Silvagni set to dock?

By Paul Pickering
PAKENHAM’S Alex Silvagni is five weeks into a pre-season with the Fremantle Dockers, but none the wiser as to his football future.
The 22-year-old Casey Scorpions defender last month jetted out for Perth to press his case for a spot on the Dockers’ list for 2010.
Next Tuesday is D-day for the VFL Team of the Year member, who will be looking to secure one of two vacant spots on Fremantle’s rookie list at the selection meeting to follow the 2009 pre-season draft.
The club has invited delisted AFL players Matt Riggio (North Melbourne), Danny Stanley (Collingwood) and Andrew Foster (Fremantle) and a handful of promising youngsters to train with the senior group ahead of next week’s decision.
Silvagni says he has enjoyed his first AFL pre-season, but is looking forward to knowing his fate – one way or the other.
“The feedback has been positive, but it’s a cut-throat industry, so there are no guarantees,” he said last Friday.
“You never know, they could keep you here for two months and decide to go with someone else. I suppose you’ve just got to keep having a crack.”
Silvagni, who played most of his junior footy with Haileybury College, nominated for the 2006 drafts after his debut season with the Scorpions and was overlooked, despite apparent interest from several clubs.
Fremantle’s recruiting staff approached Silvagni after his career year at Casey Fields and quickly set up an interview and psychological tests with the versatile 193cm Scorpion.
They told him they’d call if they were interested.
“About an hour later they called me and told me they wanted me to come over,” he recalled.
“I didn’t even know beforehand that they were interested in me, so it was a bit out of the blue, but I took the opportunity.”
Silvagni, who is a second cousin of Carlton legend Stephen Silvagni, was unsure how long he’d be required in Fremantle and has been staying with some of the club’s support staff.
The length of his stay could be seen as an encouraging sign of the Dockers’ intentions, but the extended period of uncertainty has been a challenge.
“It’s hard, because you can’t really settle down and look for a house or car or anything,” he says.
“That’s the worst thing, that you don’t know what’s going to happen. But I try not to think about it too much and just take every day as it comes.”
Silvagni says he has taken a while to adjust to the “cruisey” pace of life on the west coast, but reckons he could get used to Perth’s beach culture.
If he doesn’t get that opportunity, the popular Scorpion will certainly be welcomed back to Casey Fields with open arms.
Several former Gippsland and Dandenong TAC Cup players will also come under consideration for rookie spots next Tuesday.