Tyrone Downie will forever be remembered as the final Bendigo Gold player to be drafted to the AFL.
While he was the first player to advance to the AFL during the short two year standalone status of the Gold, he joins the list of 11 other players who were drafted from Bendigo in its various forms over the clubs 17 year history, including names such as Nathan Lovett Murray, Hayden Skipworth, Tory Dickson, Stewart Crameri and Shane Biggs.
Unlike the other three rookie selections from the VFL in Kane Lambert, Nic Newman and Adam Saad, Downie did not start in the TAC Cup, instead having plied his trade in country football.
Bendigo Gold coach Aussie Jones was full of praise for the new Gold Coast Suns draftee who he plucked from Kangaroo Flat.
“He was a star from the moment he walked in and had an immediate impact on the group both on field and off field.
“We were keen to get him in Bendigo Gold’s first year as we knew we would be young and inexperienced,” Jones said.
“Although Tigga had not played at that level for quite a while, we knew he was up to it and we knew his leadership would be what we needed.”
- Watch highlights of Tyrone Downie from season 2014
Originally from Cobram Barooga, this was not the first time Downie had been on the Bendigo list. Selected as a 19 year old back in 2007, his first season at the club did not go to plan as a broken ankle ruined his first crack at state league football.
He returned to country football, lining up with Kangaroo Flat in the Bendigo Football League. After two years as a player at the club, Downie was appointed playing coach and spent four years in that role from 2010 before joining the Gold this season.
It was his experience as a coach and ability as a player – having kicked 50 or more goals on three occasions and Kangaroo Flat - that Jones believed would be the perfect mix for his side.
“He played a few years at Kangaroo flat, then captain coached them from age 22 for four years so we knew what we were getting in someone that had coached in his own right.”
Downie averaged 13 disposals, six marks and two goals a game in 2014 and finished equal eighth on the VFL goal kicking ladder with 31 goals. He kicked three or more goals on six occasions during the year, three times kicking four goals against Coburg, Williamstown and Box Hill Hawks.
The main focal point for the Gold, Jones highlighted the pressure Downie was under on a weekly basis, and how well he dealt with it.
“He was outstanding for us as our movement forward sometimes was scratchy, and opposition sides knew Tigga was our main focal point, so he was under enormous pressure the whole time.
“He kept his head high, kept a positive attitude, continued to work hard, had a great set of hands and kicked goals when they were needed.”
Jones believes the pressure Downie endured at VFL level will hold in good stead for his rise to the AFL, no longer being the key target.
“The good thing is he will play as that hit up forward, so a lot of the time he will get that one on one play, or perhaps the zone off defender, which he would not have had for a very long time.
“He will play that third, fourth or fifth string role as a forward, and I think he will have an immediate impact at AFL level. “
Downie had already signed with Richmond VFL for season 2015 in the role of a playing assistant coach.
Instead of joining the Tigers VFL forward line, he will now be pushing for a rookie upgrade at the Gold Coast Suns, to gain his chance at AFL level.
Last Modified on 16/12/2014 10:28