XBlades AFL Sydney Round 3 Men’s Rising Star – William Stratford (Sydney University)

AFL Sydney would like to congratulate Sydney University player William Stratford who has been adjudicated as the Men’s Rising Star for Round 3.

 

William Stratford joined SUANFC in 2013 as a member of the Club’s U/19s Colts Program.

 

The 20-year old has played 52 games with the Club across his 4 seasons, mainly as a key forward in the Under 19’s ‘Colts’.

 

In 2015, Stratford suffered an ACL injury that sidelined the Kareela local for 1 ½ seasons.

 

Stratford returned to the field this year, making his highly anticipated return in Round 1 against Western Suburbs, where he kicked 3 goals.

 

In his first 3 games of 2017, Stratford has kicked 7 goals, including 3 goals on the weekend in the Student’s win over UNSW/ES.

 

With positions in the SUANFC Premier Division hard to come by, Stratford has certainly earnt his spot in the Student’s forward line, and will be one to watch for the remainder of the 2017 season.

 

When William was asked about his return season he said “Obviously footy was going to be tough coming back after 21 months of injury, but the Sydney Uni Club as well as the Premier Division boys have been more than supportive of my rehabilitation and made my transition back into footy a dream.”

 

“The biggest goal for me this year is to have a great season, and I believe our side has shown, not only that we are a genuine contender for the Premier Division premiership, but also great attitude change in the way we approach footy week in week out from previous years, which I believe has been the backbone of our recent success.”

 

Congratulations Will!