Written by JAMES BRESNEHAN, from Tasmania’s The Mercury published on the 24/11/2016
A LITTLE-known Tasmanian has bolted from the blue as a chance to be selected in tomorrow’s AFL Draft.
Robbie Fox, 22, of Burnie, has been making his mark in the VFL as a midfielder for the Coburg Lions for the past two seasons after leaving Tasmania in 2013 to play suburban football in Melbourne.
Coburg footballer Robbie Fox had an impressive year in the VFL, attracting AFL interest which saw him invited to the State Draft Combine.
Fox was mentioned in AFL circles leading up to last year’s draft but missed out.
Playing under former Burnie coach Peter German, Fox has impressed even more this season with his strong vertical leap, speed and endurance.
Fox, who went through the Tassie Mariners program and played in three consecutive TSL grand finals for the Burnie Dockers, including the 2012 premiership, finished fifth in the Coburg’s best-and-fairest award this season despite playing only 13 games.
The 187cm, 87kg power player has been named as one of the top 20 players from the VFL in line to be drafted.
State high performance manager Mathew Armstrong remembers Fox as a developing midfielder.
“He was a slight wing, half-back who used the ball reasonably well back then and wasn’t really a high-possession player,” Armstrong said.
“He was in and out of the Mariners a fair bit.”
“He’s one of these late developers who gets more confidence as they get older and now he’s playing well at Coburg. He’s done well.”
Another former Burnie premiership player, key defender Brody Mihocek, has also caught the eye of AFL scouts by winning Port Melbourne’s best-and-fairest award in his debut season at the club, coached by Gary Ayres.
Fellow-Tasmanian Matt Hanson, who played in South Launceston’s 2013 TSL premiership team, has also drawn the attention of AFL recruiters as a dominant midfielder for Werribee, where he has been senior best-and-fairest winner for the past two seasons.
All of the state-based teenage Tasmanians who would have been in the mix for this year’s draft have been hampered by injuries and are likely to be overlooked.
The AFL Draft is in Sydney tomorrow night.
