adelaide — ahead of Carlton star Charlie Curnow (12), Richmond premiership small forward Daniel Rioli (15) and South Australian Ryan Burton (19), who went to Hawthorn.
Stewart said he had Milera ranked in his top three draft prospects — “and clearly the top South Australian in the draft,’’ he said — but would not reveal the order.
West Adelaide’s Aaron Francis was the first Croweater picked, going to Essendon at No. 6.
Stewart said that every time he scouted Milera in 2015 — in the SANFL:and AFL under-18 championships — he would “do three or four outstanding things that stayed in your mind’’.
“There was something quite special about him, these little patches of brilliance,’’ Stewart said.
“When he was playing forward in the league team he didn’t win a lot of the ball because it can be quite hard there at SANFL level but he would just do these magical little things.
“He only needed eight or 10 possessions across half-forward to make a big difference because he would either kick goals or create them.
“One thing you learn over time as a recruiter is to not look at the stats because they can confuse you.
“My philosophy was that seeing is believing and Wayne didn’t need a lot of possessions to have a big effect on a game.
“I remember a league final he played (first semi against Port Adelaide) and he kicked three goals and during the game I got a text from Hamish (Adelaide recruiting manager Hamish Ogilvie) saying ‘are you seeing what I’m seeing?
“I know Hamish and the boys had a fair opinion of Wayne but it got stronger and stronger as we continued to watch him and at our recruiting meetings I continued to push really hard for his selection.
“I wanted us to take him with our first pick and for him to slip to 11, which we didn’t think would happen, was a great result.’’
Milera debuted for the Crows in round one., 2016, against North Melbourne and after playing eight games in his first year, he played 16 in 2017 and 19 in a breakout 2018 campaign where he took over injured All-Australian Brodie Smith’s rebounding half-back role and shone.
“Moving him to half-back was a masterstroke because that suits his game perfectly,’’ Stewart said.
“Eventually he’ll move back into the midfield and become a great utility player but right now he’s still learning his craft and will probably play his best footy from ages 25 to 28.
“He’s not just a terrific footballer, but a brilliant young man who has his feet firmly planted on the ground, so, barring injury, he should have a great career.’’
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