Ziebell, Sidebottom debutants to watch

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Sep 17, 2006
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DRAFTEES Jack Ziebell and Steele Sidebottom are capable of having an impact in their first seasons in the AFL, according to the man who knows their football ability better than most.

Murray Bushrangers coach Phil Bunn oversaw the development of Ziebell and Sidebottom at under-16 level as well as their graduation to the under-18 side that won this year's TAC Cup grand final.

Bunn took the reins of the group when former coach Peter Dean joined the Western Bulldogs as an assistant and, after a year in charge, has now produced four players with a start at the elite level.

Last Saturday, Ziebell and Samuel Wright were drafted by North Melbourne at No. 9 and 27 respectively, Sidebottom went to Collingwood at No. 11 and Caleb Tiller (80) joined Carlton.
However, Bunn believes his part in their early success can be overstated.

"I think the really good ones find their way through there anyway," he said.

"But I guess in some ways there's been some continuity for the boys, hearing a similar message from me for two or three years.

"It probably means that they've become reasonably comfortable and reasonably at ease in having an understanding of the things that I've tried to help them with and the game plan – the way we go about things at the Bushies."

Sidebottom's profile swelled after his 10-goal, 32-possession performance in Murray's grand-final demolition of Dandenong, which Bunn admits "certainly rocketed him into clubs' calculations".

Along with Ziebell, Sidebottom had also won All-Australian honours for his efforts for Vic Country in the NAB AFL Under-18 Championships.

The pair was long considered to figure in the top 10 the draft – Sidebottom as high as No. 5 – and generated plenty of interest from a number of clubs.

"The clubs basically just came and sought our opinion on the boys," Bunn said. "The homework that most of the AFL clubs do these days is to just try to delve a little bit deeper and find out a bit more about the kid's character or how coachable they are and how they've fitted in with our team.

"North Melbourne certainly did indicate they were pretty keen on all three," he added, the third player being Wright. "It goes without saying that clubs were keen on Jack and Steele and the question we get asked of us at many of those meetings is: 'Who would you take first?'

"That was a tough question because they're both extremely talented kids, but they're different types of players.

"I think both of those boys are capable of playing AFL footy this year. I don't say that flippantly, I don't say that loosely.

"Jack's got a hard, strong body and is used to playing against men. Steele's played enough footy against men at senior country level to be able to handle himself OK as well, but he'll need to just develop a bit physically."

And while Ziebell shared his time with school football commitments at Caulfield Grammar, once attended by Carlton captain Chris Judd and St Kilda's Brendon Goddard, Bunn doesn't expect it to affect the 17-year-old's adjustment to AFL demands.

Former Bushranger Brett Deledio was that age when he went to Richmond at No. 1 in 2004 and Bunn draws some other similarities.

"Looking at Brett you sort of thought to yourself, 'This kid will be ready to play'," he said. "I think he played every game in his first year.

"I'm not putting Jack or Steele in the Brett category just yet, but I wouldn't be surprised if they play a handful or more games."

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