AS A teenager Billy Longer was a prodigious junior footballer in Melbourne’s northern suburbs. He played for Macleod JFC before continuing his development for the Northern Knights in the Under 18 TAC Cup competition.
Longer was also an exceptional basketballer and even took up the martial art of Muay Thai to complement his elite ball skills.
2010 was a huge year for the athletic ruckman, who embarked on an AIS/AFL Academy trip to South Africa and was also selected in the Vic Metro side as an underage player.
From this tour onwards, Longer was touted as a first-round draft pick capable of slotting onto an AFL list and making an immediate impact.
However 2011 began poorly for Longer, who suffered a bout of Glandular Fever during the summer but regained his fitness before finishing runner-up in the Northern Knights best and fairest award.
His excellent year and strong leadership skills were also recognised with the captaincy of the victorious Vic Metro team and selection as the ruckman in the TAC Cup team of the year and the 2011 All-Australian team.
A slight hamstring injury meant he was unable to compete in the majority of the draft combine fitness testing, but this minor setback didn’t halt his charge towards an AFL list – the 201cm youngster selected by Brisbane with pick No. 8 in the National Draft.
At one stage he was being talked about as a possible top five selection, so when he drifted to eight, the Lions were happy to snare the big man.
His first season at Brisbane began promisingly when he played as a change-up ruckman and forward during the pre-season competition, but he was forced to wait until round three to make his AFL debut.
In a baptism of fire, fellow ruckman Matthew Leuenberger injured himself early in the game and it was left to the debutant Longer to carry the bulk of the tap duties against Aaron Sandilands.
Despite acquitting himself well with 19 hit outs and eight disposals, Longer mustered just four more games for the season and spent the entire back half of the year in the reserves.
It was a similar story in 2013 as Leuenberger shouldered the vast majority of the ruck responsibilities by himself, often without a recognised backup.
Longer began the year in the Brisbane team, but added just four matches to his five from the previous season and struggled to establish himself in Michael Voss’ best 22.
His journey to a well-rounded AFL ruckman is in its infancy, and today’s move to St Kilda allows the precociously talented youngster to make a name for himself in a new environment and further develop his match awareness at the highest level.
On Friday, Billy Longer was traded to St Kilda for pick 25, on the same day Josh Bruce (GWS) came to the club as part of a trade deal that saw pick 41 handed to the Giants.
You can follow Tom Morris on Twitter: @tommorris32
