PREUSS CAN RISE TO A NEW LEVEL
THE former coach of Townsville AFL ruckman Braydon Preuss believes the towering talent can still make his mark in top- flight football.
Pruess, 23, is reportedly on the verge of shifting from his current club North Melbourne to join cross town rivals Melbourne Demons, having played second fiddle at the Kangaroos this year to 2015 All Australian Todd Goldstein.
Preuss, who played eight matches in his debut AFL season last year, is according to AFL. com almost certain to be a Demon as Melbourne attempts to secure much- need support for All Australian Max Gawn.
Preuss, who stands at 206cm, has been a dominant force in the secondstring VFL and led the competition in hit- outs playing for Kangaroos feeder team Werribee.
Hermit Park Tigers life member Barry Gibson, who handed Preuss his first A grade start in the Townsville AFL competition, believes the ruckman has what it takes to make his mark in the AFL. “Time is on his side,” Gibson said. “Traditionally the big blokes take a bit of time to develop. But he’s done his apprenticeship and he’s been in tremendous form in the VFL.
“In my personal view things are in place for Braydon to achieve bigger and better things.
“He just needs to find his place and get more playing time.”
Gibson, now the state football operations manager at AFL Queensland, was coach of the Hermit Park Tigers when Preuss first started playing the Sherrin- kicking code as a 16year- old, having grown up in Townsville playing rugby league.
“It was interesting because he was very raw,” Gibson said. “But it was obvious to everyone that he had the attributes to be a specialist ruckman. We knew he was raw but we played him in A grade early because we wanted to let him know what it was like.”
Preuss moved to the Gold Coast to further his AFL career and impressed recruiters with his movement and tap work in the ruck, with the Kangaroos picking up Preuss in the 2015 rookie draft.
“Personally I have no doubt Braydon can enjoy a good AFL career,” Gibson said. “It’s just that not too many clubs use more than one specialist ruckman, but it looks like Melbourne want to.”
IN MY PERSONAL VIEW THINGS ARE IN PLACE FOR BRAYDON TO ACHIEVE BIGGER AND BETTER THINGS. BARRY GIBSON