AFL 2018: Premiership coach Paul Roos calls for battling clubs to be given ‘free hit’ at state league talent
STATE league clubs could hold the key to saving struggling AFL clubs, according to a radical suggestion by footy great Paul Roos. This is how it would work.
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FOOTY great Paul Roos says struggling AFL clubs should be given a “free hit’’ at signing mature-age players from state leagues.
Roos, speaking on Fox Footy’s On The Couch last night, spotlighted Williamstown star Michael Gibbons, 23, as an example of a player who could help a club like the Gold Coast Suns.
Gibbons is one of the VFL’s most decorated players, winning the Norm Goss Medal as best-afield in the 2015 grand final, the JJ Liston Trophy in 2016 and the Frank Johnson Medal as Victoria’s best player in the 2016 representative match.
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Averaging 28 possessions per game, he is among the Liston favourites this year.
Willy coach Andy Collins once described him as the “VFL equivalent to a young, emerging Sammy Mitchell”. Willy assistant Peter Banfield last night declared he was the best player in the competition. And Seagulls forward and former AFL player Sam Dunell said this morning that Gibbons “has got better and better since winning the Norm Goss Medal in 2015 …. just needs an opportunity!’’
Roos, discussing measures to help down-the-ladder AFL clubs, said there wasn’t a lot of difference between picks 30 and 200 in the national draft.
“So what that lends you to believe is, where do the kids go that don’t get drafted,’’ he said.
“It’s ridiculous to think that there’s not enough talent.’’
He said Gibbons was a standout player for the NSW-ACT Rams for two years.
“The only real criticism of him is you can see he’s not big — he’s about 175cm — but just your classic kid that keeps getting the football over and over and over again,” he said.
“What I’m saying is, let’s give clubs down the bottom — this is part of my strategy — four or five of these kids extra. So they get a free hit at a Mickey Gibbons.
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“I’ve watched the NEAFL this year. (There are) a lot of good kids at Southport who are now on top of the ladder. Let’s give them four or five free hits, like the old supp list. Bang, there they are. They’re connected. They have to be 21-24.
“They immediately connect into your footy club. They either get a second chance or a first chance and they start to be invested in your footy club. And they might not all go on and play.
“But what they do is they help the young kids in the seconds, they help the NEAFL if it’s the Suns. They’re the ones we have to get back into the system.’’
Roos said recruiters tended to overlook older players in preference to 18-year-olds “with a bit more upside’’.
The AFL clubs that Roos coached, Sydney and Melbourne, have both recruited profitably from the VFL in the past few years, with the Sydney taking Dean Towers, Nic Newman and Robbie Fox and the Demons landing Bayley Fritsch and Tim Smith.
VFL PLAYERS WHO COULD GO ON AFL LISTS
Sam Collins (Werribee): the 24-year-old former Fremantle key defender has had a dazzling season for the Bees, dragging in 184 marks from 17 matches.
Marty Hore (Collingwood): 22-year-old left-foot defender who won the Magpies’ VFL best and fairest last season and will go close to doing the same this year.
Jay Lockhart (Casey Demons): 24-year-old former Tasmanian who has played every game for a strong Casey team this year, predominantly as a small defender.
Josh Corbett (Werribee): 22-year-old forward who, in his third year with the Tigers, burst from obscurity to scrutiny before suffering an eye injury.
Ben Cavarra (Williamstown) — pictured above: the 22-year-old small man has been a dominant TAC Cup and VFL player, winning the Morrish Medal, two best and fairests at Eastern and two more at Frankston.
Brede Seccull (Sandringham): 24-year-old midfielder who won a SANFL best and fairest and crossed to Sandringham this year, where he has averaged 27.73 possessions.
Nick Rippon (North Melbourne): 24-year-old wingman who transferred to North Melbourne this year when North Ballarat lost its VFL licence. Won the 2015 JJ Liston Trophy.
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