Dylan Buckley: How to make a good impression as an AFL draftee and what not to do in your first year
Getting drafted by Carlton was a highlight for Dylan Buckley, but his best day at the Blues may come as a surprise. He gives an inside look at the lesser known benefits — and perils — of being recruited by an AFL club.
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I’m good at keeping a secret.
“It looks like we’re moving to Sydney,” I said to my girlfriend Justine as we were out walking our dogs on November 27, 2017.
With a blank look on her face, she replied, “What do you mean?”
I had been nervously refreshing the website on my phone throughout our walk, waiting to see the selections in the 2018 rookie draft.
After my own name came up next to the Greater Western Sydney logo at pick 15, it took a few seconds to register before I realised I had some explaining to do.
That recent trip I’d taken to Sydney for “work stuff” had in fact been to meet with Giants coach Leon Cameron and football boss Wayne Campbell as I sought an AFL lifeline after being delisted following six years at Carlton.
I hadn’t told a single soul, not wanting to get anyone’s hopes up given GWS was the only club I had sat down with and they had not given me any guarantees.
But for me, that was my ‘draft moment’ and probably the best feeling I’ve had in my life.
I went home, packed a suitcase and was on the first flight I could get to Sydney.
My AFL journey wasn’t over yet.
Things quickly got a little awkward when I turned up for my first day of training at the Giants, though.
I might have oversold myself just a little in my interview by saying I would be fit and ready to go on Day 1 of pre-season training.
I actually had not had a run since having post-season knee surgery.
Minor detail left out there.
CHRISTMAS COME EARLY
To all of this week’s AFL draftees: brace yourself.
Christmas is coming early.
The coolest part about joining a new AFL club is not meeting your idols or getting your locker assigned.
It’s going wild in the property storeroom.
The best day I’ve had in footy was my first day at Carlton when, as an 18-year-old, I got to fill my locker and the boot of my car with all the training gear and apparel I could ever need.
You go home with about 400 pieces of clothing, four backpacks, 10 pairs of runners and all your footy boots you want – all without any hip-pocket pain.
Being drafted to a second club in Greater Western Sydney only meant and extra round of excitement and goodies for me.
‘WHAT ARE YOU DOING?’
As soon as my last Year 12 exam was done and dusted, I was straight down to Princes Park to begin training with Carlton.
With my father Jim having being a three-time premiership player and Blues great, Carlton had committed to drafting me under the father-son rule some time out from the 2011 national draft.
I was a lucky one and signed a three-year deal as my first contract.
As a smaller player who was still a bit skinny, my mindset was it was going to take me a couple of years to build my body and do my apprenticeship before I would be able to play consistent senior footy.
In my second year, teammate Heath Scotland pulled me aside and gave me the best and most honest advice I’ve received.
“Mate, what are you doing?,” he said.
“You’re competing for a spot with me and you’re waiting for it. I want you to take my spot, you’ve only got one year left and if you don’t find yourself trying to take it you’re going to not only not have my spot but you’re going to find yourself off the list”.
It was the biggest shock I’d had in my time in footballer, but Heath really took me under his wing after that and I ended up playing 18 games that next year.
I always tell new draftees now to forget the birth certificate.
You are drafted for a reason and you should be aiming to play 22 AFL games in your first year.
The coaches pick on merit and no one should be happy playing in the seconds.
DON’T: BE LATE
The worst thing I’ve ever done in my life was a 5am training session in St Kilda when I was at Carlton.
It was a punishment for the whole team because teammate Billy Gowers had slept in and missed a session the previous day.
We had to do boxing on the beach and jump off the end of the pier into the freezing cold water.
At the end, we were all huddled around talking and someone said, ‘Where’s Billy?’.
He had slept through that session as well, so as a punishment we had to come back at 5am the next morning and do it all again.
Making guys like Chris Judd get up at 4am two days in a row in your first year is not a great way to make a first impression.
DO: BE CONFIDENT
In team meetings, a lot of guys try to say as little as possible.
So I almost fell off my chair when Xavier O’Halloran piped up on his very first day at the Giants after being drafted last year.
Leon Cameron had shown a training clip and Xavier spoke up and gave feedback with a lengthy spiel even though he hadn’t completed one training session with us yet.
It was funny, but it was also awesome that he did it.
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A year earlier, I remember Sam Taylor saying on his first day that he plays like Richmond’s Alex Rance.
I thought to myself, ‘Righto mate, Alex Rance is a multiple All-Australian and one of the best players in the AFL’.
But Sam was no frills and no fuss from Day 1.
He wasn’t worried about being liked.
He wanted to be respected for the way he worked hard and he’s proven me wrong and could well be the next Rance in a few years’ time.
Originally published as Dylan Buckley: How to make a good impression as an AFL draftee and what not to do in your first year