AFL Draft 2024: Life as they know it about to change for new crop of draftees

Life just got very real for the latest batch of AFL draftees. Over three days of recruiting, AFL clubs made dreams come true for players from all around Australia. They all have their own story and they will all enter the league with varying levels of talent and expectations. The top picks will expecting to play early, those chosen in the mid-range will be hoping to prove they are better than their ranking suggests and the players selected late or as rookies know they are likely to spend their formative years developing. But the beauty of the draft is that everyone will enter the AFL with the same nerves, the same uncertainty and knowing their lives have changed forever. Fremantle drafted Cooper Simpson at pick 35 last season. He moved across the country from Victoria, played two games during 2024 and won a WAFL premiership with Peel Thunder. Simpson’s parents flew to Perth a lot to provide support and be part of his journey. They travelled for his first WAFL game in March, they came to his AFL debut in April and returned for more WAFL games during the season, including the grand final. He also played an AFL game in Victoria and flew home for the mid-season bye. Simpson said the first 12 months as an AFL player were a whirlwind. “It’s a big realisation when you’re moving away from home, away from your family, friends and in some people’s cases moving out of state. So it was a challenge, and something that you had to get used to pretty quickly because you were just thrown into the environment,” Simpson told The Sunday Times. “But you’ve got the older boys that look after you. I moved in with Bailey Banfield, who took care of me. He was great. He was great with my family as well. So that made the move a lot easier. “And then it was about figuring out Perth, what I like and what I don’t like. I think Perth was a good move for me, just because I’m more of a homebody and laid back sort of guy. I don’t like going to the city in Melbourne all the time. So I think the move to Perth suited me a lot.” While nearly 60 per cent of players selected at the national draft will get to stay in their home state, more than half of those live at least 45 minutes from their new club, so a lot will end up moving closer to their training base. Even West Coast’s first pick, Bo Allan, has to decide whether to drive to and from Mandurah for training each day or move closer to Lathlain. Some have already moved like number two pick Finn O’Sulllivan who earned a scholarship to a prestigious private school in Melbourne more than three hours from home. Brisbane’s Sam Marshall is moving back to Queensland after boarding in Victoria for three years. But his junior club was two hours from Carrara which means he will still be a long way from where he grew up. Along with Allan, West Coast drafted players from country NSW, suburban Melbourne, regional Victoria and Claremont. The Dockers’ picks came from suburban Victoria, country South Australia and Fremantle. Other players drafted from WA are moving to GWS, Essendon, St Kilda, Collingwood and North Melbourne. But when you get drafted, your main thought isn’t about the move interstate or how often you’ll see family, it’s about how often you’ll play in the AFL. Every top-10 pick from last season played and they averaged 13.5 games each. That group was headlined by number one pick Harley Reid who had a stunning debut season for West Coast, while Nick Watson played finals for Hawthorn But WA’s Dan Curtin had a frustrating start to his career in Adelaide, playing only seven games and being subbed on or off in four of those. Only four of the players drafted between picks 11-20 got a game. Those four men averaged only 4.3 games. Twenty-eight of the 64 draftees didn’t play at all, yet Logan Morris, who joined Brisbane at pick 31, played in a premiership. Simpson played two matches for Fremantle and the memories of his debut will remain etched in his brain forever. That included a stunning passage of play late when he won possession on the wing, sidestepped his opponent and had the composure to chip short to Banfield. The Freo forward seized that opportunity, kicked the goal and put Fremantle 12 points up with four minutes remaining. “That was unreal that night. I’ll never forget it,” Simpson said. “Running onto the ground and that feeling of everyone clapping for you and cheering for you. Then I think my first ever touch, I’ve got it on the wing, and Buku Khamis ran me down, the ball popped out, and that was my ‘welcome to the AFL’ moment. “But from then on, I felt comfortable out there. I felt good. I was excited. I was pumped up. All the boys were getting around me as well, which is a great feeling. And then to win that game and share those moments in the rooms with the boys was really good and really special.” Training starts for the fresh faces on Monday and you can guarantee there will be nerves. Every draftee will be desperate to earn respect. Walking into the changerooms and officially becoming teammates with the likes of Alex Pearce, Caleb Serong, Andrew Brayshaw, Hayden Young and Nat Fyfe will be a shock for Murphy Reid and Charlie Nicholls. Jaren Carr wasted no time getting into the thick of things and was at training on Friday. But Simpson, along with the other draftees from last season, will be doing everything possible to make the new faces feel welcome. “I’ll definitely, help them out, especially if they’re interstate boys,” Simpson said. “They don’t know Perth well so I can sort of relate to them. I was in their shoes just 12 months ago. So I can definitely give them tips, help them out with settling in and then just help around the club and around the boys.”