Hoping to catch AFL scouts' eye

AIRBORNE: Western Heights High School athlete Kahurangi Robinson jumps to hit the ball at a volleyball competition in Vanuatu, with teammate Joel Ropitini backing him up. PHOTO/SUPPLIED

Western Heights High School has a knack of producing talented athletes, not least of which is Kahurangi Robinson.

Rotorua's Kahurangi, 16, will take part in the AFL New Zealand national combine in Wellington on Thursday which will be attended by AFL scouts from Australia.

Following the combine last year, Whakatane's Maia Westrupp, 19, was handed a scholarship by AFL side the Melbourne Demons.

Kahurangi will be joined by fellow Western Heights High School volleyball players Masiu Vainikolo and Brad Munro at the combine on Thursday.

The young athletes were invited to the combine after a talent camp in Auckland last year.

Kahurangi broke a record for his age group at the Auckland camp, recording a vertical jump of 81cm. The combine next week will include a variety of tests including the 20m sprint, vertical leap, beep test, plus football specific drills.

"If you are good enough they offer you a scholarship ..." Kahurangi said.

The Western Heights volleyball programme has featured top athletes for years and received a visit from AFL New Zealand last year to look at the players. A number of players from the school impressed AFL New Zealand but only three were able to attend the talent camp in Auckland.

The combine this week features 40 young athletes and marks a busy time of year for Kahurangi.

He recently returned from Vanuatu after winning an under-17 international beach volleyball title with fellow Western Heights High School student Joel Ropitini.

The pair went up against mainly New Zealand teams to claim the title.

"We went pretty well. On the first day, we had to do seedings and we came second, that meant we were put in the tougher pool," he said.

After wining their pool, they then went on to make the final and defeat another New Zealand pairing to win the competition.

Kahurangi is now looking to qualifying for the Youth Olympics in China in August with beach volleyball, which features athletes aged 14 to 18.

He cannot make the official trials next week because he will be in Wellington but will be trialled separately at Mount Maunganui on Tuesday. Kahurangi also plays touch and basketball.

Western Heights volleyball coach Eugene Bogun said the school invited the AFL New Zealand co-ordinator to visit their school after hearing about Westrupp, from Whakatane.

He said they ran a small coaching session with the volleyball team and were impressed.

Bogun said the three boys who made the combine next week were very good athletes. "It has been good to see them grow. They are extremely talented at volleyball and are quite natural."

Bogun said they were brought into the programme when they started high school, a couple of years ago. Currently, three AFL clubs have New Zealanders contracted on international scholarships.