Pair will add AFL experience to Roosters, Bulldogs in 2009
NORTH Ballarat premiership pair Eddie Sansbury and Djaran Whyman will play for South Australian clubs Central District and North Adelaide respectively in 2009.
Sansbury, 25, returns to the Bulldogs from where he was drafted after a stellar 2003 season which culminated with a five-goal effort in Central District's third premiership this decade.
He made his AFL debut in 2004 after being selected in the 2003 national draft as North Melbourne's fourth selection. He played 40 games at the top level.
Sansbury will be looked upon to replace the likes of Luke McCabe and Elijah Ware as running players in our side," Roy Laird, five-times premiership coach at the Ponderosa, said.
"He is a smart footballer who has good goal sense and now has a lot of football experience. Eddie has raw pace, excellent skill level and is a constant danger around goals. His speed gives him the opportunity to break lines and he will be a good attacking option.
"With his wealth of football knowledge collected since leaving us at the end of 2003, hopefully he'll bring a level of professionalism into our group."
Whyman, originally from Echuca, played with the Bendigo under-18s when he was drafted onto Hawthorn's rookie list in 2002. He had a second go at AFL level with the Kangaroos and was elevated to the senior North Melbourne squad in 2006.
Also 25, Whyman is a highly skilled midfielder and half-forward who his new coach Daniel Healy is hoping will add goal-kicking options and an 'X' factor to the Roosters' forward line. The 179cm, 77kg Whyman played three senior games for North.
"From what we've seen of Djaran, he is one of those electric footballers," James Moore, North Adelaide football manager, explained. "A pacy, clever footballer, he is also an inside ball getting type. Already working as an Aboriginal liaison officer, he has quickly gained the respect of the group.
"Djaran is good friends with another Roosters recruit Rhys Archard and after a year with Moama on the Victorian/New South Wales border in 2008, he wanted to return to a stronger level of football."
North Adelaide has a strong Indigenous group within its club this season including the Thompson brothers, Wade and Kriston, Daniel and Marlon Motlop, Zac Millar and now Whyman. Other Aboriginal footballers, Matt Campbell, Shane Edwards, Stephen Motlop and Jason Roe, came through the system at Prospect and are now on AFL lists.
PETER ARGENT
PLA.Wordsmith@bigpond.com
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Last Modified on 17/02/2009 13:17