Manly Wolves AFL: Five players nominate for draft

Five rising AFL stars from the northern beaches have been nominated on this year’s list of players who could be selected to play for an AFL club.

Cooper Wilson, a Manly Wolves AFL player who has been nominated for the 2020 AFL Draft. here is playing for the Under 17 NSW/ACT representative team. Picture: Facebook

A “pack” of local Aussie rules juniors have made the final list of nominations for the AFL national draft.

Just over 1000 hopefuls from across Australia have put their names forward for the chance of a professional playing career with an AFL club.

And five of them have played for junior clubs in the northern beaches as well as senior games with the Manly Warringah Wolves in the Sydney competition.

The five young hopefuls — Aiden Adams, Lachlan McAndrew, Tom Trevaskis, Cooper Wilson and Taine Wright — have also been playing and training with the elite Sydney Swans Academy.

Taine Wright in action for the Sydney Swans Academy against the Greater Western Sydney Giants Academy. Picture: Sydney Swans Academy

The AFL Draft, on December 9, gives AFL clubs an opportunity to pick the best young players, as well as former AFL players seeking new clubs and hopefuls from country and state leagues.

Out of the 1018 names on this year’s draft nominations’ list, only between 50 to 60 players will end up picked up by an AFL club.

Senior men’s coach at the Wolves, Andrew Rogers, said the five young players — all of them are aged 18 except for Lachie McAndrew, who is 20 — were terrific junior players and have a bright future in the game, no matter what the result of the draft.

“They have been developing their skills with their junior clubs and have been identified as players with potential,” Mr Rogers said.

The Manly Warringah Wolves, in maroon against St George, have been acknowledged for fostering great young AFL talent. Picture: Troy Snook

“The junior AFL clubs on the northern beaches (Manly Bombers, Forest Lions, Pittwater Tigers and Balgowlah Suns) are great at supporting juniors.”

All the nominated players, except for Tom Trevaskis who was injured, played senior football with the Wolves in the season just finished.

“They are all promising players, very good and very coachable,” Mr Rogers said.

Tom Trevaskis, played his junior games with the Pittwater Tigers and was a representative junior cricketer with Manly-Warringah as well as a promising basketballer, track runner and touch footy player.

He has represented NSW at a junior level.

Tom Trevaskis, when he was 12, and playing with the Pittwater Tigers. Picture: Manly Daily

Lachlan McAndrew, a fledgling ruck, is with the Swans Academy after just one year in AFL after transferring from rugby union.

Cooper Wilson has played under 17s footy for the NSW/ACT representative team and played for the Sydney Swans team in the now defunct North East Australian Football League.

In 2018 the general manager of the Swans Academy, Chris Smith acknowledged the Wolves for “developing a strong pathway for junior players”.

“There’s a great environment and a great spirit at Manly and it’s reaping results.

He described Taine Wright, who has played for NSW, as a “determined young man (who) endears himself to the coaches because he’s a fierce competitor”.

Aiden Adams has played under 17s for NSW/ACT and a number of games for the Swans Academy. He also played five representative games for North Sydney and played for the Forest Lions before moving to the Manly Bombers andWolves.