Jackson has more in store

By Gavin Staindl
SOUTH Springvale resident Jackson Sketcher has joined the likes of current AFL stars Lenny Hayes and Matthew Kreuzer by winning the TAC Cup’s prestigious Morrish Medal.
The Sandringham Dragons co-captain tied for the medal – awarded to the under-18 competition’s best-and-fairest player – with Gippsland Power’s Dyson Heppell, both polling 21 votes in Sunday night’s count.
The TAC Cup has long been considered a stepping-stone into the AFL, with many past winners of the medal leaving their mark at the elite level.
Although Sketcher dreams of playing high level football he is not getting ahead of himself.
“I’m just taking it one step at a time,” the 18-year-old said.
Sketcher, son of Springvale Districts life-member Neville, first began his football career as a Noble Park junior before heading to the Demons, where even as a 15-year-old he began turning heads.
Springvale Districts president John Martin said he could tell from the beginning that Sketcher was something special.
“We all thought he would do very well,” Martin said.
“He has this natural ability and he was generally the best.”
After playing senior footy with the Demons in 2008, Sketcher followed his dream of playing high-level football at Sandringham last year and played 16 games with the Dragons as a bottom-age player.
He began the 2010 season in brilliant form, polling votes in eight of the first nine games, before going on to lead his Dragons into the second weekend of the finals.
“It has been a good base for not only football experiences, but life experiences too … it has been a good learning curve.
“If you had told me two years ago that I would have achieved what I’ve achieved I would have told you to get stuffed … I knew I had a good year but I didn’t think it was this good,” Sketcher said.
Sketcher will play in the Young Guns game before Sunday’s VFL preliminary final and hopes to further enhance his prospect of being picked up by an AFL club.
The game consists of TAC Cup, VFL and some local players not playing club finals to showcase their talents in front of scouts.
Meanwhile Martin, who has kept a keen eye on Sketcher since moving on to the Sandringham Dragons, believes Sketcher has what it takes to be picked up by an AFL club.
“He is just that sort of kid, he is a very loyal and well-mannered kid who can be full of himself at times, but you need to have that confidence about you,” Martin said.
“We hope he will get picked up, and we expect he will get picked up.”
Meanwhile, Dandenong Stingrays co-captain Luke Parker (14 votes) and emerging on-baller Alex Benbow (12) finished fifth and sixth respectively. It was Parker second top-five finish in the award.
Parker, fellow skipper Mitch Hallahan and versatile defender Andrew McInnes were all named in the TAC Cup Team of the Year.