Power midfielder Tom Rockliff recalls how his AFL lifeline came about after clubs passed on him at the 2008 national draft
Port Adelaide’s Tom Rockliff has played 191 AFL games. But after being overlooked at the national draft in 2008, he went to the pub, drank some beers and thought his chances of realising his football dream were over.
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Tom Rockliff went to the pub and put on a brave face for as long as he could, but couldn’t hold back the tears forever.
It was November 29, 2008 and he was with his brother and close mates at the Royal Hotel in Benalla just hours after being overlooked in the national draft.
That was despite winning the Murray Bushrangers’ best-and-fairest, playing predominantly as a forward, by nine votes from Steele Sidebottom and racking up 30 disposals and four goals in the TAC Cup grand final.
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Given what he achieved in his final junior year, when he gathered around the computer with his family to follow the draft that morning, he wasn’t expecting not to hear his name called.
“As the morning played out, it became more and more clear, ‘oh, we’re in a bit of strife here, I might not get picked up’,” Rockliff recalled.
And, despite the predictions Rockliff would be selected somewhere in the second round, after attracting interest from 11 AFL clubs, his name was never read out.
“I broke down in the afternoon and had a bit of a cry. It felt like I had let my family and everyone around me down,” he said.
The midfielder shared the story of his draft day heartbreak, which led to a lifeline at Brisbane a month later, in a special episode of The Lowdown Podcast released on Monday.
“That was no doubt a challenging little period as an 18-year-old having family and friends there with everyone hoping the best for you, hoping for you to get picked up and it didn’t fall my way,” Rockliff, who has played the past two seasons with Port Adelaide after departing the Lions at the end of 2017, told The Lowdown.
“I felt like I had done everything in my capability to get drafted, I felt I had a really good year.
“I felt like I should’ve been picked up but, as we know, clubs go through different processes and they land on their picks for different reasons.
“My fitness levels clearly weren’t where they needed to be to be an AFL footballer and it was in that period when there was a heavy focus on recruiting and drafting athletes with upside to them.
“I got pigeonholed into being a small forward and (there was doubt about) whether I was capable of doing that at senior level.”
Rockliff’s athletic ability was never a strength and he didn’t test well at the draft camp a weekend after celebrating the Bushrangers’ premiership.
He was aware of the reservations some recruiters had, but it didn’t make missing out on an AFL start any easier to take.
And it all became too much that afternoon.
“My brother (James), who is a couple of years older, took me to the pub and we had a few beers and a few mates came down,” Rockliff said of what he did after the draft concluded at midday.
“Later in the afternoon, it all dawned on me.
“AJ Carson, Regional Manager of the Murray Bushrangers, called past and it sort of all hit me then.
“When you grow up in the country, it’s a lot different to the city.
“The amount of work and travel that your family have to do to give you the opportunity to play footy, I felt like I let them down more than anything.
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“I suppose you end up in a really bad headspace.
“That’s all you’ve thought about for the whole season and put all your time and energy into, and then to have it taken away from you in a matter of hours was really challenging and a hard thing.”
The next four or five weeks wasn’t much better with Rockliff, who had just completed year 12, struggling to focus with so much uncertainty around what would come next.
“‘Do I apply for university? Do I look for a job in the local town? Do I bank on trying to get picked up somewhere else?’,” Rockliff asked himself.
But his questions were soon answered.
The ball magnet trained with Melbourne ahead of the rookie and pre-season drafts on December 16.
And he impressed the late Dean Bailey and his coaching staff enough for the club to guarantee his selection in the rookie draft.
“I was sort of sitting there waiting for the rookie draft to start and all of a sudden my name bobbed up at pick No. 5 (in the pre-season draft) to Brisbane, who I spoke to once at the draft camp and thought I absolutely butchered the interview with them,” Rockliff said.
“(But) I was lucky enough to get called and it was a whirlwind from there.”
Since then, Rockliff has played 191 AFL games at two different clubs, won two best-and-fairest awards and was All Australian in 2014.
There’s no luck in what Rockliff did following the early setback.
His determination, hard work and desire meant he did get to realise his dream of playing AFL footy.
And it’s fair to say those who gathered around the computer that morning and supported him growing up would feel anything but let down.