by Whispering Jack

There was a time not so long ago when AFL recruiting scouts were bemoaning the lack of big men coming through the ranks and blaming basketball for spiriting away the best of our young, tall talent. It seems now that the wheel has turned 180 degrees with players like Port Adelaide's Dean Brogan setting the standards and other clubs following suit in their drive to bolster their stocks of tall players. Melbourne joined in this trend with its selections in last week's drafts when it took three out of five players from basketball backgrounds.

The fact that they have played another sport and not concentrated solely on football might well mean that their skills are not as advanced as some of their contemporaries but it also raises the possibility that with the right education, such players could rise to the ability levels of some of the more accomplished and better credentialed contemporaries. After all, we marvelled this year at the accomplishments of Collingwood's 19 year old Irish recruit, Martin Clark who came from nowhere to be a very valuable member of a Preliminary Final side that was within a goal of making a Grand Final and probably becoming the AFL's premier team.

In Clark's case "nowhere" is actually County Down, Ireland and his background is that he was an outstanding Gaelic football talent who starred for his junior side and led them to the 2005 All Ireland Championship. A year ago, Clark had never played a game of Australian football but now he is being hailed as "the Irish equivalent of Nathan Buckley". Last week the Magpies added a second Irishman as an international rookie selection and three other clubs did likewise.

At roughly the same time when Clark was helping his team win the All Ireland Championship, Stefan Martin was a member of the National Under 20 Basketball squad here in Australia, Trent Zomer was on the verge of deciding where his sporting future lay (he chose basketball and represented Victoria in 2006) and Townsville's Jake Spencer was nudging his way past 200 cm in height and also tossing round balls into high baskets. All three have been lured back to football and joined the Demons as draftees last week.

Stefan Martin's mates persuaded him to join them and make up the numbers at Old Haileybury six weeks into the VAFA Under 19 season in early 2006. Martin told the VFL Record that his friends wanted him to play socially with them.

"I turned them down a few times, but I got a bit bored with basketball and wanted something new," Martin said.

Without a pre season or anything like that, Martin ended the season in Old Haileybury's senior side after winning the Under 19 Best and Fairest polling 23 out of a possible 24 votes. He was invited to train for a week with the Melbourne side after the season and I recall watching him, still very raw and with a poor kicking action, running around against hopefuls like Magpie reject David Fanning who were aiming for selection in last year's Pre Season Draft. Martin was jumping all over Fanning in the boundary ruck duels but he still had a long way to go. Sandringham coach Mark Williams grabbed Martin who made the Zebras' list but thought he would be lucky to do any better than play out 2007 in the reserves. Instead, he showed steady improvement throughout the year and by season's end was a regular in the reigning premier's senior team managing a dozen games at VFL level and showing out with his mobility and strong marking. Now, he's a senior listed AFL player.

Trent Zomer hails from South Croydon in Matthew Bate territory. Last year, he tried to combine both football and basketball but the schedule for the latter sport was highly demanding. He switched back to football and joined the Eastern Ranges earlier this year. The Ranges' Regional Manager Ian Flack told the TAC Cup Record that Zomer "never really wanted to burn his bridges and was always fair dinkum about his football, but he couldn’t do both. It was always in the back of his mind that he would play football with us this year, and that's what has happened."

Zomer, a solid lad with a strong body and an outstanding leap, began this year as a key defender and tried out for the Vic Metro Under 18 squad but failed to make the final cut. He finished the season playing up forward and spent a bit of time in the ruck. His best form was as a forward and he was his team's leading goal kicker for the 2007 season.

Jake Spencer also chose football ahead of basketball and moved to Brisbane where he made the Queensland Under 18 team. The 203 cm tall hard working youngster moves pretty well for a big man, seems to have reasonable endurance, and has developed well at Redlands in the AFLQ where he was really showing out with his aggressive ruckwork by the end of the year. He is a palm ruck who can ruck with either hand and who often gives his on-ballers first use of the ball in good position. He still has a lot of improvement in him and his development will be watched with great interest.

Melbourne's recruiting in the rookie draft wasn't totally focussed on talls. The club also picked up a couple of smaller types, one from way up north and the other close to home.

I think they could write a book about Austin Wonaeamirri and I'm thrilled that he’s come to the club. A little over a year ago, I became a real devotee of Northern Territory football and in particular the Bombers, the new team from the Tiwi Islands [see THE END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT ].

Wonaeamirri was one of the youngsters who captured my attention as being an X factor type even in the wonderfully whacky NTFL competition. The standard of play there is all over the place and many of its players would not be suited to AFL football but Austin stood out in his own way as a youngster possessing strong pace and great vision. He hails from the Milakapiti community in Snake Bay on Melville Island some 100 kilometres north of Darwin and he moved to the mainland to play for St. Marys in the NTFL before joining the Tiwi Island Bombers for their brief debut stint in the competition last year. His uncle Thomas Simon is skipper of that team which currently heads the NTFL ladder. Wonaeamirri was starring for the Bombers against Palmerston just a little over a week ago. He represented the NT Under 18's in 2006 and returned as an overage player this year where he was voted the Northern Territory's best player at the Championships and gave them great run with his hard-at-it ball winning skills.

Wonaeamirri also wore the red and the blue this year for Norwood in the SANFL making his debut in Round 1 against the Port Adelaide Magpies at Coopers Stadium where he quickly established a cult following amongst the Norwood faithful. According to the official site of the Norwood Football Club he "lit up suburban ovals with his pace, skill and brilliance". His coach Trevor Hill summed him up beautifully in The Sunday Mail on August 19, "He's a special young man. It's amazing what you can achieve if you haven't got an ego. Aussie just loves playing and he just loves the Norwood Footy Club. When you just go back to the true essence of playing, it brings out the best in anyone."

He is noted for doing the one per centers and has ability to run and chase opponents down and has a great ability to burst through opponents' tackles. He will be an exciting player to watch and, while we know that the percentage of rookies who make the grade is way below the 50 mark, the Austin Wonaeamirri story promises to be interesting to say the least. And he won't be lonely at the club either as he joins fellow Territorians Aaron Davey and Matthew Whelan and also renews acquaintances with Isaac Weetra with who he toured South Africa on an indigenous schoolboys tour in early 2006 - STH AFRICAN TOUR A TASTE OF MORE TO COME.

Shane Valenti is well known to Demon fans who venture down to Sandringham games. He won this year's Fothergill-Round Medal for the most promising youngster in VFL ranks after giving it a close shake last year on debut. He's a real hard at it midfielder who is persistent and tenacious but is downgraded by some because of his size and lack of leg speed. However, I made a quick calculation and worked out that 125 players were drafted this year ahead of Valenti. Anyone who expects a Chris Judd to emerge after that number of selections would also have strong beliefs about the existence of the tooth fairy. The point is that if Valenti works on those skills that he has together with his courage and his attitude, he certainly won't fail for lack of heart or endeavour.

As with the National Draft selections I discussed previously, here are some pen pictures of Melbourne's draftees from the 2008 Pre Season and Rookie Drafts with some bios from melbournefc.com and the quotes that follow are taken (where available) from the November issue of Inside Football (with one or two minor corrections). Hopefully, their emergence at the club will assist in slam-dunking our opposition.

Pre Season Draft Selection 3 - Stefan Martin 17 November 1986 198 cm 95 kg

"We were really happy that we were able to obtain Stefan. At 198 cm, he is a quick and athletic big man. He is reasonably new to the game, after playing junior basketball for Australia. He has a very strong mark, and played a full season in the seniors for our affiliate side, Sandringham." - Craig Cameron.

"Ex-basketballer who last year won the league best and fairest for Old Haileybury despite not playing a full year. He has amazing agility and athleticism for someone of his size." - from Sandringham VFL.

Rookie Draft Selection 3 - Trent Zomer 9 June 1989 197 cm 95 kg

"Zomer is a powerful key position player. Standing at 197 cm, he possesses a very strong mark, and has the potential to become a power forward for the Melbourne Football Club. He is also a very talented basketballer, and played for the Victorian junior side." - Craig Cameron.

"Trent comes from a basketball background and wasn't in our system last year. He's still very raw but played centre half back for us and later in the year played up forward and in the ruck. He has a great leap and had a terrific end to the year. I reckon he's got a huge upside." - Eastern Ranges' coach Shane Watson

Rookie Draft Selection 19 - Austin Wonaeamirri 2 October 1988 178 cm 78 kg

"Austin Wonaeamirri is a quick indigenous small forward. He is a good kick for goal, and loves to tackle and apply forward line pressure. He is known for his for his 1%ers, and his ability to break through the lines" - Craig Cameron.

"Austin came from the Tiwi Islands and played for the NT team at last year's national championships. After playing for us all year he played again at the national champs as an over-age player for the NT. A small forward or rover who is very quick with good run down speed - a bit like Aaron Davey." - Norwood development manager Ben Porter. Originally from St. Marys and Tiwi Island Bombers (NTFL).

Rookie Draft Selection 35 - Jake Spencer 9 October 1989 203 cm 93 kg

"Spencer is an aggressive ruckman, who really enjoys the physical side of the game. He is originally from Townsville, and played basketball and rugby union as a junior. He has good potential, and will be given time to further develop his skills through the VFL." - Craig Cameron.

"A tap ruckman who can ruck with either hand, and who often gives his on-ballers first use of the ball in good position. He is a legitimate 203cm, and he uses his height to good advantage. He moves well for a big man, and has a solid endurance tank. He has a "hard at it" attitude, and has a lot of potential for improvement." - Melbournefc.com.au

Rookie Draft Selection 49 - Shane Valenti 29 January 1987 176 cm 80 kg

"Valenti is a small midfielder, who is a very clever reader of the play. He rarely makes a bad decision, and played a full season with Sandringham in the seniors in 2007. He impressed us over the pre-season with his hard work, and really deserves his chance at the Melbourne Football Club." - Craig Cameron.

"Skilful rover who enjoyed a great second year with the Zebras after crossing from the Dragons. Won the Fothergill-Round Medal for the most promising player in the VFL, was runner up in the Liston Trophy and Sandy's best and fairest. Wins the ball and finishes superbly." - from Sandringham VFL.

Excellent work Jack.

Combined with your ND draft article HARDER THAN A CAT'S HEAD, it's a great rundown on our drafting for 2007.