UPDATE: Pre-season draft target: Ben Duscher
Posted by Brent DiamondDec 5. 2012 2:07 pm
UPDATE 5/12/12: BENDIGO’S Ben Duscher has been informed that he is no longer in line for a spot on the Western Bulldogs’ list after training with them over the past month.
Duscher, who took six weeks off his job as a carpenter to chase his AFL dream at the Bulldogs, was told this week after the arrival of Brent Prismall at the club for training.
After selected Nick Lower as a delisted free agent, it appears Prismall and perhaps Matthew Bate will be the two players joining Lower at the Bulldogs in the pre-season draft.
Duscher told Football Nation that he wanted to remain as skipper of Bendigo to lead the talented young list into its first season as a stand alone club in the VFL.
Duscher said the Bulldogs had informed him they wanted experienced personnel who have played at the top level rather than state league prospects.
Duscher said that he has not yet been contacted by any other AFL club and believes his chances were now very slim.
Original Post: 2/12/12
IT seemed that Bendigo skipper Ben Duscher’s AFL dream was over this time last year. Well, for him anyway.
There was plenty of belief that he would have been taken in last year’s rookie draft with significant interest from the Western Bulldogs, Sydney and Essendon.
But that wasn’t to be. Instead, he has seen ex-team-mates in the ilk of Tory Dickson, Jack Redpath and Tom Campbell, who have all flown the coup over to the Western Bulldogs, to realise their AFL dreams.
But this year the Bulldogs have again shown interest by inviting him to train with the club in the lead up to next week’s draft.
It is understood it was between himself and Brett Goodes, another mature age state league player, for one spot in the pre-season draft for the Bulldogs. And the other spot on the Bulldogs list would be between Matthew Bate and Nick Lower, delisted AFL players. Four players needs to narrow down to two pretty quickly.
Duscher hopes that he is on the right side of the draw this time around.
Similarly to that of Simon Goosey’s influence at Essendon – with several Frankston players being taken by the Bombers in recent drafts – Bulldogs assistant Shannon Grant is having a direct influence on recruiting Bendigo players to the club.
Grant, a former coach of Bendigo, is also a massive fan of Duscher and if he had the final say, he would have donned Bulldogs colours last season.
Duscher is a clever inside midfielder who has enhanced his club prospects in recent years. His leadership skills are a given and his talent is still raw in the eyes of some recruiters.
At 25, he’s nearing his peak but knows his chances of playing AFL are becoming slimmer with every year that goes on. This may well be his final chance.
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Source: Wikipedia, User: NimbusWebÂ
Tags: Ben Duscher, Bendigo Bombers, Western Bulldogs
Filled under: Draft, Latest News, VFL News, Western Bulldogs
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