AFL Under 18 National Championships: Where the players selected in the 1998 All Australian team are now

Not every under-18 All Australian gets drafted. In some cases, they become local footy stars. In other cases, they make it in a completely different world. See where the class of ‘98 is now.

Oborne, Longmuir, Bolton, Davis, Borlace

The under-18 national carnival is underway and the best performers from the current crop will find themselves as All-Australians.

It’s every chance that from there, they’ll get drafted and find themselves on an AFL list. It’s a road that has been travelled by thousands of AFL hopefuls for over three decades.

But which of this year’s crop will thrive, and who will be consigned to footy history?

No matter what, some will end up in careers a long way from the MCG and others will still be toiling away almost thirty years later.

1998 Under 18 All Australians Nick Davis and Jude Bolton pictured at Swans training in their premiership year of 2005.

They just have to look to the 1998 Under 18 All Australian team for proof.

Among the best from the championships in that year were Jude Bolton, Nick Davis and Craig Bolton – all premiership players for the Swans in 2005.

They also included current coach of Fremantle, Justin Longmuir and Port Adelaide senior assistant, Josh Carr.

But who remembers Darren Sutton from Prahran Dragons and Vic Metro? He became a male revue dancer with ManPower and Aussie Heat and had a long career in Las Vegas.

Former Vic Metro under-18 All Australian Darren Sutton

How about Murray Bushranger Chris Lamb from Wodonga? After 21 games at the Demons, he’s now a primary school teacher in Spotswood – and on Twitter proclaimed his support for the Western Bulldogs against his former team in the 2021 Grand Final.

2016 ➡️ 2021
Let’s get the same result!
Carn the Dogs!#YieldToNone#[e-mail]/iM5xKhyhs6

— Chris Lamb (@rakkalamb29) September 24, 2021

In the first of the three-part series, check out where the rest of the Under 18 All-Australian class of 1998 is now.

Originally published as AFL Under 18 National Championships: Where the players selected in the 1998 All Australian team are now