Young St Kevins Old Boys star selected in All Australian U23 football team

ST Kevins Old Boys youngster Kelvin Williams has gained selection as a back pocket in the All Australian Under 23 amateur team following the national carnival in Tasmania.

Kelvin Williams of NT Thunder marks against Western Australia during the Under-18 Australian Football Championship match played at the TIO Stadium.

IT was a classic stitch-up of a wet-behind-the-ears young footballer.

When St Kevins Old Boys co-coach Jon Edgar phoned Kelvin Williams earlier in the season to check up on his hamstring injury, Williams didn’t recognise the phone number.

Edgar sniffed an opportunity and went for it. He said he was a journalist from the Herald Sun and was ringing for an interview.

He said he’d heard Williams was in hot form and wanted to do a splash in the newspaper. The kid didn’t merely take the bait. He gobbled it.

“He got me good, Jonny,’’ Williams told Leader last Wednesday, satisfied he was talking to a real reporter.

No pranks, the 22-year-old has earned a splash after gaining selection as a back pocket in the All Australian Under 23 amateur team following the national carnival in Tasmania.

Big V teammates Simon Caven, Gabe Hamilton, Tom Quinn and Josh Cowan received the same accolade.

“It was amazing. I was amazed just to get into the Victorian team,’’ he said.

Representative honours are nothing new to defender Williams. He played for the NT Under 18s at the national championships and for NT Thunder in the NEAFL. He attended the AFL’s national draft combine in 2011, such was his promise.

At the time AFL national talent manager Kevin Sheehan said Williams “showed ability to play on talls or smalls and use the ball effectively … reads the play well and has clean hands … averaged 14.4 possessions over the five games of the (national) championship.”

No AFL clubs came calling, but Williams went in search of what he called “the heart of footy, Victoria’’.

“I love my footy and I just wanted to experience a different type of footy to what I knew in the top end,’’ he said.

“I wanted to … not so much complete my game but understand contested footy and compare it to the open footy we play back home. Just thought I’d learn a bit more of my trade.’’

Williams spent two seasons in the Bendigo Football League, playing with South Bendigo and Maryborough.

This year he found his way to St Kevins as part of an AFL “SportsReady’’ work traineeship that he’s completing at Trinity Grammar School. His pal Brayden McLean is in a similar scheme with Edgar at De La Salle College.

“I’m loving it,’’ Williams said. He’s less in love with the Melbourne weather. He feels the cold to his bones. But he’s happy to have rigged up a long-sleeve jumper for the second half of the season.

He is enjoying the VAFA. “It’s contested footy but open as well. It’s like going back to the basics of footy. No money. Just playing for your club and the lads around you. Takes you back to junior footy really.’’

Edgar regards Williams highly, saying he’s won games for St Kevins this season.

“We flipped him forward at three quarter time when we were two goals down at Brighton,’’ he said.

“We left him one-out in the forward line and he kicked two and set up another two or three. Did the same in another game.

“He’s a lightly framed type, with magic skills. He sits on heads, takes one-handers, picks the ball up one-handed … and a really nice kid to boot.’’

Edgar wasn’t fooling around when he added: “We think he’s a chance to get drafted.’’