Under-16 national championships: Dyson Sharp emerges as standout talent to watch out for
They’re the kids to keep an eye on over the next two years, but who dominated the under-16 championships? Check out all the SuperCoach scores here.
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South Australian midfielder Dyson Sharp will be firmly in the sights of clubs over the next two years after emerging as the standout under-16 talent in the country.
Sharp was awarded the Kevin Sheehan Medal as the best player in Division One at the under-16 national championships, which concluded on the Gold Coast earlier this month.
Across his three games, Sharp averaged 27.3 disposals (15 contested), 7.3 clearances, 7 score involvements and 5.7 tackles.
He was the fourth-ranked player of the tournament on SuperCoach points, averaging 158 points.
Recruiters say Sharp is “a gun”, but is more physically developed than some of his rivals at this stage of his underage football, which helped him dominate at stoppage.
Whether some other players catch up or overtake Sharp as they too development remains to be seen.
Sharp had also played in as a bottom-age player in last year’s under-16 national championships and won All-Australian honours after playing primarily in defence.
Others to catch the eye during this year’s championships included Vic Metro midfielder Oliver Greeves, Vic Metro forward Jack Dalton and Vic Country defender Willem Duursma.
Duursma is the younger brother of Port Adelaide’s Xavier and 2023 top-10 draft prospect Zane.
Melbourne father-son prospect Kalani White — the son of former Demons ruckman Jeff White — was among other famous names to take part in the championships, along with St Kilda star Jade Gresham’s younger brother Tyson.
Collingwood father-son prospect Thomas McGuane — the son of 1990 premiership player Mick — also featured for Vic Metro.
Vic Metro won the Pool A title, with the Brisbane Lions Academy taking the honours in Pool B.
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