Many of them don’t cope with it and are soon dealing with life after football – they either didn’t have the ability, the attitude or sometimes a combination of both. It is a tough call to make on a young kid but that is the way it is. List management is critical and you can’t afford players any luxuries in terms of keeping them on a list
But occasionally a young player will come along who impresses you with everything he does. He excites coaches and fans and quickly earns the respect of the playing group. Angus Monfries is one such young player. Who knows what the future holds for him but his attitude and willingness to do everything right is at a level is I have rarely seen in a player.
This attitude is evident at all levels. In a pre-season match against Brisbane at Carrara, Angus was charging for a loose ball with Mal Michael coming the other way. There would have to be about 40kg difference between the two of them but Angus didn’t take a backward step. He got hurt, but he got up.
He was thrown to the ground by Daniel Merrett later in the same game. He was winded and a bit dazed but he got up and chased his opponent from the back pocket to the half forward flank to try and put some pressure on him. He didn’t stand there with his hands on his hips – as far as he was concerned he had not finished his job. It is the sort of attitude and courage that quickly earns the respect of the playing group.
And then you have the little things. The players call him nugget because he keeps his boots perfectly clean. At the end of the game he takes his bootlaces out, washes them and hangs them up when he gets home. And Kepler Bradley tells me that before he went on Bomber Radio the other night he got out a tape recorder to see how he sounded.
I think that is all terrific stuff. He has got a bit of character about him but at the same time he is a pretty quiet young man who just wants to play AFL football. He didn’t walk in the door thinking he was the ants pants – he wanted to prove himself and he is working towards doing that.
If we see him back in the Bendigo Bombers in the coming weeks it won’t be because of his attitude. More than likely we will simply want to get a full game under his belt. At the moment he is playing about half a game in the seniors.
