Former Geelong star Cameron Mooney has defended the AFL’s decision to ban youth skinfolds as his own son Jagger aims to follow in his footsteps and play at the highest level.
Mooney played 11 games for North Melbourne before enjoying a stellar 210-game career with the Cats, winning three premierships and finishing as Geelong’s top scorer in 2007 and 2009.
His son Jagger Mooney currently plays for the Geelong Falcons youth club in the Coates Talent League and hopes to one day be a father-son selection for the Cats.
He joined the Falcons along with two other sons of club greats, Alfie Wojcinski, son of David, former Cats star and three-time premiership, and Boston Riccardi, brother of former Cat Osca Riccardi and son of Cat Peter, player of 288 games.
However, those young players will not be subject to skinfold testing until they are older, due to the new edict sent as a memo to all AFL clubs this week.
“Body composition assessments (excluding height and weight) will not be conducted in any Talent Pathways programs or in any athletes who are eligible to compete in Pathways programs,” the memo from Dr. Kate Hall and Grant Williams said.
Cam Mooney and his son Jagger and his wife Seona Hill. Jagger is a rising Aussie Rules star like his father, but he won’t have to undergo skinfold testing like his famous father did.
Mooney said there is more professionalism in the youth ranks today than when he was drafted in 1996.
Mooney is not opposed to the move, but also defended the skinfold test, saying it was a way to ensure each player was at a professional level, rather than shaming them.
‘It all depended on how big you were. “If your skinfolds were 60, you were in the ‘fat club,'” Mooney said. foxsports.com.au.
‘When we were playing, they would like our skinfolds to be around that 50 mark. Most players would be well below that. I always sat between 50 and 50, probably closer to 55.
“Now it was no longer officially called ‘fat club’, but that was always how it was known, so there were always extra sessions to be done, and rightly so.
You’re in a professional environment and if you’re not as professional as 80 or 90 percent of your teammates, then you have to do extra work.
“It wasn’t so much a ‘name and shame’ situation. But (there was the point that) the rest of the guys have done the work and you need to do your part. And I didn’t have any problems with that.
‘If I come back overweight, or if someone comes back overweight and has to do extras, so be it. That was your job.
“You come back and work hard.”
Mooney said skinfolds were a wake-up call in his playing days and those who failed had to “work hard.”
Mooney, who won three premierships with Geelong, also said the younger players are in a more professional environment than when he was a junior.
While Mooney said skinfold testing was fine at AFL level, he questioned its effectiveness in youth players who were anyway struggling to learn about proper diets and the professionalism of the sport.
“When we talk about pre-draft, you have to understand that most kids (and I was at the top of this list, I was on the podium) they have no idea what they’re doing,” Mooney said.
‘I didn’t learn until I literally walked into the club in North Melbourne. You have to understand that we, as 17 or 18 year old kids, and that’s what we are, we’re kids, we’re really just trying to learn as we go. It takes a long time to mature.
“They are a select few, probably when I was starting out, who really knew about professionalism and diet.”
‘My son is now with the Falcons and now, at 15 or 16, he’s learning what it’s all about. “This way they learn earlier than ever about professionalism and nutrition,” he said.
“If you’re a kid today and you want to get drafted, I can guarantee you it’s the best life you’ll ever live and it’s the best experience you’ll ever have in your 20s and hopefully early 30s, so it’s very worth it.” become that truly professional athlete at a young age, so you can bring out the best in yourself.’
Mooney and his daughters Jackie, Billi and Stevie enjoy an afternoon of football at the Cattery.
Frankie is Mooney’s youngest son and has the opportunity to grow up and play in a highly established AFLW.
Mooney said the level of professionalism at junior levels had changed dramatically since he was selected with the 56th overall pick by the NSW/ACT Rams in 1996.
He said most players would meet the required standards with or without skinfolds, but added that youngsters with high IQ and genuine ability should not be ruled out because of a few kilograms of extra weight.
“I would never put a line on a kid who knows how to play football, just because I heard his diet is not good. I wouldn’t sit there and say, ‘Oh. This 18-year-old’s diet is not good. He can play, but we’re not going to choose him because of his diet or weight,’ Mooney said.
‘It’s the things you learn when you’re (at an AFL club), that you learn on a professional diet. So I would never judge a child by his skin folds, his weight or his diet if he knows how to play but is not in a professional environment. “My job as a club is to do well when he is within the four walls of the club.”