Cameron Wood and Jason Tutt are better known for their football ability, but more recently have been turning heads playing ball with Sunshine Eagles.
Wood, a first-round pick of the AFL draft, managed 88 games as a ruckman at three clubs – Brisbane Lions, Carlton and Collingwood – and was a Rising Star nominee as a rookie.
Tutt burst onto the AFL scene with three goals from his first three kicks with the Western Bulldogs. He went on to play 40 AFL games with the Bulldogs and Carlton, and won a VFL premiership with Footscray.
Long before Wood and Tutt played AFL, they had shown their talents in many sports.
Wood was a SA representative in baseball, while Tutt played softball for Australia.
Sunshine coach Grant Weir invited the pair to train with the Eagles, and they got the bug again.
“They picked up where they left off with their baseball,” Eagles’ publicity officer Glenn Letts said. “They’ve got all the skills and, as soon as they came down, they’ve fitted in well and decided to play with us for the remainder of the season.
“They’ve been playing in our top team and our second team,” he said.
Sunshine is on the verge of a finals’ campaign in Baseball Victoria’s summer league division 2.
While a little rusty, Wood, as a first baseman, and Tutt, at second base, have shown glimpses of what they can offer if they stick to the game, and it won’t be a surprise if they play some part in the top side’s premiership push.
“The times that I’ve seen Cameron play, he’s managed to get bat on ball,” Letts said. “They can both hit a ball, especially at training, you can see they’re almost hitting them to the fence.
“Jason has quick reflexes, quick hands, all of that … [second base] suits him well.”
Moreover, Wood and Tutt have fitted into the Eagles’ culture well. Having professional athletes in their ranks has naturally lifted the standards at training, and they have been nice additions socially as well.
“They’re great to have around the club,” Letts said. “They get on well with all the fellas. For them it’s a matter of getting together with a different group of guys and back into a sport they used to play when they were juniors.”
Letts said Wood and Tutt are great examples for any former baseballers wanting to get back into the game.
“It’s never too late,” Letts said. “We’ve got blokes in their 30s and 40s still playing in the masters leagues … there’s a level for everyone to play.”
Sunshine faces Ballarat at Barclay Reserve on Saturday. The Eagles are flying high in top spot after Saturday’s narrow 4-3 win over Doncaster away from home.
