As part of our Draftee Diary series, we catch up with the Club’s second pick in the National Draft, left-footer Harrison Wigg, and get his thoughts on his first few weeks as a Crow …

Tell us about the first 48 hours after being drafted by the Crows …

“The first 48 hours after being drafted were quite interesting. I had (Coach) Phil Walsh ring me, as well as ‘Tex’ Walker, Patty Dangerfield, Rory Sloane and Nathan van Berlo. It was pretty full on and surreal. It was quite a weird feeling answering the phone and the person on the other end says, ‘Hey, it’s Tex Walker’. I came to the Club the next day (Friday), had my medical and met all the players. The boys were all very good to me, so it was a nice start to my career at the Crows.”

How did you feel when Phil Walsh came to visit you at home?

“It was quite scary because you’ve just been picked up by the Crows and next thing you have the coach, who you’ve never met before, in your house! It was nice to meet Phil before I went to training. He gave me a good insight into who he is, his personality and his background. And I was able to show my background to him, both me and mum. It was great to catch up with him.”

How did you cope with your first training session?

“My first training session was tough. I was very nervous that morning, so I didn’t eat breakfast which probably wasn’t a good decision because I died after the second drill! It was a very good experience though, I loved every minute.”

How about the boxing, weights and grappling session?

“I didn’t have to do any wrestling luckily because I probably would’ve got beaten up! But I had to box with Jake Lever and that was interesting. He’s a strong kid and comes from a boxing background, so he taught me a bit.”

What did you learn from your first Body Balance session?

“That I hate the downward dog! No, it was a good experience and quite hard. I’d never really done any Yoga or Pilates, or anything like that but I’ll probably go back now and work on my flexibility.”

Can you describe the moment you received your Crows playing number and locker?

“It was a very humbling experience. I’ll remember it for the rest of my life. To walk into the change rooms and see your name and number on a locker, I can’t think of anything better.”

What’s been the biggest learning curve so far?

“I think the biggest thing I’ve learned is just much the players actually do in a session and just how often they train. Coming in, you know they probably train four times a week but you don’t understand all the other stuff the players do in their days off or even between sessions. You’re here from 8am-5pm most days, so they’re pretty long days but I couldn’t think of anything better.”

Has anything surprised you? Or been different to what you expected?

“I expected it to be very tough, and that’s happened. I think my body is starting to adjust a little bit at the moment, just getting eased into training. I’m sure when more of the harder work comes it will be another shock to me.”

Have you got a nickname yet?

“I’ve copped ‘Toupée’ from Tex Walker. It’s okay … I’m not that happy with it, but you’ve got to take it being new.”

Which players have you gelled with already?

“I’ve talked to Tex a fair bit. He’s been very good to me. He was the first person to ask me to go to breakfast with him after the first Saturday morning training. That was quite nice of him. Tex is exactly how I thought he was going to be. He’s a good country guy and a good man.Guys like Jake Kelly, Charlie Cameron and Brodie Martin have also been really welcoming. A few people from my school know Brodie and I’m a locker buddy with him now, which has been good.”

What was your first impression of Phil Walsh?

“Scary … But he’s a ripper bloke when you get to talk to him. He’s a nice fella and I look forward to working with him.”