Former player Tony Armstrong details what really happens on draft night for AFL hopefuls

MANY AFL hopefuls don’t have a back-up plan if their name isn’t called out on draft night. So what is going through their heads as the picks continue to tick by?

I REMEMBER all the conversations I had in the weeks leading up to the draft, trying to decode the jargon of cagey list managers.

The more I thought about it, the less likely it was that I was going to be drafted.

I let anxiety take over and by the time the draft rolled around I was certain that no club was going to take me.

It will be no different this Friday night. About 70 young men will be drafted, realising a lifelong dream, but probably only those in the top 20 or 30 have been assured of a start in football.

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They are the ones who hold draft parties for family and friends, secure in the knowledge that it’s going to happen for them, it’s just a matter of where.

For the rest it will be sleepless nights, hoping they have made the right impression.

They’ll relive every interaction they had with anyone who had anything to do with an AFL club.

When I was drafted in 2007 — the year Matthew Kreuzer went No. 1, Trent Cotchin No. 2 and

Patrick Dangerfield No. 10 — things were a little different.

Matthew Kreuzer was taken with the top pick in 2007.

I was living with Mum in a tiny town about a half-hour north west of Albury called Burrumbuttock.

We didn’t have access to decent internet and the draft was not televised on local TV.

We couldn’t stream it online or get a smartphone update.

Instead, we managed to find a radio station that was giving an update every 15 picks, so we tuned in and listened nervously.

I’ll never forget having to leave the house and kick the footy around the backyard because I couldn’t handle the nerves and stress.

As the draft numbers grew higher and higher I began to resign myself to the fact I was going to miss out.

By 50, my name still hadn’t been called out and I was overcome with a strange cocktail of sadness, grief and failure.

Then every phone in the house went off.

I answered and it was one of my best mates from boarding school, congratulating me for being picked up at No. 58 by Adelaide.

Turns out we had been keeping Crows coach Neil Craig waiting.

That was when the reality of what being drafted meant hit me.

I was moving to Adelaide to start a career the next day and it was with a great sense of relief.

I only knew I wanted to be a footballer. I can’t imagine what would’ve happened had I not been picked up.

I remember all the compromises and sacrifices I had to make to be considered for the draft.

I missed a heap of school as I had to fly up and down from Melbourne to Sydney before the national carnival because I was part of the NSW/ACT team.

A young Tony Armstrong playing in the national championships.

Tony Armstrong in action for the Swans.

This had an adverse impact on my schooling.

You don’t realise how much you have invested in football until you are older and can reflect upon it objectively.

When Friday night comes around, these draft hopefuls have already said no to parties, missed school and more than likely sacrificed study because they’re so tired after football training.

These young men ultimately can do nothing more to help or hinder their chances and they now just have to wait.

It will be the slowest week of their lives but when their name is called out it will all be worth it and they will embark on the career they’ve always wanted.

For those who don’t, a nervous wait until the rookie draft awaits. There is no time to be down in the dumps or drown their sorrows as they’ll have to stay in good shape.

A few lucky ones will be asked to go down and train with clubs who are considering picking them in the rookie draft but for the majority it’s just keeping as fit as they can in the hope they get selected. The reality is most won’t get picked up and they’ll have some serious decisions to make.

Matthew Kreuzer, Cale Morton and Trent Cotchin on draft night.

A young Nick Riewoldt ahead of the AFL draft.

Do they follow their dream by playing state league football? Hoping to impress and come back to the draft a year later.

Or do they follow their professional career and put their football on the backburner?

The next week is full of uncertainty, stress and nerves. They’re totally out of control of their destiny. But they know that the rewards are worth it.

**

TONY ARMSTRONG PLAYED 35

GAMES FOR ADELAIDE, SYDNEY

AND COLLINGWOOD FROM 2010-15

Originally published as Former player Tony Armstrong details what really happens on draft night for AFL hopefuls