Just my thoughts but could they not make out to show some respect and do this at seasons end.
A defender who was playing second division in the Adelaide Footy League last year is the shock selection in the South Australian AFL Draft Combine to be held at the end of the month.
West Adelaide 23-year-old Mitch Duval is one of 20 SANFL men picked to test themselves physically and mentally in front of AFL recruiters as the annual combine goes completely State-based for the first time because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tough backman Duval, 188cm, joined the Bloods from the Unley Mercedes Jets at the end of last season and has shone across half-back, averaging 13 disposals and five marks while blanketing some of the competition’s most dangerous forwards.
“Mitch is a fantastic story,’’ West coach Gavin Colville said.
“He didn’t play a lot of junior football and then at 17 or 18 he decided to put a bit into it before having a knee reconstruction which set him back. He then had a fantastic year for Unley last year.
“We heard about him through one of our past players., Daniel Caire, who played with him last season and he suggested he could play league football, so we invited him to pre-season training.
“He’s been a fantastic addition to our club and while he was a bit raw at the start, once he found his feet his assets really came to the fore, his marking, intercept marking and rebounding.’’
The AFL will host combines in each State and Territory for a total of 96 male and 82 female players.
The SA camps will be held on Wednesday, September 30.
Duval has been joined in the elite squad by fellow mature-age SANFL recruit Tom Highmore from South Adelaide.
The 22-year-old rebounding defender from Canberra starred in the opening six rounds before suffering a knee injury against Norwood.
The 18 teenagers are headlined by potential No. 1 pick Riley Thilthorpe from West.
Crows father-son prospect Luke Edwards and Next Generation Academy candidates James Borlase (Sturt) and Tariek Newchurch (North Adelaide) also have been invited to the combine, along with Port Adelaide NGA hope Lachlan Jones (Eagles) and Power father-son prospect Taj Schofield.
2020 SANFL AFL DRAFT COMBINE
Boys squad: Corey Durdin (Central District), Kaine Baldwin. Luke Edwards, Luke Pedlar, Xavier Robbins (Glenelg), Tariek Newchurch (North Adelaide), Brayden Cook, Zac Dumesny, Tom Highmore, Phoenix Spicer (South Adelaide), James Borlase, Malachy Carruthers, Tom Powell (Sturt), Mitchell Duval, Jye Sinderberry, Riley Thilthorpe (West Adelaide), Lachlan Jones, Caleb Poulter, Taj Schofield, Henry Smith (Woodville-West Torrens).