AFL draft 2020: The top performers from combine testing
A NEW record was set by Harry Sharp in the 2km time trial, but he was not the only athletics ace to turn heads at the AFL’s draft combine. SEE ALL THE RESULTS
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A PAIR of Australian athletics aces blitzed the AFL’s draft combine as results from testing across the country were finally compiled to determine the top performers.
The only record broken was in the 2km time trial after Greater Western Victoria Rebels wingman Harry Sharp clocked a time of 5min 28sec.
Sharp’s time eclipsed the record that first-year Collingwood midfielder Jay Rantall set at the 2019 combine of 5min 50sec and was 24 seconds faster than any other player in the country this year.
Sharp has combined his football with athletics throughout his teenage years and won the 2000m Steeplechase event at the under-18 Australian All Schools Championships in Perth last year.
He had been preparing to represent his country at the under-20 world championships in Kenya in July before COVID-19 hit.
“He’s an elite athlete but one that can play footy,” GWV Rebels talent manager Phil Partington said.
“He’s put a lot of work in to make sure he’s really strong over the footy now. And he kicks the ball very well as well. The other thing I like about him is he has an elite mindset. That comes from his running so he knows his body really well, his planning, his training regimes. He’s a perfect fit for the AFL.”
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Greater Western Sydney Academy member Godfrey Okerenyang also shone brightly at combine testing in NSW last month, posting the best 20m sprint time of any player outside of Victoria with 2.86 seconds.
Okerenyang, who hails from Wagga Wagga and was the under-18 Australian 100m Champion last year, also topped the table in the running vertical jump from his right leg (92cm) and placed second from his left leg (95cm).
“He’s relatively new to the code with Sudanese heritage but he’s in the GWS Giants Academy as he pursues an AFL dream,” AFL talent ambassador Kevin Sheehan said of Okerenyang.
“Like many aspiring AFL prospects, he’s already an elite talent in another sport.”
Collingwood Next Generation Academy member Reef McInnes recorded the best time overall in the 20m sprint at 2.779 seconds, however that test in Melbourne was conducted with a tailwind.
The likely No. 1 draft pick, Jamarra Ugle-Hagan, posted strong results in the running vertical jump (86cm) and the 20m sprint test (2.897 seconds).
Sydney Swans Academy member Braeden Campbell – rated a top-10 draft prospect – finished fourth outside Victoria in the 20m sprint with a time of 2.9 seconds, while 199cm Northern Knights key position prospect Nikolas Cox put his athletic abilities on show to place fourth in the 2km time trial in a time of 6min 5sec.
Cox is the son of former Fitzroy, Melbourne and Brisbane Bears defender Darryl Cox.
The AFL was forced to test 125 top draft prospects at a series of combine tests around the country due to border restrictions this year.
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TOP PERFORMERS – 2020 AFL DRAFT COMBINE RESULTS:
2KM TIME-TRIAL
Harry Sharp (Vic Country – GWV Rebels) 5min 28sec
Fraser Rosman (Vic Metro – Sandringham Dragons) 5min 52sec
Liam Kolar (Vic Metro – Northern Knights) 6min 2sec
Nikolas Cox (Vic Metro – Northern Knights) 6min 5sec
Sam Berry (Vic Country – Gippsland Power) 6min 10sec
Ryan Angwin (Vic Country – Gippsland Power) 6min 11sec
Matthew Allison (Vic Metro – Calder Cannons) 6min 17sec
Finlay Macrae (Vic Metro – Oakleigh Charges) 6min 17sec
Heath Chapman (Western Australia – West Perth) 6min 20sec
Nathan O’Driscoll (Western Australia – Perth) 6min 23sec
Archie Perkins (Vic Metro – Sandringham Dragons) 6min 23sec
William Bravo (Vic Country- Dandenong Stingrays) 6min 23sec
20M SPRINT (NON-VIC)
Godfrey Okerenyang (NSW – GWS GIANTS Academy) 2.86sec
Isiah Winder (WA – Peel Thunder) 2.873sec
Aiden Fyfe (QLD – Gold Coast SUNS Academy) 2.898sec
Braeden Campbell (NSW – Sydney Swans Academy) 2.9sec
Brodie Lake (NT – Southern Districts) 2.907sec
Marc Sheather (NSW – Sydney Swans Academy) 2.910sec
Carter Michael (QLD – Brisbane Lions Academy) 2.912sec
Nathan O’Driscoll (WA – Perth) 2.931sec
Jack Briskey (QLD – Brisbane Lions Academy) 2.935sec
Isaac Chugg (TAS – Tasmania Devils) 2.953sec
20M SPRINT (VIC)
Reef McInnes (Vic Metro – Oakleigh Charges) 2.779sec
Max Holmes (Vic Metro – Sandringham Dragons) 2.801sec
Liam Kolar (Vic Metro – Northern Knights) 2.870sec
Seamus Mitchell (Vic Country – Bendigo Pioneers) 2.880sec
Zavier Maher (Vic Country – Murray Bushrangers) 2.887sec
Joshua Eyre (Vic Metro – Calder Cannons) 2.893sec
Fraser Rosman (Vic Metro – Sandringham Dragons) 2.896sec
Jamarra Ugle-Hagan (Vic Metro – Oakleigh Chargers) 2.897sec
Will Phillips (Vic Metro – Oakleigh Charger) 2.906sec
Liam McMahon (Vic Metro – Northern Knights) 2.923sec
RUNNING VERTICAL JUMP – RIGHT LEG
Godfrey Okerenyang (NSW – GWS GIANTS Academy) 92cm
Isiah Winder (WA – Peel Thunder) 92cm
Seamus Mitchell (Vic Country – Bendigo Pioneers) 91cm
Archie Perkins (Vic Metro – Sandringham Dragons) 91cm
Chris Walker (WA – East Fremantle) 90cm
Denver Grainger-Barras (WA – Swan Districts) 87cm
Joshua Eyre (Vic Metro – Calder Cannons) 87cm
Shannon Neale (WA – South Fremantle) 86cm
Liam McMahon (Vic Metro – Northern Knights) 86cm
Aiden Fyfe (QLD – Gold Coast SUNS Academy) 84cm
Kellen Johnson (WA – West Perth) 84cm
Jack Carroll (WA – East Fremantle) 84cm
Isaac Chugg (TAS – Tasmania Devils) 84cm
RUNNING VERTICAL JUMP – LEFT LEG
Dominic Bedendo (Vic Country – Murray Bushrangers) 99cm
Godfrey Okerenyang (NSW – GWS GIANTS Academy) 95cm
Aiden Fyfe (QLD – Gold Coast SUNS Academy) 95cm
Jack Briskey (QLD – Brisbane Lions Academy) 94cm
Kellen Johnson (WA – West Perth) 94cm
Brodie Lake (NT – Southern Districts) 94cm
Eddie Ford (Vic Metro – Western Jets) 94cm
Sam Berry (Vic Country – Gippsland Power) 94cm
Chris Walker (WA – East Fremantle) 93cm
Joshua Eyre (Vic Metro – Calder Cannons) 93cm
Originally published as AFL draft 2020: The top performers from combine testing
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