Bright futures: Charlie Barnett (right) won the Xavier College best and fairest award, while 16-year-old Archie Watt finished equal fifth. Barnett tested at the recent state combinem, while Watt was one of only two Year 10 students to play all 10 first 18 matches in the APS competition with Xavier.
Charlie Barnett had a big finish to his 2022 football season, winning the Xavier College best and fairest and recording a personal best for the 2km time trial at the NAB AFL state draft combine.
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Barnett’s time was the second best of the 44 participants, only seconds behind a Geelong father-son prospect, and among the top 10 for any of the national or state combine players.
The Xavier College Year 12 student, who turned 18 in August, recorded a six-minute 22-second 2km time trial, only five seconds behind Geelong Falcons running machine Osca Riccardi.
Riccardi is the son of 288-game Geelong best and fairest from 1998, Peter Riccardi.
Sixty-six players were invited to participate in state draft combines in Victoria, South Australia and West Australia, on top of the 68 prospects who were involved in the National Combine.
Barnett’s time would have ranked him inside the top 10 players of the NAB National Draft Combine.
The 44 players at the Melbourne combine were from Victoria, Tasmania, Northern Territory, Queensland, NSW and the ACT, the testing staged for those who did not receive an invite to the 2022 AFL Draft Combine.
Barnett played eight games with the Bendigo Pioneers this season when his commitments to Xavier College’s football program allowed.
He played all 10 games with Xavier, where every player received votes ranging from one to four on a weekly basis.
Xavier College Head of Football, Dale Amos, said other players had more dominant periods during the season, but Barnett was clearly the team’s most consistent player.
He won by best and fairest by five votes, with 16-year-old Kyabram teammate Archie Watt finishing equal fifth in the vote count.
Amos said Watt was used as a small forward in the first half of the year, but through necessity was “let loose’’ through the midfield later in the season.
Watt and All Australian Under-16 captain Finn O’Sullivan are aligned with NAB League club Oakleigh Chargers
Three Xavier College players were involved in combine testing — Alwyn Davey Jr, son of Essendon 100-gamer Alwyn Davey, Jack O’Sullivan and Barnett.
Xavier boys: last year Barnett (back, second from right) and the Xavier College team beat Scotch College to win the APS title. This year they were runners-up in the 11-school competition.
Barnett also made two appearances with Vic Country in the NAB Under-18 National Championships and turned plenty of heads in his only Goulburn Valley league match this season, having played two games the previous year.
He had 25 disposals, kicked three goals (from five scoring shots) and had five score assists, while his defensive statistics were just as impressive — five tackles, three one per centers and two clearances also on the stats sheet.
He took nine marks in the Bombers’ match with Benalla, including four inside-50.
Barnett’s 2022 Pioneers teammate, Harvey Gallagher, a 19-year-old player with the Bendigo NAB League team this year, was among the top state combine performers.
Gallagher finished third in the 2km time trial, five seconds behind Barnett, and featured in the top three in the agility, standing vertical jump and running vertical jump tests.
Another of Barnett’s Pioneers teammates, Jason Gillbee, equalled the best time of the AFL Draft Combine — held in the two days leading up to the state combine — when he completed the 2km time trial in 5:54 minutes
Barnett’s results are secondary to his studies, which is his current focus in preparation for an October 26 start to exams.
Bendigo Pioneers stars, along with 18-year-olds from throughout the country, will be tuned into the AFL Draft on Tuesday, November 29.
