Woodford revelling in NSW/ACT Rams setup

Too good for club footy, they need to seek a higher standard of play in order to continue developing their game.

Northern Districts midfielder Jeremy Woodford is one such kid.

Woodford is a member of the Sydney Swans Academy and dominated the 2018 under 15 AFL South Coast competition. He led the Tigers to an undefeated season and was named the competition's best and fairest.

That is why when Woodford earned selection in the Under 16 NSW/ACT Rams AFL team, he saw it as both a challenge and an opportunity. A chance to test himself at a higher level of competition and prove he can match it with Australia's top juniors.

It's one he has risen to so far.

The Rams claimed a 70-59 victory over Queensland in the first game of their campaign on Sunday, with Woodford playing a key role in the victory.

"I was very excited to be selected in the Rams team," Woodford said. "I had been training since October 2018 for this, so to be selected was really overwhelming.

"The win on Sunday was really good. It was good to play with people at that same level of competition against Queensland and it's good fun to play against people with the same ambitions."

Read more: Wollongong Lions land Dagher blow on Figtree in AFL South Coast

NSW/ACT's campaign will continue early next month when the squad travel to the Gold Coast to play out their two remaining games of the AFL Under 16 National Championships, against the Northern Territory and Tasmania.

After taking a number of lessons out of Sunday's game, Woodford is looking forward to turning out an even more impressive performance in those two matches.

"I'm confident we can win those two games, the team has played really well together. I'm happy to get to play on an AFL field at Metricon Stadium.

"I've learnt the boys are really confident with the footy, they're not afraid to get hurt and put their body on the line. It's good to play against guys that do that."

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