Having passed all the tests, Tassie’s great draft hope is ready to go

In a lean draft year, North Hobart’s Mitch O’Neill is ready to carry the torch for the state – but first he had to answer some very unusual questions.

Tasmania AFL draft chance Mitch O’Neill with his dad James O'Neill and pop David O'Neill. All three played for North Hobart. Picture: RICHARD JUPE

HE is carrying the weight of a state, but North Hobart’s Mitch O’Neill is ready to go.

The 18-year-old is Tasmania’s great draft hope having been grilled by AFL coaches, asked to play with children’s toys and given a choice to save people from a runaway train.

The midfielder/wingman is almost certain to have his name called at the AFL draft, and quite possibly the only Tasmanian to do so.

Draft experts have him selected not in Wednesday night’s first round, but most likely in Thursday night’s selection around the 40 mark.

“I’m pretty nervous, but I’m also pretty happy about where it sits at the moment so see what happens, it is on my mind 24/7,” O’Neill said.

“I don’t have exams, so it is all I really think about.

“It can get challenging at times, but I’ve got a good network down here so I try not to think about it too much.”

Mitch O’Neill breaks away from his opponent during a Devils game against Calder this season. Picture: GRANT WELLS

He’s got football in his veins, with both his grandfather, David O’Neill, and dad, James O’Neill, playing a lot of senior football with North Hobart.

O’Neill, a two-time under-18 All Australian, might have gone higher in the draft but he was restricted this year by knee injuries that kept him sidelined for large chunks.

It still hasn’t stopped him being interviewed by all 18 clubs.

There are some weird questions fired at prospective draft picks to find out about their personality.

He was presented with five toys by Sydney and asked which ones he would play with and why, while Gold Coast gave him a moral dilemma about a runaway train hurtling towards two platforms, one with five people and one with just a single person, which direction he would steer the locomotive.

Normally the tough questions come from club recruiters – as many as eight in one interview – but that is not always the case.

“Carlton were pretty interesting because usually the recruiters talk to you but it was [senior coach] David Teague asking all the questions,” he said.

“It was pretty cool but also pretty confronting. You’ve just got to answer them honestly.”