‘I want to do the same’: Top-five prospect ‘born ready’ for AFL… with dreams to be like Nasiah

Dylan Patterson’s confidence is refreshing and admirable. It’s not arrogance, it’s pure self-belief.

The explosive Suns academy utility declares there’s only “a limited amount of people that’d be able to catch me” on the field. If someone does catch him, “it’s a pretty good effort”.

He attempts bold kicks most of his fellow draft prospects wouldn’t even dare to comprehend. When he pulls them off, it’s a glorious sight. When he doesn’t? Try again.

Watch live coverage of the 2025 Telstra AFL Draft on Kayo Sports 19-20 Nov | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.

“I’m there to win the game, not make myself look good,” he tells foxfooty.com.au.

“You see a few turnovers on my stat sheets, but it’s because I’m taking the hardest kicks.”

Some of Patterson’s best games in his draft year came representing the AFL Academy and Gold Coast VFL teams against state league opposition – because he “came in confident” he’d perform strongly against bigger bodies.

“I said if I want to play AFL next year, I’ve got to be able to beat these people. So I just backed myself and tried to get the job done,” he says.

The AFL player Patterson bases his game on? Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera.

And with his nimble sidestep, running power, composure in congestion and right-foot kicking capabilities – plus the fact he wore No. 7 for the AFL Academy and Allies this year – the comparisons to the superstar Saint seem apt.

“The first $2 million player in the AFL, it doesn’t hurt to want to base your game on someone like that,” Patterson says.

“He (Wanganeen-Milera) is unreal. Like, against Melbourne when he won that game, it just reminds me that I want to be at that stage and I want to be able to do the same types of things and win games.

“I just love big games, I love the pressure and I just love the competitiveness in footy – it just all adds up to me and what I want to do with my life.”

With that lethal athletic combination of speed, agility and power, Patterson is going to be a lot of fun to watch at the top level.

And when asked how ready he is, both physically and mentally, for full-time professional AFL footballer life, Patterson declares: “I’ve been ready, mentally, since I was like 10 years old.

“Physically, I think I’m ready now, but obviously that’s up for a coach to decide and the people around them.

“But me knowing me, I just know I’m ready. I was sort of born ready.”

‘CHIP ON MY SHOULDER’ THAT SPARKED BLITZ

Patterson is not only one of the best prospects from a strong Suns academy group, he’s one of the best players in the entire 2025 draft pool.

The versatile 183cm player – who can play across half-back, on the wing or even in the midfield – is widely expected to attract a bid within the first seven, potentially first five, selections on draft night after a strong campaign. The Suns will undoubtedly match the bid.

And so they should, for they’ve got access to arguably the most exciting player in the draft class.

Patterson set the tone for his season at RSEA Park in April, dazzling for the AFL Academy against Richmond’s VFL side playing as a high half-back to finish with 15 disposals while showing off an impressive bag of tricks.

The 18-year-old says his eye-catching start to the season was driven by “a chip on my shoulder”.

“The fact that I didn’t make underage as an Allies (player), I actually had something to prove because I knew I was capable of it,” he says.

“I just came in, got the work done and did everything. I did the AFL pre-season (with the Suns) – I pretty much did the whole thing – and then I came into the (northern) academy series, the AFL Academy series … (I had) the biggest advantage compared to everyone else, so I was just very confident. I’d played VFL the year before, so I was used to the bodies and I just knew that I could just get it done.”

Patterson would ultimately represent the Allies at the national championships, averaging 19.8 disposals, 5.0 rebound 50s, 4.8 score involvements and 400m gained to earn All-Australian honours.

His best moment of the champs came during the dying stages of his side’s clash with WA at Marvel Stadium.

With the Allies down by one point with less than four minutes of game time remaining, Patterson received the ball backward of centre – and showed off that lightning speed. He sprinted away from two WA opponents, took a bounce, baulked a third opponent, took a second bounce, ran to the 50m arc and pulled off a perfect kick to leading forward Max King, who rewarded Patterson’s effort with a match-winning goal.

Foxfooty.com.au suggested to Patterson at this month’s draft combine that play summed him up as a player.

“I think everyone sees the running and the power and stuff like that, but a bit more in depth is more the thinking process and the fact that I know I can get the job done and that I’m happy to take all responsibility,” he says. “Because if I mess that up, it’s on me – but I know I can get it done and I’m willing to put everything on the line to get it done.

“I think that sums me up a bit more, the fact that I’m willing to take a risk.”

‘I WOULDN’T SAY NO’: THE LURE OF LEAGUE

Patterson was also willing to take a risk in his mid-teens, choosing to pursue footy over rugby league.

He was a talented league fullback at both club and school level. When he was 15, he received contract offers from four NRL-aligned clubs.

“Yeah, I miss everything about it, to be honest,” Patterson says of his love for rugby league. “But it’s the same with a lot of things: You miss things because of the memories you create from them.

“It was a very enjoyable time for me, I could see success coming from it. It doesn’t necessarily mean I want to go back to it, but if I had a chance to play one more game, I wouldn’t say no.”

Patterson for a couple of years was able to balance both sports. But when he hit a crossroads that forced him to choose just one sport, he opted for footy – a sport that’s “a bit more entertaining”.

“There’s a lot more variety in it. Things can happen all the time,” he says.

“I feel like in rugby league, there might be an occasional linebreak or something and then everyone’s up, which makes it exciting. But in footy, there’s just always something happening – and you don’t get that in rugby league. Scores are low, but that’s why when they score it’s so exciting. But in footy, the momentum changes all the time.

“I’m not taking anything away from rugby league, because there’s very skilled players and I’m friends with some very skilled contracted players at my age. But I think AFL, you need to be so much more skilled and it just requires a more overall athletic profile. You can’t just get away with being only good at one thing, you have to be capable of doing your job.”

Patterson says it was his “independent decision” to drop rugby league – “if people are telling you what to do, you shouldn’t be taking points from them” – but adds he ran his call by his father.

“He just said: ‘It’s up to you, you’re in control of your life and I’ll support you no matter what.’ That just told me everything I needed to know,” he says.

‘THE MOST IMPORTANT PERSON’

Patterson and his dad have an incredibly tight bond. He describes his old man as “definitely the most important person in my life”.

“He’s done everything he could to get me into the position where I am,” Patterson says. “He would do anything for me and I’m forever in debt to him.

“That’s also what helped me make a decision between AFL and rugby league, because I saw what he’d done for me to try and make the AFL and I want to reward him as much as myself.

Patterson, during his early schooling days, “moved a lot to try to get in the best spot to play the best possible footy”.

He initially lived in Gatton – a rural town around 90km west of Brisbane – before relocating north of the city to Beachmere, which is close to Bribie Island. He went to a Beachmere school for “not very long” before transferring to a primary school on Bribie Island.

The Bribie Island high school, however, “wasn’t much of a sport factory”, prompting a move back inland to Narangba Valley State School.

“It had AFL there and Dad was just interested in having a look at that,” he says.

“I ended up going there for a year and a little bit to start my high school journey. But at the end of the day the environment wasn’t the best and Dad knew that.

“He started tossing up other options and we ended up moving down south – and we’ve been at the same place (Palm Beach Currumbin State High School) since.

“I’m just happy that everything’s gone the way it has and hopefully there’s a bit of reward on the end of it.”

Patterson says his dad “just makes everything work” and has “always looked for my best interests”.

“He would drive me a long way, he would make sure I always had what I needed. Footy-related, he would do anything just to make sure I’m in the right position,” he says.

“That doesn’t take away from everything else – he got me into a better school to get into a better environment. He just wants the best for me in every way possible.

“But he also wants me to be a kid and be able to enjoy my childhood, so letting me roam around and learn from mistakes, it means I learn myself and not him just telling me not to go do something.

“If I go play my first AFL game, that will reward him just as much as it rewards me because he knows he’s done probably just as much, or even more work, than I have to make sure I’ve been able to have the right lifestyle and been around the right people to be able to get to this point in time.”