Leek Alleer leaps higher than Nic Nat and into draft reckoning

SANFL coach Paul Thomas says mature-age prospect Leek Alleer will develop “exponentially” in the AFL system if he is taken in the upcoming draft.

Alleer, who fled war-torn South Sudan with his mother and sister when he was six, has skyrocketed into second-round calculations after an eye-catching campaign for Central District as an intercept-marking defender.

The 20-year-old’s freakish athleticism was on display on Saturday, when he broke the running vertical jump record with ease in South Australia’s combine. Alleer recorded 107-centimetre, shattering the previous record of 103cm set by North Melbourne’s Kyron Hayden. Nic Naitanui previously held the mark with 102cm.

Thomas, who worked in development for Adelaide before taking the reins at Central District in the SANFL, notes that Alleer’s emergence has only just begun given he was sidelined in 2019 — his draft year — with both a broken fibula and dislocated ankle.

“He missed 18 months of footy, which means he probably wasn’t training a lot either,” Thomas said. “Getting extra craft will exponentially help him develop his kick, even his aerial presence, but then to stick those marks … exponential growth.

“Having been in the AFL system as a coach, you see the repetition they get, the extra time they get to develop their craft. That really is a difference and separates those in the AFL from the state leagues, the time they get to develop their craft.”

Alleer had been trialled as a forward and on the wing as a top-age player in the under-19 competition last year, but senior coaches at Central District soon identified his potential as a defender.

“I didn’t come across him until I took over as head coach at Centrals this year,” Thomas said.

“His body was pretty sound, and we saw him across the summer in drills that weren’t designed for any other purpose than team principles, and he excelled in defence pressing, making intercept plays, spoiling and numbering off. We saw that as a potential asset for us as a defender with his speed, reach, and ability to make that play.”

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