8/11/95
Height
184cm
Weight
75kg
Position
Midfielder
Recruited from
Norwood (SA)
Summary
Aish is Norwood football royalty. He is the son of former Redlegs midfielder Andrew Aish, the nephew of 1981 Magarey Medallist Michael Aish and the grandson of former skipper Peter Aish. If those credentials weren't enough, in 2013 James broke a SANFL record by becoming the youngest Norwood player in 134 years to debut at league level. Recruitment managers have long been impressed with Aish's disposal efficiency on both sides of the body and his ability in heavy traffic. Like Ollie Wines, Aish could feature heavily in his first year in the AFL system after a long apprenticeship of senior football. He was 16 on his SANFL debut and in his time at Norwood has learned what it's like to play against bigger bodies. Aish received All-Australian honours in both 2012 and 2013.
2013 stats
• Played 5 games and kicked 1 goal for South Australia (U18 Championships)
– averaged 9 kicks, 7 handballs and 4 marks
• Played 8 games and kicked 6 goals for Norwood (SANFL)
– averaged 12 kicks, 5 handballs and 5 marks
Player comparison
Scott Pendlebury (COLL), Trent Cotchin (RICH)
What they say
"When I'm out on the ground it's always in my mind [about getting bigger] and I think it's something to look at positively. Like, look at what I'm doing now and then I work out, with a bit of extra muscle, what I might be able to hopefully do in the future." – James Aish
"James is a one in 1000 player. I know it's a big call but he (Aish) is certainly of that ilk. He's the best 16-year-old I've seen." – Norwood Football Manager, Mark Ross
“James plays like a natural footballer. The South Australian midfielder was named in the under-18 All Australian team the past two years, and overcame a shoulder reconstruction to play an important role for Norwood towards the end of this season. He is a wingman who runs the ball up and down the ground, and sees the game unfold in front of him.” – Afl.com.au draft expert, Callum Twomey
Related stories
Aish rated one in a thousand (courtesy of theaustralian.com.au) - http://www.theaustralian.com.au/sport/afl/all-eyes-on-teen-star-james-aish-rated-one-in-a-thousand/story-fnca0u4y-1226731138336
Meet James Aish (courtesy of afl.com.au) - http://www.afl.com.au/news/2013-10-23/29-days-to-the-draft-meet-james-aish
SANFL wonderkid better than Gibbs (courtesy of adelaidenow.com.au) - http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/sport/afl/sanfl-wonderkid-james-aish-ace-better-than-bryce-gibbs/story-e6freckc-1226346259885
