The Greater Western Sydney GIANTS have added six new players to the 2011 playing list following today’s NAB AFL Rookie Draft.
The GIANTS utilised the first six rookie selections in the draft to pick, Stephen Clifton, Rhys Cooyou, Jonathan Giles, Andrew Phillips, Jimmi Savage and Isiah Stevens.
Neville Stibbard, GWS GIANTS Recruitment Manger, said that the Club was pleased with outcome of today’s draft.
“We’ve been focused on this for the last few months and in the end this has delivered us a good balance of experience and youth.
“Steve Clifton won the JJ Liston Trophy this year, played in three premiership sides and was the best player in the state game against WA. Recent form demanded an opportunity, and his experience and maturity will be a huge bonus for this group.
“At the recent NAB AFL Draft Combine Rhys Cooyou and Isiah Stevens delivered some impressive results. Cooyou tested 2.76 seconds for the twenty metre sprint, three times, which was the best overall at the combine. Stevens smashed Nic Naitanui’s vertical jump and he’s a foot shorter than him. He’s a pure talent full of class and we’re looking forward to seeing what both players can bring.
“We locked in some height with Jonathan Giles and Andrew Philips. Giles is looked on as the best ruckman outside the AFL system. He’s a mature man at 22 and we’re expecting him to carry our ruck position into our first AFL season. We’re hoping that Phillips will develop well under Giles and will be ready to go by 2012 providing us with some solid depth in the ruck.
“Jimmi Savage also adds height and is an incredibly good athlete for his size at 196cm. He’s in the same development stage as Phillips and we see a huge upside if we can get some strength in his body.”
The six players will now join their new team mates in Blacktown within the next week.
The Giants will now finalise their playing list with two final selections remaining for priority listed 17 year olds.
Player details:
Steve Clifton
Height: 183cm
Weight: 90kg
DOB: 27/05/87
Club: North Ballarat Rebels (VIC)
Position: Midfield
Rhys Cooyou
Height: 182cm?Weight: 68kg?DOB: 22/03/91?Club: East Fremantle (WA)
Position: Forward
Jonathan Giles
Height: 200cm
Weight: 100kg
DOB: 08/01/88
Club: Sturt
Position: Ruckman
Andrew Phillips
Height: 200cm
Weight: 91kg
DOB: 03/07/91
Club: Lauderdale (Tas)?Position: Ruckman
Jimmi Savage
Height: 195cm?Weight: 78kg?DOB: 09/10/92?Club: Norwood (SA)
Position: Forward
Isiah Stevens
Height: 183cm?Weight: 75kg?DOB: 09/09/92?Club: Swan Districts (WA)
Position: Forward
