By Liam Twomey
FOR Australia’s most talented junior footballers, 18 years of hard work all comes to a head on Thursday night at the AFL national draft.
On a night of uncertainty one thing is for sure, the Western Jets are going to figure heavily this year with at least five players having chances of landing at an AFL club.
They will join this year’s Jets captain Adam Kennedy, who has already been selected by Greater Western Sydney.
At the front of the pack is the silky smooth wingman Will Hoskin-Elliott who catapulted into top five calculations after a stand-out carnival with the Vic Metro representative side.
He also dominated in a Jets jumper and was a major reason why the club won its first final for 16 years against the Geelong Falcons.
The preparation couldn’t have been more different for his highly touted team-mate Elliott Kavanagh, who was forced to spend most of the season on the sidelines because of a hamstring injury.
The midfielder propelled himself back into the forefront of AFL recruiter’s minds at the national draft combine last month when he topped the Matthew Lloyd handball test.
Western Jets’ region manager Shane Sexton said at this time of year the club was offering as much support as it could give to the players.
“In the lead up to the actual draft camp we tried to ensure that they stayed as fit as possible so they could test well,” he said.
“Beyond that most have gone into Year 11 or Year 12 exams. It’s been a period of time when they have needed to study as hard as they can to get the best result for their education.”
After the draft is complete, players will either begin their new careers at AFL level or turn their attention to the rookie draft and hope to get a second chance.
“Some would be looking and hoping for that and that’s really a terrific way of doing it as well. Obviously everyone wants to get drafted but there have been plenty of guys come off a rookie list and go on to be really good AFL footballers. The guys just need to persist and believe in themselves and live the dream.”
Other Jets who will be eagerly listening for their name to be called out on Thursday night will be Jaxon Cooke, Lachlan Fairley and Jack Charleston.
