At the draft, where dreams come true

Draft night. It’s the AFL’s Night of Optimism, when every club leaves with a stronger list than they arrived with.

It’s a night when the hard work of talent around the country is rewarded, when the dream of becoming an AFL player becomes a reality.

And so the football world gathered at Sydney’s Hordern Pavilion on Friday night for the 2016 AFL Draft. List managers, coaches, statisticians from every club. The media in massive numbers.

Young hopefuls with a dream, accompanied by their families.

The Hordern Pavilion is just a stone’s throw from the SCG, part of the Entertainment Quarter complex. The stage at the front had been set up with flashing lights, which would change to the colours of the club with the next pick.

Immediately in front of the stage were VIP tables. Elite players who were expected to be picked early and their families had prime viewing position. The public, a few hundred of them, sat in rows behind.

To our left, 18 booths complete with tables, computers and mountains of paperwork, were where the clubs were set up. The club officials would talk among themselves, with picks being lodged electronically; the public at the venue or watching on TV would not hear them speak.

To our right was a large media contingent, each one of them furiously tapping away at their laptops. Every club had their own media people, along with the AFL and many media organisations who covered the event live online.

And behind us, on a raised platform, was the Fox Footy mini-studio; their talk projected onto the big screens beside the stage.

The early arrivers were given a briefing by AFL Talent Manager Kevin Sheehan on the big names expected to be picked early. Sheehan’s a veteran of the draft scene, and every year has a look of pride in his eyes as he enthusiastically talks up the latest crop of draftees.

Then the Fox Footy preview show was screened. And then it was draft time.

Whenever a club had a pick, the lights above the stage would light up in that team’s colours.

The club has two minutes to make their choice and press the button, which triggers a light-up message that the pick is in.

If it’s a bid for an academy or father-son player, it’s then up to the nominated club to press the button to indicate whether they would match the bid.

AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan then enters the stage and read out the player’s name. It’s a special moment for the player and their family; as a youth spent working and training hard and travelling around the country to play is vindicated. The dream has come true, and there’s hugs all round at the tables down the front.

The player then goes backstage before emerging on the stage, along with the senior coach of his new club, who presents his guernsey. The dream which motivated them through their junior years has come true; and it’s a joyous moment.

And when Gillon McLachlan reads the name out, the next club’s two minutes starts.

Essendon had the first pick. They’d played their cards close to their chest before the draft, but went with Andrew McGrath. It was no secret that GWS wanted McGrath, trading up to pick 2, but the Bombers had first pick and he’ll give the Bombers great service.

GWS used their pick 2 to pick up Tim Taranto. It wasn’t a surprise that the Giants overlooked Hugh McCluggage, they already have plenty like him. But it enabled Brisbane Lions to take McCluggage and Ben Ainsworth to find his way to Gold Coast.

The first Academy bid came with pick 5, and GWS gave up picks 15 and 37 to match a bid for Will Setterfield. That dropped Carlton to pick 6, which they used to get Sam Petrovski-Seton.

Gold Coast’s active trade period saw them land some early picks, with Jack Scrimshaw joining the Suns at pick 7 and Will Brodie at pick 9. In between, Fremantle got Griffin Logue, who with his Sideshow Bob hairdo will likely become a cult figure at the Dockers.

Completing the top 10, Gold Coast matched a Swans bid for Suns Academy player Jack Bowes.

After the top ten had been picked, those players re-appeared on stage in their guernseys for a group photo opportunity. Four Suns, two Giants, a Bomber, a Lion, a Blue and a Docker. The footy world will be watching them closely for the next several years.

From pick 11, the coaches no longer presented jumpers on stage, which saw the draft process speed up. And from the second round onwards, Gillon McLachlan was seated at a desk on stage, no longer needing to walk on and off the stage for every pick.

More names were read out, more dreams fulfilled. Academy and father-son players were bid, and not all of them matched, with Academy clubs unwilling to go into points deficit.

Stevie Johnson, taken at pick 24 in 2001, made a guest appearance to read out pick 24, his injured hand twitching uncontrollably in a heavy cast.

Luke Parker, pick 40 in 2010, also appeared to read out pick 40. Neither Johnson nor Parker were first-rounders, but both have made a big impact in the AFL.

There were familiar names read out. Willie Rioli is another from that famous family, joining West Coast.

Jake Waterman also joins the Eagles, his father being one of the original Eagles. Geelong picked up Quinton Narkle, who surely has to be related to another Eagles original.

Father-son bidding works the same way as Academy bidding. Collingwood don’t have an eligible Academy, and the Giants and Suns won’t get a father-son pick for a generation; but all clubs potentially benefit. And Collingwood landed two sons of their 1990 premiership side as Callum Brown and Josh Daicos will wear the black and white next year.

And a few appropriate names. Corey Lyons joins the Lions. And Hawthorn, after sensationally trading four-time premiership stars Mitchell and Lewis, drafted Mitchell Lewis.

GWS Giants pulled off the shock of the night, throwing former Fremantle player Matt de Boer a lifeline. Injuries killed his career at the Dockers, but if new surroundings bring him a change in fitness luck, he may have some useful experience to offer the Giants.

For GWS Giants, all but two of their picks came from their Academy, while three Academy players found themselves at other clubs. From a zone that did not produce a single player just four years ago, far from diluting the AFL’s talent pool, GWS is now a net contributor to it.

Disappointingly, the crowd was noticeably thinning out even by the end of the second round; and by the later picks even club officials who had passed on selections were filing out. It wasn’t late, barely 9pm on a Friday night and it seemed rude that so many were leaving while there were still players being selected.

But nothing could wipe the smiles off the faces of the young men up the front who by now had changed into the polo shirts of their new clubs. Cameras were flashing as players beamed with pride, being pictured with their new coaches and teammates.

After the last player was picked, the Fox Footy broadcast was shut down. Clubs had their own video cameras recording interviews, introducing their new players to their anticipant supporters; while the gathering press were gathering quotes from the footy faces of the future.

And some remaining fans took the chance to be the first to have a selfie with a recruit.

For the players, there’s a long road ahead. Many will now move out of home to relocate interstate.

For all the training, the preparation and the spotlight will be far more intense than anything they’ve ever seen. Not all of them will make it to their AFL debut, and only a select few will become genuine superstars of the game.

But for all of them, this is the beginning. The opportunities are there, and the footy world will be watching on with interest.

And for some, the superstar few, the night at the Hordern Pavilion will be fondly remembered as the place where the journey into the AFL began.