2017 AFL Rising Star recipient Declan Crann will be added to the growing list of young talent entering the AFL New Zealand Premiership National Draft.
17 year old Declan Crann participated as a Development Player in the 2017 AFL New Zealand Premiership. Suffering an early season set back with a hand injury, on his return Crann received the Rising Star award following a exceptional performance for the Central Giants.
Declan maintained this form heading into the representative season featuring in the AFL New Zealand Academy Level 2 team in Wellington during the ANZAC campaign before making his debut for the New Zealand Under 18 team that travelled to Melbourne in May 2017.
Showing his athletic prowess and promise, Crann also topped the list at this year’s National Combine winning the Agility Test with a time of 7.89 seconds.
“Declan is a mobile player that likes to attack the ball and that is one of the attributes that make him exciting to watch.” National Youth Manager, Mick Coultard.
The Waitakere Magpies midfielder was introduced to the game through the Secondary Schools AFL Cup representing Green Bay High School. Now in his third year of AFL, Declan’s game understanding, athletic ability, distribution skills and maturity have helped position him in the elite of New Zealand’s young and promising talent on the rise. He is expected to feature early with his introduction into the AFL New Zealand National Draft due to take place in November.
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