Patrick Dangerfield’s advice for draftees arriving for their first day of AFL pre-season training
The thing about first impressions is you only get one chance at them. Patrick Dangerfield has some advice for young draftees arriving at their new clubs for the first time today.
Patrick Dangerfield
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The thing about first impressions is you only get one chance at them.
This is something which should be at the forefront of every draftee’s mind as they walk into their new club this morning.
It’s an exciting time for everyone when a new batch of fresh faces appears as it also gives the oldies a chance to go down memory lane and recall the day they embarked on their own AFL journey.
BUCKY: EVERY CLUB’S DRAFT HAUL ANALYSED
DRAFT: MEETING WITH TOP DOGS HOOKED SMITH
REVIEW: WHICH PICKS ARE ROUND 1 READY?
CATS 01: HAS THERE BEEN A BETTER DRAFT HAUL?
Our WhatsApp message group has been getting a workout in the lead-up to the draft with pictures of a few of us from draft day being unearthed.
My effort in wearing camouflage shorts to the 2007 national draft has been getting a good run while Zach Tuohy was doing his best to resemble a member of the Beatles on his first day at Carlton.
What you do in your first few days at a football club will always come back to bite.
Here’s a bit a of a survival guide for the new draftees, some dos and don’ts that might assist as you step into your new life.
WHAT NOT TO DO
TURN UP IN A LUXURY VEHICLE
Whatever you do don’t rock up in the Mercedes or the latest model BMW if you’ve got one in the family. You don’t want any accusations of silver spoon getting thrown your way and it’s not a good idea to try to impress the boys by being someone you’re not. If Uncle Pete has a clapped out Ford or your cousin a terrible Corolla then they would be more recommended modes of transport. If you need any inspiration on this front, Harry Taylor is still driving the same Holden Commodore he had the day he arrived at Geelong.
WEAR DAGGY CLOTHES
If you have favourite trackies with holes in them - I’m looking at you Charlie Constable - your first day at a new job might not be the time to drag them out. What to wear on day one is an interesting dilemma because you can’t be too sloppy or too dressed up. If you’re wearing jeans and a shirt around Geelong we will assume that you’re off on a date after training and you’ll be interrogated about it thoroughly. The male version of active wear would be a safe bet.
SIT ANYWHERE IN THE TEAM MEETING
This is a big trap. My advice is be the last into the meeting room or at least in the bottom three because everyone has their own seat where they like to sit. It’s a weird thing but footballers are creatures of habit and this was certainly the way it was in Adelaide. It’s the same at Geelong. At the Crows the senior players like Simon Goodwin and Tyson Edwards sat in the front row whereas at the Cats most of the senior players like to be at the back with the youngsters at the front. Every club is different, but be very wary of where you plonk yourself in that first meeting.
PUSH YOUR NICKNAME ON THE GROUP
Even if you’ve had a nickname your whole life it’s most likely your new teammates will want to come up with one of their own for you. If you push them on the nickname, they will look at it, laugh and then most likely say that’s not going to happen here and come up with a completely different one.
CLEAN UP THE CAPTAIN IN FIRST TRAINING SESSION
Obviously you’re going to be keen to impress in your first session because you’re new teammates will be watching like hawks to see what all the fuss is about. Run through to the end of the cones but don’t sprint and make a spectacle of it, just play it cool. And certainly don’t think you have to take out the captain on day one to earn respect. That tactic will most likely backfire.
PASS OUT ON A BIKE
Yep, this was me. I arrived at Adelaide during the Charlie Walsh regime - he was Australia’s most successful cycling coach and all-round hard man - who had these Ergo bikes set up for pre-season training. There weren’t any individual programs or easing up on the youngsters back in those days so I clearly cooked myself in the first session.
WHAT TO DO
REMEMBER THE COACH’S NAME
This is definitely an issue for Geelong and North Melbourne recruits. The twins hate nothing more than being called the wrong one so for my new teammates, it’s Chris not Brad. When I was in Adelaide a new draftee - who I won’t name - made an error with Neil Craig. He went with Ned instead of Neil and while he quickly corrected himself, the boys found out and never let him forget it.
CLEAN UP YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA
If you have any sort of social media presence, the boys have already stalked you like nothing else. If you think journalists are bad at digging up stuff, trust me your teammates are worse. They will find everything. So if you have any unsettling or compromising photos, I suggest you delete them.
WORD UP YOUR PARENTS
There are going to be plenty of functions where your parents are invited to mingle with players and officials. They can get over-excited in this environment and as they say, loose lips sink ships. Any embarrassing stories which are told here (I’m talking from personal experience) will get back to your teammates.
TURN UP IN GOOD SHAPE
Half-centuries and centuries are great in cricket, but they’re not in skinfolds. Make sure your body is in reasonable shape because genetics is not an answer that any teammate or any leadership group will accept. And the pictures with the extra kilos will be brought up regularly down the track.
EMBRACE THE CHALLENGE
At Adelaide, Scott Thompson made a habit out of just burying first-year players in tackling and competitive drills. He just simply enjoyed it. The thing is older players will niggle you at some stage to see if they get a reaction. If you take it and don’t fight back, that’s a green light for them to have another crack. I remember early days at the Crows, Simon Goodwin gave Andy Otten a massive punch to the ribs as they were just waiting in line for a drill. It didn’t floor him or anything and Andy turned around and gave a bit back. “Goody” loved that and they just continued on with training.
GET OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE
You’re going to spend a lot of time just with your draft class so it’s important to put yourself out there among the rest of the group. Getting out of your comfort zone is the best way to learn.
Originally published as Patrick Dangerfield’s advice for draftees arriving for their first day of AFL pre-season training