AS he grew up in Hay, in New South Wales Riverina, Ben Mabon was an unashamed Carlton fan. He proudly adorned Jarrad Waite’s number on the back of his Blues jumper.
Imagine then Mabon’s adrenalin surge when he found himself playing against Waite when the star Blue and several other of his Carlton teammates lined up for Northern Bullants in a VFL match last month.
Mabon was selected for North Ballarat Roosters under the VFL/TAC 23rd player rule, which encourages VFL clubs to give VFL experience to a player from its aligned TAC Cup club.
Certainly, the moment was not lost on Mabon, 198 cm and still growing, even though he gained just 30 percent playing time.
“Jarrad Waite is one of my all time favourites, he’s the bloke whose number is on my Guernsey,” Mabon said.
“It was a really good experience, I’m just glad I was given the chance. I think I had six one percenters, so I was pretty happy with that.”
North Ballarat Rebels coach Glen Wilkins said playing with North Ballarat in the VFL really did Mabon’s confidence the “world of good.”
Wilkins said the 23rd player rule was particularly beneficial as it provided a player with a taste of what the next level of football offered and, just as importantly, what is required.
“Players are not only going to use that to their own advantage, but bring what they’ve learned back to our playing group,” Wilkins said.
Clearly, there was tangible proof as the following week Mabon was a stand out in the club’s win against Greater Western Sydney.
Mabon dominated the ruck with 28 hit outs, but he complimented that with 15 disposals, seven marks and five tackles in a performance that earned him the maximum five TAC Cup votes.
The Rebels ruckman said he worked on improving all facets of his game over pre-season. “I’m not the best kicker in the world, so I try to help out the little blokes as much as I can. I really try to help out my teammates any way I can.”
Wilkins said Mabon, likely to be a starter in the NSW/ACT squad for the AFL Under 18 National Championships, had improved immeasurably from last season.
“Ben is coming along really nicely in his ruck work and his around the ground work is improving with each game,” Wilkins said.
“One of the things we’ve spoken with Ben is following up his ruck work. He has such a great leap, but when the ball is at ground level he’s not afraid to follow up his work.
“What is really pleasing is that Ben wants to learn, he just absorbs as much information as he can and you are seeing that come to fruition out on the ground on game day.”
Last Modified on 06/05/2010 09:31