St Kilda young gun is set to make his second appearance in three years at the MCG on grand final day. or signup to continue reading While yet to play in the biggest match of the season, Wilson played in the AFL Futures match two years ago. This year he will represent the Saints in the grand final sprint as will from Geelong.
Mannagh's teammate Max Holmes won the sprint in dominant fashion last year but won't be back to defend his title after injuring his hamstring during last weekend's preliminary final. Wilson said he jumped at the opportunity to compete in the grand final sprint when he was contacted by his manager. "I'm not sure of the exact process of me being selected but my manager asked me if I was keen and I thought why not?," Wilson said.
"I get a free ticket to the grand final and get to run, so I'm looking forward to it. "Two years ago I got to attend my first grand final when I played in the AFL Futures match and watched Geelong and Sydney play." Wilson made his AFL debut in round 1 this season and has cemented himself as a senior regular after playing 22-matches and was an AFL Rising Star nominee.
The former Wangaratta Rovers junior is an elite runner and won the Saints' 3km time trial over the pre-season. But how does Wilson regard himself as a sprinter? "I'm not the quickest player at the Saints because Brad Hill and Hugo Garcia are pretty quick," he said. "According to the GPS tracker, the fastest I got during a game this year was 34 km/h.
"At school athletics.