Weekly Times | AT 198cm Isaac Abas stands out in any crowd. Mirboo North is banking on him developing into a standout in the ruck.
Abas played four senior and three reserves matches in the Mid Gippsland league last season for the Tigers on top of his 16 appearances in the under 18s.
Now Abas, who turned 19 last week, is set to play seniors full-time for the league’s reigning premier, having turned down offers to join two Gippsland league clubs.
Abas first played Australian rules football with Mirboo North in the under 16s after being invited to the club by one of his former primary school teachers who was coaching at the Tigers.
He played a handful of games, but did not return to the club until last year, preferring soccer, which is still the true “football” to him.
“I wasn’t a big fan of footy back then so I didn’t come back for another couple of years,” Abas said.
This year he plans to juggle his diploma year at Sport Education and Development Australia with football at Mirboo North and soccer with Morwell Falcons.
“When I went back to SEDA ... one of the students there used to play with me, so he asked me if I would play one game or a few tries to see if I liked it or not,” Abas said.
“I liked the first game, kept on going back, liked it, felt welcome with the boys and then my skills gradually got better and better.”
Originally from South Sudan, Abas spent time in Kenya before moving to Australia eight years ago. The family spent six months in Melbourne before settling in Morwell.
Abas will share ruck duties with 2008 Mid Gippsland league best-and-fairest winner Don Webb, who has come out of retirement this year.
Coach Troy Hamilton said Abas was keen to learn and had the “capabilities to be a really good player”.
“He’s willing to work, he listens to everything … he’s still got a lot to learn, but it is exciting.”