http://wwos.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=8647290
Pacific footballers chase new AFL dream
Happiness isn't the answer you expect when an AFL hopeful being tested in front of club recruiters gets asked his strengths as a footballer.
But Vanuatu's Kilip Andrew is not your average AFL prospect.
He's among 25 players plucked from the South Pacific region put through testing in Wellington on Tuesday identical to that used at the AFL's annual national draft combine in Melbourne.
While the testing is the same, the players' attitudes aren't.
Many of them are relative newcomers to the sport, not chasing a lifelong dream like their Australian counterparts.
"A lot of these guys don't have that dream because they don't even know what the game is," St Kilda recruiter Ameet Bains told reporters.
"There's almost gay abandon with the way they approach it."
Andrew, 20, first learned of Australian Rules football five years ago from an Australian friend living in Vanuatu.
Now he's not only trying to impress AFL scouts but running an Auskick program in his home village which attracts 300 children under 12 and is growing fast.
He and the kids have to dodge crabs which invade their oval from the nearby beach.
"I'm just moving like Michael Jackson, I don't care where the crabs are now," Andrew said.
"The boys are used to that field, we don't care if there's a crab."
His love for the sport shines through when asked about his playing strengths.
"I'm happy on the field, I'm always happy and I'm smiling and I play hard," he said.
If he can't become Vanuatu's first AFL player, Andrew believes one of his Auskick boys will.
Ten New Zealanders were also among those tested, two of whom are already among four Kiwis signed by Hawthorn under the international scholarship scheme.
One of that quartet, Kurt Heatherley, thought he was the victim of a prank when Hawthorn started chasing him four years ago - when he had barely heard of the sport let alone played it - after recruiter Graham Wright saw him play basketball.
"I thought they were just taking the piss out of me," Heatherley said.
He rebuffed initial approaches, before club officials convinced his parents they were serious and he agreed to give it a try.
After playing school football and in the TAC Cup under 18 competition in Melbourne last year, the 18-year-old is considered by AFL international development manager Tony Woods as being within two to three years of an AFL debut.
Woods tips many more New Zealanders could follow.
"The upside is absolutely huge," he said.
Pacific footballers chase new AFL dream
Happiness isn't the answer you expect when an AFL hopeful being tested in front of club recruiters gets asked his strengths as a footballer.
But Vanuatu's Kilip Andrew is not your average AFL prospect.
He's among 25 players plucked from the South Pacific region put through testing in Wellington on Tuesday identical to that used at the AFL's annual national draft combine in Melbourne.
While the testing is the same, the players' attitudes aren't.
Many of them are relative newcomers to the sport, not chasing a lifelong dream like their Australian counterparts.
"A lot of these guys don't have that dream because they don't even know what the game is," St Kilda recruiter Ameet Bains told reporters.
"There's almost gay abandon with the way they approach it."
Andrew, 20, first learned of Australian Rules football five years ago from an Australian friend living in Vanuatu.
Now he's not only trying to impress AFL scouts but running an Auskick program in his home village which attracts 300 children under 12 and is growing fast.
He and the kids have to dodge crabs which invade their oval from the nearby beach.
"I'm just moving like Michael Jackson, I don't care where the crabs are now," Andrew said.
"The boys are used to that field, we don't care if there's a crab."
His love for the sport shines through when asked about his playing strengths.
"I'm happy on the field, I'm always happy and I'm smiling and I play hard," he said.
If he can't become Vanuatu's first AFL player, Andrew believes one of his Auskick boys will.
Ten New Zealanders were also among those tested, two of whom are already among four Kiwis signed by Hawthorn under the international scholarship scheme.
One of that quartet, Kurt Heatherley, thought he was the victim of a prank when Hawthorn started chasing him four years ago - when he had barely heard of the sport let alone played it - after recruiter Graham Wright saw him play basketball.
"I thought they were just taking the piss out of me," Heatherley said.
He rebuffed initial approaches, before club officials convinced his parents they were serious and he agreed to give it a try.
After playing school football and in the TAC Cup under 18 competition in Melbourne last year, the 18-year-old is considered by AFL international development manager Tony Woods as being within two to three years of an AFL debut.
Woods tips many more New Zealanders could follow.
"The upside is absolutely huge," he said.
