Shiels makes AFL Academy squad

Liam Shiels, 16, has been named in the AIS-AFL

By Paul Pickering
AFTER JUST two years of competitive football, Boronia’s Liam Shiels was last week named as one of the country’s hottest AFL prospects.
Having turned heads with his performances for The Basin Football Club, Eastern Ranges and Vic Metro, the 16-year-old’s meteoric rise up the junior football ranks has now earned him a spot in the Australian Institute of Sport’s AFL Academy squad.
As a member of the 30-man squad, Shiels will undergo an intensive 12-month non-residential training program, which will include school holiday camps and an international trip to either Ireland or South Africa.
While the magnitude of the opportunity had not yet dawned on him after the announcement last week, Shiels can be excused for feeling like it has all happened a little quickly for him since joining The Basin two years ago.
Having represented Victoria in indoor soccer, Shiels says he decided to ditch the round ball for Aussie Rules because a lot of his schoolmates at Aquinas College played for the Bears.
While Shiels has played just five games with The Basin this year because of Eastern Ranges commitments, Under 16 coach Mark Pascoe says the versatile young gun has left his mark on the club.
Pascoe lists a strong pair of hands, the ability to recover quickly from a contest and a desire to get his teammates involved as Shiels’ defining attributes.
“I overheard a couple of our boys on our bench a while back saying ‘I just love watching him play’,” Pascoe recalled.
“That’s the sort of player he is, he’s the total package.”
Having played centre-half-forward for the Bears, Shiels, who stands 181cm, excelled in a variety of roles with the Ranges this year.
When Vic Metro threw him into the middle against South Australia in the national U16 carnival, he compiled 27 possessions and kicked a vital goal.
Having been named in the 11th AIS-AFL Academy intake, Shiels has joined some illustrious footballing company.
Names like Chris Judd, Luke Hodge, Lance Franklin and Cameron Ling are among 135 current AFL players to have graduated from the program – which equates to 19 per cent of the league.
Shiels says the prospect of being drafted has entered his mind, but he is certainly not getting ahead of himself. “I just can’t wait to start the program,” he said.