Rising young Saints O’Sign of the times

O’Sign is one of few experienced campaigners in a side which has fielded 24 players under the age of 21 in the past two years, and seven players aged 15-19 in the round eight loss to South Launceston.

The Saints’ youthful list has struggled to be competitive at times but O’Sign is excited by the fast-tracked development of his players. 

“We’ve got guys there that have been playing senior footy for up to five years and they’ve only just turned 21 - guys like Matthew McKinnon, Shane Baker, Zac Cooke, Darcy Layh and Chev Deacon, these guys have really impressed,” he said.

“The nucleus is definitely there – these guys need to stick together and continue to work hard and challenge each other and push themselves to be the best players they can be.

“There’s no reason why in a few years the club couldn’t be up winning premierships again.”

George Town has unearthed its fair share of AFL talent in recent times, with Toby Nankervis, Brad Green and Carlton coach Brendon Bolton all hailing from the industrial town.

O’Sign said the club’s next challenge was to bring in experienced players to mentor the youth coming through.

“At the conclusion of this year we’ll be looking at getting the right people on board, experienced heads to really complement the young group coming through because a lot of these guys have been asked to do tough jobs week in, week out.

“If we can help them out by getting some experienced players in the group, their role will change and hopefully then they can be better players.

“I think the club’s in a good position with the players we have but these guys have been doing it pretty tough over the last couple of years, so hopefully in the next few years they get the rewards they deserve.”