The Southern Saints have selected Sam McKenzie as their number 1 AFL New Zealand draft selection to play in the 2016 AFL New Zealand Premiership.
Sam McKenzie currently has a stake in two regional competitions with ties to both Mt Roskill Saints in Auckland and North City Demons in Wellington. He is a marking forward/midfielder whose contesting marking skill provides him with the ability to play against much bigger defensive opponents and still provide potency with his goal kicking ability.
“Sam was a standout option for our first pick. He was judged Best on Ground in the most recent Senior men’s International game against the AFL Academy in April this year where he stepped up his game to provide leadership and much needed determination in the forward line in the absence of several key position Senior Hawks. His second efforts and team first attributes make him a great deputy for captain Michael Boyce.” Southern Saints head coach Andrew Congalton.
The AFL New Zealand National Draft took place recently on Wednesday 7.00pm December 2nd . Coaches from five regions were linked together to commence work on their respective player rosters for the 2016 AFL New Zealand Premiership commencing February 14th at North Harbour Stadium.
With 109 players now signed from regions spanning Northland to Otago, a further 30 players will be added to the list over the next month to finalise those participating in the inaugural competition.
The remainder of selections will take place in the time frame through to January after the completion of provincial matches, fitness assessments and also training sessions where the four coaches have the opportunity to view and recruit players new to the High Performance system.
The weekend of December 5th and 6th will see inter regional competition take place in Christchurch with matches utilised by AFL New Zealand Premiership recruiters to finalise numbers.
Western Crows Captain Jared Court will take on the role of playing coach for the Canterbury province and he will be joined by Southern Saints coaching staff Andrew Congalton, & Warwick Kain as well as Central Giants Assistant Michael Bruhn who will assist Otago. The coaching staff will look to recruit new talent to further their playing development in the AFL New Zealand Premiership.
[interaction id=”560c5f1474a791dd4b27f7f8″]
Related stories:
Central Giants select Will Gregson as their number 1
AFLNZ National Draft date finalised
Wellington Youngsters battle it out for Category 5 supremacy
New AFL competition to hit New Zealand
Auckland Talent to line up in Category 4
Category 3 spans far and wide across NZ
Category 2 heads out to the regions
Category 1 Draft picks to make an impact
AFL New Zealand National Draft Explained Part 1
AFL New Zealand National Draft Explained Part 2
Canterbury based leaders bring youthful experience
Otago talent sought for Premiership
New Zealanders return home for Premiership
Draft secures Auckland Club leaders
Wellington trio to boost draft ranks
Blues key forward to make an impact
Premiership enlists Australian based player
Tigers ruckman to play in AFL New Zealand Premiership
NZ Volleyball rep joins the Premiership
Canterbury star joins the draft
Hawthorn FC International Scholarship holder signs
Southern Saints leader announced
Central Giants pick up Rattenbury
Kusel to shine as Northern Suns leader
Western Crows Captain announced
Southern Saints to be guided by Andrew Congalton
Rob Malone to coach Western Crows
Shannon Wall takes on the Central Giants
Chris “Junior” Mundell to guide Northern Suns
