TWO young AFL PNG players will be travelling to Australia Institute of Sports in Canberra, Australia, to be part of the Australia’s Elite AIS/AFL academy camp.
The players Stanis Susuve and John James will not be attending the AFLPNG Talent Camp in Goroka in the coming weekend but instead they will be flying to Canberra.
Selection for this academy is from the AFL National Under 16 Championships with the best 30 players under the age of 16 selected Australian-wide.
Most of these boys will be drafted over the next two years.
Both Susuve and James have been selected as the only two International Players in recognition of the hard work and standard they have achieved over the last 12 months.
James was outstanding for Coolangatta in 2007 and also was a strong contributor to the Brisbane Lions Reserves team accumulating in selection in the Leagues team of the year.
Susuve, a QLD Under 16 player in 2006, has blossomed playing for the Zillmere Eagles in the State league and finished off with being the most valuable player in their run to win the reserve grade premiership, averaging five goals in each of the finals games.
Both are eligible for Queensland Under 18s in 2008 and will be based at Zillmere Eagles and working for the AFL in development.
AFLPNG CEO Andrew Cadzow highlighted the work the boys had done, setting an example for PNG boys and girls to follow.
“ Both boys are very close to the next level. Continued hard work and fixing up some poor habits will help over the next 12 months. More importantly we are now seeing hundreds of players who are of these boys’ standard working their way through the AFLPNG Talented Player Pathway,” Cadzow said.
Susuve and James will spend seven days under the guidance of the Academy team headed by Alan McConnell and assisted by many coaches including Lions Legend Michael Voss.