Collingwood VFL have signed tall defender Sam Sofronidis after spending the summer trialling for a spot on the club’s AFL list.
The VAFA star featured in the Magpies’ intra-club match during the pre-season, but was overlooked for a supplementary selection period (SSP) spot when Lachie Sullivan, Josh Eyre and Jack Bytel were signed instead.
Sofronidis also took part in a training session with Essendon but the Bombers opted to keep their spot open for the Mid-Season Draft.
Prior to last year’s National Draft, Geelong and Gold Coast also showed interest alongside the Pies and Dons in the Greek Australian, with his strong intercepting ability and high footy smarts.
The 24-year-old was named at half-back in the 2023 VAFA premier team of the year after earning Big V selection mid-season before winning Collegians’ best and fairest.
He had a dominant season, helping his club win the premier division premiership but his stand out year almost did not happen.
Sofronidis was planning to live overseas last year but chose to return to Melbourne and play again after missing the pre-season and first three games of the year.
The 194cm backman was previously listed with the Sandringham Zebras and also played 17 games for the Talent League club, the Sandringham Dragons, across 2017-2018.
