Collingwood VFL has secured the services of tall defender Sam Sofronidis following his trial for a place on the club’s AFL roster over the summer.
The VAFA standout participated in Collingwood’s intra-club match during the preseason but missed out on a supplementary selection period (SSP) position, which went to Lachie Sullivan, Josh Eyre, and Jack Bytel instead.
Sofronidis also trained with Essendon but the Bombers opted to keep their roster spot open for the Mid-Season Draft.
Before last year’s National Draft, Geelong and Gold Coast also expressed interest alongside Collingwood and Essendon in the Greek Australian player due to his impressive intercepting skills and astute football intelligence.
The 24-year-old was positioned at half-back in the 2023 VAFA premier team of the year after securing a mid-season Big V selection and later clinching Collegians’ best and fairest award.
Having an exceptional season, he played a pivotal role in his club’s victory in the premier division premiership, although his standout year nearly didn’t materialize.
Sofronidis had initially planned to live overseas last year but opted to return to Melbourne, overcoming the setback of missing the pre-season and the first three games of the season.
Standing at 194cm, the defender had previously been listed with the Sandringham Zebras and also represented the Talent League club, the Sandringham Dragons, playing 17 games across 2017-2018.