AFL draft profiles 2021: Get to know some of the young guns who could be on your team this season
Blayne O’Loughlan understands the hurdles of his height - though after being overlooked by the Crows he is using Caleb Daniel’s success as inspiration.
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His name is inspired by a Wesley Snipes movie, he is the nephew of a Sydney Swans great, he likens his game to Caleb Daniel’s and he has been overlooked by Adelaide.
Blayne O’Loughlin – whose uncle is Michael O’Loughlin – is heading to the open draft after the Crows’ decision last month not to nominate him as a Next Generation Academy prospect.
The North Adelaide under-18s captain bounced back from the disappointment to earn a medal as South Australia’s best against WA in the national junior title game that doubled as the AFL grand final curtain-raiser.
O’Loughlin, 18, learnt from his manager, TLA’s Michael Doughty, that the Crows would not nominate him.
Adelaide later confirmed its decision in a meeting with head recruiter Hamish Ogilvie, long-serving administrator Phil Harper, academies manager Jarrod Meers and Indigenous programs boss Jeremy Johncock.
“I knew it was coming … but hearing it in person is probably harder than hearing it over the phone,” O’Loughlin tells News Corp.
“I had (Central District small forward) Isaiah Dudley, who’s pretty much like a brother to me, going through the same situation, so it was good for us to talk to each other through that time and we were both there for each other.
“It hurt a bit but you’ve got other teams that will hopefully take a chance on you, so it was more about staying strong.
“I just took it on the chin.”
Playing well before the Melbourne-Western Bulldogs decider in Perth in September was already on O’Loughlin’s mind, regardless of that news, because he knew plenty of people would be watching.
The small defender was motivated by doubters who did not think he was up to the level after struggling in SA’s first state under-19s match.
“Obviously there was stuff in the back of my mind, but I had one goal for that game and that was to try to win,” he says.
“We were all able to play well as a team and I felt I was able to step up.
“I had a bit of heat on me from outside stuff.
“Cousins and some people like that didn’t believe in me.
“People were also talking about how ‘the Crows don’t want him or don’t need him’.
“It was just more about trying to prove everyone wrong.
“To have your name called out (to receive a best-on-ground medal) was pretty unreal.
“It was probably my best game of the year.”
From starring to learning, O’Loughlin then sat in the stands to watch the main event and focused particularly on Western Bulldogs star Daniel.
O’Loughlin is 173cm – three centimetres taller than the South Adelaide product, the AFL’s shortest player.
Their similar traits give O’Loughlin hope his height will not count against him among recruiters.
“It was an unreal experience to be over there,” he says.
“To see Caleb Daniel, his kicking skills, the spots he gets into and the way he was able to break open play for the Bulldogs.
“They trust him with ball in hand and always give it to him.
“That’s how I see myself – I’m not that tall but feel like I can still have an impact on the game.
“That’s always been in my mind … ‘maybe you’re just too small for the level’.
“I feel like I play much taller than I am.”
O’Loughlin is used to being one of the shortest players in the team.
His first taste of football came for Kaurna’s under-9s team in the Central Districts association.
He was aged just three and, according to his dad, Neville, “wore an oversized guernsey that went right down to his socks”.
“He just loved the football and he’d just chase it around anywhere,” Neville says.
“Believe it or not, he actually got quite a few kicks because he’d just dive on it to get the ball first, they’d dive on him and because he was so little, umpires would feel obliged to give him a free kick.”
AFL clubs have not brought up O’Loughlin’s stature in his interviews but state coach Tony Bamford has told him it is one thing some teams are hesitant about.
“But Bangers (Bamford) backs me up and has said ‘the kid can play’,” O’Loughlin says.
“He has full faith in me and I can’t thank him enough for always backing me.
“He’s been wicked.
“I couldn’t have asked for a better coach, same with Craig Brooks at North Adelaide.”
Both Bamford and Brooks have handed the neat left-footer the responsibility of taking kick-ins, while O’Loughlin has also been state vice-captain in one game.
North Adelaide appointed him skipper of its under-18s after being impressed by his commitment to training and helping others.
O’Loughlin would attend under-18 trainings on Tuesdays and Thursdays during pre-season, even though he had sessions on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays with the senior squad.
“It (the captaincy) was surreal, to be honest – I didn’t expect it,” he says.
O’Loughlin, who is recovering from a torn hamstring from last month’s SA draft combine, is pretty happy with his season.
Playing in a back pocket or at half-back, he averaged 28.5 disposals for the Roosters, boosted by a 44-possession game in Round 2, as well as 19 touches for SA at 84 per cent efficiency.
O’Loughlin wears No. 25 for North Adelaide, which decides guernsey numbers on height.
Ruckmen usually receive No. 1 and 2, while shorter players are further down the list.
O’Loughlin was thrilled with his first number at North, 19, which he also wore at junior clubs Gepps Cross and Payneham Norwood Union in honour of his uncle.
Australian Football Hall of Famer Michael donned it in all but the first season of his 303-game career from 1995-2009 for the Swans.
“He’s been a huge role model to me since I could play footy,” says O’Loughlin, who watches his uncle’s highlights on YouTube.
“I don’t really remember too much of watching him on TV because I was pretty young.
“He was obviously a great player, a superstar.
“He says just call me whenever, not even about footy, just about other stuff.
“He’s just been keeping me level-headed.
“Obviously you get nervous in times like now and uncle Mick’s been in this situation.
“He’ll be a good person to reach out to and I’ve actually got to call him in a few days to talk to him about how I’m feeling.”
Michael is the brother of Neville, a former junior at Woodville Warriors.
O’Loughlin’s sister Karii is also an ex-footballer, featuring for an under-18 state team before a lack of pathways led her to netball club Garville.
His mother, Janet, took inspiration from a Snipes film about a vampire hunter when it came to naming him.
“Mum’s favourite movie was Blade, so she was going to call me Blade and then she said ‘let’s change it and call him Blayne instead’,” he says.
“That’s where it came from – it’s an interesting one.”
O’Loughlin, who barracks for Gold Coast due to Gary Ablett’s time there, says it will mean the world to him and his family if his name is called in the November 24-25 draft.
If he does get selected, he will try to snare No. 19 for his new club.
“Uncle Mick said it made him a bit emotional when I told him ‘I only wear it because you wore it’,” O’Loughlin says.
“It runs in the family so hopefully I can keep it.”
Taj’s journey: Moment that brought Woewodins to tears
Taj Woewodin’s earliest memories include wearing a Melbourne guernsey.
Last month at Perth Stadium, he was in one – worn by his dad, Shane, during his Brownlow Medal-winning 2000 season – while watching the club claim its first premiership in 57 years.
As of November 25, Taj may have his own Melbourne jersey if he lands at the club as a father-son draftee.
The Demons nominated the 18-year-old last week in an online meeting featuring their recruiting team, the Woewodins and manager Jason Dover from TLA.
It does not guarantee Melbourne will select him, but gives it the option to match rival clubs’ bids and ensures the midfielder/half-back will be on an AFL list somewhere next season.
If no other team calls his name, Taj becomes a Dee.
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Not long after Melbourne’s national recruiting manager Jason Taylor confirmed the club’s nomination last week and the meeting ended, Taj, his mum, Deanne, and Shane had an emotional moment outside Taylor’s office in Perth.
“Pretty much as soon as I walked out, I just bawled my eyes out,” Taj tells News Corp.
“I was super overwhelmed and super excited at the same time, and thanked mum and dad as well, and Jason, for how good a year it was.
“Some of my earliest memories are of wearing a Melbourne jersey – I’ve always supported them and my favourite player growing up was Jack Viney.
“But there’s no guarantee that I’ll be there.
“It’s obviously eased the nerves going into the national draft.”
Shane, a 138-game ex-Demon, recalls being immensely proud – and teary.
“That moment that we had with him outside the office was bloody special,” Shane says.
Taj has emerged as a 2021 draft prospect after a standout season as captain of East Fremantle and a key member of Western Australia’s under-19s.
The 183cm, 78kg talent averaged 23 disposals, eight contested possessions, four clearances, five marks, five score involvements and 117 ranking points at WAFL colts level.
In two games for WA, it was 19 touches and six score involvements.
Last month Taj finished second nationally in the 20m sprint in 2.898 secs at the draft combine.
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Before this year, he was not considered to be on the AFL radar.
He spent most of 2020 playing college football for Aquinas and had been overlooked in state junior teams.
Taj recalls being on Rottnest Island kicking the footy with his dad when a call came to say he would not be picked in WA’s under-16s.
The snub served as major motivation.
This year, Taj has completed father-son skills sessions twice a week and credits them for his improvement.
Each Tuesday, from about 8.30pm, he works on his “craft” with his dad at Gill Fraser Reserve, after Shane has coached amateur club North Fremantle’s training.
They kick on both feet, collect ground balls and mark.
There is an emphasis on taking the footy cleanly.
Usually it is just the two of them, on an otherwise vacant oval, under lights.
Then they do it again the night before Taj’s matches.
“Those sessions really helped me and gave me confidence going into each game,” Taj says.
“I thought that was a big turning point for me in my own mind, knowing I could be the cleanest player on the field and have some of the best skills.
“It was my idea to do that … to feel I’d prepared for the game, feel like I can go into it knowing my skills would be on point.”
Shane, now 45, says: “One of his strengths is his touch, he’s really clean, but he’s worked bloody hard on that to be at the level he needs to be.”
Taj has had a footy in his hand since before he could walk.
He was born on March 26, 2003 – two days ahead of Shane’s club debut for Collingwood versus Richmond after his switch from the Demons.
At three months old, Taj was on the MCG, as his dad celebrated his 150th match against Hawthorn.
Taj began playing Auskick in Shane’s home state of Perth, where the family returned after his 200-game AFL career ended.
When Shane spent six years in Brisbane as a Lions assistant, Taj got his first taste of club football, first with Coorparoo then Morningside.
He learnt from junior teammates about his dad’s career, including his Brownlow win.
“I haven’t seen the medal in years to be honest and don’t even know where it’s sitting in the house, probably in a sock drawer,” Taj says.
The Woewodins went back to Perth after Shane finished at the Lions.
Football has always been on TV, no matter where the family has lived.
In Taj’s younger days, he would watch his father’s games.
Shane has every one on DVD, having collected them on VHS since after his first season in 1997.
“I’ve gone through a few of them with dad and had a bit of a laugh,” Taj says.
“He’d roll off his stats off his tongue like it was a maths times table.
“But he’s helped me so much with the footy side of things and what to do on game days.”
Now, it is Shane offering advice on his son’s matches.
“I don’t go down in the huddles on game days, I sit in the stands and I missed some games this year during the season due to coaching,” Shane says.
“But I’ve always been there for him to watch vision and he’ll ask what I think.
“The one thing I’ve never had to teach him about footy is what it takes to get there.
“He understands that – he’s self-motivated and the work ethic he’s got is competitive, and it’s because it’s what he wants to do.”
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Taj considers versatility one of his other strengths.
He has played on a wing and at half-back for WA, but as an inside midfielder who drifts forward for East Fremantle.
Taj helped lead East Fremantle to the WAFL’s colts preliminary final, which was played the day after Melbourne’s premiership success.
He saw the Demons’ triumph from the stands with his sister.
Shane was watching from a different part of the stadium, then joined his former club’s post-match celebrations in the rooms, wearing the guernsey he donned in its losing grand final in 2000.
“Taj would’ve embraced the moment but knowing Taj and his footy mind, he would’ve been watching a player or two, building his repertoire and craft,” Shane says.
“We were very fortunate as West Australians that we could be there.”
Taj says: “It was the night before our prelim so I was in between prepping for our game and nervous for the Dees. Everyone was up and about, and it was a really good night.”
The elation soured the next day as East Fremantle lost its preliminary final by two points.
From there, nerves kicked in for the family, as they awaited nomination news.
Covid border closures meant Taj missed the chance to head to Melbourne to spend time at the club this year.
Although the Woewodins kept in touch with the Demons during the season, Melbourne kept its cards close to their chest until last week.
“My message to Taj all year was for him to let his footy do the talking,” Shane says.
“It was pretty quiet from other clubs’ point of view because I think they were sitting back to see what Melbourne was doing.
“Probably now there’s genuine excitement for leading up to the draft and post the draft as well.”
Taj has spent this year working one day a week mowing lawns and four at a local grocer while also studying a double degree in criminology and psychology
He says of getting drafted: “Any list is a good list”.
“Going to the Dees would be the cherry on top.”
Shane considers himself a two-club supporter after featuring in 62 matches for Collingwood, including its flag-deciding defeat in 2003, and loving his time at the Magpies.
But he now hopes Taj ends up at Melbourne.
“I’ve always been of the opinion that it doesn’t matter, you’d just loved to see him have an opportunity as a club,” he says,
“Now that Melbourne have nominated him and he’s accepted … the story and romance behind it all would be fantastic – to see him in the red and blue, and create his own pathway and legacy.”
Leek Alleer: The summer that unearthed a young star
- Simeon Thomas-Wilson
Leek Alleer leapt into the record books and firmly into draft calculations.
Paul Thomas, his coach at SANFL side Central District and key in his emergence as a red-hot draft chance, believes the sky is the limit for the 20-year-old.
Alleer, 20, has had a breakout season for the Bulldogs this year after making his league debut against Sturt in Round 7.
Thomas says Alleer’s progression as a key defender reminded him of star Crow Tom Doedee when he first joined Adelaide.
This put Alleer right in the draft mix and, last month at South Australia’s draft combine, he literally jumped up the rankings.
Alleer, 195cm, leapt a whopping 107cm off his left foot at the combine to break the AFL’s running vertical jump record.
North Melbourne’s Kyron Hayden held the previous record, 103cm in 2017, and, before that, West Coast star Nic Naitanui had the highest leap at 102cm.
Alleer said the fallout of that effort had been “a bit of a whirlwind”, but he felt it had really put his name forward.
“Yeah I think it has,” he said.
“Going into the combine, I just wanted to give my best effort and I just wanted to see how I went and being able to do that put me a little more in the light and got my name out there a bit more, which is really positive.”
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Alleer’s emergence in 2021 is incredible for two reasons.
The first is that he missed 18 months of footy in his draft year with a broken fibula and dislocated ankle.
“After not having played much footy over the past two years, being able to play on a week-by-week basis has definitely been a big positive for me,” he said.
The second is Alleer was only swung into the backline during pre-season for the Bulldogs’ 2021 campaign, after previously playing as a ruckman, key forward and even on the wing.
“Playing as a backman for the first time there was a lot of learnings,” he said.
“It was a different experience and I think the work and effort I have put into playing down back in the pre-season helped me a lot.
“In comparison to me playing in all of my other positions, I don’t think I’ve put in as much craft and preparation than I have in playing down back, so that was really positive.
“I think it really suits me and my style of play, my athletic ability and being able to read the ball in flight.”
Thomas said the decision to switch Alleer’s position ultimately wasn’t a hard one.
“We did some training drills prior to Christmas and, on the other side of Christmas, around the way that we wanted to defend and he was just natural in them,” he said.
A former development coach at the Crows, Thomas said the way Alleer was developing reminded him of Doedee — now widely seen as a captain in waiting for Adelaide.
“You can’t compare player-to-player but Tom Doedee came to Adelaide at pick 17 with this solid ability to launch at the ball and peel-off,” he said.
“It took Tom maybe 12, 18, 24 months to really break out but you saw just how good he was when he did arrive in the AFL.
“I think Leek is really similar.
“He hasn’t had the hours or minutes that lots of other guys have had because of the injuries, but he is really intelligent and I think he will really develop in an AFL system.”
Alleer was a member of Adelaide’s Next Generation Academy until last season but now the Crows don’t have access to him.
Now in his position down back, he said he based his game on Port Adelaide’s Aliir Aliir but the Western Bulldogs’ Aaron Naughton was a personal favourite.
Alleer came to Australia as a five-year-old from South Sudan and said, on top of making his family and community proud, he also wanted to inspire those in Adelaide’s northern suburbs.
“My family are a big part of that but also the northern community and my South Sudanese community in Adelaide, overall, are people who I want to make proud,” he said.
“Especially a lot of the younger kids in my community who love playing footy and have aspirations of being athletes.
“I definitely want to be a positive role model to them and show them that you can know someone and that person could be working their tail off to make their dreams come true so anything is really possible.”
Mac Andrew: ‘Big Mac’ is ready for the big time
—Glenn McFarlane
When you are almost 201cm — and still growing — you might normally expect to be the tallest in your family.
But exciting Dandenong Stingrays teenager Mac Andrew — who, next month could become the AFL’s first top 10 draftee to come from a South Sudanese background — jokes that he still has to give a little ground to his dad.
At least for now.
Andrew’s father Lual, who played soccer as a kid in his native Sudan, stands at just a tick over 203cm. Mac is unlikely to catch him, but he’s not that far off.
“He is around 203 or 204 cm, so he is taller than me,” Mac Andrew said of his father.
“He has mentioned a couple of times that if he had grown up in Australia, he might have played a different sport.
“I was around 200cm at the start of the year, but I think I have grown a bit.”
The 18-year-old, who has just finished a VCAL course on his path towards becoming an electrician and who worked part-time at Bunnings until a few months ago, has shot up the draft charts this year, thanks to his starring performances with the Stingrays and in representative football.
Such was Andrew’s rapid progression this year that he won’t get the chance to join Melbourne as one of their Next Generation Academy players, given the AFL rule change in 2021 precluding clubs from matching bids inside the first 20 selections for multicultural or Indigenous Academy players.
He is tipped to go inside the top 10, potentially even in the top five.
A number of clubs, including Greater Western Sydney and Fremantle, have been taken with Andrew’s aerobic qualities, vertical leap and footy nous, which will see him find an early home on November 24.
‘Big Mac’, who has been likened to young Melbourne ruckman Luke Jackson for his athletic ability, will always be grateful to the Demons saying “they played a (big) part in my development from when I was 14.“
But he accepts the AFL’s rule tightening means he could now be headed interstate.
He put down his rapid rise to hard work and the assistance of others in an abbreviated under 18s season.
“I’ve put myself in a good position, but I guess the nerves will start to come the closer we get to draft day,“ he said.
“I tried to grab every opportunity that I could with both hands.”
Across the past year, he has added 9kg to his frame to reach 79kg, but he is looking forward to getting into AFL program and pushing into the 90s.
Asked what he would have thought if someone had suggested to him 12 months ago that he might go in the top 10 at the 2021 draft, he said: “I probably would have laughed at them.”
“I have surprised myself a bit.
“I guess, coming into this year, I had some goals I wanted to tick off and that started with making the Stingrays squad, then playing in Round 1 and hopefully just getting a trial with Vic Country.
“I guess I ticked quite a few of those boxes pretty early.”
Gratitude sits high on Mac Andrew’s agenda, in regard to the big driving points in his life – family and footy.
His parents, Lual and Mary, fled their war-torn homeland of Sudan for Egypt in the late 1990s, along with their only child at the time, Mac’s oldest brother Makuei, who is now 22.
They had two more children in Egypt – Deng, now 20, and Mac – before having three more kids in Australia – Riak 15, Gracie 11 and Ajak 5.
The sacrifices his parents made for their family are not lost on Mac or his siblings.
“They have been great for me,” Andrew said.
“Some of the stuff they have done for us, especially going from country to country, brought us here.
“They left (Sudan) in 1999 with my oldest brother. They had me and Deng in Egypt where they stayed for a few years before coming to Australia in 2005.”
Mac was born in a Cairo hospital, but has no memory of his 18 months in Egypt.
He would love to go back on a holiday with his family one day.
They were scheduled to move to Canada but, thankfully, there was a late change of plans.
“Half of my dad’s family went to Canada and we were meant to go there as well,” he said. “I’m not sure how we ended up in Australia. Half of the family are here now; half are in Canada.”
His passion for footy started with his older brothers and he was a passionate Geelong supporter.
“I wouldn’t be in this position without them (his family),” he said.
“They have done so much for me, even things like taking me to training.
“My brother used to travel from Deakin in Burwood out to Ferntree Gully (where Mac studied at St Joseph’s) and take me all the way down to Rosebud or Hastings to take me to training.”
He started playing footy in the under 9s with Wantirna South before moving to Berwick in the under 12s, balancing it with basketball before footy won out.
“My heart always went with footy,” he said.
He played on the wing for the early part of his junior career before his growth spurt naturally turned him into a ruckman whose running capacities never diminished.
From the age of 14 until earlier this year, he had a link to Melbourne and will always be thankful to them.
“Those sessions ran up until last year and we did a few sessions (in 2020) before Covid hit,” he said.
“Then this year the (AIS) Academy boys got the chance to do a session at a senior (AFL) club.
“I was meant to spend a week (with Melbourne) but it ended up just being the one session as they were about to go into quarantine in Adelaide for a game.”
Andrew worked closely with the defenders, with Harrison Petty taking him under his wing. He also spent time with Christian Petracca, whose brother Julian, from Hemisphere Management Group, is his manager, and he loved having a chat with Majak Daw, the first player of a Sudanese background to come into the AFL system.
“I have talked to a number of the (Sudanese) boys and a few of them have reached out to me as well,” he said.
“I spoke with Majak and ‘Biggie’ (Richmond’s Bigoa Nyuon) and also CJ (Hawthorn’s Changkuoth Jiath), who said to me that I can reach out anytime I need anything.”
Andrew is proud of his heritage, but thankful for what his adopted home has provided him and his family.
“I would love to encourage other Sudanese kids to follow me into footy as I followed some of those players when I was growing up,” he said.
“If I can change one kid’s mind to play footy, then I will have done my job.
“Having young brothers, too, I hope to be able to watch them play in the future.”
Andrew, who will take part in Hemisphere Management Group’s Movember campaign to raise awareness for men’s mental and physical health, has spent much of the past few months on Zoom with schooling and football.
Now that Melbourne is opening up, the kid from Cranbourne East is hoping that his family and a few friends might be able to join him at the draft next month.
He knows being drafted doesn’t guarantee anything other than a new footy home.
But he is prepared to listen, learn and throw everything into making a success of his AFL career.
“I don’t really care where I go,” he said.
“At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter where you go, or what number you go at, you are in the same spot as every draftee.
“I don’t care if it is interstate, or staying here in Melbourne.
“I know the most important thing is to come in and earn the respect of my teammates and make your way up from there.”
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