To the Principal at St Laurence’s College
Dear Mr Leadbetter
Please excuse Harry Sharpe’s absence from school this morning, Friday March 19, 2021.
Harry has been selected to make his AFL debut against the Sydney Swans tomorrow night and was required at the Gabba this morning to take part in the captain’s run training session.
The Brisbane Lions are very excited about Harry’s debut and appreciate the support he is receiving from his teachers and classmates at St Laurence’s College.
Thanks for your understanding.
Danny Daly
GM of Football.
With the late note submitted, the last box was ticked for teenage draftee Harry Sharp to make his debut for the Lions.
The Club’s second pick in the 2021 NAB AFL draft joins boom recruit Joe Daniher as new faces for the Lions.
Senior coach Chris Fagan said Sharp had pushed his name to the front of the queue with an encouraging performance when he came on to replace the injured Cam Rayner in the AAMI Series match against Gold Coast.
“He probably did better than we expected to be quite truthful,’’ he said.
“We gave him that opportunity thinking he might get 15 minutes and give him a taste of AFL football, which would be good for his development, but as it turns out he got two and a half quarters and had quite an impact.
“He certainly came from a long way back before that game and has put himself in the frame.”
Fagan said the 18-year-old had done a superb job meeting his schooling commitments while maintaining his training workload but stressed his education remained the Club’s main priority.
“Yesterday we trained after school, so he could train with us, but on Tuesday we trained in the morning so he got up at 5am and came down and trained and he was finishing off as the other blokes were arriving,’’ he said.
“He's living a life like that and it takes a bit of coordination.
“One thing you can be sure of with Harry is he's doing everything he should be doing, he's not taking any short cuts with his football or his studies.
“His priority is to get his year 12 done. He's an intelligent young bloke.”
Tom Fullarton will make his third appearance at senior level playing as a tall forward and backing up No.1 bigman Oscar McInerney in the ruck.
Keidean Coleman gets another crack at the big time after impressing in five senior outings last season.
And Lions Hyundai Help for Kids Academy product Jack Payne holds his place from last year’s preliminary final and will hold down a key defensive post.
Catch Brisbane Lions v Sydney Swans at the Gabba on Saturday at 6.45pm (AEST), tickets here. Members and fans who can’t be at the game can catch all the action live on Seven, Fox and KAYO.
