GEELONG draftee Cameron Guthrie is further proof Sunbury is a strong breeding ground for prospective AFL players, says a Lions junior administrator.
Sunbury Junior Football Club president John Hansen said Guthrie was the Lions’ 10th AFL draftee.
The reigning Calder Cannons best-and-fairest winner played eight seasons with the junior Lions, starting in the under-10s before progressing into TAC Cup.
He was selected by the Cats at pick 23 in the national draft and will wear Gold Coast-bound former Cats star Gary Ablett’s number 29.
His brothers Josh and Zach still play with the Lions.
Guthrie joins Andrew Welsh (Essendon), David Schwarz (Melbourne), Mark Johnson (Essendon), David Johnson (Geelong), Matthew White (Richmond), Cameron Wight (Western Bulldogs), Nick Bruton (Western Bulldogs), Peter Berbakov (Essendon) and Daryl Griffin (Western Bulldogs) as the Lions AFL draftees.
“We are pretty proud of our efforts over the past 20-odd years,” Hansen said. “Cam Guthrie being drafted to Geelong as a first round draftee is fantastic.
“He played in a lot of grand finals with us right through the juniors.
“He is a nice kid from a nice family and we hope he has a very successful AFL career.”
Hansen said the club hoped its history of developing AFL players continued, with more of its players trying out for the Cannons ahead of next season.