By Hayley Wildes and Nick Creely
Two former Beaconsfield juniors had their AFL dreams realised in Friday 23 November’s Rookie Draft, with Jake Aarts joining Richmond and Tom Jok becoming an Essendon player.
The former Eagles had their names read out, and will begin their AFL journeys after toiling away at state-league level for several years.
Aarts, 24, a small forward who begin his footballing career at Holm Park before this year being listed at Eastern Football League powerhouse Noble Park, has been a constant presence in the front half for Richmond’s VFL program, and was taken by the AFL team on Friday with a view as being a ready-made player.
In an interview with the Gazette back in August this year, Aarts spoke about what he brings to the table as a small forward
“The way I play my footy, it’s not really changed since my junior days,” he said.
“I love bringing energy and tackling, and you’ve got to defend as well, it’s not all offense, and being a small forward at Richmond, they need that in our team defence – it helps the midfield and backline with our forward pressure, so that’s what we work on.”
Tom Jok, 21, also had his dream realised, and joined his boyhood club Essendon, with the Sudanese-born utility finally getting a chance after being overlooked in previous drafts.
The former Dandenong Stingray, who was also a Beaconsfield junior, will add plenty of versatility to the Bombers’ list, with general manager of list and recruitment Adrian Dodoro telling the club’s website that Jok has all the right tools to make it at the highest level.
“Tom has a huge motor and has been around for a couple of years. He played for Collingwood in the VFL and really impressed us with the way he developed,” he said.
“We think he’ll be able to give us some versatility. He’ll actually come to the club close to our best athlete.
“He grew up barracking for Essendon and he’s hugely enthusiastic. We think we’ve got a reasonably good player.”
After claiming the 2018 TAC Cup premiership – the first in the club’s history – the Dandenong Stingrays also capped off a terrific season with six players finding AFL homes on Thursday and Friday.Sam Sturt was the biggest bolter of the entire draft and Stingrays forward was selected by the Fremantle Dockers with pick 17.
Despite playing just six games at the end of the season for the Rays, Sturt’s ability to have an impact on the contest and smarts around goal was tantalising.
As an extremely talented cricketer, Sturt only decided to focus on football late in the TAC Cup season and it’s fair to say it has paid dividends.
The next Ray to be snapped up was versatile defender Will Hamill. Hamill was a standout for Dandenong in their premiership-winning season and his drive off halfback started many attacking forays forward. He was selected by the Adelaide Crows with pick 30 and heads there with plenty of promise.
His ability to run and carry and make the right decision with ball in hand should see him have an impact on the AFL in the years to come.
Bailey Williams has long been seen as one of the premier big men in this draft class and he is headed to the reigning premiers; the West Coast Eagles. The Eagles snapped up Williams with pick 35 – which could prove to be a bargain due to Williams’ incredible agility and ability to take pack marks.
Williams’ stock did fall slightly throughout the season, but there’s no doubting his upside.
With the Rays going to all corners of the country, Zac Foot continued that trend when he was selected by the Sydney Swans with pick 51. Foot, who was a constant driving force for the Rays through the middle of the ground, heads to Sydney with the potential to a great late selection for the Swans. He can run all day and doesn’t mind doing the dirty work either.
Toby Bedford was one of the biggest keys to Dandenong’s premiership run and he found a home at the Melbourne Demons after being selected with pick 75. As a member of Melbourne’s Next Generation Academy, Bedford was almost certain to find his way to the Demons as they could match any bid for him.
One of the classiest small forwards in the TAC Cup competition, Bedford is relentless and loves to put pressure on, whilst also possessing plenty of skill.
Lachie Young also found a home – heading to the Western Bulldogs after being selected with pick 6 in the rookie draft. Young impressed with his rebounding ability and run off half back.
The Gippsland Power had a fantastic season, finishing second on the ladder and falling just short of a TAC Cup grand final berth.
With so much talent and youth within the side, three players stood out as draft hopefuls and all three found AFL homes.
Warragul local Noah Gown – who quit a promising basketball career to focus on football this year – had that move validated when his name was called by the Essendon Bombers on Friday with selection 60.
The big key forward was one of the draft bolters, simply dominating with his strength for the Power this season and took out the club’s best and fairest award. Whilst some may call him a project player, he has all the attributes and a bit of flair that could see him become a focal point of Essendon’s forward line in the years to come.
Speaking of flair, Essendon also grabbed Gippsland’s excitement machine, Irving Mosquito with selection 38. Mosquito was expected to find his way to Hawthorn as a member of their Next Generation Academy, but the Bombers swooped in and the Hawks decided not to match the bid.
Mosquito has speed, smarts and plenty of x-factor. The prospect of him buzzing around the Bombers forward line in the years to come is an electrifying proposition to say the least.
Power captain Xavier Duursma will continue his footballing journey with the Power; the Port Adelaide Power. Selected with pick 18, Duursma is the type of player that lives for the contest and runs all day.
His leadership was on show all year for Gippsland and Port Adelaide got a player that will be ready to contribute very early on in his career
