AFL Draft 2023: How GFNL club switch to Geelong West helped keep Angus Hastie’s dream alive

Draft prospect Angus Hastie was considering dropping off footy. The Geelong local explains how crossomg to a new club helped him burst onto the AFL Draft scene.

Angus Hastie testing at the draft combine. Picture: Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images

It is rare that a switch of local clubs can help a prospect get drafted.

Angus Hastie, who was also budding cricketer and basketballer as a junior, was weighing up whether to give up footy to pursue his two other sports at a professional level.

The constant pestering of one of his good mates, Tomos Drennan, convinced the Grovedale junior to cross to Geelong West.

“I think even to this day he is going around Geelong trying to recruit kids to Geelong West. He’s pretty good at that job,” Hastie said with a laugh.

“(He) kept getting into me to go out there because he knew I was probably going to start focusing on cricket or basketball and he didn’t want me to quit.

“It got to the point where, it wasn’t out of what sport I enjoyed more, it was more the realistic factor of what was going on at the time and there were state pathways for basketball and cricket, and footy I was just playing local.”

Not getting a game at Geelong Falcons level at the beginning of 2022, Hastie played four matches for the Giants’ U18 side before coach Greg Mellor gave him a crack in the seniors.

Hastie made his GFNL debut in a win over St Albans, but the Giants suffered a heavy defeat to St Joseph’s the following week.

Angus Hastie and the Giants were thumped by St Joseph’s. Picture: Alan Barber

The young defender felt he might face the axe after that loss but Mellor stuck with him, with Hastie part of the Geelong West side that headed down the highway and stunned Colac at home.

His strong performance at the senior level saw him elevated into the Falcons side, where he has shone ever since.

“I give a lot of credit to them because I was thinking about dropping off footy at one point because I was playing three sports at one time. I ended up going out from Grovedale to Geelong West and playing there and they were really helpful,” Hastie said.

“Greg Mellor the seniors coach he was a massive help and he played me in three seniors games when I wasn’t quite making the team for Falcons as a bottom-ager.

“So he played me there and I was able to perform a little bit and that got me selected at Falcons and that helped me set up a good bottom-age year there and set me up for this year.

“We played Joeys and got hammered and that was a bit of a reality check and I was wondering if I’d play the next game or not based off that massive loss. He ended up picking me for the Colac game out at Colac and we won by a point there and you don’t really beat Colac in Colac.

“To play in a game where it was a massive win for the club I think having that opportunity and experience to play with guys like that at a high level helped me develop and helped me transition into the Falcons team.”

But Hastie is also grateful for the contribution Grovedale had on his career, fostering his love for the game.

Hastie looks for an option. Picture: Jonathan DiMaggio/AFL Photos

“They had a big impact as well playing as a younger guy but just playing with my mates out there really and that’s where the enjoyment comes from,” Hastie said.

“I owe a lot of credit to them for that and I’m still mates with a few of the boys from there today.”

EXPECTATIONS vs REALITY

Hastie wrote a vision board at the start of the year with goals for his draft year – many of them that he didn’t expect to achieve.

But as the year went on the 189cm prospect kept on ticking them off.

He enters the draft as the Falcons’ top prospect, with more than 10 club interviewing him.

Starting the year as a running defender, one of those goals was to add a defensive string to his bow, something he was given the chance to do on potential top-10 prospect Nate Caddy during the national championships.

He succeeded in the role, keeping the marking forward to his lowest-ranked performance of the carnival.

Angus Hastie in action for Vic Country. Picture: Graham Denholm/AFL Photos via Getty Images

Later in the season he was tasked with stopping in-form GWV Rebels speedster Lachie Charleson, who is 16cm smaller than Caddy.

Coming off 16 goals and 27 scoring shots in the last four weeks, Hastie restricted Charleson to just one goal as the Falcons defeated the Rebels down at GMHBA Stadium in their elimination final.

“It’s broken my expectations of what I had for myself. To be in the position I’m in today is a credit to my hard work in the pre-season and throughout the year,” Hastie said.

“That was a big thing that I wanted to improve in my game this year was the balance in my game. I had a role on Nate Caddy against Metro that the backline coach put me on

“Playing on Lachie Charleson against Rebels is another one. Lachie is 176cm and Nate’s 192cm so two completely different players.

“Being able to attack and defend is a big part of my game that I have looked to develop because obviously my attacking game is obviously my strength but my defending I need to do a lot of work on and I think having those match-ups did help.”

Originally published as AFL Draft 2023: How GFNL club switch to Geelong West helped keep Angus Hastie’s dream alive