NT Thunder Debutante and Youngest player, Deon Gordon rises to recieve this weeks NAB QAFL Rising Star nomination.
The NT Thunder have picked up their second nomination in three weeks for the NAB AFLQ Rising Star Award, with teenage defender Deon Gordon picking up the Round 3 nomination on debut.
A standout in the Thunder’s big win over Mt.Gravatt in Darwin last weekend, Gordon follows teammate Jimmy Puautjimi, who was the Round 1 nomination.
Gordon, who turned 18 on 2 April, is one of 10 children who were raised in the community of Beagle Bay, about 180km north-west of Broome. He has eight brothers (four older and four younger) and one younger sister.
He moved to Darwin at the start of Term 2 in 2006 to attend St John’s College, where he was a boarder, and after three years graduated with his NTCE at the end of last year. He now works with the AFLNT on a Sportsready Traineeship and lives in Darwin with his aunt and uncle as he builds on a promising career that started when he joined St.Marys U18s in the 2006-07 season.
In 2007-8 he played in their A grade Premiership side as a 16-year-old, holding down a key defensive role, and in 2008 he represented the Northern Territory at the National U18 Championships.
He also played a key role in the NT U16 campaign as an over-age player, culminating in an experience never to be forgotten – he play in the Grand Final of the Championships at the MCG on AFL Grand Final day.
This year Gordon moved clubs to play with family members at the Darwin Buffaloes, where in between recurring hamstring problems, he played as a focal point up forward. The likeable youngster has a scholarship with the NT Institute of Sport and has worked hard on improving his fitness, strength and core over the summer months and has been rewarded for his hard work by being the youngest player to play with the new NTFC.