Fletcher Carroll: Albury Tigers star giving himself the best possible shot at a successful career

The star midfielder finished third in last year's Morris Medal count and is expected to make another big impression on the Ovens and Murray this season.

Linked with a move to the SANFL, he's re-committed to Albury for 2022 but co-coach Luke Daly believes his horizons are limitless.

"Fletcher's only scratching the surface of how good he can be," Daly said.

"He looks after himself outside football with his diet and gym work, he's very dedicated and for the age he is, he's only scratching the surface of being a dominant player in the O and M.

"If that means going to a higher standard, if that's what he wants to do... he's only opening the first page of the book he's about to write.

"It's a credit to him because he's the last person to leave here on a training night.

"If we finish on the track, he's in the gym doing extras when a lot of blokes would be going home to have a drink and rest up.

"It's a testament to his character and hopefully we're only seeing the start of what's to come."

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Riley Bice, Ben Kelly, Jacob Conlan and Lucas Conlan are part of the same conversation, with the Tigers keen to strike the right balance in the interest of their young talent when it comes to the next step in their careers.

"We'll support those boys in any way we can," Daly said.

"If they have desires to play at the higher level, we will help facilitate that as much as we can.

"We've got Milesy (former AFL player and now Albury co-coach Anthony Miles) who's been at that standard for a long time and knows what's required to get there.

"We want to make sure they're not going to go over there if they're not prepared, both on and off the field.

"Being young, a lot of people do only give it one shot.

"You rarely see players go to the SANFL, come back and go again.

"We want them to give it their best shot and to have no regrets.

"You have to take your coach's hat off.

"Obviously, you'd love good players to stay at the club but from a mate's perspective and a growth point of view, if that's what they want to do, we'd love to see them go and try their hand - but making sure they're ready to do it."

Albury starts the season away to Wangaratta on Saturday April 2.

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