World Footy News

Ahead of the 2019 AFL Draft, the son of club champion Dustin Fletcher was being touted as a chance to be drafted by Essendon. Having been closely watched by the club since his childhood, and particularly during his time at the Calder Cannons, Mason Fletcher was seen as a walk up draft selection under the Father-Son criteria.

After siting out the 2018 AFL draft due to injuries, it was anticipated that Fletcher would follow his decorated father and grand-father by joining the Bombers. However, he turned his back on the AFL before the 2019 draft to work with ProKick and set up a college pathway as a punter in the USA’s NFL.

Whilst Fletcher has not yet reached the NFL, his chances are greatly enhanced by gaining a college scholarship. Fletcher announced last week that he was "over the moon to announce I have accepted a full scholarship to study and play football for the University of Cincinnati."

The move to seek and gain the scholarship gives Fletcher the chance to catch the eye of NFL scouts from across the USA in the hope of following former St Kilda player Arryn Siposs who signed with the Detroit Lions last month.

Mason’s father, Dustin Fletcher is one of only four players to reach the 400 game milestone, playing with Essendon. Dustin Fletcher was also a duel Bomber premiership player in 1993 and 2000, and won the club’s 2000 best & fairest. He was renowned as one of the biggest kicks of a football in VFL/AFL history. His grand-father, Ken Fletcher, was a former Essendon captain and won the club’s 1978 best & fairest award. He played 264 games for the Bombers.

Mason Fletcher has a tremendous Australian pedigree behind him and it remains to be seen whether that translates to a long career as a punter, hopefully in the NFL. Time will tell.

Related articles:
Arryn Siposs ("From St Kilda To Detroit")
Nic Constantinou (From Australian Rules Footy To American Football)
Mason Fletcher (Father-Son Prospect Quits Footy To Pursue NFL Punting Career)

Image Credit: rppfm.com.au