Senior 21. Oliver Wiltshire (2023 - )
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tugga
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Swingman.
Midfield and then when they needed to win the game, he'd go forward, take a couple of hangers and kick a couple of freak goals.
Played 7 games for the Falcons.
From Code Sports:
2 min read
August 21, 2023 - 11:20AM
Oliver Wiltshire is attracting the attention of multiple AFL clubs. Picture: Supplied
Tuck away the name Oliver Wiltshire.
The 20-year-old from the Bellarine Peninsula has shot up as a local-football bolter for this year’s AFL drafts.
Recruiters believe Geelong is interested in the Barwon Heads midfielder, with one suggesting the Cats are “dead-keen’’ on him.
Another club sent a scout to watch Wiltshire last Saturday.
Returning to Barwon Heads last year, he was runner-up in the best and fairest for a premiership team coached by Dan Donati.
Donati, now coaching Old Brighton in the Victorian amateurs, told CODE Sports he had heard “three or four’’ AFL clubs were tracking
Wiltshire, who has received at least one nomination for the state combine.
“He’s a beauty. He’s quick, he’s got a massive tank, magnificent skills on both sides of the body, he’s inside, he’s outside, he reads the play well, he’s courageous,’’ Donati said.
“There’s not much of him – he’s got to fill out – but he’s got all the tricks.
“I played him every game last year – I think he missed one with concussion – and he just blossomed. To be runner-up in the ‘B&F’ as a 19-year-old, that’s pretty rare, and from what I’m led to believe he’s dominated this year.’’
Donati added: “He’s a ripper. I’d be so happy for him if that (getting drafted) happened. It would be great for the club and the competition too.’’
After missing three matches with a shoulder injury, Wiltshire returned to the Barwon Heads team last Saturday for its qualifying final against Drysdale, and was named in the best players in a two-point victory.
In 16 games this season he has gained 11 mentions in the best and kicked 48 goals, including a bag of 12 against eventual finalist Modewarre and three hauls of five.
After Wiltshire’s performance against Modewarre, Torquay coach Dom Gleeson told the Geelong Advertiser: “When I saw the scoreline and saw they won by almost 200 points, my first thought was, ‘Who has kicked a big bag?’
“It doesn’t surprise me that it’s Ollie, he has an ability to bob up in the right spots and find the ball, he’s a really classy player and a really good finisher too. We’ll put a bit of time into him during the week to make sure he doesn’t get off the chain again, players like that ride that confidence a bit after a big bag.
“He’s probably at the age where he’ll start to assess whether he wants to play at a higher level, but he’s a cracking player at Barwon Heads for now.”
Geelong great Matthew Scarlett, who memorably helped deliver gun defender Tom Stewart from South Barwon to the Cats, is an assistant coach at Barwon Heads this season.
Last year Collingwood nabbed a player from country football, taking Wangaratta Magpie and 22-year-old school teacher Joe Richards at No.48 in the national draft.
Richards has played 12 games in the VFL this year.
‘He’s got all the tricks’: Oliver Wiltshire looms as potential AFL draft bolter after starring for Barwon Heads
Collingwood took a punt on a country footy star in the 2022 draft. Now a 20-year-old Barwon Heads midfielder is threatening to make the leap from local footy onto an AFL list, reports PAUL AMY.2 min read
August 21, 2023 - 11:20AM
Oliver Wiltshire is attracting the attention of multiple AFL clubs. Picture: Supplied
Tuck away the name Oliver Wiltshire.
The 20-year-old from the Bellarine Peninsula has shot up as a local-football bolter for this year’s AFL drafts.
Recruiters believe Geelong is interested in the Barwon Heads midfielder, with one suggesting the Cats are “dead-keen’’ on him.
Another club sent a scout to watch Wiltshire last Saturday.
Returning to Barwon Heads last year, he was runner-up in the best and fairest for a premiership team coached by Dan Donati.
Donati, now coaching Old Brighton in the Victorian amateurs, told CODE Sports he had heard “three or four’’ AFL clubs were tracking
Wiltshire, who has received at least one nomination for the state combine.
“He’s a beauty. He’s quick, he’s got a massive tank, magnificent skills on both sides of the body, he’s inside, he’s outside, he reads the play well, he’s courageous,’’ Donati said.
“There’s not much of him – he’s got to fill out – but he’s got all the tricks.
“I played him every game last year – I think he missed one with concussion – and he just blossomed. To be runner-up in the ‘B&F’ as a 19-year-old, that’s pretty rare, and from what I’m led to believe he’s dominated this year.’’
Donati added: “He’s a ripper. I’d be so happy for him if that (getting drafted) happened. It would be great for the club and the competition too.’’
After missing three matches with a shoulder injury, Wiltshire returned to the Barwon Heads team last Saturday for its qualifying final against Drysdale, and was named in the best players in a two-point victory.
In 16 games this season he has gained 11 mentions in the best and kicked 48 goals, including a bag of 12 against eventual finalist Modewarre and three hauls of five.
After Wiltshire’s performance against Modewarre, Torquay coach Dom Gleeson told the Geelong Advertiser: “When I saw the scoreline and saw they won by almost 200 points, my first thought was, ‘Who has kicked a big bag?’
“It doesn’t surprise me that it’s Ollie, he has an ability to bob up in the right spots and find the ball, he’s a really classy player and a really good finisher too. We’ll put a bit of time into him during the week to make sure he doesn’t get off the chain again, players like that ride that confidence a bit after a big bag.
“He’s probably at the age where he’ll start to assess whether he wants to play at a higher level, but he’s a cracking player at Barwon Heads for now.”
Geelong great Matthew Scarlett, who memorably helped deliver gun defender Tom Stewart from South Barwon to the Cats, is an assistant coach at Barwon Heads this season.
Last year Collingwood nabbed a player from country football, taking Wangaratta Magpie and 22-year-old school teacher Joe Richards at No.48 in the national draft.
Richards has played 12 games in the VFL this year.
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As an overeager ???
I think so. It was in 2021, he turned 19 in September that year.
Good luck to him. Some kids mature later than others, which still seems to have escaped the understanding of most recruiters.
CatToTheFuture
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Send like he missed 2020 with the covid year so his first real opportunity would be that year.
Between him, Lawson, Henry, and Bruhn that's 4 we've brought in from that missed year
Kobe Gryant
Professional Quidditch Player
That bodes well I reckon, and that goes for a lot of players across the competition, not just ours.
There would have been thousands of players who slipped through the cracks.
Many didn't get to play at all, lost fitness/skills from being stuck at home all day, gave up on their dream in uncertain times for the world and have now come back, or didn't get the best out of themselves due to their mental health in some challenging times.
We've seen first hand that a lot of players, and just people in general are late developers, and that would have been multiplied by 1000 during a pandemic.
Think we'll see over the coming years that a number of players look like they've come from nowhere, but where really just robbed of the opportunity, and I think our boys in Mannagh, Humphries & Wiltshire typify that.
tugga
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I'm 184cm and he's got a few centimetres on me easily.
Like this pick, a steeple tough guy, one to watch I'm sure, and well done Wells/Mackie. Near 190cm now also, nice.
He did a sub-8s agility test at the combine in his draft year, which seems consistent with the descriptions of him in these articles.Its funny how shifter referred to 180cm ...he is usually all over the players. This article ..mentioned the growth ...to 190cm. Seems a nice height. Speed? Who knows. I want to see his numbers as if he was tested at a combine. He looks like he is a class above the Barwon heads comp. Lets see how he goes at VFL. To me its a Dempsey pick. Oozzing talent at a couple of levels down....
BFNL: Barwon Heads star Luke Davis says Oli Wiltshire should chase AFL dream
A star Seagull has been implored to chase a footy dream after reports surfaced about AFL clubs’ interest in the mature-aged prospect.
Les Ash Medalist Luke Davis believes one of his young teammates should chase the dream of playing professional football after being linked to an AFL club this season.
Seagull Oli Wiltshire was reported to be the target of Geelong for a rookie list spot after a stunning season in the BFNL, becoming one of the competition’s best goal-kicking midfielders.
Davis said he did not regret his move to a greater competition when he left Barwon Heads for South Barwon in the GFNL, but Wiltshire’s trajectory could be even greater.
“I obviously didn’t see him play much last year, but this year seriously he’s a star,” he said.
“I think if you put 5-10 kilos on him he’d be the best player going around anywhere, up forward he reads the ball well in the air, kicks goals, in the mids he gives us a different look, he’s good inside because he’s clean, but he’s good outside because he is really quick, so where do you like him?
Oliver Wiltshire kicks a goal against Modewarre. Picture: Mark Wilson
“I’d love to play footy with him but … last year when I signed on I said to him ‘if you want to go higher that’s probably the best thing for you’ and at the end of the day it’s up to him, but I think he can play a lot higher level footy and if he asks me about it I’d be telling him to go higher for sure.”
Wiltshire played at the Geelong Falcons in 2021 but was far from a star at the level, averaging just 9.7 disposals and 2.3 tackles in his seven games as a top-age prospect.
He ranked seventh in the preseason testing for agility across the potential draft class in 2020.
But the 20 year old, who is set to celebrate his 21st birthday on Friday, has put on substantial size after ending his draft year as a 180cm, 67kg prospect.
Wiltshire is an apparent target for AFL clubs like Geelong. Picture: Mark Wilson
Wiltshire is now just shy of 190cm and has added size to his frame while keeping his athletic traits, causing the young star to dominate across the BFNL season.
He finished seventh in the competition for goals kicked this season, slotting 51 across 18 games despite playing as a midfielder for the majority of the year.
Wiltshire booted 12 goals against Modewarre in round 4, as well as four other games with five majors each.
“He’s so clean with the ball, he’s so wiry, he kicked 12 goals against Modewarre, he kicks bags and he gets clean marks, he’s a good kick of the ball,” Davis said.
“He’s just a really smart, intuitive player, I think he’ll go a really long way, it’s really exciting.”
Kobe Gryant
Professional Quidditch Player
Not a prediction on young Ollie's career in the slightest, but just purely on the eye test he reminds me a bit of Ryan Gamble.
Similar sort of rangey athletes with lean, long limbs and reach.
Similar sort of rangey athletes with lean, long limbs and reach.
Pure_Ownage
TheBrownDog
Its odd but wells said if we did that we were worried other clubs would know of him and pick him up.
hamG
Norm Smith Medallist
Matty Scarlett has a pretty good track record of tapping someone on the shoulder and asking if they want to play AFL.
Spot on. He also said if we VFL listed him he was a chance of dominating next year and costing us a lot more at the draft.
CatToTheFuture
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Art Vandelay_
TheBrownDog
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If this kid comes good remember Mackie took the ridicule from the masses fighting tooth and nail with Port over Ratugolea for the pick to get this kid.. And Humphries.
We clearly had some prospects we were keen to take a gamble on.
We clearly had some prospects we were keen to take a gamble on.
We would have been able to pick them regardless wouldn't we? We just utilise picks further out in the draft.
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Yep. I'd love to know where Wiltshire and Humphries were on other team boards. I reckon we could've gone 200 picks without their names being called.
Pure_Ownage
TheBrownDog
Kind of what happened with mannagh after we didnt pick him mid year. Maybe that influenced the call to take wiltshire now.
Tandy
Norm Smith Medallist
Love these types of stories.
Yep, Wells used Stewart as an example also.
