Ten Queenslanders jumped on the big bird and headed down to Sydney on the weekend to take part in the NEAFL State Combine, a final chance for them to showcase their physical attributes in front of AFL recruiters.
Queensland Under 18 State Academy players Dyson Budarick, Jesse Joyce, Nick Weller, Max Spencer and Wylie Buzza, as well as NEAFL players Josh Wagner, Gareth Hunt and Paul Hunter all took part in the full day of screening.
Unfortunately for NEAFL players Matt Uebergang and Didymus Blanket, injuries prevented them from the physical side of the screening.
Nick Weller proved how lighting quick he is over 20 metres, recording a time of 2.86 seconds, which remarkably, was 0.02 seconds faster that anyone at the national combine.
Wylie Buzza and Paul Hunter equaled the forth and fifth best recordings at this year’s national combine in the absolute vertical jump recordings, which was topped by Queensland’s Mabior Chol.
Dyson Budarick ducked and weaved through the agility test, recording a time of 8.10 seconds, which was just 0.2 seconds off the best recorded at the National Combine.
Budarick proved he can also go the distance, recording a very strong shuttle run score, as did Jesse Joyce, Paul Hunter and Josh Wagner.
With the NAB AFL National Draft just four weeks away, the boys have done everything they possibly could to put their names forward to recruiters.
Time will tell whether we see them running around at the elite level in 2016 and beyond.
Full results from all physical testing can be found below, including the best test results in the category in the National Combine.
Absolute Vertical Jump (total height reached)
Dyson Budarick – 294cm
Jesse Joyce – 297
Nick Weller – 309
Max Spencer – 304
Josh Wagner – 301
Gareth Hunt – 312
Wylie Buzza – 325
Paul Hunter – 324
Top National Combine result
Mabior Chol – 334cm
Absolute running vertical jump right leg
Dyson Budarick – 295cm
Jesse Joyce – 301
Nick Weller – 309
Max Spencer – 313
Josh Wagner – 317
Gareth Hunt – 318
Wylie Buzza – 343
Paul Hunter – 338
Absolute running vertical jump left leg
Dyson Budarick – 305cm
Jesse Joyce – 315
Nick Weller – 321
Max Spencer – 316
Josh Wagner – 316
Gareth Hunt – 316
Wylie Buzza – 324
Paul Hunter – 345
Top National Combine result (either leg)
Gach Nyuon – 362cm
Relative Vertical Jump
(Records how far off the ground the jump is from a standing start)
Dyson Budarick – 68cm
Jesse Joyce – 61
Nick Weller – 67
Max Spencer – 59
Josh Wagner – 57
Gareth Hunt – 62
Wylie Buzza – 68
Paul Hunter – 59
Top National Combine Result
Jordan Snadden – 75cm
Running Vertical Jump Relative Right Leg:
Dyson Budarick – 69cm
Jesse Joyce – 65
Nick Weller – 67
Max Spencer – 68
Josh Wagner – 73
Gareth Hunt – 68
Wylie Buzza – 86
Paul Hunter – 73
Running Vertical Jump Relative Left Leg:
Dyson Budarick – 79cm
Jesse Joyce – 79
Nick Weller – 79
Max Spencer – 71
Josh Wagner – 72
Gareth Hunt – 66
Wylie Buzza – 67
Paul Hunter – 80
Top National Combine result (either leg)
Lachlan Tiziani – 97cm
20 metre sprint
Dyson Budarick – 2.95 seconds
Jesse Joyce – 2.95
Nick Weller – 2.86
Max Spencer – 3.05
Josh Wagner – 3.13
Gareth Hunt: – 3.09
Wylie Buzza – 3.07
Paul Hunter – 3.04
Top National Combine result
Alex Morgan – 2.88 seconds
Agility
(Weaving in and out of poles without touching them, getting to the end of the course)
Dyson Budarick – 8.10 seconds
Jesse Joyce – 8.30
Nick Weller – 8.54
Max Spencer – 8.54
Josh Wagner – 8.38
Gareth Hunt – 8.49
Wylie Buzza – 8.52
Paul Hunter – 8.50
Top National Combine result
Kieran Lovell – 7.90 seconds
Shuttle run (beep test level)
(Running back and forth over a 20m distance before they hear the beep)
Dyson Budarick: 14.4
Jesse Joyce – 14.3
Nick Weller – 13.3
Max Spencer – 13.2
Josh Wagner – 14.5
Gareth Hunt – 12.6
Wylie Buzza – 12.6
Paul Hunter – 14.9
Top National Combine result
Joshua Schoenfeld -16.2 level
30m repeat sprints
(Six 30 metre sprints with 10 seconds rest between each)
Dyson Budarick: 25.11 seconds
Jesse Joyce – 25.04
Nick Weller – 25.27
Max Spencer – 26.50
Josh Wagner – 26.33
Gareth Hunt -24.30
Wylie Buzza – 26.04
Paul Hunter – 26.31
Top National Combine result
Daniel Rioli – 24.15 seconds
By Andrew Wiles
Follow @andrewjwiles
