Wood trade boosts Magpie ruck stocks
3:31 PM Thu 11 October, 2007 | Back
By Jennifer Witham
Exclusive to AFL BigPond Network
News
YOUNG ruckman Cameron Wood has officially become a Magpie, after Collingwood agreed to trade its first round selection in the NAB AFL Draft to the Brisbane Lions in exchange for the emerging South Australian.
The Lions will receive selection No.14 in the November draft, with the 20-year-old ruckman now bound for Victoria after spending three years with Brisbane.
The 20-year-old was officially traded on Thursday afternoon for the Pies' highest selection, despite speculation Rhyce Shaw may have been set to become part of the deal.
But, the Pies got their man without losing a listed player, and are optimistic he will continue to develop when given more opportunities.
"Our thoughts were that Cameron is a 204cm ruckman, and that's an area that we needed to support," Collingwood recruiting manager Derek Hine told collingwoodfc.com.au.
"He'll be playing as a 21-year-old next year, he's had three years in the system, so the scope for his development, we think, is large.
"We're able to bring him in with our first round selection, and hopefully, he'll have a long career with us.
"Us trading our pick 14 is not a decision we took lightly. We think Cameron has got enormous scope for improvement, he's probably been a victim of circumstance at Brisbane, which allows us the opportunity to bring him in and we think he's going to play a significant role for us in an area we're deficient in.
"When we go to the draft or the trade table, we look for opportunities, and we see Cameron as an opportunity to really develop our list."
Wood commenced his career at the Lions after being selected by the club with the overall No.18 pick in the 2004 NAB AFL Draft, after his agility and marking ability impressed the club's coaching staff.
He was the tallest player to be picked up from that draft, and was previously named the 2004 All-Australian ruckman after representing his native South Australia in the NAB AFL Under-18 Championships.
Under the tutelage of the Lions' ruck coach - dual premiership player and All-Australian ruckman Shaun Rehn - Wood has since developed into an impressive young player who now has 16 senior games to his name.
He was nominated for the NAB AFL Rising Star this season following his round-two performance against St Kilda, after receiving several opportunities at senior level last year when the Lions' ruck stocks were limited by injury.
Collingwood coach Mick Malthouse told collingwoodfc.com.au he believes Wood will continue to flourish when given the opportunity to work with existing ruckman Josh Fraser.
"It's terrific to have Cameron on board. He's a young ruckman that has been in the system for three years, he's played second fiddle to some very good ruckmen up in Brisbane, and we feel that under Josh, he will develop quickly into a very good ruckman," he said.
"At 204cm, he's our tallest player, which gives us the opportunity to get our hand to the football. We've been under a bit of pressure, as no doubt everyone is aware.
"The boys have tried their hardest in the middle, but sometimes when you're giving away inches and kilos, it's difficult to get to the ball.
"This is a very promising trade for us. I think it fits well within the criteria. We don't like giving away our picks, but this is for a young man who has been tutored by [Jamie] Charman and [Beau] McDonald in Brisbane, who have been very successful ruckmen.
"I think under those circumstances, we're getting ourselves a very young ruckman with three years' guidance from a pretty good couple of players."
Please note, no trades are official prior to paperwork being accepted by the AFL and formally recognised after 2pm, Friday October 9, 2007.
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3:31 PM Thu 11 October, 2007 | Back
By Jennifer Witham
Exclusive to AFL BigPond Network
News
YOUNG ruckman Cameron Wood has officially become a Magpie, after Collingwood agreed to trade its first round selection in the NAB AFL Draft to the Brisbane Lions in exchange for the emerging South Australian.
The Lions will receive selection No.14 in the November draft, with the 20-year-old ruckman now bound for Victoria after spending three years with Brisbane.
The 20-year-old was officially traded on Thursday afternoon for the Pies' highest selection, despite speculation Rhyce Shaw may have been set to become part of the deal.
But, the Pies got their man without losing a listed player, and are optimistic he will continue to develop when given more opportunities.
"Our thoughts were that Cameron is a 204cm ruckman, and that's an area that we needed to support," Collingwood recruiting manager Derek Hine told collingwoodfc.com.au.
"He'll be playing as a 21-year-old next year, he's had three years in the system, so the scope for his development, we think, is large.
"We're able to bring him in with our first round selection, and hopefully, he'll have a long career with us.
"Us trading our pick 14 is not a decision we took lightly. We think Cameron has got enormous scope for improvement, he's probably been a victim of circumstance at Brisbane, which allows us the opportunity to bring him in and we think he's going to play a significant role for us in an area we're deficient in.
"When we go to the draft or the trade table, we look for opportunities, and we see Cameron as an opportunity to really develop our list."
Wood commenced his career at the Lions after being selected by the club with the overall No.18 pick in the 2004 NAB AFL Draft, after his agility and marking ability impressed the club's coaching staff.
He was the tallest player to be picked up from that draft, and was previously named the 2004 All-Australian ruckman after representing his native South Australia in the NAB AFL Under-18 Championships.
Under the tutelage of the Lions' ruck coach - dual premiership player and All-Australian ruckman Shaun Rehn - Wood has since developed into an impressive young player who now has 16 senior games to his name.
He was nominated for the NAB AFL Rising Star this season following his round-two performance against St Kilda, after receiving several opportunities at senior level last year when the Lions' ruck stocks were limited by injury.
Collingwood coach Mick Malthouse told collingwoodfc.com.au he believes Wood will continue to flourish when given the opportunity to work with existing ruckman Josh Fraser.
"It's terrific to have Cameron on board. He's a young ruckman that has been in the system for three years, he's played second fiddle to some very good ruckmen up in Brisbane, and we feel that under Josh, he will develop quickly into a very good ruckman," he said.
"At 204cm, he's our tallest player, which gives us the opportunity to get our hand to the football. We've been under a bit of pressure, as no doubt everyone is aware.
"The boys have tried their hardest in the middle, but sometimes when you're giving away inches and kilos, it's difficult to get to the ball.
"This is a very promising trade for us. I think it fits well within the criteria. We don't like giving away our picks, but this is for a young man who has been tutored by [Jamie] Charman and [Beau] McDonald in Brisbane, who have been very successful ruckmen.
"I think under those circumstances, we're getting ourselves a very young ruckman with three years' guidance from a pretty good couple of players."
Please note, no trades are official prior to paperwork being accepted by the AFL and formally recognised after 2pm, Friday October 9, 2007.
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