While I went to school in Year 12 and enjoyed it, I probably didn’t put in as much time as I should have! Playing footy for three different teams took up a lot of time, and footy was my focus.

I had hamstring tendonitis my whole top-age (draft) year in 2009, so I was doing a lot of rehab but I still had a really enjoyable year. I got to play for my school, Assumption College, and we won flags in two different competitions. The Calder Cannons won the TAC Cup premiership that year as well, but unfortunately I was injured for that too – I missed three flags in one year in the end.

I played as a midfielder throughout my junior footy, and had a big growth spurt when I was 17. I went forward in my draft year, and then played down back for Victoria Metro at the Under-18 National Championships. I played a bit of everywhere, but mostly midfield and forward – I learned how to defend when I got to the Crows!

In juniors, you’re able to do that and play with a bit more flexibility, but I’m glad I’m settled in defence now. I can’t see me being fit enough to run around in the midfield at AFL level! I’m probably the slowest bloke out on the field most weeks, so I’ll definitely stay in the cage down back.

Growing up, I developed a bit later than a lot of guys. I wasn’t in that top bracket of players until I was 17 or 18-years-old. I was a skinny kid and a bit shorter than I am now. I certainly wasn’t a standout when I was 16 and they were picking the AIS-AFL Academy squad.

I only just made the 2009 Vic Metro squad. Kyle Hartigan, who is here at the Club now as well, was always ahead of me growing up. He was in the AIS-AFL Academy squad, but I ended up getting ‘Harto’ dropped and taking his spot, which he still gives me a bit of crap about!

I played on Jack Darling (West Coast), who was on fire. I think he kicked 30 goals for the carnival or something like that. I remember Nat Fyfe (Fremantle) dominating against us as well. I don’t know how he ended up going at pick No.20. He kicked five goals and WA beat us by 10 goals that day.

As it panned out, I had a really good carnival and made the Under-18 All Australian team. That carnival really set me up … I think I only played about eight games of footy that year, but they were a good eight games which helped.

Still, I hadn’t played much footy and I didn’t really know if clubs rated me or where I was going to go.

The Crows were always keen on me because they watch a lot of Assumption and school footy. During the year, I remember (National Recruiting Manager) Hamish Ogilvie saying, that if I was still around at their first-round pick I might be in the mix, but I never really knew. A week before the draft, the Crows came to my house again and said, ‘We’re still keen on you’, but they never guaranteed anything.

I felt really uncertain going into the draft. I could’ve gone to any club, and as a first, second or third-rounder. I was invited to go to the draft in Melbourne … but I felt like I didn’t even belong there.

My old man, Jack, had actually thrown a draft party for me with 30-40 relatives and friends. Looking back now, it was stupid. You hear so many draft stories where guys have a party and don’t get picked up! My younger brother, Michael, and my Mum, Kathryn, came to the draft with me.

At the time, I was probably hoping to stay at home in Melbourne. I barracked for Carlton as a kid and they had pick No.12, and Melbourne had three picks in the top 11. But I ended up at Adelaide and I couldn’t be happier.

As soon as Adelaide called my name out, Mum was pretty upset. That night, I had mixed emotions. I was so happy to be picked up but at the same time I was pretty scared to be leaving home. I’d just turned 18 and all of a sudden I was at an AFL Club. It’s funny how quickly you have to grow up when you get drafted.

One of the Crows staffers, who still works at the Club, (Digital and Communications Manager) David Burtenshaw dropped me home after the draft. Mum and Michael left a bit earlier and I had some media interviews to do. I actually left my phone in David’s car and didn’t realise. I went back to the draft party to celebrate with everyone.

I didn’t know it, but that whole night people were calling me. Neil Craig was the coach at the time, so he gave me a call and all the senior leadership group were calling. I didn’t answer any of their calls because I’d lost my phone and ‘Burts’ had taken off and I didn’t know how to get in touch with him. It’s fair to say I had a fair bit of texting and calling to do the next day to catch up.

The draft was on a Thursday night and we were flying to Adelaide on the Sunday, so we only really had two days to pack and say goodbye to everyone. It was funny, my parents didn’t even come to the airport to see me off – they must’ve been happy to get rid of me!

The other draftees had their families there and everyone was crying. I remember Hamish saying to me, ‘You’re probably the first bloke not to have your family come to the airport and say goodbye’. But I think it made it a bit easier that they weren’t there, and I got on with things.

Scott Stevens took me in for the first six weeks when I came over to Adelaide. Scott was fantastic. He was so professional and I learned a bit from him early on, just with his attention to diet and his routine around footy, like going to bed early and having a really balanced work and family life.

I hadn’t played footy in a long time, so for me initially it was just about getting my injury right and learning as much as I could. There was ‘Stevo’, Phil Davis, James Sellar, who was playing down back at the time, ‘Truck’ (Ben Rutten) and ‘Bocky’ (Nathan Bock) – five or six guys who were way ahead of me in the pecking order. And I hadn’t really played much in defence, so it was all about learning that first year.

I ended up hurting my knee halfway through the year in 2010, but it was good to get into SANFL footy straight away. I was selected by South Adelaide in the mini-draft and got thrown straight to centre half-back because they were struggling at the time. It was my first taste of senior footy and a really exciting first year all up.