By Nick Creely
Through all the sacrifice and hard work that youngsters have put in all over the country, it all came down to Friday night’s AFL draft, where local TAC club Dandenong Stingrays had one if it’s finest in recent memory.
In total the Stingrays had three players taken in the first round, and two players taken in the second, with just one player selected by an interstate club.
After initially being touted as the Stingrays’ sixth number one draft selection, game breaking midfielder Luke Davies-Uniacke was selected with pick number four to the North Melbourne Football Club after surprisingly slipping down the order in what could be the biggest steal of the draft.
As a big bodied midfielder, Davies-Uniacke will add instant class, grunt and leadership to a young Kangaroo midfield, and showcased his immense talent by dragging the Rays back from 50-points down in an elimination final this season.
“I’m over the moon – it’s so surreal, you kind of pinch yourself to see if it’s true and it’s so surreal,” he told SEN radio moments after being drafted.
“I am pretty level about everything – there was a bit of talk (in the media), but I’ve stayed underneath my shoulders and taken everything in my stride.”
St Kilda was the next to pick up a Stingray, selecting midfielder Hunter Clark with pick seven, with the Saints maintaining their commitment to drafting local talent.
The Peninsula boy will add toughness, versatility and an ability to play off a half back or as an inside midfielder after a stellar best-and-fairest season with the Stingrays.
Clark’s selection to the Saints means they now have 10 former Dandenong Stingrays on their current list.
“It’s hard to explain (the feeling of being drafted) – it’s been a dream forever so to be selected by such a great club is surreal, really,” Clark told Saints Media post-draft.
“Coming into the year I played a lot of half-back and wing, so I want to challenge myself and prove that I can be an outside player as well (at AFL level).”
It only took another four picks for another Stingray name to be read out, with powerful utility Aiden Bonar selected with pick 11 to the GWS Giants.
After initially touted as a number one draft pick, Bonar endured a cruel luck with injury with two consecutives knee reconstructions, but bounced back superbly to storm into first round draft selections by playing a pivotal role in a Haileybury College premiership and during the Stingrays’ finals campaign.
But Bonar will add an element of x-factor to the Giants, where he will initially start as a third tall forward before transitioning into an inside midfielder similar to that of Sydney captain Josh Kennedy.
Tom De Koning was the next to realise his dream, with Carlton selecting the ruck/forward with selection 30 of the draft.
The 200cm big man is a terrific set shot at goal, can play as a ball winning ruckman, and was vital for the Dandenong Stingrays in stages of the TAC Cup before a lacerated kidney ended his season prematurely.
At AFL level, De Koning is likely to evolve into a ruckman who can pinch hit up forward, and will take time to develop under Brendan Bolton’s tutelage at the Blues.
At pick 35, Berwick key defender Oscar Clavarino was snared by St Kilda, with the 195cm intercept king joining Clark as another Stingray to head to Linen House.
As co-captain of the Rays, and of premiership side Haileybury, Clavarino will be earmarked as a future leader of the Saints, and one that could step straight into AFL level and have an impact.
Western Jets forward Cameron Rayner was selected with the number one draft by the Brisbane Lions.
The Pre-Season and Rookie drafts will now be held on Monday.
