By ADEM SARICAOGLU
WESTERN Jets best-and-fairest winner David Iaccarino is ready for senior footy.
And after a year of dealing with persistent shoulder issues and equally stifling opponents, you’d expect him to be.
The 18-year-old Williamstown product had a year worth savouring in the TAC Cup, finding plenty of the footy on a weekly basis and even managing to penetrate on the scoreboard with 16 goals.
His form also warranted a VFL debut with Williamstown, in which he proved just how damaging a senior player he’ll turn out to be with two goals and 23 disposals against Bendigo.
“Playing with Willy this year really made me excited about next year,” Iaccarino said.
“I feel like I can fit the mould pretty good, so I’m definitely excited about senior footy and I want to play at the best level I can play at.”
Jets coach Torin Baker knows just how well the Barry Round Medallist can stamp his authority on a game of footy, and has been staunch in his belief Iaccarino developed into one of the TAC Cup’s better midfielders throughout his stellar season in blue and gold.
“He had some more attention due to that,” Baker explained.
“But he was still able to find a way to be able to really impact games and that’s just due to the fact that he can win his own ball and he’s really good at winning some uncontested ball as well.”
Iaccarino was cleared to play after injuring his troublesome shoulder early in the season and as a result was hampered in certain areas of his game.
That the talented midfielder was still able to produce what he did, despite being forced to alter his tackling technique and on several occasions playing through the pain of numerous partial dislocations, impressed Baker even more.
“When any player can play under duress and still perform it shows that they’re a player that’s got some real character about them,” Baker noted.
“The fact he was able to cope with that says a lot about him.”
Late last month Iaccarino underwent the shoulder re-construction he’d been slated for earlier in the year and is currently in the middle of rehab, but he is expecting to be ready to play a big part in 2014, wherever he ends up.
Despite missing out on Vic Metro selection and combine invitations, Iaccarino is comfortable with letting his formidable body of recent on-field work speak for itself during the upcoming AFL draft period.
“I don’t read too much into it,” he said.
“Being a 19-year-old (in December), I knew it was going to be hard to make those sorts of things, so I wasn’t too worried about that at all.
“If I’m good enough, I’ll get picked. So it doesn’t really fuss me too much.”
