Dyson Budarick’s advice to younger brother and draft hopeful Connor Budarick

It’s the trait that has led him to become a respected leader at all levels of underage football but older brother Dyson Budarick says draft hopeful Connor needs to find a better balance between being selfless and finding his own footy.

IT’S the trait that has led him to become a respected leader at all levels of underage football but older brother Dyson Budarick says draft hopeful Connor needs to find a better balance between being selfless and finding his own footy.

Connor Budarick, 18, is earmarked as one of the best talents coming out of the Suns system in the lead up to the national draft.

He has ticked all the boxes along the way. Budarick captained the Suns team to an academy series in before earning All-Australian selection following his performances at the under-18 national championships.

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Dyson, 21, has been a sounding board for his brother throughout his whole career but none more so than in 2019.

Dyson went through the Suns academy but was overlooked at the draft before going on to play for Southport in the NEAFL and Labrador in the QAFL.

Dyson Budarick (left) in action for the Southport Sharks in a NEAFL game against the Gold Coast Suns reserves. Picture: Richard Gosling

He has drawn on his experiences and the pain of missing out to try and help guide Budarick through the biggest year of his career so far.

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“I have been through all similar programs as him and just got close but wasn’t good enough,” Dyson Budarick said.

“That is why I’m so on to him about the ins and outs of it and what he should be doing.

“I know what recruiters are looking for and I’m trying to help him as much as I can from having that previous experience with it all.

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“He is ticking the boxes and there is a lot of the year left. He just has to keep playing well.

“I can help with the mindset and how you play in those national championship games.

“Connor is a really good leader and that has shown with his captaincy of various teams but sometimes he gets a bit caught up in being a good teammate before anything else.

Connor Budarick (with ball) playing for the Allies during the AFL Under 18 Championships earlier this month. Picture: Getty Images

“He will pride himself on his leadership. Even if he has had a bad game he will say he wanted to help the boys out a lot and things like that. It’s about finding that balance between getting a kick and being a good leader.

“He is a very selfless player. He loves tackling and doing the team things but you have to try and get noticed as much as you can in that sort of footy.”

The Budarick brothers grew up in the small crayfishing town of Robe, nearly four hours south of Adelaide.

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It’s where they forged their games in the backyard before parents, Carol and Craig — who was picked up by Sydney before injury scuppered his career before it truly began — decided to shift to Queensland nine years ago and all three are enormously proud of what Connor has achieved already.

“We were pretty ruthless (in the backyard),” Dyson Budarick said.

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“There were plenty of battles. We were in the country so it was footy or nothing back then.

“(Connor) has always been adamant that he wants to make it in football.”

“We ride the bumps with him. When he plays a bad game we are always trying to talk to him about it and ask what he could have done better.

“We just want the best for him and try and help him as much as we can.”