Draft Days: How three young stars pursued their AFL dreamsCallum Twomey
afl.com.au
February 9, 2014 IN 2013, AFL.com.au tracked the progress of three childhood friends on their path to the draft in the documentary Draft Days: 3 Of A Kind.
Jack Billings, Luke McDonald and Ben Lennon all ended the year as very early draft picks for St Kilda, North Melbourne and Richmond, and headed to their new AFL clubs ready to be full-time footballers.
Their friendship had developed at junior level as teammates and opponents, before they went through all the Victorian representative squads together and formed a close bond.
But no passage to the draft is straightforward.
Through a number of interviews with each of the prospects across the year, Draft Days captures the differing emotions of being a draftee: the uncertainty, nerves and excitement of waiting until the end of November to have so many questions answered.
Draft Days gives a candid insight into what makes the trio tick, delves into their friendship, how they prepare for games, their home and social life, and their different personalities.
Draft Days follows the trio from before the important under-18 championships in May through to December, where they are interviewed while settling into their AFL careers with their lives changing rapidly.
Despite being highly touted juniors and enjoying successes, each had his challenges in his draft year, which evolve throughout the Draft Days documentary.
Lennon, too, wanted to prove to people he could play consistently and progress to a midfield role, while overcoming a troublesome ankle injury.
Draft Days: 3 Of A Kind will screen over four days on AFL.com.au next week, starting on Monday, February 10 through to Thursday, February, 13.
At the end of the week, a full version of the Draft Days documentary from start to finish will be available to watch.
Watch the trailer here:
http://www.afl.com.au/news/2014-02-09/journey-to-the-big-time
