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Team Captain
Scoresby smokey's rise to the big time
Michael Rogers
19Dec06
New St Kilda rookie Luke van Rheenen is looking to make the most of his AFL opportunity.
UNTIL last Tuesday morning, Luke van Rheenen was best known to local football watchers as the giant ruckman that spearheaded Scoresby's charge to the EFL Division 2 Colts Grand Final.
Now, van Rheenen can proudly call himself a St Kilda footballer
Following in the steps of suburban smokies James Gwilt and Justin Sweeney, van Rheenen was picked up by the Saints in last week's AFL rookie draft.
It was a rapid rise for a player who has just three senior games to his credit, but he's looking forward to learning the game from the likes of Saints stars Nick Riewoldt, Justin Koschitzke and Fraser Gehrig.
``I was nervous as hell at the first training session,'' van Rheenen admitted.
``You meet Robert Harvey and all those guys that you idolise as a junior and the next thing you know you're on the ground, kicking the footy with them.''
But, once he settled into the environment a little more, the 18-year-old found Moorabbin to be simply another football club.
``Obviously, everything's done at a much quicker pace and the skills are awesome, but it's the same sort of atmosphere,'' he said.
``It's just a bunch of mates, running around kicking the footy.''
Van Rheenen believed his strong top-aged Colts season, when he finished runner-up in the league best and fairest award, might have attracted St Kilda's interest.
But, Scoresby Colts coach Sean Cavanagh said St Kilda had been keeping tabs on the 201cm, 98kg ruckman for almost two years.
``Luke's size is his biggest attribute, but he's got a huge motor and his ground-level skills are amazing for a player of his size,'' Cavanagh explained.
``He was an amazing leader for our team and gave our onballers first use pretty much all year.''
The 18-year-old from Rowville, who has just finished the first year of an environmental engineering degree at Monash University is now determined to make the most of his AFL opportunity.
``I want to just keep improving my own game and learn from playing with guys who have been there and done that,'' he said.
``I'm just still trying to let it all settle in.''
As well as van Rheenen, Scoresby's under-18 squad has produced 13 players in the past two years who are currently training with VFL club Casey Scorpions _ a ringing endorsement of the club's junior program
Michael Rogers
19Dec06
New St Kilda rookie Luke van Rheenen is looking to make the most of his AFL opportunity.
UNTIL last Tuesday morning, Luke van Rheenen was best known to local football watchers as the giant ruckman that spearheaded Scoresby's charge to the EFL Division 2 Colts Grand Final.
Now, van Rheenen can proudly call himself a St Kilda footballer
Following in the steps of suburban smokies James Gwilt and Justin Sweeney, van Rheenen was picked up by the Saints in last week's AFL rookie draft.
It was a rapid rise for a player who has just three senior games to his credit, but he's looking forward to learning the game from the likes of Saints stars Nick Riewoldt, Justin Koschitzke and Fraser Gehrig.
``I was nervous as hell at the first training session,'' van Rheenen admitted.
``You meet Robert Harvey and all those guys that you idolise as a junior and the next thing you know you're on the ground, kicking the footy with them.''
But, once he settled into the environment a little more, the 18-year-old found Moorabbin to be simply another football club.
``Obviously, everything's done at a much quicker pace and the skills are awesome, but it's the same sort of atmosphere,'' he said.
``It's just a bunch of mates, running around kicking the footy.''
Van Rheenen believed his strong top-aged Colts season, when he finished runner-up in the league best and fairest award, might have attracted St Kilda's interest.
But, Scoresby Colts coach Sean Cavanagh said St Kilda had been keeping tabs on the 201cm, 98kg ruckman for almost two years.
``Luke's size is his biggest attribute, but he's got a huge motor and his ground-level skills are amazing for a player of his size,'' Cavanagh explained.
``He was an amazing leader for our team and gave our onballers first use pretty much all year.''
The 18-year-old from Rowville, who has just finished the first year of an environmental engineering degree at Monash University is now determined to make the most of his AFL opportunity.
``I want to just keep improving my own game and learn from playing with guys who have been there and done that,'' he said.
``I'm just still trying to let it all settle in.''
As well as van Rheenen, Scoresby's under-18 squad has produced 13 players in the past two years who are currently training with VFL club Casey Scorpions _ a ringing endorsement of the club's junior program
