North Ballarat Rebels' Dalgliesh sets the pace in sprint test

Updated November 2 2012 - 5:43pm, first published October 5 2011 - 11:07am

NORTH Ballarat Rebels player Lachlan Dalgleish was just 0.01 seconds off posting the fastest ever time in the 20 metre sprint at the AFL Draft Combine in Melbourne yesterday.The left-footed wingman posted a time of 2.87 seconds over 20 metres, falling just short of the joint record of 2.86 set by the Northern Knights’ Ahmed Saad and Claremont’s Shannon Taylor.Dalgleish, 18, has a strong athletic background and has run in heats of the prestigious Stawell Gift.Rebels regional manager Phil Partington said Dalgleish was always expected to perform well in the athletics side of testing.“That’s where his athletic ability and background come to the floor. He is pretty good with his legs,” he said.Partington said the emphasis on speed had become increasingly important for AFL clubs.“Every club is different, they all look at these things differently. But there is no doubt as to how important speed is,” he said.Today, much of the athletic power will be put to the side when the player’s football skills and endurance are put to the test.The players will take part in the Nathan Buckley kicking test and the Matthew Lloyd handball test.Partington said he expected Brad Crouch to shine the brightest in the skills test.“He is a very skilful player but we’re confident that all of the players will do well as they have been practising intensely,” he said.As well as the skills test, the highly anticipated shuttle run (beep test) awaits tomorrow, followed by the three kilometre time trial on Friday.

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