Wellington based players who were involved in the AFL New Zealand Academy and born in 1998 or younger will be selected from Category 5 in the upcoming AFL New Zealand National Draft.
The AFL New Zealand Academy was launched in Auckland and Wellington and Northland in February 2015 and was created to provide a pathway for athletes to excel through AFL.
Aotea College student and U16 NZ Hawks representative Alex Awatere first started playing AFL through the Hawks Cup Secondary School Competition. His attitude towards the game is a strong attribute and the roving back’s skill work when it comes to ball on the ground is second to none.
Utu Ah Kuoi is making a big name for himself in the Wellington region. On the field, Ah Kuoi is a midfielder who attacks the ball with pace and strength and was the recipient of the AFL New Zealand U16 Player of the year at the 2015 High Performance Awards. The Wellington College student is also a keen Waterpolo player and has represented the New Zealand Hawks at U16, U18 and debuted for the senior side on Westpac Stadium in April 2015.
Another exciting player who first started playing AFL at Wellington College is Sam Green. The U16 and U18 NZ Hawk is known to be a key positional player (marking forward/marking back) on the footy field. At 190cm tall, Green has a strong overhead mark and a booming kick to boot.
Richard (Misilifi) Faimalo is an exciting young talent who is lightning fast on the footy field. Currently attending Porirua College in Wellington, the roving forward plays the gameas if he has been playing for years. “Never has a NZ youth started playing the game and looked so natural from the beginning.” AFL New Zealand High Performance Manager Mick Coultard sees a lot of potential for this youngster in the future.
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