SAWTELL’s Hamish Anderson has had a golden opportunity to impress AFL selectors.

The Sawtell/Toormina Saints player was part of the Sydney Swans Academy side who played the GWS Giants Academy in Canberra on the weekend.

The match was Round 1 of the Male Northern Academy Series, which is a key element of the Swans Academy’s preparation for the involvement in the 2022 NAB League Boys under 19 talent pathway competition.

Playing in the NAB League will give Anderson a chance to impress recruiters, as it is the main avenue for talented players to be spotted by AFL club recruiters and invited to attend the National Draft.

The seventeen-year-old has been part of the Sydney Swans Academy since late last year, which is the AFL club’s development program for players in NSW aged between 11 and 19.

This has involved him making constant trips from Sawtell to Sydney for Swans Academy training sessions and benchmark testing since November.

Anderson described his overall experience with the Sydney Swans Academy, and the necessary travel it entails.

“The standard at training is extremely high and I can feel how much I’ve developed over the past five months,” he said,

“I’m keen to go as far in the sport as I’m able, and doing the travel is just part of what it means to be an athlete based in a regional area.”

He explained his role within the Swans Academy side.

“The Academy has told me that I’ll be playing on a wing and pushing up into the forward line,” he said.

“My role is to cover plenty of territory and deliver the ball to the forwards to create scoring opportunities.”

 

By Aiden BURGESS