![]() ![]() None could have fathomed the feelings Hayes was grappling with. However, for all his talent and potential, Hayes would never feature in a single senior AFL game for the Demons.Īt the time, media and fans put it down to the "commitment issues" label so often thoughtlessly applied to Indigenous players who do not thrive in the high-stakes world of big-time football. "So, that's why when I first met him, I just sort of said, 'He needs to be in our program.'" "He could change direction with good sideways lateral movement, good evasive skills and clean hands. ![]() "Hayesy had real AFL attributes - he was skilful, light on his feet with a good turn of speed," Lamont says. John Lamont was the head coach of the Eastern Ranges during Hayes's time with the club. ( Getty Images: Mark Nolan)Īs a 17-year-old "bottom-age" player, he kicked five goals in the Eastern Ranges' 2005 semifinal victory in the TAC Cup - the AFL's elite junior competition from which the cream of each year's teenage footballers are recruited into the professional game. Daniel Hayes at the Rising Stars AFL Draft Camp in Canberra in 2006. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |