Missing Cut Does Not Mean End Of Youthful Dreams

The Age

Saturday June 30, 2007

Emma Quayle

DAVID Dickson spent an hour and a bit at the Eastern Ranges football club last week, telling four young boys why they had not been chosen in his team for the AFL's under-18 championships.

Dickson has coached the Vic Metro team for more than a decade, and this is always the tough part. "It's about their hopes and dreams and you walk in and shatter them," he said.

"It doesn't matter why they didn't make it; it only matters that they didn't make it. Some of them see you coming and think, 'Well, there goes my dream'."

More than 200 teenagers will represent their states and territories through the carnival that started in Sydney last weekend. Tasmania beat Queensland and the Northern Territory lost to the NSW/ACT Rams in the first round of division two games.

Division two starts in Perth today, with Vic Metro to play Western Australia. Tomorrow, South Australia hosts Vic Country before all the teams come to Melbourne to complete the carnival.

Being picked to play is a sign that even better things may come. About 70 per cent of the players on AFL lists have represented their states at under-18 level. Seventy-one of the 130 players selected in last year's national, rookie and pre-season drafts played in last year's carnival; others, older draftees had played in prior championships.

But others were not picked at all, including Luke Darcy and Shane Wakelin, who were not selected in South Australia's under-18s, and Jarryn Geary and Andrew Collins, who made it to St Kilda and Richmond after being deemed not good enough to play for Vic Country this time last year.

It says two things. One, that while championships games get you noticed, those who don't make it can still be spotted. Two, that filling the last few spots in a squad can be tricky business.

Leon Harris, who handed the Vic Country coaching ropes to Robert Hyde this season after 11 years, can remember leaving Jonathan Brown, James Bartel and Kane Tenace out of under-16 teams, simply because at that stage, they did not seem draftable players to him.

The trio's talents were, of course, picked up when they reached the next level, but others kept missing. In his first year, Harris overlooked Richmond player Greg Tivendale, who has gone on to play more than 150 games off the Tigers' rookie list.

Robert Murphy, Amon Buchanan, Jason Gram and Clint Bartram have been overlooked for various reasons. Murphy was a bottom-age player when the Bulldogs drafted him.

"He was starting to play some good footy mid-year, but at that stage we had a lot of under-17s in the squad," Harris recalled. "I knew he was probably going to be a draftable player, but we ranked him a little lower than some of the others.

"He went back and had a really good finals series, and that would have helped him."

Buchanan did the same in his draft year. He was not included because he was small, and not particularly prolific.

Bartram was, but he was a 17-year-old, too, who had battled injuries leading into his carnival and, as a bottom-age player, would have had another chance to play in the under-18s.

"Sometimes you get right to the end of selection and you want to pick a kid, but I reckon exposing some of them who are under injury clouds can be detrimental to them for the rest of the year," Harris said.

"Clint's an example of that. He'd missed about four weeks with a hip and I wasn't prepared to put him out there in case he didn't play well."

Dickson has faced similar decisions and has had more numbers to pick his squads from. The Metro process starts with the squad's four selectors watching the first few rounds of TAC Cup games, then whittling the team down with a series of trial games and training sessions.

This year has been tough. Metro selectors have had more talent to choose from than they have in the past few years, and Dickson believes the likes of midfielder Brad Jones and the 203-centimetre Andrew Renton, among others, have AFL potential despite missing the squad.

"You can't take everyone," he said. "You try to get a balance of putting players on the ground who are draftable, and putting together a team that can win the championships.

"That's the goal and if we get it 95 per cent right, I think we've done pretty well."

UNDER 18s CHAMPIONSHIPS PLAYERS TO WATCH

TRENT COTCHIN (Vic Metro, 184cm, 81kg)

Cotchin comes with the lot: he's a midfielder who has good speed, can kick pinpoint passes with both feet and is good overhead.

MATTHEW KREUZER (Vic Metro, 199cm, 91kg)

Another No. 1 candidate, Kreuzer is a ruckman who plays like just another onballer. He has great skills, can kick goals and can exert huge influence on a game.

CALE MORTON (Western Australia, 192cm, 75kg)

Morton is the brother of Mitch (West Coast) and Jarryd (Hawthorn). He's tall, but a big ball-winner who has key position potential but could also end up running a wing.

DAVID MYERS (Western Australia, 190cm, 85kg)

He's a great size, plays with real dash, and may play on half-back and push into the midfield.

JACK GRIMES (Vic Metro, 187cm, 76kg)

Grimes, who will captain Vic Metro, is a tall midfielder who wins a heap of the ball. He's not overly quick but he works exceptionally hard, is hard-at-it and is reliable and a great leader.

BRAD EBERT (South Australia, 187cm, 86kg)

Ebert is the son of Craig Ebert, a former Port Adelaide player, a nephew of SA champion Russell Ebert and a cousin of Power player Bret.

CHRIS MASTEN (Western Australia, 179cm, 78kg)

Masten is in his third year at the championships; he's a small midfielder with some class who runs and runs and who has played senior footy for East Fremantle this year.

BEN MCEVOY (Vic Country, 199cm, 90kg)

McEvoy is at his second championships and is one of the top few ruck prospects coming through. His battle with Kruezer, when his Vic Country side plays the Metro team, will be one to watch.

TOM COLLIER (Tasmania, 192cm, 86kg)

Collier was eligible last year as a 17-year-old but no club took the chance on him. He's another tall, quick athletic type who can play in a number of spots and has improved.

CYRIL RIOLI (178cm, 74kg)

"Junior" (a cousin of Dean Rioli, and nephew of both Maurice Rioli and Michael Long, who has trained with Essendon in the past) is another one who can make things happen.

STEVEN GARTNER (Vic Metro, 196cm, 83kg)

Gartner's championships will be interesting. He has played some outstanding TAC Cup footy this year, but also played some ordinary games.

SCOTT SELWOOD (Vic Country, 184cm, 81kg)

The fourth Selwood brother, Scott is a smart thinker who plays well in sweeping roles across half-back and can also play midfield.

HAMISH HARTLETT (South Australia, 178cm, 78kg)

The brother of Carlton player Adam Hartlett, Hamish is too young to be drafted this year but is one of the most gifted prospects in the SA team

-- EMMA QUAYLE

* The first division-one game of the championships - Vic Metro v Western Australia - will be telecast on Foxtel starting 1.15pm today.

The next lot of games will be played in Geelong next Thursday (division two) and Friday (division one) before finishing at Princes Park on Tuesday July 10 and Wednesday July 11.