Orazio Fantasia's fantasy season about to get even better with AFL draft
ORAZIO Fantasia had been pinching himself for four days by the time 2013 SANFL grand final day rolled around.
ORAZIO Fantasia had been pinching himself for four days by the time 2013 SANFL grand final day rolled around.
With just three career league games under his belt and having not played footy in more than a month, the youngster was surely set to watch Norwood roll to premiership glory from the stands.
That all changed when coach Nathan Bassett sought him out on the Wednesday before the game.
'Bass pulled me aside at training and said -we're going to pick you','' Fantasia recalls.
'It was a pretty amazing thing to hear … 'I was pretty nervous running out. It was a massive crowd. It was a surreal feeling, really." The left-field selection of Norwood's premiership side, Fantasia went on to repay Bassett's faith, making a solid contribution as the Redlegs completed back-to-back flags.
The qualities that led Bassett to punt on Fantasia that day have not been lost on AFL talent scouts around the country. At 65kg, the youngster is almost light enough to ride in tomorrow's Melbourne Cup but he has the speed and agility of a greyhound.
Fantasia did not test at the national draft screening due to his grand final commitments with Norwood but he is rated as one of the quickest players in this year's draft pool.
He also possesses neat skills and he knows where the goals are. 'For me it's just about working to my strengths when I play,'' the Norwood Morialta High School student says.
'At my size, I'm obviously not going to be an inside midfielder, so I have to use what I've got, which is speed and agility … 'I try to take the game on whenever I can." Fantasia also played some handy games in SA's national under-18 championship-winning side, rounding out what the goalsneak describes as a dream season.
'To play in an SANFL premiership and the under-18 championship in one season, it doesn't get better than that." He will spend AFL national draft day on November 21 with his family, hoping his name gets called.
Commentators like Dennis Cometti may be quietly hoping the name comes up as well - Orazio Fantasia rolls quite nicely off the tongue.