The Carlton Football Club is pleased to announce that it has won the race to sign Jake Pianta from Penrith as its first NSW Scholarship player in 2007. Jake was highly sought after by a number of AFL Clubs and his signing is a real coup for the Carlton Football Club.

“We are pleased to offer Jake Pianta a scholarship at the Carlton Football Club and thrilled that he has chosen Carlton ahead of a number of other Clubs as his preferred destination,” Carlton's National Recruiting Manager Wayne Hughes said.

Jake is 187cm and 69 kg centre half forward who played in the NSW/ ACT Rams successful V-Line series earlier this year. A member of the Starz Under 15 Representative side in Sydney, Jake had an outstanding Carnival at the NSW Camp held at St Ignatius Riverview in April, where he was observed by Wayne Hughes and Shane Rogers, Carlton's recently appointed assistant recruiting manager.

“We are delighted to have Jake join the Club and look forward to him continuing his football development with the Carlton Football Club,” Hughes added.

An all round sportsperson Jake represented his State in baseball at various underage levels and recently won a hole in one competition when visiting his Grandparents in Bendigo. His love of football is from his father Tony who grew up in Bendigo and played football for South Bendigo.

The AFL scholarship program is aimed at teenagers aged between 15–17 years. Under scholarship guidelines, AFL Clubs can recruit up to two teenagers from Greater Sydney and southern NSW in each year. Scholarships can range from 1-3 years duration with recipients receiving financial assistance towards their football and education. Jake joins Josh Fenaroli who was signed as a NSW Scholarship player in 2006.

Under the program Pianta will spend regular periods training with Carlton in Melbourne from 2008 and the club will have the option of priority listing him to their primary player list in the future.