Talented teenager refuses to give up
ONE of the state’s best young footballers and draft hopefuls says he’s likely to continue to play interstate to chase his AFL dream if he doesn’t get picked up in this year’s AFL draft.
Tassie Devils young gun Oli Davis moved to South Australia earlier this year to play with the Adelaide Crows reserves side in the SANFL in a bid to increase his draft chances and the young midfield bull said if he happened
to be overlooked again he’s likely to stay in Adelaide to stay in the eye of recruiters.
“Getting drafted is still my goal and I’m just trying to focus on playing good footy but yeah If I wasn’t to get drafted this year then I still haven’t made the final decision but it’s looking likely I’ll play in the SANFL again,” he said.
The 19-year-old played 12 games for the Crows’ SANFL side this season and averaged 16 touches and over five tackles a game and the midfielder
said playing at that level had been great for his game.
“It’s a very good competition with a lot of ex-AFL players and other quality players and I really enjoyed the season and feel it definitely helped develop my game,” he said.
“The standard that the players set - especially the AFL players - and how they go about things and being able to watch what they do and learn off them has been really good for me as a young player trying to improve.”
The 2020 Clarence best and fairest winner and Matthew Richardson medallist will get another chance to catch the eye of recruiters on Friday when he suits up for the Tassie Devils in its match against Queensland in Brisbane in a game scheduled to give players another chance to display their talents after the NAB League season was cut short due to Covid.
Davis said he was excited to pull on the Tassie jumper again and was aware there would be recruiters watching
the game with a keen eye.
“Yeah I suppose it’s always in the back of my mind but I just try and focus on playing some good footy and controlling what I can control and I’m just really excited to try and get a win with the boys.
“I think that if I just focus on playing good footy then the rest will take care of itself and hopefully before the draft I’ll attract some interest.”
The U19 Devils take on Queensland at Yeronga Sports Ground on Friday at 11.30am.