A number of emerging TAC Cup footballers have been given their first taste of pre-season training in the VFL system, as part of the Footscray Bulldogs inaugural squad.
Four former TAC Cup players have been named in the Bulldogs VFL side, and Development Manager Chris Maple said the quartet were in the sights of AFL recruiters throughout the 2013 season.
“From the TAC Cup, our AFL recruiters helped steer us to boys they thought had a lot of potential that didn’t get drafted or rookie listed,” Maple said.
“We relied on their information to recruit those players.”
Local Product David Iaccarino has signed on with the Footscray Bulldogs after winning the best and fairest award at the Western Jets in 2013.
He is joined by Will Hayes, the 2013 Most Improved Player at the Sandringham Dragons and his twin brother JD Hayes who was named best on ground in the 2013 Cordner-Eddleston Cup for Melbourne Grammar School.
The 2013 Calder Cannons Most Improved award winner Mitch Jensen has also been added to the Bulldogs squad.
The exposure to a professional pre-season training regime is already paying dividends for a number of the young recruits, with the group already making gains from the program.
“For the VFL boys, they are stronger, they are fitter, we are testing them all the time and they are improving quickly,” he said.
“They are going to make a real impact for their clubs when they go back – If they go back.”
Footscray Bulldogs list so far:
VFL: Darcy Fort (South Barwon/Werribee), Jordan Keras (Werribee)
TAC Cup: Will Hayes (Sandringham Dragons), JD Hayes (Melbourne Grammar School), David Iaccarino (Western Jets) Mitch Jensen (Calder Cannons)
