Potentially the Gold Coast SUNS fastest player over 20 metres, Jack Leslie will inherit the No. 38 Guernsey in 2014.

It is a fitting choice for the 199cm key tall defender, with its previous owner, Joel Wilkinson, having also been impressive athlete.

The Gippsland junior, who was taken with the club’s end of round one compensation pick (selection. 20) in the AFL National Draft on the Gold Coast last month,  has simpressed high performance staff with his professional work rate and all-round athletic ability.

His mental toughness was on full display on Metricon Stadium’s training field earlier this month, with Leslie among the playing list’s major improvers in the 2km time trials.

On his day, the key position player is an exceptional shut-down defender, as was seen in his TAC Cup battle against No. 1 draft pick Tom Boyd.

After kicking six goals in against Gippsland Power earlier this year, Leslie was shifted onto Boyd in a bid to neutralise the highly-rated spearhead.

The positional switch turned out to be a stroke of genius, with Boyd managing just one touch for the remainder of the match.

With a full pre-season under his belt, Leslie is confident he can transition his aggressive-natured style and match it with the bigger-bodied monsters of the AFL.

“I’m just looking forward to developing my football over the summer, and hopefully building AFL conditioning under Stephen Schwerdt and the rest of the high performance team,” he said.

“I’m looking forward to getting a bit of a rest over the Christmas break, and coming back with a thirst for more hard work.”

For more hints as to what the Guernsey numbers are going to be visit our Facebook page and find them in the Metricon Stadium image.

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