Fremantle veteran Aaron Sandilands was full of praise for debutant Jason Carter, with Sandilands being closely involved in the young defender’s development before he became a part of the Fremantle list.
For eight months of Carter’s draft year in 2018, the Next Generation Academy prospect worked with Sandilands’ landscaping company Gecko Landscaping.
Hailing from Wyndham, located more than 3000km north of Perth, Carter found a structure in the city with his 6.30am starts in Mandurah.
It has proved to be difficult for someone from the Kimberley to break into the AFL, with Carter becoming the first person from Wyndham to play AFL in Fremantle’s 34-point win against Geelong on Saturday.
Sandilands said it takes more than hard work on the training track to build a football player.
“It’s an outstanding story. A kid to come down all the way from Wyndham to get an opportunity,” Sandilands said.
“He’s worked his butt off from the day he walked in the door, and even before then.
“It’s great to see the reward come and it’s important that these when guys come in for their first game, they get an understanding of the way you have to go about it.”
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Sandilands said that Fremantle’s NGA, headed by coach Tendai Mzungu, deserved praise for the support they have given Carter since he joined the NGA in 2016.
“I think Tendai needs to take a lot of credit for that,” Sandilands said.
“The work that he’s put into Jason and guiding him in the right direction. All we did was give him an opportunity at Gecko and he took it with both hands.
“It’s been the two of them (Carter and Mzungu), they made a really great team and I think ‘Muz' has done a lot of great work with him.”
