RSN - Round 5 - GARRY MOSS

[b_lions16]

HAWTHORN’S injury woes have been one of the talking points of the season, but one of the positives to have come from the setbacks has been the opportunity granted to Garry Moss.

Moss had 24 touches and kicked four goals against West Coast on Saturday to earn the round five nomination for the NAB AFL Rising Star.

His story is one of persistence and determination after he was delisted by the Hawks last year, only to work his way back into the side via the rookie list.

The 20-year-old says he will be forever grateful to the Hawks for giving him the chance to keep his career going.

“I had a meeting with Al Clarkson and (list manager) Chris Pelchen at the end of the season, and they said they were going to delist me, but they wanted me to train on. They said there was a good chance they’d re-rookie me, but I just had to get my body right and have a good pre-season,” Moss said.

“You can never take anything for granted. It wasn’t definitely going to happen. I still needed to work hard, and I had a very good pre-season by my standards. I haven’t had a good pre-season since I got to the club. I did 70-80 per cent of the pre-season, which was really good to experience.”

Moss was rookie-listed by the Hawks and was promoted to the senior list as Max Bailey recovered from a knee reconstruction.

Moss had played one game for the Hawks in round 7 of 2007 against Fremantle, but had to wait until round 2 this season to play his second game, which came when Brad Sewell was a late withdrawal from the match against the Sydney Swans.

Moss said he always had faith in his own talent, but just needed the opportunity to showcase his wares.

“I always believed in myself that I had the ability. I guess you don’t really know until you play at the level. Being a late call-up in the Sydney game, there wasn’t really much pressure,” he said.

“To have played OK in that game and get another opportunity was good. Playing a few games together has given me a bit of confidence.”

While he may have already exceeded his expectations for 2009, Moss’ goals haven’t changed, and he still wants to simply play consistent footy. He says that he was honoured to receive the nomination for the NAB AFL Rising Star, but feels he has little chance of winning the award at the end of the year.

“I’ve seen Daniel Rich play a bit in Perth; I’ve seen his last two WAFL grand finals. He is a pretty classy player and really hard at the footy. At the moment, I can’t see anyone else winning it apart from him.”

http://www.afl.com.au/news/newsartic...5/default.aspx

[b_lions16]

Can someone change the Thread Title to 'Round 5'...Slight Typo.

Anyway, BTW, Moss is in me DT...and he's gunna score big...or else.

[Balony_pony16]

I have heard big things about this guy...anyone seen him play? I haven't watch the Hawks since their loss to the Swans

[christicehurst]

He's had a couple massive games for the Hawks, Magnet like.

[b_lions16]

4 goals last week I heard.

[Balony_pony16]

Sam Sheldon should take note...we need a big game from him this week

[lions_girl_4life]

Fingers crossed Sam can step up. He should... I hope.

[b_lions16]

Sheldon and Redden are practically the same weight, height and they look like identical twins!
Sammy Sheldon says he plays forward most time for Sunnycoast...like Robin Nahas from the Tigers...Lovett.

[b_lions16]

BTW, cannot wait until the line-ups being released this afternoon...5pm AEST..I expect you ALL to be online.

[b_lions16]

Armed for this week's match...and hopes he can pull off a Bradd Dalziell.
Here's his profile from www.lions.com.au:

Introduction
The silky skilled midfielder has endured a horror run with injuries since being drafted to the Club in 2006. The 183cm recruit from Victoria shows poise beyond his years, is creative in front of goals and is an excellent user of ball by hand or foot. .

Background
• Sam Sheldon boasts a strong football pedigree. His father Kens Sheldon played 185 matches with Carlton and St Kilda and was a three-time premiership player with the Blues.

• He was a standout junior footballer who represented Victoria in the U16s and juggled his playing commitments between school team Haileybury and the Oakleigh Chargers.

• He played a full season with Haileybury, leading his school team to their third consecutive APS football premiership and won the club’s Best and Fairest award.

• He only played with the Chargers in the TAC Cup U18 competition on weekends that Haileybury had a scheduled bye round. Once the school season had finished, he ran out with the Chargers each week.

• In his first match at TAC Cup level, Sheldon hit the ground running gathering 22 possessions and laying 11 tackles against the Eastern Ranges. Similar impressive displays against the Western Jets and the Geelong Falcons suggested that he was ready for the next step.

• An AC Joint injury suffered towards the end of the season threatened to derail his season, however he was recalled to the team for the TAC Cup Grand Final and kicked two third quarter goals to help steer the Chargers to the 2006 premiership.

• As an underage player, Sheldon was initially expected to sit out the 2006 National Draft and let Carlton nominate him under the father-son rule in 2007.

• Instead, the underage junior opted to nominate for the 2006 National Draft where the Lions pounced on the medium-sized midfielder with their sixth selection (Pick No.70 overall).

2007
• Sheldon completed his first AFL pre-season and featured briefly in the Club’s 2007 AFL NAB Cup campaign.

• The slightly built teenager began his football apprenticeship with the Lions Reserves and immediately showed why the Lions had snatched him from Carlton’s grasp in the previous National Draft.

• He played the first six rounds in the AFLQ – predominantly across half forward and in the midfield – before a broken leg kept him sidelined for the next three months.

• He returned to feature in the final four AFLQ matches for the season but his lengthy absence restricted his chances of making a senior debut.

2008
• Sheldon received one of the Club’s most famous guernseys during the off-season when his request for recently retired former triple premiership Captain Michael Voss’ number three jumper was granted.

• The young Victorian had always admired Voss and was honoured to follow in the footsteps of the Club’s favourite son.

• The beginning of Sheldon’s second AFL season suffered a lengthy delay after he battled osteitis pubis for much of the pre-season.

• It wasn’t until Round 13 that he was passed fit to play with the reserves in the local AFLQ competition.

• He played the final ten matches of the year with the Lions Reserves and often showed flashes of brilliance. However, without adequate match conditioning throughout the pre-season, Sheldon found it hard to push for a senior berth despite coming into match committee calculations towards the end of the year.