AFL Under 18 National Championships: Where the players selected in the 2004 All Australian team are now 20 years on

The 2004 under-18 All Australian team went on to win eight AFL premierships between them – but not every player’s career blossomed at the next level. See what happened to the class of ‘04 after their junior careers ended.

Eight flags for 22 players.

If you’d pitched that 20 years ago to the Under 18 All Australians from 2004 they’d probably take the one in two and a half chance it would give them of an AFL premiership medal.

That is, until you realise that half of them were won by Hawks legend Jordan Lewis.

The cheeky kid from Warrnambool starred for Victoria Country in the National Champs on his way to being taken at pick. 7 in that year’s draft by Hawthorn.

But for every Lewis or fellow premiership players Heath Grundy, Mitch Morton, Mark LeCras and Alan Toovey, there are players who didn’t make the grade at AFL level.

Who remembers Ed Clarke? He was rookie listed at the Swans without playing a game but went on to found an ASX200 company in Singapore.

Or Ben Eckermann who was just starting out in his AFL career with Port Adelaide when a significant collision with West Coast’s Tyson Stenglein saw it derailed? He is now the owner of an organic kitchen and garden in the Costa del Sol, Spain.

PART 1: WHERE THE ‘98 UNDER-18 ALL AUSTRALIAN TEAM IS NOW

In the second of the three-part series, check out where the rest of the Under 18 All-Australian class of 2004 is now, 20 years on.

Originally published as AFL Under 18 National Championships: Where the players selected in the 2004 All Australian team are now 20 years on