Patrick Marks is a young man on the rise and he is fast become a regular of the Mansfield senior team in 2016.
He remembers very little about his debut last year against Tatura other than the fact the Eagles won the game and he was quiet in terms of possessions.
But that hasn’t stopped him evolving in 2016 under the watch of Cameron Hotton.
The 17-year-old has played in every game this season, only missing two matches through injury.
He attributes his good year to having a solid pre-season behind him.
“I tried out for the Bushies this year and got cut, but that was a good experience for a number reasons such as it gave me a good base to launch into training with Mansfield and it also exposed me to a new group of players even though I knew a lot of them,” he said.
“I have no doubt that is one of the main reasons that I have probably had a good season.”
Marks who is still eligible for the thirds, says his goal is simple for the remainder of the season.
“Hopefully we win some more games in the ones and come home really strong,” he said.
If as expected the seniors miss the finals, Marks is hopeful of returning to play in the thirds if the team qualifies for the September action.
“They’ve got a few games coming up that a winnable so hopefully they can win them to help them make finals, so I can go back to help them out,” he said.
Marks said the coach has been outstanding this year.
“”He has been so understanding and he has really helped me develop as a player. He is so organised and very good with providing really good feedback,” he said.
Marks says one of his career highlights has been representing the league in the under 18 match against the Essendon District Football League where he was named vice captain.
Last Modified on 27/09/2016 14:02
