Cunningham heads Swans’ Draft haul
With the very last pick of the 2012 NAB AFL Draft, the football dream of Wagga Wagga’s Harry Cunningham took another leap forward as the Swans rookie was added to the reigning Premiers’ senior list.
The Turvey Park junior, who played one senior AFL game in his debut season last year, was upgraded to the Swans primary list with pick number 107.
The 18-year-old’s promotion to the primary list means he will be vying for a spot in the Swans’ senior side for Round One of the 2013 AFL season.
“This will be his second pre-season, we know he’s got genuine pace, last year he did really well because he didn’t join us until after the draft last year and then played in Round One,” Swans Recruiting and List Strategy Manager Kinnear Beatson said.
“The coaches are saying that he’s already back at training and is bigger and stronger so you’d hope that his progress will be a significant step forward again.”
The Swans also picked up four new prospects in Thursday night’s NAB AFL Draft on the Gold Coast and Beatson said the Club were extremely happy with their selections.
“The four players we got are all big, strong bodies and they’re all quick,” Beatson said.
“We know they’re good people, all of these four men, they’re strong and they’re going to adapt to training pretty quickly.”
With their first pick at number 22, the Swans selected Dean Towers from North Ballarat, with Beatson identifying the 22-year-old as ready-made for senior football.
A mature-age recruit, Towers had a consistent year in the VFL and will now make the 1000km journey to Sydney from country Victoria where his family have been farmers and timber millers for generations in Lavers Hill and Beech Forest through to Colac.
He is a medium-sized utility who can break the lines with his speed and agility in traffic, while he is also a strong overhead mark.
“Dean’s a typical, late-maturer, he won the best young talent award in the VFL, he’s a 190cm wingman/halfback who has good speed and good power,” Beatson said.
With picks 44 and 46, Sydney selected 18-year-old pair Harrison Marsh from East Fremantle and Tim Membrey from the Gippsland Power.
Marsh, a young defender, is an exceptional kick of the football and likes to take the game on. He is a good ball user by hand and foot and a strong one-on-one defender.
“He’s around the 188cm mark; he’s powerful, quick and good around stoppages. He’s got a bit to learn but that’s OK because he’s a good kid, he applies himself and all of the reports on him have been really good,” Beatson said.
Membrey, expected to be picked up in the first round of the Draft, kicked 54 goals this year at TAC Cup level and Beatson was as surprised as anyone that he was still available at the Swans’ third pick.
Quick off the mark, he is a good overhead mark and a long kick for goal.
“Tim Membrey was a bit of a Luke Parker situation where you’re just sitting there and thinking what’s happened here,” Beatson said.
“We just felt he’s too good a player to go past. Tim’s going to have to learn to adjust his game, he’s just over 190cm, he’s going to have to come up the ground and play a bit higher, but we know he can kick goals and we know he’s talented.”
Rounding out the Swans’ new draftees is Matthew Dick from the Calder Cannons, a quick defender who uses the ball extremely well by foot, selected with pick 64.
A strong tackler, Dick can play on small or tall opponents.
“Matty Dick is a little bit similar to Harrison, he played a lot of soccer as a junior, but he has also played a lot of football,” Beatson said.
“He’s a quick player, who kicks the ball with plenty of penetration; he’s strong through the core, so we’re excited about Matty.”
The new draftees will arrive in Sydney in the coming week as the Swans’ 2013 pre-season officially kicked off on Friday when the first to third year players returned to training.
