FIVE of Western Australia’s elite developing talents will have the opportunity to further enhance their football skills after being offered scholarships at the Australian Institute of Sport’s AFL Academy this week.
The selections were made following the recent completion of the NAB AFL National 18s and 16s Championships and include players between the ages of 16 and 17 years.
The group of five from WA represents a core nucleus of the AIS Football Academy with Chris Yarran (Kevin Sheehan Medallist/ NAB 16’s Championships MVP), Jaeger O’Meara (1st Choice Athlete), Shannon Taylor (exciting indigenous talent), Stephen Coniglio (State 18s player) and Nathan Wilson (Top WAFL Midfielder) all being selected.
The players were informed as part of the 14th intake by AIS-AFL Academy High Performance Coach Jason McCartney, who passed on his congratulations to each player after a thorough selection process.
“The depth of talent in our junior ranks is very strong and selecting just 30 players was very challenging,” McCartney said.
“The quality of the footballers that the program continues to produce was again evident at the 2009 NAB AFL Draft with six of the top 12 selections graduates of the AIS-AFL Academy, and another seven pre-selected for the Gold Coast Football Club,” McCartney said.
The AIS-AFL Academy is a key component of the NAB AFL Rising Stars Program, providing an intensive 12-month training program for 30 elite young players from all around Australia.
All inductees will attend their first camp prior to attending the AFL Grand Final in Melbourne, as well as travelling overseas to the latest AIS training facilities in Italy. They will also receive the opportunity of a lifetime when they pay their respects to the ANZACs in turkey on April 25.
McCartney said the tour would build on the players’ physical and personal development, and help prepare them for life in the AFL.
"They will attend the AIS elite training centre in Italy, followed by London where they will play a match and finally Turkey, where they will attend the ANZAC day service," he said.
WA scholarship recipients
- Shannon Taylor (Claremont)
- Stephen Coniglio (Swan Districts / Upper Swan JFC)
- Chris Yarran (Perth / Trinity College)
- Jaeger O’Meara (Perth)
- Nathan Wilson (Peel Thunder)
Some past WA scholarship recipients
- Patrick Ryder (East Fremantle - Essendon)
- Nick Naitanui (Swans – West Coast)
- Daniel Rich (Subiaco – Brisbane)
- Chris Yarran (Swans – Carlton)
- David Swallow (East Fremantle – Gold Coast)
- Brandon Matera (South Fremantle – Gold Coast)
