Jimmy Bartel reaches 300 games for Geelong but what might have been at the 2001 draft

JIMMY Bartel doesn’t bother himself wondering how different his life would have been. Things could have been very different at the 2001 national draft.

JIMMY Bartel doesn’t bother himself wondering how different his life would have been.

In the days before the 2001 national draft, West Coast was said to be tossing up between local excitement machine Ashley Sampi and a dour lad from Bell Park then known as James Bartel.

The Eagles had pick six and the Cats were hoping the nuggety contested midfielder would be available at pick eight.

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But Bartel wasn’t after any favours from Geelong.

When recruiting manager Stephen Wells and coach Mark Thompson sat around the dinner table to get a feel for his mindset, Bartel put the pair firmly back in their seat.

“Don’t just pick me because I’m local, pick me because you think I’m the best player for the club with that pick,” Bartel said to Wells and Thompson.

“If you don’t think I’m the best player at pick eight, then I’ll go through to a club that thinks I’m best suited for them.”

Thompson picked up the story this week: “I just thought it was a good thing to say and he got it off his chest”.

“He has never been any different, just that maturity, the strength of mind, the confidence and the courage to say that to me and ‘Wellsy’.

“I liked that and I thought straight away this kid is serious.”

The Eagles eventually took Sampi, North Melbourne grabbed David Hale at No.7 and Bartel was there for the Cats with their first pick in a draft that delivered premiership stars Gary Ablett, Steve Johnson and James Kelly.

“He was accused of being too slow in his early days,” Geelong chief executive Brian Cook said this week.

“There was a great debate about whether we would pick Jimmy up as our first pick.

“That decision wasn’t made, to be honest, until the day of the draft, that’s my recollection, and I remember the coach saying to Stephen Wells at one stage ‘it’s your decision mate’.

“So Steve went down the path of getting Jimmy.”

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Every draft is full of sliding doors moments.

If the Eagles took Bartel, would he be a Brownlow Medallist? A Norm Smith Medallist? Would the Cats have won three flags? Would he still be playing? What would his standing be in the game? What about if he slipped to Melbourne pick 9?

“I’m not one to ever think that, the what ifs, those sorts of questions, they’re always hypotheticals and you can’t get caught up in that,” Bartel said.

Jimmy Bartel in action against Adelaide.

“I’m a big believer that things happen for a reason and you make the most of them and life flows on from there.”

Friday night will be Bartel’s 17th match of the season and draws him level with Sam Newman on 300 matches, equal third on the club’s games list.

From a consistency point of view, his form is good enough to play on next year.

If he wants to play on, he has a valid case to present to Chris Scott, Steve Hocking and Stephen Wells.

“You’ve got to see how well the team performs in the finals, what their (club’s) plans are going forward I guess,” Bartel said.

“I’ve never really liked the focus on myself, but I’ve looked at this week as a chance to thank a lot of people who have been involved along the way.

“It gives you a chance to reflect on all the people and everything you’ve been involved with in the game.

“It’s a pretty special time.”

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Originally published as Jimmy Bartel reaches 300 games for Geelong but what might have been at the 2001 draft