Tweet
Davis Sydney-bound
November 27, 2003
MATT Who? That was the immediate reaction when the Sydney Swans drafted Matt Davis with their final pick last Saturday.
The skinny 17-year-old from Jamestown, population 1500 and a 3 1/2-hour drive out of Adelaide, had completely slipped under everyone's radar.
Except for Sydney's.
Swans recruitment manager Rick Barham caught only a glimpse of Davis in a SANFL under-17 game for North Adelaide back in May.
Barham puts it down to a "stroke of luck" because Davis elected to concentrate on his Year 12 exams to get into university to study sports science and only played for North Adelaide under-17s three times.
Barham said Davis reminded him of a young, raw Jason Saddington or new Bulldog Jade Rawlings.
"Matt is very much a project player but he's really athletic, he's got great speed, is lightning quick, and he can jump over the moon," Barham said.
"Plus he's fairly strong for his lean build and a very good tackler in close.
"We knew he could play a little bit after watching him at country level as a 16 or 17-year-old kid up against men, but that was about all," said Barham.
"We didn't know how tall he really was, we didn't know he was a gun student, we didn't know he had a 70cm vertical jump, we didn't know he was an excellent sprinter.?
What is more intriguing is the fact Davis' parents, without their son's knowledge, filled in the AFL draft nomination form and sent it off.
It wasn't until after his final exams when Davis' mum asked him "how would you like to go to Sydney to play footy" that he found out the Swans were officially interested.http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au...E23211,00.html
November 27, 2003
MATT Who? That was the immediate reaction when the Sydney Swans drafted Matt Davis with their final pick last Saturday.
The skinny 17-year-old from Jamestown, population 1500 and a 3 1/2-hour drive out of Adelaide, had completely slipped under everyone's radar.
Except for Sydney's.
Swans recruitment manager Rick Barham caught only a glimpse of Davis in a SANFL under-17 game for North Adelaide back in May.
Barham puts it down to a "stroke of luck" because Davis elected to concentrate on his Year 12 exams to get into university to study sports science and only played for North Adelaide under-17s three times.
Barham said Davis reminded him of a young, raw Jason Saddington or new Bulldog Jade Rawlings.
"Matt is very much a project player but he's really athletic, he's got great speed, is lightning quick, and he can jump over the moon," Barham said.
"Plus he's fairly strong for his lean build and a very good tackler in close.
"We knew he could play a little bit after watching him at country level as a 16 or 17-year-old kid up against men, but that was about all," said Barham.
"We didn't know how tall he really was, we didn't know he was a gun student, we didn't know he had a 70cm vertical jump, we didn't know he was an excellent sprinter.?
What is more intriguing is the fact Davis' parents, without their son's knowledge, filled in the AFL draft nomination form and sent it off.
It wasn't until after his final exams when Davis' mum asked him "how would you like to go to Sydney to play footy" that he found out the Swans were officially interested.http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au...E23211,00.html
.
Comment