In a great advertisement for the Diamond Valley Football League, Jake King (North Heidelberg) and Ryan Jackson (Greensborough Juniors) have been selected in the Richmond and Carlton teams respectively for this weekend's AFL Round 4 matches.
It will be Kings first AFL game and just the second for Jackson, with both having made their way into the AFL by vastly different routes. Both were Rookie Listed players at the commencement of the season but have been elevated onto their respective club's Senior List as a result of long-term injuries to players at their club.
Although an outstanding under-age player with North Heidelberg Boys Club, Jake King remained playing in the Diamond Valley advancing to the seniors at North Heidelberg. No doubt the highlight of his career at the Doggies would have been as a member of the 2005 A Grade Premiership team where he was one of his team's most dominant players.
In the off-season he decided to try his luck at a VFL club and chose Coburg. He was quickly snapped up by alert Coburg coach Andy Collins (ex-Hawthorn) and quickly established himself as a regular in their team. His performances during 2006 earnt him a win in the Coburg Best-and-Fairest award and he was then invited to undertake pre-season training at Richmond, where the Tigers selected him in the 2006 Rookie Draft.
King played in the 2007 NAB Pre-Season matches for Richmond and was promoted to the Senior List prior to the opening round of AFL matches following a long-term injury to Carl Peterson. King was named as an emergency for Richmond's opening round match against Carlton.
Jake King is 23 old, and is listed as a 174cm 74kg defender on the Richmond website.
A member of Greensborough Juniors, Ryan Jackson was a standout player with the Northern Knights during 2005 and was selected by Carlton in the 2005 end of year Rookie Draft. After doing all the pre-season training with Carlton, Ryan played with the Northern Bullants in the VFL, helping the team to a top-of-the-ladder finish.
A late season injury plague at Carlton saw Ryan elevated to the Senior List for the Blue's final match of 2006. It was a tough assignment for him against the eventual premiership runners-up, Sydney Swans. Carlton was suitably impressed with Ryan's 2006 performances to retain him on their Rookie List for 2007.
After good performances in the 2007 NAB Pre-Season matches and the first two VFL matches with the Northern Bullants, Carlton elevated Ryan this week to the Senior List following the long-term injury to player Shaun Grigg
Ryan Jackson has just turned 20 years of age, with his Carlton player profile listing him at 183cm in height and weighing in at 84kg.
Now all we need is for the West Coast Eagles to select Ben McKinley (Yarrambat Juniors) to complete the trifecta for the Diamond Valley Football League.
Last Modified on 07/06/2007 10:56