Three South Australian youngsters from the AFL Academy squad will train with Adelaide over the next fortnight as part of the Academy’s club placement program.
Jonty Scharenberg, Steven Slimming and Peter Ladhams are among 33 Academy members who will be integrated into AFL clubs across the competition to hone their development.
Scharenberg, the younger brother of Collingwood’s Matt, is a prolific midfielder from Glenelg who played four games for South Australia in this year’s U18 National Championships.
Sturt’s Slimming is a skilful wingman with strong endurance. He was forced to sit out this year’s Championships due to a stress fracture in his foot.
Ladhams is a 202cm, 90kg ruckman from Norwood who featured in all six games for the Croweaters averaging 14 hit-outs and two marks a game.
Current Crows Matt Crouch and Brodie Smith are among the long list of AFL Academy graduates who have made it onto a senior AFL list.
The placement scheme continues to be an important aspect of the Academy's program, allowing potential draft prospects to receive an insight into life inside an elite sports environment.
The format has been slightly tweaked this year allowing the players an uninterrupted two-week period at a single club. Last year’s Academy group trained at two separate clubs for one week at a time.
The full Academy squad will reconvene after the club placements for a two-week high performance training tour of America in January next year. The group will fly to Florida on January 12 and train at the IMG Academy in Sarasota for eight days before finishing their trip in Los Angeles.
Sturt wingman Steven Slimming at Crows training on Monday morning
AFL Academy Club Placements
Adelaide: Steven Slimming (South Australia), Jonty Scharenberg (South Australia), Peter Ladhams (South Australia)
Brisbane: Ben McGuinness (Tasmania), Jacob Allison (Queensland), Jack Rolls (Queensland)
Carlton: Jordan Gallucci (Vic Metro)
Collingwood: Jack Scrimshaw (Vic Metro)
Essendon: Myles Poholke (Vic Country)
Fremantle: Sam Petrevski-Seton (Western Australia), Noah Hura (Western Australia), Luke Strnadica (Western Australia)
Geelong: Alex Witherden (Vic Country), Hugh McCluggage (Vic Country)
Gold Coast: Brad Scheer (Queensland), Jack Bowes (Queensland)
GWS: Kobe Mutch (NSW-ACT), Will Setterfield (NSW-ACT), Zac Sproule (NSW-ACT), Harrison Macreadie (NSW-ACT),
Hawthorn: Nil
Melbourne: Ben Ainsworth (Vic Country), Jy Simpkin (Vic Country)
North Melbourne: Will Brodie (Vic Country)
Port Adelaide: Brandon Parfitt (Northern Territory), Jack Graham (South Australia), Jordon Sweet (South Australia)
Richmond: Jarrod Berry (Vic Country)
St Kilda: Josh Battle (Vic Country)
Sydney Swans: Jarrod Korewha (Vic Country)
West Coast: Sam Powell-Pepper (Western Australia), Josh Rotham (Western Australia), Jeremy Goddard (Western Australia), Jake Waterman (Western Australia)
Western Bulldogs: Nil
