Barrett shines at Draft Combine
By Brendan Day
Possessing a potent mix of speed and endurance, Barrett placed ninth in the 20-metre sprint with 2.94 seconds to slightly trail East Fremantle’s Jonathan Marsh, who came in first with 2.78 seconds.
Barrett, a Temora product and cousin of Hawthorn premiership player Luke Breust, then recorded a beep test/shuttle run score of 15.6, good enough for second place behind Billy Hartung’s record-breaking 16.6.
Josh Kelly became the first draft prospect to win the three-kilometre time-trial two years in a row, recording a time of nine minutes and 32 seconds to best his previous effort by 16 seconds.
First-round hopeful Nathan Freeman, of Victoria’s Sandringham Dragons, showed why he is regarded as one of the TAC Cup’s hardest-running midfielders as he placed first in the repeat sprints test and in the top ten of the beep test, 20-metre sprint and three-kilometre time-trial.
Kieran Ellis, Michael Gibbons, Max King and Nathan Gordon were the other NSW-based players besides Barrett to take part in the 2013 NAB AFL Draft Combine, which was held at Etihad Stadium in Melbourne from October 1-4.
Belconnen juniors Jack Steele and Jedd Clothier, Deniliquin’s Doug Bond, and Walla Walla’s Jydon Neagle were all invited to participate in the Melbourne State Combine for prospects nominated by at least two AFL clubs.
Steele was invited to the Combine in spite of a dislocated knee which had prevented him from playing in the NAB Under-18s National Championships.
Steele’s injury kept him out of the physical tests other eligible draftees participated in, though he still undertook the psychological testing.
Speaking prior to the State Combine with the Canberra Times, Steel expressed his surprise at being selected for the event.
”All I played was one game for the Rams against the Murray Bushrangers, it was just a practice match, but I think clubs had an eye on me because I played a few Giants reserves games and kicked a couple of goals in them,” he said.
”They must’ve seen me, so I wasn’t expecting to get this, I’m just lucky.”
Clothier, the recipient of a scholarship with the Essendon Bombers, is hopeful of continuing his future with the club despite their turbulent 2013 season.
”They’ve handled it very well,” he said in an interview with the Canberra Times.
“[T]he support they got… at the Crichton Medal [best and fairest] presentation with record numbers shows that the fans are still supporting the club and the players that have re-signed.”
Talking to afl.com.au, the AFL’s National Talent Manager Kevin Sheehan told of how impressed he was with the participants in the NAB AFL Draft Combine.
“The game’s in great hands when young men, like the 111 we’ve seen here in the past four days, present themselves in such fantastic condition and all bright-eyed and looking forward to getting a chance in the AFL,” Sheehan said.
