Norwood’s Alex Villis’ draft hopes in peril after heart scare
SOUTH Australian draft prospect Alex Villis’ football future is clouded after he was diagnosed with a potentially career-ending heart condition.
One of five Croweaters selected in this year’s All-Australian under-18 team, the Norwood midfielder/halfback is undergoing further medical tests after a routine electrocardiogram before last month’s AFL draft combine showed some heart irregularities.
His condition ruled him out of the combine and has seen him consult a cardiologist in Adelaide.
Villis’ health setback comes a year after the Crows’ top draft selection in 2015, Central District’s Wayne Milera, had heart surgery to repair Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome — a condition also picked up at a routine ECG screening.
Sadly for Villis, his condition appears more serious.
He said there is a strong chance he has a form of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy — a weakening of the heart muscle that makes it more difficult to pump blood.
“I’ve been told that if I have that condition then I’ll probably never be able to play competitive sport again to a high level because it gets my heart rate too high,” Villis told the AFL website.
“When I first found out I was pretty devastated because footy was everything but when you think about it, it is your life.
“I’m not going to give up (on an AFL career) without knowing for 100 per cent what I can and can’t do. I want to see everyone I can and know everything I can so I know whether I can play footy and how I need to live the rest of my life.
“It’s frustrating at this stage but I want to get more opinions over in Melbourne before I give up on it.
“It’s pretty frustrating because I feel fine and I feel like I could play a game of footy and it wouldn’t affect me.”
Villis, 18, played four league games for Norwood this year and, if healthy, was certain to find an AFL home at the November 25 national draft.
He had been considered a second of third-round selection.
SANFL high performance manager and under-18 coach Brenton Phillips described Villis as “a really nice mover and finisher’’.
“He’s a (former Norwood and current Collingwood midfielder) James Aish type,’’ Phillips said.
Phillips said Villis’ condition had come “as a shock to everyone’’.
“It’s been very tough for Alex and his family,’’ Phillips told The Advertiser.
“He’s a very draftable player and a terrific young man and to have to deal with this has been extremely difficult for him.
“Hopefully he gets some better news with some more testing because the main thing is the kid’s health.
“If there is one positive it’s that at least his condition was discovered and he can now set about getting the right treatment.’’
andrew.capel@news.com.au
Originally published as Heart trouble hits Villis’ draft hopes