I had a pretty good year in 2010. I played state Under-18 footy and then went back to the Eagles and played a fair bit of senior SANFL footy there as well.

I started a university course in the year between finishing school and the draft. I wasn’t working, so I had a fair bit of spare time during the week to concentrate on my footy and do a little bit of Uni.

I felt I was good enough to get drafted and I was really hoping that it would happen. But I still went in as nervous as anyone else. I received a fair bit of interest from clubs. I think I spoke to just about every club except for a couple.

Read Rory Sloane and Sam Kerridge’s Draft Day stories.

On the morning of the draft, I remember being extremely nervous, but excited. Almost every day in the month leading up, I checked the phantom drafts to see where the media were putting players. I had a few sleepless nights, but once the day arrived I was just really excited.

I went to a friend’s house to watch the draft because we didn’t have Foxtel at the time. I had Mum, Dad and my grandparents with me and we just sat on the couch and watched the count.

I had spoken to the Crows and the Power a lot, and they were picking at No.14 and No.16. It was a Gold Coast dominated draft, but I didn’t get a lot of interest from them so I knew I wasn’t in that top bracket.

I got really nervous when Melbourne had their pick at No.12, then No.13 was Gold Coast followed by the Crows at No.14 and bang, I was gone. It was a pretty good moment.

It’s a feeling of relief and joy that your dream has come true because you work so hard as a kid trying to get to that stage. It was even better for me because I really wanted to stay in South Australia and I was able to do that. I actually think staying home and living with my parents really helped me in the first couple of years of my career.

My phone was going pretty nuts at time with messages from family and mates. It was all a bit daunting and it hit me straight away.

Recruiting Files: Brodie Smith

Mum was a Crows fan and Dad, myself and my sister were all Port. Dad was obviously pumped that I got picked up, but it took him a few years to come around. This year, he wore a Crows polo to the Showdown for the first time, so we’ve definitely converted him now.

I went to school with Jared Petrenko and I think he was the only one from the Club that I knew beforehand. ‘Pup’ really looked after me in my first couple of years and we formed a good friendship. Unfortunately he’s not here now, but hopefully his career will be extended somewhere else.

The first person I heard from at the Club was Michael Doughty, who is my manager now funnily enough. I remember former Crows player manager Steve Sanders also called me pretty quick, as did Nathan van Berlo.

It was good to speak with a few of the leaders of the Club before I got here and it made me feel a bit more comfortable about it all.

There wasn’t much of a celebration. We were straight into it.

The draft was on a Thursday night and our training camp started on the Saturday. Jarryd Lyons was the only other senior player drafted that year, but he had to stay in Melbourne, so I went to the camp with one of our new rookies Sam Martyn and we met all the boys.

We did a few fitness exercises straight away and I think I spewed up after one of them, so it was a good start to my career!

I look back a lot and just think how lucky I was on draft night.

My family home is in West Lakes, so I’ve been drafted to a Club that’s five minutes down the road – not many guys can say that. I was fortunate to be able to stay in my home state and come to such a good Club like the Crows. Even though I was a Port supporter then, as soon as I got here I just felt right at home.

Even now, I check out a few of the phantom drafts and keep an eye on the SA boys coming through. It definitely brings back a few memories – it was a very nerve-wracking and exciting time, and I know there will be a few nervous 18-year-olds out there at the moment.