Ready-made rookie

by PAUL DAFFEY

IN this era of professional football, most young hopefuls aiming for an AFL contract put all their energy into impressing the scouts. Few do anything, besides study, that would distract from football; experience even at stacking shelves at the local supermarket would be rare among the players picked up in the recent national and rookie drafts.

Luke Vogels is different. Besides being the only player picked up in this week's rookie draft from a country club, in his case Terang-Mortlake in Victoria's Western District, Vogels will turn up for his AFL adventure with a skill he could always fall back on.

The 21-year-old needs only two weeks at trade school to complete his cabinet-making apprenticeship. In a world in which most of his new teammates at Sydney will know more about Gameboys than going to work, it's a distinction that sets him apart.

Vogels shrugs his shoulders at his work and football background. He is simply happy that the Swans selected him at 28, behind another mature-age recruit, 22-year-old Guy Campbell, in the 2004 AFL rookie draft.

"It's a big surprise,"he said.

Vogels and Campbell, who are both about 195 centimetres, were earmarked for monitoring by Sydney recruiting manager Ricky Barham when they played in the TAC Cup. Campbell, who is from Echuca, played for Bendigo Pioneers. For the past two seasons, he has impressed with the Essendon's VFL affiliate, the Bendigo Bombers.

Vogels played in the TAC Cup with Geelong Falcons. His form was good enough to warrant selection in the Victorian Country squad at the national under-18 championships.

When he was overlooked in the 2001 national draft, he considered joining either Geelong's VFL team or North Ballarat before deciding to stay in Terang and play country footy. After beginning his apprenticeship in Terang under Bevan Heard, he was wary of the travel required to play in the VFL.

But the main influence in his decision to play with his hometown club was the coach, Adam Dowie, who had taught him at Terang Secondary College. Vogels played on the wing for two seasons, standing out with his pace and ability kick with either foot, but it was only this year, when he was moved to the key positions, that he truly blossomed.

"I think playing in the key positions gave me confidence,"he said.

Ricky Barham said Vogels impressed mid-season while representing the Hampden league at Ballarat in division two of Victoria's country football championships. At the end of the season, he won the Hampden league's Maskell Medal for the best-and-fairest in the competition.

The lanky prospect's brilliant year continued in the finals, when he was a key influence in his club's rise from fourth to win the flag. Terang-Mortlake president Bernie Kenna, who broke from milking the cows for this interview, said Vogels kicked a crucial goal in the third quarter of the grand final after being knocked senseless and moved to the forward line.

"He stuck his long arms up and took a good mark," Kenna said. "He's a very dashing player.î

Vogels didn't expect much even after taking up Sydney's invitation to train with the Swans for a week before last month's national draft. Yet on January 4, he'll turn up for training with the prospect of playing AFL football.

"I'll play as well as I can in the reserves and see how I go," he said.

From The Age.

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