Antonio James - 2020 vs Sacred Heart College: Messenger Shield

Antonio James - NT/West Adelaide

A 179cm defender/midfielder in the Byron Pickett mould, AJ is a bright and intelligent young man from remote Mataranka in the Northern Territory. Antonio has had a tough year off the field, after bursting onto the scene as a star quality player at school football level for Westminster, willing the team to succes alongside Lukas Cooke in 2020, AJ has been sidelined for much of 2021 with a nasty collarbone issue. He is also tied to the Hawthorn Hawks NGA and Gold Coast Suns zone.

He moved to Westminster not only to further his football but just as, if not more importantly for him, to further his education and set an example for his many siblings, Antonio will be the first of 6 to finish school within his family. A very humble, softly yet eloquently spoken an intelligent young man off the field, his on-field attributes are a truly exciting proposition at AFL level. 

His tackling, aggression at the ball carrier and hip and shoulder work is a menacing sight in South Australia, quite literally a carbon copy of the great Byron Pickett when he lines them up, they don't get back up. Antonio can kick 70 metre drop punt on his right boot, whilst he has a 55 metre left foot, with accuracy and precision to match, a beautiful, natural long range kick with forceful penetration similar to a honing missile for comparison. Make no mistake, he is the definition of a game-changer and whilst we with a certain level of bias towards our clients, our genuine belief is Antonio James is the type of talent who will change a game on the last day of September/first day of October for an AFL club that has the courage to back his unreserved talent; he is that sort of player, a true game changer.