He may one of the top draft hopefuls come season’s end, but Calder Cannon Nick O’Kearney is under no illusions.
Playing as this weekend’s 23rd man for Coburg will be valuable experience for the 18-year-old who will look to build on the senior level experience that he gained playing for EDFL side Keilor at the age of 15.
“Going from TAC Cup to VFL level is a big step, and while I’m here I just want to fast track myself as much as possible” O’Kearney said.
It’s been a stellar junior career for O’Kearney who played with local side Keilor before making the move to the Calder Cannons at 16. He gained the attention of recruiters when he won the representative club’s Best and Fairest as an underage talent, leading to nominations to the AFL Academy and the Vic Metro representative squad.
“Playing with the AFL Academy, that was a good experience to compete against bigger bodies” he said.
But it was in the NAB AFL Under 18 championships where O’Kearney starred, named in the All Australian team for the championships – but assures he is keeping himself grounded despite the obvious commendations he has received.
“I tend not to read stuff – you see links on Facebook and social media platforms but I just try to steer clear of them, because when you read something good it can lead to you getting a big head, or when you read something negative it can get you down in the dumps.”
O’Kearney describes himself as an inside midfielder, with the ability to win his own ball as his main strength, but wants to model his game on his mentor Trent Cotchin.
“I’ve been lucky enough to do a bit of work with Trent, and he’s one of the stars of the competition and just trying to learn off him” O’Kearney said.
Acquiring as much knowledge from this week’s opportunity is fundamental to O’Kearney’s football journey, and senior coach Peter German will be at the forefront of that this week.
“He [German] is a really good coach. He knows his football and the boys [Ben Allan and Mark Kovacevic] can’t speak highly enough of him.”
From a Coburg perspective, the club is delighted to have the opportunity to showcase itself and General Manager Craig Lees couldn’t be happier.
“We’re pleased to have Nick this week, and its a fantastic sign of the growth of the Coburg-Calder relationship, that Calder players can now come to Coburg and develop their game to another level.” Lees said glowingly.
“In the past couple of years we’ve seen great success with Adam Saad, Reilly O’Brien, Ben Allan and Mark Kovacevic to name a few and we want to provide that pathway to the AFL and we want these kids to understand that Coburg is best destination for opportunity and they don’t need to look any further.”
It’s a pattern that’s certainly emerging at Piranha Park who now 14 ex-Calder Cannons footballers call home, and its certainly eased the transition for O’Kearney.
“Coming down tonight, it’s been great to see the guys who I’ve played with in the past” he said.
It’ll be another experience for O’Kearney to relish come Sunday afternoon, and no matter what the result it’s one step closer to achieving his next goal.
