By Jonty Ralphsmith
Narre Warren’s Sam Toner and Warragul Industrials defender Alix Tauru both shone at the AFL Combines held across the weekend in Melbourne.
The best prospects in the country were put through their paces in Melbourne from Friday 4 October to Sunday 6 October, with players taking part in physical testing and club interviews.
The physical tests included a two-kilometre time trial, AFL agility test, 20-metre sprint, standing vertical jump and running vertical jump.
Tauru tested at the national combine, recording the highest standing vertical jump at 94cm and also catching the eye with his 20-metre sprint.
The bolter of the draft class, Tauru is an interceptor whose marking and aggression have put him on the map.
Toner is another whose name has entered conversation late in the season as a medium forward, and he recovered from a wrist injury to impress at the state combine.
He tested among the top handful in the vertical jump, while his agility and sprint illustrated a strong athletic profile.
Berwick’s Riak Andrew was another to test well, while Gippsland marking forward Asher Eastham recorded a strong 20-metre sprint time.
Narre North junior Noah Mraz came ninth in the running vertical jump (88cm) and tested solidly after an injury-ruined campaign and Stingrays ruck Jordan Doherty recorded a personal best 2-kilometre time trial held for the state combine invitees in blustery conditions at Lakeside Stadium on Sunday.
Warragul local Jasper Alger, who plays at Oakleigh as he boards at Caulfield Grammar, also had a strong weekend, combining a strong time trial with a rapid sprint of 2.931 seconds and placing 10th in the agility with 8.141 seconds.
Number one pick contender Harvey Langford shone in the two-kilometre time trial, placing eighth with a time of 6:24.
Defender Charlie Orchard (state), small forward Ricky Mentha (state) and St Kilda father-son prospect Elwood Peckett (state) were also in action across the weekend.
Meanwhile, Zoe Besanko was a standout at the girls national combine, finishing seventh in the 20-metre sprint with a run of 3.297 seconds, accompanying an equal-second placing in the standing vertical jump (51cm).
Number one pick contender Ash Centra’s best test was her AFL agility, while Gippsland’s Lilly Leighton and Dandenong’s Kayla Dalgleish both tested well overall at the state combine.
Dandenong co-captain Cooper Hynes, key-position player Elli Symonds, Gippsland halfback Zali Gallagher and Morrish Medallist Xavier Lindsay all missed the physical testing due to injury.
