Callan Ward

[The Coon Dog]

This article may be of interest to some. It's in this weeks issue of my local paper, the Werribee Banner.

It might come out a bit big, but at least you will be able to read it.

http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/3417/scanao0.jpg

[Go_Dogs]

Geez, only in year 11. Thanks for posting that TCD.

[Dogs 24/7]

Geez, only in year 11. Thanks for posting that TCD.

That is one of the real reasons why he probably won't slip to the 2nd round. He should be gone by 15.

[DOG GOD]

Hope we can get him with pick 19.

[LostDoggy]

Hope we can get him with pick 19.

We need smart footballers and he seems to be one of the more naturally smart footballers available and being a local boy it could be a great marketing coup.

[LostDoggy]

is he a defender or is that just a mistake?

[GVGjr]

is he a defender or is that just a mistake?

Plays both forward and back.

[LostDoggy]

Just reading Coon Dogs article...

If Callan is in year 11, does anyone know if he will be doing year 12 or going straight to the club?

[southerncross]

Just reading Coon Dogs article...

If Callan is in year 11, does anyone know if he will be doing year 12 or going straight to the club?

Dangerfield nominated that he wouldn't play next year and as far as I know Ward will play.

[Bulldog Revolution]

It hasn't been since Brad Johnson or Daniel Giansiracusa that we've recruited a local boy like this - brilliant stuff, get on board Spotswood FC

Physically is he capable of playing next year?

[GVGjr]

It hasn't been since Brad Johnson or Daniel Giansiracusa that we've recruited a local boy like this - brilliant stuff, get on board Spotswood FC

Physically is he capable of playing next year?

He probably is but it might not be worth it. I'm a firm believer that it is just so important to get a new player, particularly a bottom age one, through their first season without injury.

He has carried a couple of injuries so he should not be pushed.

[Bulldog Revolution]

He probably is but it might not be worth it. I'm a firm believer that it is just so important to get a new player, particularly a bottom age one, through their first season without injury.

He has carried a couple of injuries so he should not be pushed.

I wasn't suggesting any need to rush him, just more wondering physically where was at?

Is it frequent that bottom age players like him carve up the TAC cup - was he rated in that comp in 2006? Did he play TAC cup in 2006

For him, he's obviously improved enormously over the past year, and he wont have to change his life too much, he'll be training either at the same ground as the Jets (Willi) or with the senior group at the Whitten Oval.

I like the idea of a no fuss, no nonsense backyard Bulldog - we need more of that.

[GVGjr]

I wasn't suggesting any need to rush him, just more wondering physically where was at?

Is it frequent that bottom age players like him carve up the TAC cup - was he rated in that comp in 2006? Did he play TAC cup in 2006

For him, he's obviously improved enormously over the past year, and he wont have to change his life too much, he'll be training either at the same ground as the Jets (Willi) or with the senior group at the Whitten Oval.

I like the idea of a no fuss, no nonsense backyard Bulldog - we need more of that.

I knew you weren't rushing him bit I generally take a view that anything that you get out of a draftee senior footywise in their first season is generally a bonus.

I still think the Pies wrecked Josh Fraser by rucking him so much in his first year. He has never developed into the footballer that he should have been.

Like you, getting the local boy from our own backyard really appeals to me.

[Bulldog Revolution]

I knew you weren't rushing him bit I generally take a view that anything that you get out of a draftee senior footywise in their first season is generally a bonus.

I still think the Pies wrecked Josh Fraser by rucking him so much in his first year. He has never developed into the footballer that he should have been.

Like you, getting the local boy from our own backyard really appeals to me.

Development is a difficult balance of giving kids a taste of senior levels be it VFL or AFL depending on their bodies ability to handle it, and continuing to develop them physically and skillwise. Our 2006 draft was a very interesting case study in it. Perhaps not surprisingly the two players with TAC cup experience (Everitt and Harbrow) were more able to handle the step up to AFL seniors that then rest (Stack, Lynch, Hill, OShea)

I believe from glimpses I have seen that Stack could be a pretty incredible player, but in 2007 we split his time between the VFL seniors and reserves and seem to have taken a long term view to the whole groups development. The same way we seem to have done a really good job easing OShea into things. Of course it remains to be seen how much they will continue to develop, but we've certainly took a long term view of them.

Interesting thoughts on Fraser - Ratten just spoke very well about how they would give Kruezer a taste in season 2008 but they wouldn't leave him in the ruck against Jamie Charman for 4 quarters to get smashed to pieces. Both Ratten and Matty Knights are actually pretty sensible media performers and have slightly surprised me by how good they are, Knights in particular.

[LostDoggy]

He probably is but it might not be worth it. I'm a firm believer that it is just so important to get a new player, particularly a bottom age one, through their first season without injury.

He has carried a couple of injuries so he should not be pushed.

Also is heading into year 12 and will probably want to focus solely on getting results in exams.

Use this year as a developmental year and debut him in 2009.

[GVGjr]

Interesting thoughts on Fraser - Ratten just spoke very well about how they would give Kruezer a taste in season 2008 but they wouldn't leave him in the ruck against Jamie Charman for 4 quarters to get smashed to pieces. Both Ratten and Matty Knights are actually pretty sensible media performers and have slightly surprised me by how good they are, Knights in particular.

Knights hasn't missed a beat since being appointed. The proof will be if he can manage the players but he has his plan and vision in place and look out for anyone who doesn't stick to the script. He has tunnel vision on where he is taking the Bombers.

Regarding Kruezer, he will play some senior football but they would be crazy to push him too much next year.

[Bulldog Revolution]

Knights hasn't missed a beat since being appointed. The proof will be if he can manage the players but he has his plan and vision in place and look out for anyone who doesn't stick to the script. He has tunnel vision on where he is taking the Bombers.

Regarding Kruezer, he will play some senior football but they would be crazy to push him too much next year.

Yeah i agree, Knights has been very impressive, the real test is of course getting players to do what he wants them to do, and responding to poor results during the year.

But the signs are good for Essendon so far, he is putting his stamp on the place

[The Coon Dog]

Western solution makes difference to player with Spotty past (http://www.realfooty.com.au/news/news/western-solution-makes-difference/2007/11/24/1195753374096.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap2)

Peter Hanlon - November 25, 2007 - The Age


http://www.realfooty.com.au/ffximage/2007/11/24/mbs_ward_wideweb__470x326,0.jpg
Callan Ward, pictured at home in Melbourne's inner west with twin sister Aysha (left) and older sister Mickayla, just a few decent torpedo punts from his new home at the Western Bulldogs.
Photo: John Donegan

THE street is small and unexceptional. The house is a classic inner-west weatherboard. Out front sits a weathered car with an L-plate fixed to its windscreen.

For so many at draft time, an L-plate is an apt metaphor. Not only Callan Ward, but his family and friends are learners in a week that young men begin as sons, brothers and mates, only to come out the other side AFL footballers. It is a transformation that can change not only a teenager's bank balance and address, but his very self.

All a parent can do is lay the foundations, and hope their boy has taken in enough to make the adjustment. All a sister or mate can do is hope they don't lose him forever. It is a heady time — for everyone.
The mum
KERRI Ward was having a meal with friends in Williamstown last Saturday night when her only son walked past with three mates. They joined her for a while, and before leaving she told him she didn't like to see him walking the streets at night. Soon after, he sent her a text message: "Mum, this is probably the last weekend I'm going to have just chilling with my mates." Yes, she thought, come next weekend, things are going to change.

At the Western Jets' 2007 presentation night, Kerri's admiration grew as they built up to announcing the winner of the inaugural trainers' award. The winner was described as a kid who was always well mannered, always thought of the trainers, never rushed them and simply appreciated what they did for him. What a lovely kid, she thought.

"Then they said, 'and that's Callan Ward'. I was so proud, that he's a really nice kid to everybody, whether they're wrapping his ankles or they're his coach."

Kerri says she doesn't know much about football, even though her father, Bill Gunn, played 104 games for South Melbourne in the 1950s. "I'm pretty hopeless, and here I am the mum of someone who's potentially going to be an AFL footballer."

People have been asking, what if he goes to West Coast? Kerri worries, but backs her boy to cope. "He's a smart kid, he knows the danger of drugs. He doesn't drink now, very few times has he had a drink. He is strong, and all you can hope is that common sense will prevail."

Kerri thinks Callan has gone a bit quiet since last weekend, a little subdued, not quite himself. (Cal scoffs at this, although he did lose his phone on the train on Monday, which was not like him).
The dad
GREG Ward lives around the corner. He and Kerri separated a few years ago, and their children split their time between the two houses, carrying their things in plastic tubs.

Greg works at a pulp and paper mill in Reservoir, two days, two nights, then three days off. When he's not working, Cal stays over. "It's been hard, frustrating for him because he's got to pack up and shift. But there's lots of families in that situation." Both Greg and Kerri have left Cal's choice of player manager up to him. Five pursued him, and a week out from the draft he decided to go with Chris Judd's man, Paul Connors. This presented a problem — he had to ring the others back and tell them no.

"I said to him the other night, because he was in such a quandary, 'I'm feeling a bit guilty that I put the pressure on you to handle this yourself'," Greg says. "You do wonder whether, with everything else going on, it's the last thing he needs." Cal appreciated that it was hard, but also that it was his job to do.

Greg played under-19s at Footscray, then more than 100 games for Yarraville in the old VFA before finishing with Spotswood. He is a lifelong Essendon member. "Pick 23 to the Bombers sounds pretty good to me, but I'll just be rapt if it's a Melbourne-based club," he says, then thinks again and rules a line through Carlton, Collingwood and Richmond — "just because I hate them".

It's amazing how quickly things happen, Greg thinks; Cal began 2007 unsure if he'd make the Western Jets' final cut of 36, then raised the bar to simply trying to get a game in the 22. A week from draft day, he was being touted as a possible first-round selection. "It doesn't really matter … At the end of the day, it's just a game, and if you don't play AFL football, it's not the end of the world. You've still got a life to live."
The twin sister
"I'M ACTUALLY really upset now," Aysha Ward said last Sunday, as she finished packing to fly to London the next day. "If I'd thought about it earlier I would have booked my flight after the draft."

Aysha is flying around the world for six weeks with her best friend Bridget. She and Callan are close, as people who have shared a womb tend to be, and the realisation that when she returns just after Christmas, her twin might already be with a football club in another state has hit hard. But, "that's his dream".
The older sister
"IF HE goes to Collingwood, I won't talk to him," says Mickayla Ward, Cal's 21-year-old sister, who reckons being the only other sibling in Melbourne on draft weekend will be no bad thing. "Because I'll be getting all the attention."

A state league netballer with VU Flames, Mickayla got downwind of the discussions her brother had with potential managers about the money in AFL life. "It's just amazing." But no, she says, it won't change him.
The oldest sister
FRIDAY night drinkers at The Wick Inn in Brighton, south England, must have wondered what hit them as the pub's manager, 23-year-old Kiandra Ward, her partner Nick, little sister Aysha and travelling buddy Bridget gathered around a laptop computer to follow the AFL draft.

"We've got a 2am licence, so we'll definitely make the most of Friday night over here," Kiandra said on Wednesday, having just picked Aysha and Bridget up from Heathrow. "But yes, I'd like to be home about now."
The mate
JAMES "Jimma" Hinds and Callan Ward have known each other since prep, and share the easy rapport of lifelong friends. On Tuesday they caught the train to Werribee to retrieve Cal's phone, getting off at Spotswood on the way home so they could walk through Westgate golf course, because "there's plenty of targets to kick the footy at there".

Jimma reckons his friend has always had something in his hands. "There's no rocks left between here and the station, Cal's picked them all up to chuck around."

His mate's reluctance to phone the managers he has decided against doesn't surprise Jimma. "He's always hated to disappoint people."

Sitting across from each other in Cal's mum's living room, Jimma says Cal "always takes people along with him". Cal smiles, and shoots back: "Yeah, I might even take you along to training one day."

He's good at telling stories, says Jimma. "You saying I'm cocky?" Cal shoots back. "No, he's not cocky. Just a good story teller."

Emerging from the pre-draft camp medical to see a nervous Rhys Prismall in the waiting room, Cal told him, "You have to get totally nude in there, it's freaky." He's still laughing at the look on Rhys' face.

Jimma is a Western Bulldogs fan. "But I'm changing if he goes somewhere else." Cal is mortified. "No you will not! You've been a member for 10 years!"
The outcome
AT 10.12am yesterday, Western Bulldogs recruiting manager Scott Clayton announced: "Pick 19, player 112791, Callan Ward, Western Jets."

In a small, unexceptional street, the roof was almost lifted off a weatherboard house. Kerri Ward gave thanks that her son would be able to finish his schooling at Williamstown High, and wondered if it was too early for a chardonnay. Jimma and another mate, Ben, couldn't stop crying. Phones started ringing, and would not stop all day.

People talked of it being another Rohan Smith story, the local boy making it with the local club. Preparations were made to adjourn to the clubrooms at Spotswood, where a crowd in the hundreds would celebrate into the night.

Callan Ward, just 17 and only eligible to be drafted by 20 days, leapt in the air. "I'm so happy right now, just over the moon."

Then he was off, to take another call, to hug another mate, to start a new life.

[Go_Dogs]

Great article.

[DOG GOD]

cool article...sounds like a nice kid. Glad to have him at the dogs.

[Max469]

How lucky are we?

How nice does this kid sound?

Welcome to the Kennel Cal

[Bulldog Revolution]

http://www.realfooty.com.au/news/news/drafts-lucky-few-get-home-side-advantage/2007/11/24/1195753374122.html

Draft's lucky few get home side advantage
Peter Hanlon | November 25, 2007

MANY tears are shed on AFL draft day, and not all of them in the joy of a dream fulfilled. While being chosen confirms that a young man is going places, that place is often a long way from home.

Of the 69 players drafted yesterday, 39 will move interstate to pursue a football career.

Fourteen are Victorians who will cross paths with the 10 young men from Western Australia who must pack their bags and fly east.

Some, such as Mill Park teenagers Patrick Veszpremi and Brett Meredith, will have company on their journey — the Northern Knights teammates were both chosen by Sydney.

So too Scott Selwood, the youngest of Bryce and Maree's amazing quartet of sons from Bendigo, who joins big brother Adam at West Coast.

Others, including Brad Ebert, felt the draft's most bittersweet edge. From a legendary Port Adelaide football family, the highly rated Ebert missed his chance to stay home when Adelaide, where his cousin Brett plays, overlooked him with pick 10. Three selections later, he was off to join the Eagles.

And then there are the lucky ones who will embark on an AFL career still sleeping in their own beds.

Callan Ward, 17, made the draft age cut-off by only 20 days and still has a year of VCE to complete.

After the Western Bulldogs chose him with pick 19 yesterday morning, he can do so without changing his Williamstown High School uniform.

"I just jumped so high, I'm over the moon," said Ward, who splits his time between his parents' houses, who live around the corner from each other in Yarraville.

By mid-afternoon, the inbox on his mobile phone was bulging with more than 100 text messages. He had spoken to his twin sister Aysha by phone from England, and oldest sister Kiandra, with whom she is staying. Like his mates who could not stop crying, middle sis Mickayla was on hand to hug him in person.

The celebrations continued into the night in the clubrooms at Spotswood, his junior club, where mum Kerri likened the fairytale to the story of Rohan Smith, the Kingsville boy who played 300 games for the club down the road.

Dad Greg simply gave thanks he hadn't gone interstate. Or to Carlton, Collingwood or Richmond.

Ward's grandfather, Bill Gunn, captained South Melbourne in the mid-1950s. He is still best mates with Fred Goldsmith, the Swans' 1955 Brownlow medallist who lives in Williamstown. Both were at the Spotswood rooms to raise a toast to the new Bulldog.

Tomorrow, Ward starts his new life. He hasn't yet decided how he'll get to training. Maybe on his bike. "I might even jog."

[LostDoggy]

Seems very down to earth. Im very very happy with this selection. He could be anything and seems to have the work ethic to take him far.

[The Coon Dog]

Seems very down to earth. Im very very happy with this selection. He could be anything and seems to have the work ethic to take him far.


I think you'll find much of that was down to the expert coaching he received this year at the Jets!

[Topdog]

I think you'll find much of that was down to the expert coaching he received this year at the Jets!

hehe nice plug there TCD.

But in all seriousness his work ethic sounds as high as Cross/Boyd which is great. From all reports he has passed many people this year and exceeded all expectations. I love drafting guys like this as you know what you are getting and can have realistic hopes of constant improvement.

His skill set seems to already be there which is great.

[The Coon Dog]

From the Werribee Banner...

http://img504.imageshack.us/img504/552/scan0002ss9.jpg

[The Coon Dog]

From The Wyndham Leader...had to do it in 2 goes, but you get the drift..

http://img530.imageshack.us/img530/8901/scan0003nk7.jpg

http://img407.imageshack.us/img407/778/scan0004el0.jpg

[LostDoggy]

His grand-father, Bill Gunn, was a great player for South Melbourne and I mean great.