VAFA star Sam Sofronidis begins his foray into the AFL world when he commences training with Collingwood this week.
The 23-year-old Collegians defender has been invited by the reigning AFL premiers to try out for a potential spot on the club’s rookie list as part of the pre-season supplemental selection period.
Former Geelong and Melbourne defender Jared Rivers, who coached Collegians to the VAFA Premier division premiership in 2023, has provided some insight into the player that Sofronidis is.
Rivers says Sofronidis, who he did discuss with Geelong’s GM of footy Andrew Mackie, has similar attributes to a current Cats star.
“I spoke to Mackie about it, I feel like he’s a Tom Stewart mould in the backline,” he said on SEN Breakfast.
“He’s got great height about him, he’s very quick over 20 metres, can play medium or tall, is the type of player that actually defends as well. He’s not a half-back just purely there to get the footy and help us in offence.
“He can come off and intercept which is one of his real strengths in the VAFA competition as that third man in. His ability to read the play is outstanding and his ball use in offence is really good.
“It’s just great that Collingwood as such a big club can give someone like Sam the opportunity to at least train there, then they can make their own judgment, clearly.
“We feel like he’s the player that can come in and make an impact.”
Sofronidis, who stands at 194cm, considered travelling and having a year off footy altogether in 2023 before deciding to stick with it and pursue a possible league career.
“He had an outstanding year the year before also,” he added.
“We mentioned to him that he’s just got to make a decision whether he’s going to go all-in and have a real crack at it, which he spoke with his family about in November and December (last year).
“He came back to us and made that commitment that he was going to have a real crack at his footy and clearly it has paid off with joining Collingwood today which he is pretty excited about.”
Geelong, Fremantle and Adelaide all took a look at Sofronidis throughout the season but it was the Magpies who showed the most interest in the 2023 best and fairest.
The club’s recruiting boss Derek Hine saw him play in the VAFA Grand Final win over St Kevin’s with player manager John Meesen helping the process along.
But Rivers insists he did not make a point of the AFL interest to Sofronidis over the course of the campaign.
“You don’t want to say too much to Sam throughout the year knowing that he might have a few clubs looking at him,” Rivers added.
“John Meesen played a big part in helping Sam reach out to ‘Dekka’ (Derek Hine) and the Collingwood guys to let them know.
“They just reach out and we give them as much information as they want really. It’s one of those things where we try to help these guys out.”
Regarding the perceived gap between the ‘Ammos’ and the AFL, the 194-game Rivers is confident a player like Sofronidis will be well-equipped to perform well when training at the elite level.
“I reckon it’s a bit different if he was 18 or 19,” he said further.
“But he’s a mature-aged body now. He’s 22 or 23, has played a lot of footy, is very fit. The standard at VAFA (level) these days is outstanding. It’s a level where you’ve got a lot of ex-AFL boys coming in and playing, so I feel like the gap is not that big.
“When you get an opportunity to train all pre-season with an AFL club, that just gives you confidence as well. You’re not just going in there and expected to play straight so away. You’ve got that time to work on your craft and get to a level of fitness where you can actually compete with some of these AFL players.
“Yeah it’s local footy, but I think that gap is definitely closing.”
Sofronidis will kick off training with the Pies on Monday alongside Collingwood VFL captain Campbell Hustwaite, former St Kilda midfielder Jack Bytel and delisted Port Adelaide ruckman Brynn Teakle wh are all vying for a rookie list slot.
As for Rivers, who was cut from North Melbourne assistant duties during as a result of COVID, he has left Collegians despite leading them to the flag.
He spent three years at the VAFA club but will now pas the baton to former Melbourne player Jordie McKenzie in order to step away from coaching so he can spend more time with his family which includes three children under the age of six.
Image from Collegians Football Club's Facebook.