Dandenong Stingrays defender Tom Gillies’ exciting form through the first half of the TAC Cup season has put him on AFL recruiters’ radars. 20180 Picture: Meagan Rogers.By Marc McGowan
LAST year Tom Gillies was just another bottom-age Dandenong Stingrays player trying to separate himself from the pack in the TAC Cup under 18 competition.
The now 18-year-old defender from Hallam was in and out of the Stingrays’ line-up, ultimately pulling on the boots seven times for the local representative side.
But fast forward to midway through the 2008 season, and Gillies has an AFL career in his sights.
The former Eumemmerring College student has been named in Dandenong’s best players six times in its 11 matches, including two best afield performances in Stingrays wins.
Dandenong regional manager Darren Flanigan has been suitably impressed with the 192-centimetre Gillies.
“Tom’s a late developer, a good size and has been in really good form for the last six weeks,” he said.
“He plays full-back or centre half-back and takes the opposition’s best tall forward every week.
“He marks a lot of their footy, which is a good sign as a tall defender, spoils well and is excellent with his decision making.”
Gillies grew up playing football in Traralgon before joining Hallam for a few seasons and then Narre Warren last year.
He believes his experiences with the Stingrays last season have made him a much better player.
“I make sure I prepare and research the players on the net who I’ll be playing on, try not to get too nervous before games and don’t hang on every possession,” Gillies said.
“Last year I made the mistake, as a bottom-age player, of worrying when I made errors and letting it play on my mind.
“I hit the gym (in the off-season) and worked on my decision-making skills. I’ve got a lot of confidence out of my performances this year.”
Gillies missed out on a spot in the Victoria Metro squad, but Flanigan said this would not harm his chances of an AFL club selecting him in November’s national draft.
“If you perform well at the nationals you’ll always get a really good tick beside your name, but then again, if you’re not in great form and you make a mess of the nationals it’s a big cross against your name,” Flanigan said.
“There are upsides and downsides to playing nationals – plenty of players get drafted that don’t play nationals.
“Most AFL clubs start with a good backline and work forward and if Tom continues to play the style of footy he’s been playing and the consistency he’s showing, he’s sure to come under notice.”
Gillies has shrugged off not being selected for Victoria Metro, instead focusing on playing well for Dandenong.
“There’s not much you can do … hopefully I still get a chance because you know that if you do play (at the national championships) more people will be looking at you,” he said.
“But if you’re not in it there’s nothing you can do about it and you just need to keep playing good footy at TAC Cup level.”
This mature outlook is exactly what has endeared Gillies to Eumemmerring College sports academy director Ben McGee.
Gillies is undertaking a one-year AFL traineeship at his former school, helping out with Eumemmerring College’s sport and recreation program.
“Tom’s a testament to his family and has obviously been well drilled in regards to good values,” McGee said.
“He’s very honest, very reliable and I’d have to say he has one of the cleverest senses of humour of any young bloke that I’ve met.
“We’ve had a trainee for each of the last three years and Tom’s the best of the three by a street.”
