West Adelaide’s Harry Barnett picked by West Coast Eagles in 2022 AFL Draft

A young SA ruckman has credited his local clubs for his development after being drafted to the AFL to play alongside his childhood idol.

A star South Australian ruck has credited his junior, school and SANFL teams with his development after being drafted to the AFL, saying he is looking forward to learning from one of his childhood heroes.

18-year-old West Adelaide ruckman Harry Barnett was selected with the 23rd pick of the 2022 draft by the West Coast Eagles, sealing the achievement of a lifelong dream for the rising superstar.

The athletic big man – who played his junior footy at Goodwood Saints and was a standout at Mercedes College – was the first ruck taken in this year’s draft.

“I’m absolutely buzzing, everyone’s buzzing, there are relatives I haven’t seen for ages knocking on the door, it’s all a bit crazy,” Barnett said of the achievement.

“I’ve already had a few calls from West Coast players and coaches – it’s very surreal right now.”

Barnett was always a skilled player at Goodwood and Mercedes but began to show his potential after a growth spurt in his early teenage years.

West Adelaide's Harry Barnett has been drafted by West Coast. Picture: Emma Brasier

He said he the care his coaches at Goodwood, Mercedes and West Adelaide took in developing his talent was second to none and a major reason behind his evolution into the ruckman he is now.

“Goody Saints I’ll forever be grateful to – they really set the foundation for my passion for footy and made it really easy for me to find my potential and continue to improve,” Barnett said.

“Mercedes was a lot of fun as well and I played some of my footy there, and coming up through the West Adelaide pipeline, the Bloods are such a great club and continue to develop guys every year to reach that top level, so I’m super thankful for everything they’ve done for me.”

An athletic ruckman who possesses deadeye disposal on either side of his body and can take towering marks, Barnett idolised champion West Coast big man Nic Naitanui growing up.

Barnett is a high-flying big man who is adept off of both sides of his body. Picture: Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images

He will now have the chance to learn from the Eagles superstar.

“He’s been a role model for so long so to be able to jump into him at trainings and just learn everything I can off of him is going to be crazy,” he said.
Goodwood Saints coach David Wark – who coached Barnett in the club’s U16s – said he always believed the young star could make it to the AFL.

“He always had this fierce desire to improve and was wonderfully coachable,” Wark said.

“The physical attributes were there from a young age and we identified his kicking and marking ability as skills a lot of teams would be interested in.

“He’s one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet and the kind of person every footy club wants to have around. To be able to have conversations with him away from footy was such a pleasure because he was so great to talk to.”

Barnett is the first of this year’s Goodwood Saints products to be drafted, with West Adelaide’s Oscar Steen and Sturt’s Zac Becker still available.