For emerging key defender – and self-confessed “huge Saints fan” – Ollie Murphy, this was the club interview he desperately didn’t want to stuff up.
Murphy, like hundreds of aspiring AFL players, has quickly become accustomed to the questions, rhythm and expectations of club interviews, which have become a key part of the draft experience for players.
But sitting across from St Kilda coach Ross Lyon at the national draft combine earlier this month took it to a new level for the Sandringham Dragons backman.
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“Oh, for me especially, it was just nerve-racking,” Murphy said of his Saints and Lyon encounter with a smile when speaking to foxfooty.com.au.
“I didn’t want to say a bad word. It was a bit scary.
“He made a few comments, I think he corrected me a couple of times – but I was kind of expecting that.”
Lyon wasn’t the only senior coach present at October’s draft combine.
Murphy also met Hawthorn’s Sam Mitchell and Giants boss Adam Kingsley.
“Over the year they’ve come around to your house and it’s been pretty chilled with two to four people. Not any weird questions, but a few tricky ones. But over the past few days I’ve had a few more direct questions,” Murphy said.
Four-time premiership coach Alastair Clarkson was also in North Melbourne’s box at the MCG
“He can be serious at times, but he cracked a few laughs and a few smiles, so it wasn’t too bad,” Suns academy star Jake Rogers told foxfooty.com.au of his Clarkson meeting.
“It can be a bit daunting at times, but you also get fun out of it.”
Central District’s Will McCabe said seeing Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin when he walked in for his first interview at the draft combine was “pretty weird” after seeing him on TV for so many years.
Tasmanian midfielder Ryley Sanders also met Damien Hardwick when interviewed by Gold Coast, while he was particularly thrilled to get some advice from premiership duo Mitch Duncan and Gryan Miers, who were both part of the Cats’ panel.
“Geelong had heaps of people in there, so that was pretty intimidating sitting in front of all of them and selling yourself to the club while you’ve got a couple of really good players there,” Sanders told foxfooty.com.au.
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“But they were really good and offered me a bit of advice when I asked them at the end … They just said: ‘Get in there, work hard and that it’s not your first 10 games, it’s over your whole career.’”
As versatile Claremont prospect Daniel Curtin said: “Every single coach is different … You could be being coached by one of them next year, so that’s a cool experience.”
A STEP UP FROM HOME VISITS … WELL, MOSTLY
Curtin, who met Mitchell, Kingsley and Goodwin a few weeks ago, noted the “crazy” increase in intensity – and volume of club representatives – during interviews at the combine, compared to the Zoom chats or home visits he’d been involved in throughout the year. One recruiter described it as a “speed dating experience” for all involved.
Subiaco star Koltyn Tholstrup, who should be taken in the first round of this year’s draft, said he had 16 club interviews scheduled across two days at the combine.
“I’ve been very fortunate to be able to speak to as many clubs as I have,” Tholstrup told foxfooty.com.au.
“It’s been full-on. In and out of a fair few rooms, but they’ve been good conversations and, to be honest, I really enjoy talking with them because they’re just normal humans.”
Most players interviewed by foxfooty.com.au earlier this month found the in-season meetings reasonably similar, relaxed and friendly. Clubs are keen to get an insight into players and their families, rather than trying to catch them out with ‘gotcha’ questions.
Eastern Ranges forward Nick Watson said those chats had been “pretty cruisy”, while Glenelg’s Ashton Moir said it’d been a “really exciting” experience overall.
Although Dean Duursma said his son Zane Duursma – the Gippsland Power forward who looms as a top-five draftee – pushed back when questioned during one home visit.
“The Swannies challenged him a bit, which was interesting to watch,” Dean Duursma told SEN Breakfast last week.
“They pulled out an old 2km time trial he did two years ago and said ‘this isn’t good enough’. But he said: ‘Hey come on, that’s two years ago, I’ve improved a hell of a lot since then’ … he pushed back a little bit.”
THE CURLIEST INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
Northern Knights forward – and possible top-10 pick – Nate Caddy reckons he’s done “nearly done 50” interviews this year. And while he hadn’t been asked many tricky questions, he said there’d been a few occasions where clubs had attempted to “contradict you”.
“It’s your job at the end of the day, so you’ve got to do them. There’s a lot of them … but it becomes a part of life I’d say,” Caddy told foxfooty.com.au.
“Not really curly questions … The psychs – they get you.
“But you get used to them and you’ve just got to understand they want to know about your life.”
Several players said Gold Coast throughout the year had asked them to write a book about themselves off the top of their heads, which they found challenging.
Tassie utility James Leake’s AFL knowledge, too, was tested.
“I copped one where a club will ask you to name their entire back six and I’m like ‘oh sh*t’. But it’s not too bad,” he told foxfooty.com.au.
“You hear some stories from people about a few curveballs and whatnot, but I’ve been pretty lucky. I’m sure I’ll still get some things that’ll stump me a little bit.”
Tholstrup said the most left-field question he was asked was: ‘What superpower would you have?’
His answer: “I said speed. I’ve always thought about it like ‘blink and you’ve got the footy at the other end kicking a goal’. I reckon that’d be the best one.”
Tholstrup is a ripper athlete already though, finishing equal-ninth in the 2km time trial (6:17) then second in the agility test (8.194).
BEST ADVICE
For Murray Bushrangers utility Connor O’Sullivan, though, one club interview helped him reassess what he wanted to accomplish as a footballer.
“Hawthorn were one that asked me a few questions that, after having conversations with Dad, probably made me consider some things about my goals and stuff like that,” O’Sullivan told foxfooty.com.au.
“I suppose from that sense, it’s really good to sometimes get those questions that you’re not expecting because it makes you have an actual think and actually consider what your genuine answer is to that.
“They just asked what are the long-term and short-term goals of my career. I normally take one step at a time, so you probably don’t look at long-term goals to set yourself. But it’s probably something I need to start considering and what I want to aim to achieve out of whatever career it may be.”
For gun Tasmanian running defender Arie Schoenmaker, he’s used the interview process to prove to clubs how much he’s grown – both as a player and a person – since copping a 10-week ban from the Tasmanian Devils in January for providing alcohol to some Coates Talent League teammates.
“I’ve really enjoyed the process. They touch on a lot about what happened at the start of the year and what I’ve learned. It’s been pretty cliche and all the same,” Schoenmaker told foxfooty.com.au.
“But learning how to speak to people and socialise as well has been really good. They ask hard questions, but they ask some nice ones as well.”
While someone like Caddy might’ve had dozens of interviews this year, father-son prospects and northern academy players haven’t had to deal with as many.
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Suns academy ruck Ethan Read said a few clubs had visited his house, but added “because of the unique situation I’m in, I feel like other clubs back off a little bit”.
McCabe, who’s eligible to be taken by Hawthorn under the father-son rule, has had a similar experience.
“A lot of clubs wouldn’t bother, which is fair enough, because either you’ve got to really like me if you’re planning on bidding on me and your picks have got to fall near when I fall, so there’s quite a specific mould to the AFL clubs that reach out to you,” he told foxfooty.com.au.
But no matter how many interviews a prospect has had – and how intense their experience has been – the most important aspect is to always be yourself.
“So many of the club crews are just really good people and they’re just there to get to know you and see if they want to draft you,” Sanders said.
“They know how you play but they want to get to know you as a person – and that’s really important in today’s game because the AFL is very demanding.”
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