Chasing The Dream: Matt LeRay’s agonising draft night wait to join great mates at Hawthorn
The LeRay household screamed when Hawthorn called out Matt’s name late on the second night of the draft – but it was an agonising wait. Go inside the draftee’s ‘stressful’ 24 hours.
Hawthorn has changed its social media bios to read: “The official home of mostly Central District football players”.
Forty years after John Platten switched from Elizabeth to the Hawks to start the second chapter of a brilliant two-state career, a trio of Bulldogs are following in his footsteps.
Hawthorn snared mobile forward Cameron Nairn at pick 20 in last week’s national draft, spearhead Aidan Schubert three selections later, then wingman/half-back Matt LeRay at No. 56.
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Platten, affectionately known as “The Rat”, was on holiday in Thailand following the news via Facebook and messages.
“It’s fantastic to have three boys that have come through our junior pathways at Centrals – two out of the three of them have played league football – and the state program go to Hawthorn,” Platten tells Code Sports.
“It’s great for the Central District Football Club, great for the community, great for the northern suburbs.
“And it’s an exciting time for Hawthorn, when they’re moving into their new $100m clubrooms (at Dingley).
“I’d love to be 18 or 19 going through now.
“I’m so excited for them.”
LeRay ran into the Dingley headquarters with a beaming smile on Friday, jumping straight into Schubert and Nairn’s arms for a group hug.
It was the first time they had been together in person since becoming Hawks.
For LeRay particularly, his excitement was matched by a sense of relief – and gratitude to Hawthorn.
The 18-year-old felt his AFL dream slipping away about 15 hours before that embrace.
While Nairn was certain to be selected by a club, given he had been invited to the draft in Melbourne, and Schubert was also taken on the first night, LeRay waited until pick 56 – the fifth-last choice – to hear his name called.
“It was pretty stressful,” says LeRay, who watched it at home with family.
“I sort of thought I was around that pick 40 mark and when teams that I thought were interested weren’t taking me, it was a bit daunting and … you think of the worst immediately.
“It was just dead silent for about half an hour.
“When the Crows passed, being Adelaide boy, I was like ‘OK, that’s it, everyone else is going to keep passing’.
“When my name got called out was a big sigh of relief and a lot of celebrations.
“I think waiting for it that whole night just made it feel even more special, especially being with Schubie and Nairny.”
LeRay says Nairn, 18, and Schubert, 17, are two of his closest mates.
“It’s just the best,” he says.
“The new facilities that Hawthorn is building are next level, the club is coming off two finals (series) in a row, they’ve got a young group and the group of boys are amazing.
“I’m so grateful for the opportunity.
“I’m super keen to get stuck in and hopefully I can grab it with both hands.”
Nairn, Schubert and LeRay are the latest in a rich run of Bulldogs to join the Hawks.
Key forward Terry Moore is the first Central District product Platten can recall playing for Hawthorn – albeit after initially leaving the Bulldogs for North Melbourne.
Moore spent the 1979 and 1980 seasons with the Hawks, lining up in 21 games, before returning to Elizabeth.
Platten was part of a wave of South Australian stars who went to the VFL during the 1980s and became household names across the border.
The long-haired rover tied with St Kilda champion Tony Lockett to win the Brownlow during his second season at Hawthorn in 1987.
By the time he played the last of his 258 matches for the Hawks in 1997, Platten had claimed four flags, two club best-and-fairests and made four AFL teams of the year.
The Central District-Hawthorn connection continued after his departure through defender Luke McCabe (138 games from 1995-2004), now a Hawks board member.
McCabe left Hawthorn during the off-season that Alastair Clarkson arrived as senior coach, three years after the Victorian steered the Bulldogs to the 2001 SANFL premiership.
Clarkson’s four-flag dynasty at the Hawks started by luring another well-known Centrals figure, Stuart Dew, out of retirement.
Dew, a Port Adelaide premiership hero who had not played at any level the previous season, famously booted two goals and set up two others in a game-changing third quarter of the 2008 grand final to help the Hawks upstage a Geelong side that went into the game having lost just once for the year.
Hawthorn later won a hat-trick of flags in 2013, 2014 and 2015.
“The era had Clarko had was just as good as ours in the ‘80s and ‘90s under Allan Jeans,” Platten says.
“It was amazing.”
Platten was already a SANFL star when he moved from Centrals to Hawthorn as a 22-year-old for the 1986 VFL campaign under legendary coach Jeans.
The Rat had won his Magarey Medal in 1984, was a dual Bulldogs best-and-fairest winner, a state representative and All-Australian.
It was through State of Origin games and an All-Australian trip to Ireland that Platten – at the time the only South Australian at the Hawks – knew some of his new teammates, such as Dermott Brereton, Robert “Dipper” DiPierdomenico and John Kennedy Jr.
“Back in my day it was always about Hawthorn the family club and it always has been,” says Platten, who was already married when he joined the Hawks.
“I come from a big family of nine and they welcomed me in nicely.
“Allan Jeans was fantastic as a coach and a minder.
“I think (present-day Hawks mentor) Sam Mitchell and the club will welcome these Centrals boys with open arms because it still is a family club.”
Nairn, Schubert and LeRay are the first Bulldogs to join Hawthorn since McCabe’s son, Will, who has yet to debut, in 2023.
Last week, Central District had four players drafted in total – midfielder Dyson Sharp joined Essendon at pick 13.
Nine Bulldogs juniors have landed on AFL lists since the end of the 2023 season (McCabe, Richmond’s Liam Fawcett, Fremantle’s Isaiah Dudley and Charlie Nicholls, Port Adelaide’s Tom Cochrane, Sharp, Nairn, Schubert, LeRay).
It has been a futile period for a club whose junior program produced 10 AFL players in the decade from 2010 to the end of 2020.
“We did struggle for 10 or 12 years through our 16s and 18s,” says Platten, who was a Central District assistant coach at senior level until three seasons ago.
“The program wasn’t as good as we would’ve liked.
“That’s not criticising anybody at the club, but we just didn’t have those types of kids coming through.”
The lads already getting used to how things go around here 😅 pic.twitter.com/Q1JpsrYG33
— Hawthorn FC (@HawthornFC) November 21, 2025
The Bulldogs’ under-18s finished bottom or second-last for four consecutive seasons from 2019-2022.
Their under-16s placed no better than third-bottom over the same period.
Both teams have made the finals the past three campaigns, snaring an under-16s flag in 2023.
“It’s been great the last five or so years at the club, they’ve done enormous things,” Platten says.
“Kyle Jenner has been fantastic (as Central District’s centre of excellence and under-18s coach).
“Greg Edwards got involved (as chief executive at the end of 2021), spending a bit more time in the Barossa and Golden Grove areas.”
Nairn (Willaston), Schubert (Gawler Central) and Will McCabe (Tanunda) have come through Central District’s Barossa zone, while LeRay hails from Golden Grove.
“I saw those kids come up through the 16s and 18s, and we knew they had some potential,” Platten says.
You will hear even more about Central District next season when all eyes will be on potential No. 1 pick Dougie Cochrane.
Cochrane, who is tied to Port Adelaide’s Next Generation Academy via his Indigenous heritage, booted 10 goals from five league games for the Bulldogs this year, including four majors on debut.
Two other Bulldogs – Jack Gordon (boys), Miyu Endersby (girls) – are also part of the AFL’s 2026 national academy.
Platten cemented his legacy even further at Central District by returning to the club for his final season as a player in 1998.
He became an assistant coach from 2010, passing on his knowledge to the next wave of Bulldogs.
The 62-year-old hopes the new group of Central District youngsters at Hawthorn can go on to play 200 games for the club, win premierships and, most importantly, enjoy the journey.
“They’ll be mates forever,” he says.
“In 20 years’ time, they’ll be telling stories about how they first got drafted together.”
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Originally published as Chasing The Dream: Matt LeRay’s agonising draft night wait to join great mates at Hawthorn
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