Tall, quick KPF....Mmmmmm!!!
I like!!
http://www.afl.com.au/news/2009-05-27/nab-afl-u18-titles-the-division-one-guns
Alex Keath: A 196cm Murray Bushrangers forward with outstanding speed for his size. Talented key position prospect with a great work ethic, and doesn't stop presenting. Quality leader who captain the Victorian under-17s cricket team and has been selected in the Australian World Cup under-19s squad. Current AIS/AFL Academy squad member.
And it gets even better....
http://www.bordermail.com.au/story/46528/rising-stars-weigh-up-a-sporting-chance/
Alex Keath has been blessed. Such is his talent that, if he chooses to concentrate on football, the Murray Bushrangers star could be on an AFL list in just a few months’ time.
Similarly, if he was to concentrate on a career in whites, he could eventually play cricket for Victoria and perhaps even Australia.
But before long Keath, 17, will have to choose between the two.
The reality is, no one can juggle two sports at the elite level — the days of Max Walker (who played 94 VFL games with Melbourne and 34 Tests for Australia) are over in this professional era.
Keath, a Shepparton product who plays football with the Bushrangers in the TAC Cup and boards at Melbourne Grammar, simply has to decide between two great loves.
The affable year 11 student knows it won’t be easy, but right now he is simply trying to enjoy the little time remaining where he can play both.
“I love playing both and I’ll continue to do so until I’m forced to choose,” he said recently.
“I’ve just finished footy season and now I’m getting into pre-season cricket training, but if an opportunity presents itself then I’d have to think about it pretty hard.”
Keath the cricketer is a batting all-rounder, last year’s Victorian under-17 captain and a junior with so much promise that Cricket Australia included him in its 31-player squad picked to prepare for next year’s Under-19 World Cup in Kenya.
He has also been selected in Australia’s under-19 team to face Sri Lanka next month.
Keath the footballer is just as exciting.
The 197cm, 82kg centre-half forward has shone at every level since starting his junior career at the Shepparton Bears.
The AIS-AFL graduate has dominated at TAC Cup level, shone at this year’s under-18 national championships and is being chased hard by the Gold Coast as it embarks on selecting a dozen of the best 17-year-olds in the country.
Last month, the blond superstar-in-waiting flew to Carrara to meet with Gold Coast officials but the Hawthorn supporter remains tight-lipped about his thoughts on moving north to begin what would no doubt be a successful AFL journey.