Once again the NAB AFL Academy will give fans another opportunity to showcase the best prospects in the lead up to the 2016 draft. This time they face the Geelong VFL team on Saturday at 3pm at Simonds Stadium. The cats will be going flat out in preparation for their first clash next week against the Northern Blues.
Despite the heavy 50-point defeat against Werribee, the Academy showed some promising signs against VFL & AFL listed opponents. Thanks to some strong ball movement off half back, they were able to led at half time but were overrun in the last half with Werribee kicking 12 out of the final 15 goals.
The academy have spent this week training together and even had the chance to meet Geelong recruit Patrick Dangerfield. While they have trained hard during the week, the boys also had a taste of media spotlight appearing on AFL 360.
AFL National Academy in at @FOXFOOTY tonite with the boys from 360 pic.twitter.com/u7gyCsChDl
— Brenton Sanderson (@SandoBrent) April 6, 2016
West Australian midfielder Sam Petrevski-Seton (14 disposals) played a strong game kicking well on both feet and will likely be one of the top few players picked at the 2016 draft. Murray Bushrangers midfielder Will Brodie was adjudged best on ground for the academy collecting 20 disposals and will be looking to continue his strong form into the final academy clash.
Harrison Macreadie will have another important job in defence, likely to get the match up on Irish tall Padraig Lucey. Lucey appeared on the FOX 8 TV Show ‘The Recruit‘ in 2014 and was subsequently recruited by Geelong as a category B rookie. 12 months ago, Jacob Weitering performed well against both VFL opponents and if Macreadie can do the same on Saturday, his name will jump up on recruiters boards.
Squads for the #AFLAcademy game tomorrow 3pm vs @GeelongVFL pic.twitter.com/XvDWtmEpFl
— Draft Central (@DraftCentralAus) April 8, 2016
A name to watch out for is Geelong Falcons defender Alex Witherden, on his home ground expect him to put in a strong performance in front of friends and family. Witherden’s last game at Simons Stadium, saw him collect 21 disposals against the North Ballarat Rebels in Round 1 of the 2016 TAC Cup.
Gold Coast academy prospect Jack Bowes (14 disposals, two goals) was impressive against Werribee and will want to put his name forward again in front of the Gold Coast recruiters. Tall midfielder Jacob Allison is also due to fire after a relatively quiet game last Friday at the MCG.
Make sure you follow @AFLDraftCentral on Twitter and we’ll keep you updated as to who is performing well right across the weekend.
Full match details can be found here on the AFL Academy vs Geelong VFL match page.
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