TODAY, hundreds of anxious teenage footballers will be checking their watches and waiting. Waiting for 7pm, when their name may or may not be called out at the 2010 National Draft and their lives changed in an instant.

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Being drafted is the easiest part of an AFL footballer's career - the hard work really begins once your name has been called out on draft day. It is an intense environment and you must understand the demands that are required of you on and off the field.

For me, it was the November 29, 2008, and it feels like it was only yesterday when Swans Recruiting Manager Kinnear Beatson called out my name.

It was 7am the morning of the Draft and I hadn’t slept well. I was just lying in bed with 100 different thoughts going through my mind, unsure of where I would be sleeping 48 hours later.

I needed to clear my mind so I travelled down to the local basketball stadium as I had a number of mates playing in a representative carnival. I didn't just get asked once if I had been drafted yet, I got asked by 90 percent of the people in the stadium. To begin with I thought it was a good idea to clear my mind but in the end it just made me think about it more.

When I arrived home there were a number of my family and friends all sitting in my house waiting anxiously to see the verdict on my future.

As the Draft wasn’t televised, we all sat around and tuned in to the live coverage on the AFL website.  I struggled to get it working, until all of a sudden it finally came up, just minutes before the first name was called.

Both the Adelaide Crows and Collingwood had spoken to me quite a bit in the lead-up to the Draft, and when their picks passed at 10 and 11, I became very nervous. My first thought was, that I was going to miss out entirely. Seconds later, the Swans called out my name with pick 12.

It was quite a surprise that Sydney had called out my name. It all happened so quickly and no one knew what to think. After a few minutes, what had occured really sunk it and I was ready for the challenge of moving to Sydney, as they had now given me the opportunity to pursue my childhood dream as an AFL player.

Seeing my mother, best mate and girlfriend all in tears (of joy), really made me realise how much my family and friends were involved and affected by the whole process leading up to the Draft.

When the Draft had finished, I received a phone call from Roosy saying congratulations and that my flight was at 2pm the next day to commence training on the Monday!

Good luck to all the players tonight as they wait for their names to be called. I look forward to meeting my new team-mates next week.

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