NAB Challenge: Carlton vs. Essendon Sunday 28th Feb

[DJC]

People said the Irish experiment was a waste of time.

The same clueless boneheads now say the US sourced players are a waste.

Just a matter of time. The US has more gifted athletes playing in high level/elite sport than any other county in the world and AFL has only just scratched the surface.

95% are finished as athletes when college finishes. It will be a tidal wave, particularly for tall talent.

Mason Cox looks a terrific prospect and he's just the start.

I continue to be amazed at how well the Irish blokes pick up both the skills and nuances of the game.  It really goes against the belief that you have to grow up playing the game to excel at it.  I guess ruckmen like Goldstein and Martin are home grown examples although they could have had footies in their hands in between basketball commitments; kick to kick at school for example. 

Mike Pyke is another example of how top class sportspeople can pick up another code and, as you say, Cox seems to be heading in the same direction.  I think that the women's competition will also see sportswomen successfully changing codes.

There is a huge pool of US sportsmen and I have no doubt that many could make a successful transition to AFL.  Selecting those most likely to succeed is the challenge.  Now that the AFL has relaxed the rookie rules, we'll probably see more Americans taking up rookie spots and some going on to have AFL careers.