Ainslie product Jason Tutt has set himself the lofty goal of making his AFL debut at Manuka Oval on his 19th birthday, after being drafted by the Western Bulldogs this week.

Tutt became the first Canberran to be drafted in 10 years on Thursday night, when the Bulldogs scooped him up with pick 31.

In a strange twist of fate the Bulldogs round 8 clash with the Sydney Swans on May 15 falls on his birthday.

He said running out on Manuka Oval would be the ideal way to start his AFL career. “I’m setting the goal to play in that one” Tutt said. “It would be a dream come true for it to be my birthday and be playing in Canberra in front of friends and family and all the people that have helped my along the way.”

While Bulldogs Coach Rodney Eade said targeting a round 8 debut was an achievable goal, he warned Tutt it would take a lot of hard work and luck to get there.

Eade said Tutt’s speed and silky kicking had been the attributes that prompted the Bulldogs to use their second draft selection on him.

But with the Bulldogs blessed with one of the most talented playing lists in the AFL, Eade said it would be hard for any of the club’s four draftees to play senior football during the next year’s regular season.

“Most young lads take a bit of time” Eade said. “Jason has certainly got the talent to do well first up. But we’ve got a pretty strong side with guys that have been around for a while and are playing some good footy”.

“There’s no reason that he can’t push in, but it just takes a while for young kids to get used to the demands of training and the grind of day to day.” “We don’t push any of our new recruits, but he could push for a game by the middle of the season.

” A text message from Bulldogs veteran Brad Johnson yesterday morning helped him come to terms with his drafting. Tutt heads to Melbourne tomorrow and will join Bulldogs training for the first time the following day. He will board with a host family during his first year in Melbourne.

Eade said he would ease the club’s four draft picks into training. “We won’t throw them straight into full training, we don’t think their bodies will cope with it, which has been proved in the past.”

“We’ll just ease them through, they’ll probably do about 50 per cent of the work until they slowly build up and get their fitness levels right.”

Tutt played his junior football with the Tuggeranong Bulldogs before joining Ainslie three years ago. He made his senior AFL Canberra debut for Ainslie as a 15-year-old against the Sydney Swans reserves.

Ainslie Coach Chris Rourke said Tutt’s drafting would boost junior development in Canberra. “For the whole competition it’s great and for Ainslie it just gives us a role model and someone all the young blokes can strive to be,” Rourke said “We’re ecstatic as a footy club, it’s just great advertisement for the game here.”

Tutt’s first opportunity to play for the Bulldogs in Canberra will come on February 14, when they meet the Brisbane Lions in a NAB Cup preseason game.

by David Jean, The Canberra Times

Last Modified on 02/12/2009 08:58