Jamie makes mark
JAMIE Whitehead is the 16year-old talent building a reputation as the most exciting footy prospect the Carrara Saints have produced since Dayne Beams.
Beams is a Collingwood premiership player and was, up until this week, the captain of the Brisbane Lions.
But already the 177cm Whitehead has secured a piece of Carrara Saints history not even Beams had the chance of achieving while playing as a junior at the footy club.
Whitehead became the youngest player in the club’s history to play senior football last weekend, recording 21 possessions, two goals and four tackles to help guide the QFA division three team to an 83point win over Pine Rivers at Nielsons Road Oval.
“Very rarely do I get goosebumps for something that happens in footy but when he kicked his first goal even our fullback ran to the other side of the field to basically throw him into the air,” Saints coach Nicholas Pearson said.
Whitehead, who played half-forward/flank last weekend, is breaking new ground for a club that has taken huge steps forward in recent years.
Carrara never had a senior men’s team when Beams came through the system and its absence has resulted in the club’s best junior players leaving in search of more opportunities.
Pearson believes Whitehead could be the best the Saints have boasted since Beams.
“They have had some real quality juniors come from the club but the problem is they venture to clubs like Southport, Broadbeach and Labrador because they are told that’s where they will be drafted from,” Pearson said.
“Unfortunately for us we still don’t have an under-18 level that we can bring them into but it was fitting to bring Jamie up and give him a taste of senior footy.
“Hopefully we get enough traction and players like Jamie want to stay on next year and play senior footy with us and take us up a division.”
Pearson said Whitehead earned his senior cap after watching him play in the under-16 Saints side in the weeks leading in to his debut and revealed he would give the developing player two more games with the seniors before sending him back to work on some aspects of his game.