First-round draftee sets modest goals -- to begin with
WHEN you go as high as pick number six in the AFL national draft, it is only natural that expectations surrounding your prospects are heightened. More so, too, if that selection was your club's only selection until pick 40.
That's West Australian Chris Yarran's lot after Carlton swooped on the teenager with their first pick at last year's draft. But the 18-year-old, whose standout 2008 season with Swan Districts in the WAFL elevated his draft potential, is taking it all in his stride.
Yarran made a brief cameo for his new club in the Blues' NAB Cup opener against North Melbourne last night. His game ended early when he rolled an ankle in the final minute of the first quarter and sat out the rest of the match.
In a recent interview on the Blues' website, Yarran said key for him was not necessarily playing senior football right away, although that prospect is not too far from his mind.
"I just want to get respect from the boys and would love to do that in the seniors, but I will take it as it happens," he said. "Everyone wants to play in the ones but we can't all fit in, but I hope to get some time in the seniors."
And where that will be, he has some ideas.
"The position I'll play this year will probably be half-forward but maybe in a few years I would love to spend some time in the midfield," Yarran said. "To do that I need to raise my fitness to another level and maintain that to be able to play on the ball.
"(Carlton forward Brendon Fevola) hasn’t pulled me aside yet. I'm just a young fella so he is probably not worried about it yet. So much of the ball goes to him in every game, so I will just trying to give the team some more options up there and score a few goals."
Like the other draftees, Yarran is on a modified training regime.
"Myself and most of the new boys are only doing about 70 per cent of the training, so I am not doing the same as Fev or Chris Judd," he said. "It has been tough so far, but I want to get fitter so that I can get as much time on the field as I can. I am still young, so hopefully I have a good base to improve my fitness and get more game time."
"I am mainly working with Matty Lappin during training as he is our forward line coach. He is like a second coach to me. I am also doing a bit of work on my strength, but fitness is my priority as I want to get it up to another level. As soon as I got to the club, I saw players like Juddy really pushing through the cones on the track and pushing through the next level. I want to learn and follow in the footsteps of players like that."
* Read the full interview here:
CarltonFC.com.au.
DARREN MONCRIEFF
Darren@AboriginalFootball.com.au
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Last Modified on 21/02/2009 00:24