In a weekend off league action, Northern Blues Amateurs’ premiership player James King was selected to play in the VAFA’s Premier B – Division 4 representative side at St Albans Reserve in Geelong.
An admittedly ‘nervous’ King discovered that he was picked in the 22-man squad after receiving the news in a phone call on Wednesday afternoon.
“I was excited to be given the opportunity when I heard I was named in the side,” King said. “It was an honour and something I didn’t really expect.”
Still eligible to play in the under 19’s game, the midfielder used the contest to gain valuable knowledge from Coach Brett Voss and his veteran teammates.
“When you’re surrounded by people who have played at the highest level like Vossy and former VFL players there are things you take from them such as preparation and intensity.”
“It was a really beneficial experience to learn off them.”
The midfielder/half-forward has enjoyed stellar form across his 10 club games in 2014, kicking 25 goals and being named among the best players five times.
Used mostly as a forward in Saturday’s match, King said Brett Voss’ message was to help the side by applying defensive pressure and creating turnovers.
“I was our only real small in the forward line so I needed to try and work hard to lock the ball in the forward half,” said King.
“The pace and intensity of the game was fast to begin with but I started to settle in after the first 10 minutes.”
Despite King’s noteworthy pressure (seven tackles), Victoria Country piled on ten final-quarter goals to take a 19.21 (135) to 8.7 (55) win in the clash.
The young-gun was one of only two players from Division 3 in the squad alongside St Francis’ captain Dimitri Dimakopolous.
Northern Blues Amateurs’ winger Damon Marcon was named as first emergency.
Marcon was also eligible to represent the VAFA’s under 19’s team.
Last Modified on 13/10/2014 17:22