Sam Philp rises from Vic Metro snub to first-round draft pick

Carlton draft bolter Sam Philp was sitting on his family couch when his phone lit up. And the speedy midfielder is already feeling comfortable in navy blue after a call from his new coach.

New Blue Sam Philp described the moment as “pure shock”.

The Northern Knights midfielder was watching Wednesday night’s first round of the AFL National Draft with his family on the couch.

When Carlton pounced at pick No.20, Philp’s world went into overdrive.

“Just pure shock. It wasn’t relief or anything, I didn’t have any expectations for last night,” he said on Thursday.

“It was an awesome feeling – really overwhelming – it didn’t sink in until this morning when I woke up.

“It was funny actually, we had the Kayo live streaming and because it was quite delayed my brother got a text probably 45 seconds before.

Sam Philp tries on the navy blue after being drafted by Carlton.

Sam Philp surrounded by GWS Academy opponents.

“He kept it to himself and didn’t say anything, which was good for the surprise element.”

Philp was one of two players taken in the first round not to feature at the under-18 national championships, having missed out on Vic Metro selection.

He instead proved his class in the NAB League, averaging 23 disposals, six clearances and six tackles a game with the Knights.

It earned him an invite to the national combine, where he won the 20m sprint in 2.867 seconds, while also finishing top-10 in the yo-yo test and standing vertical jump.

The St Mary’s junior said his journey was proof anyone could achieve their dream with the right attitude and hard work.

“I’d been fairly confident through the year, but to be a first-round pick, if you’d asked me yesterday I wouldn’t have believed it,” he said.

Fellow Knights boys Jacko, Sturgess and JD raced over to Philpy’s last night after his name was called 🤩🤩#UKNIGHTED @CarltonFC pic.twitter.com/3ATkkhI8AA

— Northern Knights (@NthKnights) November 28, 2019

“It goes to show for anyone, if you miss the champs it’s not the end of the world, you can still have an impact if you remain resilient.

“(The combine) definitely helped, I think it gave recruiters some certainty that I’ve got it (speed).

“It’s almost a bit bittersweet, getting that combine result gave me enormous confidence because reflecting on the year I could have shown off my speed a bit more.”

That determination hasn’t dropped since the season finished.

Philp had been training with the Knights in the lead up to the draft and was showing the club’s recruits the ropes just an hour before the first round started.

New Carlton teammates Sam Philp and Brodie Kemp.

Sam Philp bursts away from a Dandenong Stingrays tackler.

The inside ball-winner arrives at Princes Park alongside Brodie Kemp (pick No.17) after some Stephen Silvagni wheeling and dealing on draft night.

A phone call from senior coach David Teague and a barrage of text messages from his new teammates has Philp feeling comfortable already in the navy blue.

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DEALS: HOW SILVAGNI STOLE DRAFT SHOW

DRAFT: PHILP’S RESILIENCE KEEPS DRAFT IN FOCUS

“(Teague) said they couldn’t be happier to have me, they’re really excited by what I can bring and think I’ll fit in really well,” Philp said.

“It gives me enormous confidence that they’ve put their faith in me to go that early and I can’t wait to get started.”

Originally published as Sam Philp rises from Vic Metro snub to first-round draft pick