By Michael Esposito
WESTERN Jets region manager Shane Sexton hasn’t given up hope of one of his players getting drafted to an AFL club.
The side’s two biggest prospects, Ben Casley and Adam Kennedy, were not selected in the AFL Draft and must wait until the rookie draft on 7 December to learn if they will be a part of an AFL side next year.
“We were hopeful we might have someone drafted but we did know it certainly wasn’t going to be early in the draft,” Sexton said. “Unfortunately, we didn’t get a pick, which is going to be disappointing for the kids who had really good seasons.
“Ben Casley was really good most of the year before he hurt his shoulder, Adam Kennedy had a super year, so we’ve got our fingers crossed for those kids and maybe a couple of others.
“Hopefully, we get a couple of kids in the AFL rookie draft and once you’re at an AFL footy club, everybody’s on a level playing field. Those who have got the determination and desire to succeed often come through.”
Sexton also listed Dylan Conway and Jordan Mead as players he thought could flourish in the AFL system.
“It can be a cyclical sort of thing. We’ve had a reasonable run for a while in terms of having a couple (of draftees). We’d certainly like to be sitting back saying we had two or three kids drafted. The fact of the matter is that this time around it hasn’t happened.
“All the testing has been done, all the interviews have been done by AFL clubs so everybody has done everything they can possibly do. We’ve already talked to them about where to from here…and sort of outlined all the possibilities, which obviously included being at an AFL footy club. We haven’t exhausted all the AFL options so there is really no point preceding until we have.”
The Jets’ two best 17-year-olds, Elliot Kavanagh and Will Hoskin-Elliot, were ineligible for the draft and could not be rookied by Greater Western Sydney because they were born after April.
“They’re very talented players and they just have to cool their heels and wait for the next 12 months,” Sexton said.
