FOOTY, footy, footy.
It’s what Teia Miles expected life as a full-time footballer would be like – and he hasn’t been disappointed.
The 18-year-old was drafted with pick 49 in the 2014 AFL Draft and is enjoying life as a Hawk.
“It’s been an exciting year, my first year at the Hawks,” Miles said.
“It’s pretty much what I expected.
“Pre-season was a different journey to what I had ever experienced – it was a hard pre-season.
“As the year’s gone on, it’s been footy, footy, footy and you’ve got to be switched on all the time… you’ve got to be ready to go and you’ve got to be ready to back it up week in, week out.”
Miles has played a variety of roles at VFL level for Box Hill Hawks and has been focusing on contributing consistently to the team.
“I started the year off pretty well and have been reasonably happy (so far),” Miles said.
“I tore a ligament in my ankle about a month ago, so that set me back a little bit, but I’m just trying to find a bit of form now heading towards the finals.
“We’re on top of the ladder and playing well, so hopefully we can play into the deep end of the finals and see how we go.”
The first-year Hawk has played 14 of a possible 15 games, and the 180-centimetre utility has impressed Box Hill Hawks Coach Marco Bello.
“Teia’s travelling really well, he’s doing everything that’s asked of him,” Bello said.
“He’s not the biggest man out there, but he doesn’t let that play a part in the way he goes about it.
“He attacks the footy hard, he wins a lot of contests and when he gets the ball in his hands he’s an elite user of the football and makes smart decisions.”
Miles, who was named as an AFL emergency earlier this year, names experienced Hawks Isaac Smith and Sam Mitchell as two players he has learned from this season.
Originally from Barwon Heads, Miles currently lives with a host family in Melbourne alongside fellow first-year Hawk Jared Hardisty.
Outside of football, he’s completing a SportsReady course alongside a number of the club’s first-year players.
But his first focus is on playing “good, consistent footy” – and he will have that opportunity again this Saturday, when Box Hill Hawks take on Geelong on Simonds Stadium at 11am.
