By JARROD POTTER
The Ray A Day series inches closer to the draft day with one of the big names who defined under-18 defending this year. Adaption and growth have brought full back Kieran Collins to the edge of a football career … even if the last few days beforehand have been a little too quiet for his liking.
KIERAN COLLINS
CLUB: Dandenong/Haileybury/Langwarrin
HEIGHT/WEIGHT: 193cm/94kg
ACHIEVEMENTS: All Australian, AFL Academy, U18 National champion, Vic Country, TAC Cup Team of the Year, National Combine.
PREDICTION: Pick 8-15.
CERTAINTY has somewhat eased Kieran Collins, but the wait for Tuesday still has him nervous.
Chances are we’ll hear his name called and it will be early in the draft by means of his incredible stature and hard-earned credentials.
It’s the open-market at work: in demand stock sells quickly.
How many tall defenders are there in each draft? How many are All Australians? How many have made a name for themselves at every level and playing in multiple positions?
With numbers narrowed through those criteria, it these are plenty of reasons for Collins to sleep easily at night, but that’s not how he’s going about this lead-up – training and waiting is all he can muster as the days tick down.
Thankfully the blessing-slash-curse that is completing VCE alongside your football commitments has worked in his favour – allowing him to focus on study and take leave from football and his thoughts for a few weeks.
“I guess it does (being highly touted) – it eases the nerves a little bit, but I’m still been sitting here for two weeks since exams finished, watching the cricket and just waiting I guess,” Collins said.
“Finished exams – they were all done two weeks ago and now I’m just training and waiting for next week … don’t know what to do with myself really.”
Spare time has been a true rarity this year; Collins has been busy from day one.
An AFL Academy trip to America, journeying across Australia with Vic Country in the national championships then balancing his football commitments between Haileybury and Dandenong Stingrays on top of testing at the AFL Combine by season’s end.
His time with the academy was enlightening in particular, as he got to work with West Coast legend Glen Jakovich, who encouraged Collins to get up the ground more and find his own footy.
Collins put that advice into practice immediately.
He had sat in the goal square previously – waiting for the play to come to him, but that wouldn’t be enough in the modern AFL.
Collins worked to ensure he could become a mobile, link-up player; turning himself from a stay-at-home defender into a rebounding utility.
He knew as more than just a full back in the old mould when he took on another likely top-15 draftee – Eastern Ranges’ Sam Weideman – and ran off the Ranges’ mountainous forward-ruck to earn 21 touches, nine marks and five tackles.
“I’m more a natural defender, but as I get more game-time I can develop that versatility into my game and become that swingman going back and forward,” Collins said.
“It started this year – that game back at Box Hill against Sam Weideman was when that sort of clicked and I became that attacking defender and linking up through half-back line and the wings and that’s when I developed my game more.”
That was 9 May and by the end of the season Collins had added even more strings to his bow – pushing into the ruck as well as swinging around to the other square and booting goals.
Through his time with Vic Country, Collins took on whichever hulking forward was placed beside him on the last line … more times than not, it was a battle he won comfortably.
It has led to accolades – talent and application naturally attract them – All Australian and TAC Cup Team of the Year recognition means the world to him on an individual level, while the heights of national success as an under-18 champion is the team achievement that he won’t forget.
“From an individual standpoint, it’s a great honour to be awarded All Australian and then TAC Cup Team of the Year as well as a full back,” Collins said.
“I really enjoyed it and from an individual standpoint its a big achievement.
“Winning the national championship is definitely a highlight of mine and with all the boys, we did well and to go 6-0 just capped it off and was a very enjoyable championships.”
With adaptability, height, strength and the all-necessary defensive smarts to handle one-on-one encounters, Collins should not have to wait long for his number to be called … but he’s still going a little stir-crazy waiting for his future to start whether here or abroad.
“Just to hear my name called out on the night, I’m still hoping for the best and just unsure at the moment,” Collins said.
“I’m a bit nervy and excited at the same time, as it would be a dream come true if my name does get called out.
“The interest has been predominantly been more from Victorian clubs, but I’d say there have a few interstate clubs as well – it’s hard to say where I could end up but hopefully it’s on an AFL list.
“If they call my name out I’m happy to go anywhere.”
But wherever his skills take him, it’s been developing alongside his mates at Dandenong that he’ll remember fondly.
“It was awesome to have the Dandy boys there in the back line (at Vic Country) – we’ve always played with each other and know how each other plays and it worked really well,” Collins said.
“We’re all a close knit group and it developed through the years from under-16s onwards.
“I remember the Bendigo carnival all the way up to now and I’m sure all the boys have enjoyed it.”
With his defensive team member and long-time mate Jacob Weitering all but confirmed as Carlton’s first pick, wouldn’t it be an opportunity in waiting for the Blues to seize Collins at picks eight or 11 and really stitch up the back-half for the next decade?
With a natural link between the two – stretching back to under-12s representative cricket – that intuition and knowledge is surely worth just as much as Collins’ innate prowess as Carlton looks to rebuild.
It would be ideal to have two cornerstones in the backline to set that structure after all.
