Jackson Ferguson becomes Holroyd Parramatta Goannas first AFL player

** Story reproduced from the Parramatta Advertiser ** PICTURE: SIMON CHILLINGWORTH

ST KILDA has signed a strapping 193cm tall who can run fast and break tackles - and he is not Nick Riewoldt.

Jackson Ferguson, 18, of Greystanes, is a giant for his age and has signed a rookie contract with this year’s AFL grand finalists.

The NSW/ACT under-18 representative has used his height and speed to good effect as centre halfback and in the forward line, reminiscent of one of his Sydney heroes.

“St Kilda probably won’t like this, but Adam Goodes is one of my favourite players,” Ferguson said. “He has height, but he has skill too.

“I don’t want to be one of those players who’s tall but people think have no skill.”

But how does a youngster from western Sydney become as hooked on the game as those in the country’s south?

For Ferguson, his early sporting years were with Guildford County Soccer Club.

“But I was getting sick of soccer,” he said. “I wanted a more contact code.” He turned his attention to following his brother into rugby league, but his parents soon had other ideas.

“My brother broke his leg playing and mum wouldn’t let me do it,” Ferguson said.

“I said, ‘what about AFL’. She said yes.”

At 12, he ventured over to Gipps Road Sporting Complex to sign up for the Holroyd-Parramatta Goannas.  His first coach, Tony Cocks, saw huge potential in the newcomer in his debut season.

“There was something about him,” he said. “He had great ability for a tall kid to pick up the ball cleanly and run with it.”

A representative career soon followed and he later signed a scholarship with St Kilda.

The Merrylands High student was a finalist in the Advertiser’s Junior Sports Star competition last year.

Ferguson also represents a milestone for the Goannas. He is the club’s first player to sign with an AFL club.