By JARROD POTTER
WE ARE right on the verge of the next football chapter, only two days away from the AFL National Draft… the hardest, patience-stretching 48 hours of a footballer’s life.
Today’s Ray A Day will breathe a little easier heading into it by way of his father-son connection, but by no means is Bailey Rice living vicariously through his last name as he went out boldly this year to prove his own credentials heading towards an AFL career.
BAILEY RICE
CLUB: Dandenong/Northern Blues/Beaconsfield/Hallam SC
HEIGHT/WEIGHT: 184cm/81kg
ACHIEVEMENTS: U18 National champion, Vic Country, TAC Cup Team of the Year, National Combine.
PREDICTION: St Kilda’s indicative pick 45.
IT’S a rare choice Bailey Rice got to make ahead of the draft, but despite the luxury he was afforded, his future still isn’t set in stone.
Joe Daniher had it before him – the arduous choice to pick between your father’s two clubs and where to continue his legacy… albeit as your career.
Rice had the decision between team he barracks for Carlton, where his father Dean won a premiership in 1995, or a club on the rise St Kilda.
After October’s National Combine, Rice knew where his head was leaning and announced his intent to join the Saints… with all things going to plan that is.
“I kind of made my mind up at the Combine – I was by myself and thought St Kilda was the best fit for me,” Rice said. “It was all different things; it was a gut feel… I go for Carlton, so it was hard to go against them.
“It’s nerve-wracking but exciting, when I made the decision there was massive media coverage of it and there were a few Carlton people getting into me and that, but I just learned to move on from that and it’s going to be a pretty big 12 months, but it’s all exciting.”
But he’s not to be discounted as a father-son pick; Rice has earned his place in the draft pecking order and would’ve received plenty of interest if he was unaffiliated.
Making his name came through hard-earned sacrifice; no coattails were ridden on an easier path.
He toiled throughout the season as he roamed defensively, pushed into the centre and even became the key marking target inside forward-50.
Earning a national championship put his capabilities in the spotlight and he brought that stellar form back to the Stingrays where Rice pin-pointed 15-or-more kicks in eight games. Rice’s marking numbers were just as impressive as an intercept player, or just body-to-body beating his opponent.
Rice agonisingly missed out on playing for Hallam Senior College in the public schools grand final, with a 50/50 call on his groin leaving him sidelined as a caution, but throughout the match you could see him longing to get out there and help his mates.
But he put that pain behind him quickly as the Stingrays offered him a chance to play in VFL and push his case for the draft further.
Rice ran out for the Northern Blues twice towards the end of the season and held his own at the senior level, to the surprise of no one who had seen him play before.
In years gone by under the vastly different father-son system of the 1990s and 2000s, the decision would be all that mattered and Rice would already be under Allan Richardson’s wing starting his first pre-season.
But times have changed and the AFL clubs are up in arms over restricted players – forcing Rice to go into the draft despite knowing where he could end up.
St Kilda has pick 14, pick 45 and 68 to use at its discretion with most people pinning Rice to either of the earlier picks, but he’s still not sure and won’t have these feelings resolved until it’s all sorted and he’s taken his place on the list.
“I guess with the new system I’m still in the same boat as everyone else,” Rice said. “Helped a little bit to make the decision and get it out of the way, but still feeling the same as everyone else.
“They (St Kilda) haven’t really indicated as they’re not really sure what will happen on draft night as it is all live now, I haven’t been told anything about where they’re going to select me or if someone bids for me if they’ll go for it.”
Having played across the country and throughout the state this year, Rice has played with a plethora of team mates and thinks those bonds are the unbreakable link to remind him of an amazing draft year.
“The bonds and the friendships you get with people – some will go onto AFL clubs, some will come back here for their 19th year and others will go to VFL and back to local clubs – so the friendships are the big thing and getting to know plenty of people here,” Rice said.
Rice’s coach Craig Black had the simplest, yet ultimate compliment for the power-packed roaming defender.
“He’s a footballer,” Black said. “He understands the game and competes really well – I think he’ll be a good player once he gets into a professional environment and learns a bit more about his body, he’ll improve even more.
“His ability to read the opposition kicks and his use of the footy on both sides is amazing and he’s very courageous for a player his size.
“Once he gets his endurance up he could even go into the midfield or potentially play up forward.”
