The Southern Saints have struck gold in the 2017 AFL New Zealand Draft after securing star midfielder Misilifi Faimalo from Wellington.
The 2017 defending Premiers also added Academy Graduate Clayton Walters, Peter Pirangi from Auckland and Keegan Wilson from Canterbury to their already star studded squad.
Category 1: Clayton Walters
Position: Forward
Clayton Walters has developed very quickly with AFL over the past two seasons and will play his first full Premiership with the Southern Saints in 2018.
Playing as a development player during the 2017 season, Walters earned himself a round 2 Rising Star award after a dominant four goal performance in the forward line for the Southern Saints.
His fast pace and low centre of gravity makes him the perfect small forward and used this pace to beat the opposition defenders.
Clayton does the fundamentals amazingly well and doesn’t try to over complicate the game which makes him stand out.
Category 2: Peter Pirangi
Position: Defender
The 26 year old Peter Pirangi is in his fourth year playing the sport and was a part of the Western Crows set up in the 2017 AFL New Zealand Premiership.
Peter is still looking to develop his game each week and after watching New Zealand take on the world at the 2017 International Cup, it has inspired him to set a goal of making the 2020 New Zealand squad.
Currently playing for the North Shore Tigers in the Auckland AFL, the tall defender will add height to the Saints backline in 2018.
Category 3: Misilifi Faimalo
Position: Midfield
Misilifi Faimalo is an exciting young talent from Wellington who is lightning fast on the footy field.
First introduced to the game through the AFL Cup Secondary Schools competition, Misilifi‘s pace, skills and evasiveness shows why he was a standout at this year’s AFL International Cup.
Misilifi was a key player for the Northern Suns over the past two seasons in the AFL New Zealand Premiership and will fill the void in the Saints midfield left by Sam McKenzie, Harison Manks and Josh Cunliffe.
Category 4: Keegan Wilson
Position: Forward
Keegan Wilson will make his debut for 2016 defending premiers, the Southern Saints in the 2018 AFL New Zealand Premiership.
Playing for the Eastern Blues Football Club in the Canterbury AFL, Wilson had a stellar season in the midfield alongside New Zealand representative Jay Johnson.
Saints Head Coach, Warwick Kain will look to utilise Keegan off the half forward line and link up with fellow draftee Clayton Walters.
Read more:
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Pirangi sets his sights on IC 2020
Suns stick with Captain for third consecutive season
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