Premiership captain Nick Maxwell has praised the strength shown by Matt Scharenberg in overcoming adversity to play his first AFL game against Melbourne on Saturday.
Maxwell told co-host Michael Christian on Collingwood Media’s ‘Monday’s With Maxy’ that he believes the sight of Scharenberg in a Collingwood guernsey is one fans should expect to see for a long time.
“He’s had some adversity since he’s come to the club,” Maxwell told.
“I was rapt to see him in there. He just showed his class. I think he’s going to be a good player for a long time… I think he’s going to be a leader of the football club.”
After injuries to his feet and knee in his first two years at the club, the No. 6 draft picks long awaited debut came at the expense of experienced defender Tyson Goldsack.
Goldsack tweaked his quad in the warm up, allowing an eleventh-hour call up for Scharenberg who was on stand-by as emergency.
He had 16 disposals during his first game on the MCG, including a team-high nine touches in the second quarter.
“It’s obviously not the traditional way you go into your first game,” Scharenberg told Collingwood Media.
“It wasn’t too bad because I guess it was a matter of switching on from there. I didn’t have too long to dwell on things and overthink things.
“So it was good just to finally get out there nice and quickly and run around and hopefully just play my role for the team.”
While this role sees currently sees Scharenberg in defence, Maxwell believes the 19-year-old has the skillset to eventually transition into the midfield.
The former Collingwood captain even went as far as comparing Scharenberg to current skipper and three-time Copeland Trophy winner Scott Pendlebury.
“I think he’s going to play half back for a long time. I do think that they believe he’ll go into the midfield at some stage,” Maxwell said.
“He’s very Pendlebury-like in that he just finds time. He’s not overly quick, but just finds time and space around him.”
While the comparison appears daunting, it’s not the first time Scharenberg has been linked to a great of the game.
Prior to the 2013 Draft, Mark Williams described Scharenberg as the best schoolboy talent he had seen since Wayne Carey.
There has been unexpected turmoil to overcome since then, yet the young South Australian is surprised with how quickly his body has been able to overcome injury concerns.
“It’s been a long road with injury and rehab,” he said.
“It’s taken a while – a lot longer than I would have liked to play my first game. But in saying that, it’s just great to be out there.
“It’s been about 11 months since I did my knee. I wouldn’t have thought I would be playing 11 months later at all, let alone be playing my first game at AFL level.”
