Date of birth: 6/8/90
Height: 202cm
Weight: 77kg
Club: Geelong Falcons, VIC
Bio: Mobile ruckman who can also go forward. Clean hands, both in the air and at ground level. Ruckwork is a feature of his game. AIS/AFL Academy graduate.
Vic Country U18 coach Robert Hyde says: We didn’t see a lot of Ayce because he broke his collarbone. He might have played one or two games for the Falcons and then he did his shoulder and had it operated on. He’s 202cm and can run and jump. He’s very tall and thin but you can see that if he plays around an AFL club for two or three years and puts on 20kg on he could be an exciting player.
2008 stats
Stats:
| AFL AIS Academy | ||||||||
| Team | Mt | K | HB | D | M | HO | T | G |
| AIS U17 | 2 | 4.5 | 4.0 | 8.5 | 2.5 | 1.0 | 5.5 | 0.5 |
Draft Camp highlights: 5th agility test 8.27sec
In his own words
What are your biggest strengths as a player?
Definitely my decision-making -- a lot of big ruckmen get the ball and kick it long or handball it off and don’t think much about what they do. A big part of my game is making good decisions under pressure and doing the unexpected for a big bloke.
What type of player are you?
I’m a ruckman, but I also like to play up forward and my agility is pretty good. At my size, opponents don’t really expect you to step past them or try and take them on, but I like to.
What are your weaknesses?
My weight and strength are two of the major things that are definitely going to hold me back from playing AFL and in the big league. I just don’t have that physical size to play there at the moment. It didn’t help doing my shoulder because I couldn’t lift weights, but it’s all in the future to look forward to and there will be plenty of time spent in the gym, I’m sure.
Which AFL player do you most resemble?
Dean Cox is a player I watch. West Coast has been a pretty good side in recent times and Cox has brought a new dimension to the ruckman’s role. He uses the ball well and is creative and attacking, so I’ve tried to model myself on him. Obviously, I’m nowhere near as good as Dean Cox, but I’m hoping to get somewhere near him one day.
Which AFL club do you support?
I was actually a big North Melbourne supporter and a massive Wayne Carey fan. When he left the club, I was depressed for a year or two and I didn’t want to follow Adelaide when he went there. The Kangaroos were struggling without Carey and then Dad took me to some Bulldogs games and I’ve been a fan of theirs for probably three or four years now.
