2016 has been a massive year for AFL Darling Downs. We have had 3 former male junior players make to the big time and 2 female stars play for the Brisbane Lions in 2016.
In the big time we had 2 players drafted onto AFL lists. Wylie Buzza was the first to be drafted in 2016, becoming only the 3rd player from the Darling downs region to make it onto a senior list. The Geelong Cats used pick number #69 on the former Lockyer Valley/ Darling Downs Crows product. Buzza has played 5 VFL games to date averaging 10 disposals and 3 marks a match. He has also kicked 1 goal.
Former University Cougars junior Josh Smith proved that hard work and determination can pay off. After been over looked for 3 drafts, Collingwood Magpies called out his name in the Rookie draft at pick #25. He soon impressed coming 3rd in a time trial on the first day he arrived at the club. Since then he has been a revelation debuting on the biggest stage of the Home and Away season the ANZAC day clash. In his debut match he collected 23 touches and kicked a goal while the Magpies run wild winning by 69 points. Since his debuted he has played 10 straight games and has averaged 21 disposals and 2 tackles a game.
This may not have been as high profile as the 2 AFL players but Alistair Meldrum a former South Toowoomba Bomber player turned Darling Downs goal umpire has made it in the big time. Alistair Meldrum has umpired 7 AFL games to date and will look for that to continue to grow in future years.
We have two up and coming superstar female players in Shaliese Law and Danielle Wall. Shaleise Law played for the South Toowoomba Bombers before heading to Brisbane to play for the Zillmere Eagles. She is lightning quick and plays in the forward line. Danielle Wall played for the Dalby Swans before heading to Brisbane to play for the University of Queensland. Danielle plays her best footy in back half and will play as a small defender.
The Darling Downs is super proud of your achievements to date and we will be watching closely to see how far your careers will go.
Last Modified on 07/07/2016 11:28
