EXCITING Bendigo football prospect Tom Cole will take another step in his development when he lines up for Geelong in the VFL on Saturday night.
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Cole will be on home soil at the Queen Elizabeth Oval when the Cats take on Collingwood under lights from 6pm.
Cole was invited by the Cats to be their 23rd player on the back of impressive form with the AFL Academy and the Bendigo Pioneers at TAC Cup level.
“(AFL Victoria High Performance Manager) Leon Harris let me know about a month ago that it could be happening,’’ Cole said.
“Geelong contacted me last week and invited me down to training for a kick. I’m looking forward to it.”
Cole, who is in Year 12 at Catholic College Bendigo, trained with Geelong and Carlton’s AFL squads in the pre-season.
“The AFL Academy tries to provide us with more exposure at that level,’’ he said.
“The AFL Academy also played some pre-season games against VFL teams, which was a good experience.”
Cole generally plays across half-back and through the midfield for the Pioneers.
He’ll play a similar role for Geelong on Saturday night.
“Being the 23rd player I’ll only play 50 to 60 per cent of game time,’’ he said.
There’s every chance he’ll get to spend some time playing on Collingwood’s high-profile players Alex Fasolo, Jordan De Goey and Nathan Freeman.
“It will be a great experience to see how they play and to see how the Geelong boys go about it,’’ Cole said.
Geelong’s team includes AFL-experienced players Dawson Simpson, Josh Walker and George Horlin-Smith.
The game starts at 6pm. Adult tickets are $10.
Geelong announced on Friday it would give away 23 jumpers to supporters in the crowd at the conclusion of the match.
Teams for the match:
Geelong: B: Ruggles, Kolodjashnij, Sheringham. HB: Paliouras, Jansen, Blease. C: Horlin-Smith, Gore, Farrelly. Hf: Maas, Close, Luxford. F: Walker, Lucey, Gibbs. Foll: Simpson, Herbison, Cunico. Inter: Read, Tudor, Raidme, Sherman, Measures, Bensted, McFarlane, Rees, Cole.
Collingwood: B: J. Marsh, J. Taylor, L. Wallace. HB: M. Scharenberg, B. Maynard, M. Goodyear. C: J. Wallin, N. Freeman, R. Fischer. HF: M. Still, B. Abbott, M. Manteit. F: C. Gault, J. Blair, B. Kennedy. Foll: M. Cox, J. De Goey, A. Fasolo. Int: T. Allan, N. Gray, J. Hellier, B. Moloney, B. Monkhorst, R. Pendlebury, C. Matheson, J. Williams, B. Fennell.