Border Mail |
JYDON Neagle’s season is over, with the Wodonga Raiders young gun opting to have shoulder surgery this week in the hope of boosting his draft chances.
Neagle, who again put AFL recruiters on notice by winning the Peter Knights Medal as the best player in Saturday’s “bush v burbs” under-19 clash, will go under the knife on Thursday and faces five months of recovery.
Raiders’ co-coach Simon Bone said while it was undoubtedly a blow for the struggling Ovens and Murray club, it was the right thing to do.
“Jydon is destined to play at a better level,” Bone said.
“We’ve got to do the best thing for him and his future.
“Unfortunately that means not playing for us.”
The son of former Essendon champion Merv simply dominated in Victoria Country’s 123-point thrashing of the VAFA at St Albans Reserve on Saturday.
He then backed that effort up with another impressive showing in yesterday’s Wodonga derby the Raiders won by 10 points.
Bone could not speak highly enough of the talented midfielder.
“He’s just a really classy player,” Bone said.
“He’s got a great workrate, he loves the game and is really conscious of doing the team things.
“He didn’t need to play this week but he was keen to, which shows you what type of person he is.
“It’s been a privilege to be involved with him for this short time.
“We probably don’t have a hell of a lot of players that would force their way into Albury’s side — he absolutely would.”
Neagle has been on Essendon’s radar for some time and is a member of the James Hird academy for future father-son prospects.
Neagle, who turns 20 in August, is all but certain to pursue his career in the VFL next season should he not earn a spot on an AFL list.
