Latest news with #CaseyDemons
News.com.au
3 days ago
- Business
- News.com.au
How newest Gold Coast Sun Caleb Lewis leapt onto an AFL list
Caleb Lewis thought he was the victim of a classic prank. When Gold Coast rang the key forward from Melbourne suburban club Dingley and expressed its interest ahead of the mid-season draft, he was initially wary, thinking it was a mate on the line. But he soon realised there was no punchline coming and an AFL career suddenly 'got real'. 'They touched base around Round 1, just a brief phone call with a bit of a chat and it just went from there,' Lewis said. 'I thought someone was having me on, to be honest, I thought someone was taking the mickey out of me a bit and pretending to be someone else. 'Then it just got real after that, I knew it was real and I guess I put my best foot forward every step of the way and, yeah, here we are.' The 'here we are' for Lewis is sitting at a Gold Coast cafe after completing his first captain's run as a Sun. Plucked by the Suns in Wednesday night's mid-season draft, he will play VFL on Saturday morning. Lewis was on Casey Demons' books last year and Footscray's the year before – but he leapt onto an AFL list after a 66-goal campaign for Dingley in local football. In the space of 19 games, Lewis evolved from a raw kid with potential to a turnstile-ticking forward capable of taking a spectacular mark. Lewis credits to Dingley for allowing him to showcase his strengths. 'I think Dingley facilitated that massively for me, especially, the culture there is insane, it's unreal,' he said. 'I love to be a part of it, everyone really brings me up and allows me to be myself and everyone just backs me in, no matter what. 'Dingley has really facilitated me to back myself in, fly for everything and play to my strengths. 'It's pretty crazy obviously not playing too much VFL, playing four games over two years at Casey and then the four games at the Dogs as 23rd man. 'You can kind of catch yourself in the mindset of 'why aren't I playing?' and getting a bit down on yourself but I think that's where Dingley and the boys, the coaches, just the support from them to continue to play my game. 'Continue to fly, continue to do everything that makes me a footballer led me to this, since then it's been pretty overwhelming but it's been unreal.' While his ascension appears out of the blue, the Suns have tracked Lewis for some time. Gold Coast recruiter Kall Burns first saw Lewis in under-16s but said his strong finals and pre-season prompted the Suns to take the punt on the high-flyer from the 'burbs. 'There was obviously a lot of fanfare about his finals series for Dingley, in particular his grand final against Cheltenham was really strong,' Burns said. 'He just hit pre-season running, we thought his pre-season form at Casey was really strong and then when we started to really hone in on him again. 'We were there (Round 1) absolutely, what we like about Caleb is his attributes, he's got massive hands so he's a great overhead mark. 'He's really clean at ground level for someone of his size, he's 198cm so for a player like him to be good at ground level is quite appealing. 'He's got excellent movement, covers the ground really nicely, really good footy IQ – there's a lot of attributes about Caleb we like. 'He's still quite raw in terms of his AFL development but we see a lot of potential there.' Lewis has won his spot on the Suns' list as a key forward. But Burns said Lewis had the potential to play a variety of roles under three-time premiership mentor Damien Hardwick. 'He's quite a competitive kid and we particularly saw that through his finals series with Dingley,' he said. 'He was thrown into the ruck at times, he was able to crash packs forward too – but we go right back to his 18th year where he showed his traits as a key back too. 'We're really open-minded with Caleb, we feel like he can play bookends of the ground, back and forward. 'And as a forward he can pinch hit in the ruck as well if that's what Damien needs in the system – he ticks a lot of boxes.'
7NEWS
6 days ago
- Sport
- 7NEWS
Every player to have nominated for the AFL mid-season draft
A host of new AFL players will join the league on Wednesday night when the mid-season rookie draft takes place. VFL star Tom McCarthy is expected to go to West Coast with the No.1 pick, but there are also a stack for former AFL players hoping to get another chance. Geelong premiership hero Brandan Parfitt is among a group of ex-AFL players to have nominated, including Adam Tomlinson, Riley Collier-Dawkins, Nathan Kreuger and Charlie Lazzaro. Over 300 players have nominated from around the country. Check out the full list below. Every nominee and their club Tahj Abberley - Brisbane Lions (VFL) Oscar Adams - Glenelg (South Australia National Football League (SANFL) Zach Adams - Central District Coen Ainsworth - Murray Bushrangers (Coates Talent League) Alex Alessio - Calder Cannons (Coates Talent League) Christian Algeri - Collingwood (VFL) Rod Ali - Eastern Ranges (Coates Talent League) Matthew Allison - Coburg (VFL) Harry Arnold - Brisbane Lions (VFL) Jaxon Artemis - South Fremantle (West Australian Football League (WAFL)) Jake Arundell - Box Hill Hawks (VFL) Riley Baldi - Casey Demons (VFL) Jack Baldwin - Box Hill Hawks (VFL) Isaac Baldwin - GWS Giants Academy (Coates Talent League) Zac Banch - Werribee (VFL) Max Beattie - Eagles (SANFL) Dominic Bedendo - Port Melbourne (VFL) Nelson Beikoff Smart - Gold Coast SUNS (Coates Talent League) James Bell - Glenelg (South Australia National Football League (SANFL) Tom Bell - South Fremantle (West Australian Football League (WAFL)) Joshua Bennetts - Collingwood (VFL) Kane Bevan - Western Australia (West Australian Football League (WAFL)) Trent Bianco - Box Hill Hawks (VFL) Lachlan Blakiston - East Fremantle (West Australian Football League (WAFL)) Thomas Blamires - Frankston (VFL) Riley Bonner - Casey Demons (VFL) Ryan Borlace - South Adelaide Evan Bradley - North Adelaide Dom Brew - Werribee (VFL) Jackson Broadbent - Subiaco (West Australian Football League (WAFL)) Hugo Bromell - Coburg (VFL) Joshua Browne - Collingwood (VFL) Lachlan Bryce - Casey Demons (VFL) Samuel Buck - Sandringham Dragons (Coates Talent League) Charlie Burke - Subiaco (West Australian Football League (WAFL)) Floyd Burmeister - Greater Western Victoria Rebels (Coates Talent League) Jack Bytel - Coburg (VFL) Noah Cachard - Perth (West Australian Football League (WAFL)) Archie Caldow - Peel Thunder (West Australian Football League (WAFL)) Jonah Campigli - Sandringham (VFL) William Cassidy - East Perth (West Australian Football League (WAFL)) Will Chandler - Glenelg (South Australia National Football League (SANFL) Jack Cheep - Sandringham (VFL) Aaron Clarke - Perth (West Australian Football League (WAFL)) Jack Cleaver - East Fremantle (West Australian Football League (WAFL)) Shane Clough - Essendon (VFL) Zane Cochrane - Collingwood (VFL) Adrian Cole - Dandenong Stingrays (Coates Talent League) Nathan Colenso - Williamstown (VFL) Riley Collier-Dawkins - Williamstown (VFL) Sam Conway - Werribee (VFL) Lukas Cooke - Eagles (SANFL) Billy Cootee - Norwood (South Australia National Football League (SANFL) Marlin Corbett - Subiaco (West Australian Football League (WAFL)) Cooper Craig-Peters - Footscray Bulldogs (VFL) Jesse Craven - Casey Demons (VFL) Paddy Cross - Casey Demons (VFL) Brayden Crossley - Southport (VFL) Sam Darley - Melton South Football Netball Club Jayden Davey - Port Melbourne (VFL) Kye Declase - Box Hill Hawks (VFL) Clancy Dennis - Claremont (West Australian Football League (WAFL)) Oliver Depaoli-Kubank - Tasmania (Coates Talent League) Riley Disisto - Claremont (West Australian Football League (WAFL)) Kade Dittmar - Central District Jordan Doherty - Frankston (VFL) Max Donohue - Box Hill Hawks (VFL) Boston Dowling - Collingwood (VFL) Connor Downie - North Melbourne (VFL) Blake Drury - Adelaide Football Club Elliot Dunkin - South Adelaide Oliver Eastland - Claremont (West Australian Football League (WAFL)) Jared Eckersley - Essendon (VFL) Ben Edwards - Sydney Swans (VFL) Thomas Edwards-Baldwin - Western Australia (West Australian Football League (WAFL)) Corey Ellison - Frankston (VFL) Mutaz Elnour - Richmond (VFL) Caleb Ernst - Coburg (VFL) Tom Evans - Bendigo Pioneers (Coates Talent League) Connor Evans - Bendigo Pioneers (Coates Talent League) Ryan Eyers - Werribee (VFL) Liam Farrar - Northern Knights (Coates Talent League) Oskar Faulkhead - North Adelaide Jake Fazldeen - Brisbane Lions (Coates Talent League) Luke Fellows - North Adelaide Ashton Ferreira - South Fremantle (West Australian Football League (WAFL)) Kristian Ferronato - Carlton (VFL) Brodie Findlay - North Adelaide Ty Fitzgerald - Gold Coast SUNS (Coates Talent League) Joel Fitzgerald - Williamstown (VFL) Zachary Fleiner - Perth (West Australian Football League (WAFL)) Matthew Foley - Essendon (VFL) Zac Foot - Southport (VFL) Nicholas Francis - Gold Coast Suns (VFL) Samuel Frost - West Adelaide (SANFL) Joe Furphy - Coburg (VFL) Aiden Fyfe - Gold Coast Suns (VFL) Julian Galbally - Sandringham Dragons (Coates Talent League) Joel Garner - Richmond (VFL) Hudson Garoni - Werribee (VFL) Jake Gasper - Central District Flynn Gentile - Coburg (VFL) Kobe George - Geelong Falcons Ryan Gilder - Brisbane Lions (VFL) Jordyn Gillard - Coburg (VFL) Glen Gillbee - Bendigo Pioneers (Coates Talent League) Lachlan Gollant - Williamstown (VFL) Maison Goodman - Northern Bullants (VFL) Thomas Graham - Port Melbourne (VFL) Baron Grant - Endeavour Hills Football Club Harry Grant - Central District Finlay Gray - Gold Coast SUNS (Coates Talent League) Olly Green - Casey Demons (VFL) Joshua Green - Port Melbourne (VFL) Wyatt Greenaway - Brisbane Lions (Coates Talent League) George Grey - Frankston (VFL) Corey Grocock - South Adelaide Jhett Haeata - Richmond (VFL) Jed Hagan - East Fremantle (West Australian Football League (WAFL)) Hugo Hall-Kahan - Williamstown (VFL) Josh Hamilton - Northern Bullants (VFL) Riley Hamilton - GWS Giants Academy (Coates Talent League) Cooper Hamilton - Carlton (VFL) Mitchell Hardie - Casey Demons (VFL) Zac Harding - Murray Bushrangers (Coates Talent League) Matthew Harms - GWS Giants (VFL) Joe Harrison - Sydney Swans (Coates Talent League) Otis Harvey - Swan Districts (West Australian Football League (WAFL)) Jett Hasting - Eagles (SANFL) Jackson Hately - Essendon (VFL) Henry Hayes - Dandenong Stingrays (Coates Talent League) Taiquin Hayes - Southport (VFL) Jack Hayes - Eagles (SANFL) Cooper Herbert - Calder Cannons (Coates Talent League) Kade Herbert - Eagles (SANFL) Marcus Herbert - Geelong Cats (VFL) Jacob Heron - Southport (VFL) Dyson Hilder - North Adelaide Coby Hilton - GWS Giants Academy (Coates Talent League) Joseph Hinder - Western Australia (West Australian Football League (WAFL)) Oscar Hine-Baston - Perth (West Australian Football League (WAFL)) Darby Hipwell - Frankston (VFL) Tom Hird - Port Melbourne (VFL) Will Hoare - Essendon (VFL) Damon Hollow - Williamstown (VFL) Alex Holt - Sturt Ben Hopkins - North Melbourne (VFL) Noah Howes - South Adelaide Liam Hude - Collingwood (VFL) Ethan Hunt - Footscray Bulldogs (VFL) Lucas Impey - Williamstown (VFL) Solomon James - South Fremantle (West Australian Football League (WAFL)) Matt Johnson - Frankston (VFL) Brock Johnston-Smith - South Cairns Cutters John Jorgensen - Northern Bullants (VFL) Deacon Kalpakis - Coburg (VFL) Luke Kelly - Swan Districts (West Australian Football League (WAFL)) Judd Kelman - Subiaco (West Australian Football League (WAFL)) Ben Kennedy - Murray Bushrangers (Coates Talent League) Doug Kerr - Oakleigh Chargers (Coates Talent League) Mitchell Kirkwood-Scott - Casey Demons (VFL) Nathan Kreuger - Geelong Cats (VFL) Sebit Kuek - East Perth (West Australian Football League (WAFL)) Ajang Kuol Mun - Port Melbourne (VFL) Sean Lai - Richmond (VFL) Campbell Lake - Southport (VFL) Charlie Lazzaro - Port Melbourne (VFL) Riley Leedham - Essendon (VFL) Caleb Lewis - Casey Demons (VFL) Mani Liddy - Central District Matthew Ling - Norwood (South Australia National Football League (SANFL) Mitchell Lloyd - Geelong Cats (VFL) Zaydyn Lockwood - Bendigo Pioneers (Coates Talent League) Taj Logan - Carlton (VFL) Jordan Lukac - Eagles (SANFL) Seth MacDonald - Eastern Ranges (Coates Talent League) Cooper Macdonald - Sydney Swans (VFL) Ewan Mackinlay - North Adelaide Darcy Macpherson - North Melbourne (VFL) Zavier Maher - North Adelaide Harry Mahoney - Collingwood (VFL) Max Mahoney - Collingwood (VFL) Jack Manly - Brisbane Lions (VFL) Archi Manton - Port Melbourne (VFL) Riley Mason - Collingwood (VFL) Jayden Matz - Central District Archer May - Subiaco (West Australian Football League (WAFL)) Ayden McCarroll - Western Jets (Coates Talent League) Tom McCarthy - Richmond (VFL) Tadhg McCarthy - Collingwood (VFL) Curtis McCarthy - Brisbane Lions (VFL) Charles McCartin - Geelong Cats (VFL) Fergus McFadyen - Brisbane Lions (VFL) Billy McGee Galimberti - GWS Giants (VFL) Zac McGown - Box Hill Hawks (VFL) Solomon McKay - Essendon (VFL) Brodie McLaughlin - Williamstown (VFL) Jez McLennan - Port Adelaide (SANFL) Liam McMahon - Carlton (VFL) Zai Millane - Gold Coast SUNS (Coates Talent League) Alex Mirkov - Old Ivanhoe Grammarians Diesel Moloney - Footscray Bulldogs (VFL) Rhett Montgomerie - Central District Harper Montgomery - GWS Giants (VFL) Louie Montgomery - GWS Giants (VFL) Milan Murdock - East Fremantle (West Australian Football League (WAFL)) Cooper Murley - Norwood (South Australia National Football League (SANFL) Joshua Murphy - Collingwood (VFL) Tobyn Murray - Geelong Cats (VFL) Amin Naim - Northern Bullants (VFL) Caleb Nancarrow - Gold Coast SUNS (Coates Talent League) Jacob Newton - Norwood (South Australia National Football League (SANFL) Olivier Northam - South Adelaide Cam Nyko - Essendon (VFL) Finbar O'Dwyer - Williamstown (VFL) Blayne O'Loughlin - North Adelaide Xavier O'Neill - Essendon (VFL) Hewago Oea - Southport (VFL) Charlton Offermans - Brisbane Lions (VFL) Charlie Orchard - Dandenong Stingrays (Coates Talent League) Daniel Orgill - Footscray Bulldogs (VFL) Cameron Owen - Footscray Bulldogs (VFL) Gus Papal - Calder Cannons (Coates Talent League) Brandan Parfitt - Perth (West Australian Football League (WAFL)) Luke Parks - Williamstown (VFL) Patrick Parnell - Glenelg (South Australia National Football League (SANFL) Lochlan Paton - Perth (West Australian Football League (WAFL)) Will Patton - West Adelaide (SANFL) Cohen Paul - Euroa Football Netball Club Inc. Jye Peacock - Box Hill Hawks (VFL) Luka Pecer - Dandenong Stingrays (Coates Talent League) Elwood Peckett - Sandringham (VFL) Flynn Penry - Greater Western Victoria Rebels (Coates Talent League) Jovan Petric - Williamstown (VFL) Nathan Philactides - Box Hill Hawks (VFL) Baxter Philip - Perth (West Australian Football League (WAFL)) Ethan Phillips - Carlton (VFL) Mitchell Podhajski - Coburg (VFL) Oliver Poole - Carlton (VFL) Dayne Posthuma - Central District Liam Purcell - Sandringham (VFL) Nicholas Quigg - Essendon (VFL) Sebastian Quirk - Frankston (VFL) Harrison Ramm - Glenelg (South Australia National Football League (SANFL) Heath Ramshaw - Carlton (VFL) Wil Rantall - Greater Western Victoria Rebels (Coates Talent League) Massimo Raso - Richmond (VFL) Lucas Ravenhill - Claremont (West Australian Football League (WAFL)) Billy Richardson - Sandringham (VFL) Max Rider - Port Melbourne (VFL) Jack Riding - Werribee (VFL) Jez Rigoni - Oakleigh Chargers (Coates Talent League) Flynn Riley - Carlton (VFL) Max Roney - Tasmania (Coates Talent League) Fraser Rosman - Port Melbourne (VFL) Charlie Rozenes - Sandringham Dragons (Coates Talent League) Tom Ryan - Sydney Swans (Coates Talent League) Mitchell Ryan - Sandringham (VFL) Kobe Ryan - West Adelaide (SANFL) Beau Ryan - Central District Jack Saunders - Norwood (South Australia National Football League (SANFL) Galen Savigni - Subiaco (West Australian Football League (WAFL)) Taj Schofield - Subiaco (West Australian Football League (WAFL)) Mitchell Schofield - East Perth (West Australian Football League (WAFL)) Kaden Schreiber - Northern Bullants (VFL) Elijah Scoble - Perth (West Australian Football League (WAFL)) Angus Scoble - Bendigo Pioneers (Coates Talent League) Tyler Sellers - Essendon (VFL) Michael Sellwood - Peel Thunder (West Australian Football League (WAFL)) Liam Serong - Coburg (VFL) Travis Shearer - Subiaco (West Australian Football League (WAFL)) Marc Sheather - GWS Giants (VFL) Josh Shepherd - Oakleigh Chargers (Coates Talent League) Kobe Shipp - Casey Demons (VFL) Blake Simondson - Box Hill Hawks (VFL) Luca Slade - Sturt Oskar Smartt - Essendon (VFL) Jake Smith - Werribee (VFL) Harshul Sodhi - Kambalda Football Club (Goldfields Football League) Phoenix Spicer - Footscray Bulldogs (VFL) Riley Sprigg - Western Australia (West Australian Football League (WAFL)) Ethan Stanley - Box Hill Hawks (VFL) Roan Steele - Western Australia (West Australian Football League (WAFL)) Andreas Stefanakis - Box Hill Hawks (VFL) Dakota Sterzl - South Adelaide Tom Stevens - North Adelaide Luke Strnadica - East Fremantle (West Australian Football League (WAFL)) Gabriel Stumpf - Northern Knights (Coates Talent League) Nathaniel Sulzberger - Tasmania (Coates Talent League) Frank Szekely - North Adelaide Mahmoud Taha - Essendon (VFL) Will Tasker - North Adelaide Benjamin Thomas - Brisbane Lions (VFL) Beau Thomas - Central District Nick Thompson - Bendigo Pioneers (Coates Talent League) James Tidemann - Sydney Swans (VFL) Adam Tomlinson - North Melbourne (VFL) Sam Toner - Richmond (VFL) Donovan Toohey - Coburg (VFL) Lucas Tovey - Oakleigh Chargers (Coates Talent League) Cooper Trembath - North Melbourne (VFL) Joel Trudgeon - Coburg (VFL) Clay Tucker - South Belgrave (Eastern Football Netball League) Noah Tullio - Werribee (VFL) Izaak Twelftree Conor - Norwood (South Australia National Football League (SANFL) Austin van der Struyf - Claremont (West Australian Football League (WAFL)) James Van Es - Port Melbourne (VFL) Samuel van Rooyen - Claremont (West Australian Football League (WAFL)) Alex van Wyk - North Adelaide Cooper Vickery - Carlton (VFL) Jackson Voss - Frankston (VFL) Lachlan Voss - Sandringham (VFL) Tommy Vrkic - Northern Knights (Coates Talent League) Zac Walker - Gippsland Power (Coates Talent League) Samuel Waltham - Sturt Oliver Warburton - Carlton (VFL) Lane Ward - Box Hill Hawks (VFL) Jack Watkins - Port Adelaide (SANFL) Blake Watson - Sandringham (VFL) Kyle Weightman - Coburg (VFL) Tom Wheaton - South Adelaide Hugh White - Northern Knights (Coates Talent League) Cooper Whyte - Werribee (VFL) Nick Williams - Southport (VFL) Ethan Williams - Sandringham (VFL) Zane Williams - Eagles (SANFL) Tom Williamson - Ararat Football Netball Club Conor Willis - Collingwood (VFL) Riley Wills - Perth (West Australian Football League (WAFL)) Lachlan Wilson - Richmond (VFL) Kai Windsor - Casey Demons (VFL) Hayden Windsor - Subiaco (West Australian Football League (WAFL)) Oliver Withers - GWS Giants Academy (Coates Talent League) Mohammad Ali Yassine - Richmond (VFL) Flynn Young - Werribee (VFL) Noah Yze - Casey Demons (VFL)
