Geelong has selected classy small forward Zane Williams in the AFL midseason rookie draft.
Williams, a 183cm tall 20-year-old, has impressed for Woodville-West Torrens in the SANFL this season with 15 goals from eight games, including a haul of five against Glenelg.
Geelong List Manager Stephen Wells said the club was excited to call Williams’ name on Wednesday night.
“In consultation with Andrew Mackie, and at the end of the national draft we left a spot open to see what would happen over the course of the summer training period right through to now,” Wells said.
“He’s been at Woodville-West Torrens for a long time, coming right through their junior programs, has been a captain and good player all the way through.
“We’re excited for Zane to be here, not just the short term, we think he’s got a pretty bright future.”
Geelong takes on the Western Bulldogs tonight at Marvel Stadium.
Coach Chris Scott said he was wary of the Dogs under the roof at Docklands.
“I think it’s true of the Bulldogs generally, especially at Marvel, because they have so much talent through their midfield they back that talent in and they try to use the ball,” he said.
“They’re not a bang-it on the boot team, they try to use their numbers and play with speed.
“To simplify, the game is always the same, you’re trying to turn the opposition over straight away or make them go slow so you can get set behind the ball.
“So if (Aaron) Naughton gets really penetrating ball use with time and space he’s going to be a handful for any team defence, and then on the other side, we do think about trying to force them to defend with a bit of speed on the ball but they’re pretty good at getting back, so it’s one of those things.
“You watch on TV and you think you should just move the ball quicker but we’re not going to move the ball really quickly into a position where we’re outnumbered by two or three. Therein lies the balance.”
Meanwhile, Geelong’s AFLW team will take three picks in the June 29 draft.
The Cats hold picks 17, 51 and 67 with the first 15 picks allocated to expansion teams.
