Turner wins Pararoo Football Player of the Year

NSW Paralympic State Team player James Turner took out the Pararoo Football Player of the Year award at the 2013 FFA Australian Football Awards night on November 13th.

Turner’s win continues the success enjoyed by NSW at Paralympic level with fellow State Team player Chris Pyne winning the award last year, as well as NSW coming home with the Gold medal from Coffs Harbour at the 2013 FFA Paralympic Football Nationals.

"James has pace to burn and he gets forward on the overlap to worry defenders in their third. He has the potential to be one of the best players that Australia has ever produced if he stays on the path that he is at present" said Head Pararoo Coach, Paul Brown.

Turner has been a member of the Pararoo squad since 2009 and has been capped 16 times. He was named Player of the tournament at the 2013 Paralympic Football Nationals in September.

Australia has had a National Paralympic Football Team since the Sydney Olympics and are currently ranked 10th in the world just missing out on London Olympic qualification. The squad is currently preparing for internationals against Canada, Mexico and the USA to be played mid-way through next season. These internationals will be played to help prepare for the Paralympic World Championships, the qualification tournament for the 2016 Paralympics in Rio. The program is run in partnership with the Australian Paralympic Committee and Football Federation Australia.