Former Maroochydore junior Josh Drummond has put his best foot forward for the Brisbane Lions and his old club in the opening round of the NAB Cup.
And in the process Drummond has ensured that young Roos, who want to follow him into the AFL, will receive 12 of the best – in the form of $1000 worth of Sherrin footballs.
This is the payoff for the Coast junior club for his NAB super goal kicked against St Kilda from outside the 50m arc at Carrara.
That power kick was a major talking point after the game, as was the sharpness of the new pride of young Lions prepared by club champion and rookie coach Michael Voss.
In the end, the nine-point goal proved the winning difference as the Saints came marching home to almost run down a 40-point lead in the last two quarters.
This was after Drummond had been subbed off in the third having produced 16 touches that often quickly turned defence into attack for the Lions.
No passage of play was more telling than when Troy Selwood marked near the left boundary line to set up Drummond’s crack at goal 10 minutes into the second quarter to open a flood gate of scoring.
“Troy hand-balled to me and I decided to have a ping,” Drummond said yesterday.
He was impressed by the Lions hit-out that without key players captain Jonathan Brown, vice-captains Simon Black and Daniel Merrett as well as full-forward Daniel Bradshaw.
“The playing skills were fairly sharp considering the conditions were slippery because of the rain,” Drummond said.
Drummond said the players were enjoying the new direction under Voss who was making training more like a game situation and sharpening their on-field skills.
More importantly, Drummond said he has never felt fitter or stronger at the start of a season and was looking to put his plague of injuries behind him.
He said his removal from the field was a premeditated move designed to ensure he builds up his match fitness in time for the start of the AFL season fixtures.
Drummond said Coast youngster Daniel Dzufer was showing some early good form in his trial runs for the Lions to date, and was primed to stake a claim for more AFL game time.
“It’s time for Daniel to step up and establish himself in the senior ranks,” he said.
Article written by Peter Gardiner at the Sunshine Coast Daily.
Last Modified on 13/03/2009 17:17