Phoenix Foster was sitting in the Tumby Bay Hotel on Tuesday night watching the draft with family and friends when fellow South Australian Mattaes Phillipou’s name flashed up on his phone.
Phillipou had been drafted the night before by St.Kilda with the 10th overall pick and he had news.
The TV screening Fox Footy’s coverage of the draft’s second round was conspiring to ensure the 18 year old nerves were peaking – it was small, hard to see, had the sound down and if that wasn’t enough, it was on a delay.
The big marking Foster had submitted a strong season with Norward in the SANFL Under 18 competition, kicking 26 goals in 11 games, and plucking 2.1 contested marks per game, which ranked him third in the League. However it was his chance appearance for South Australia at the National Championships when lead ruck Harry Barnett was a late withdrawal, that really grabbed the attention of national recruiters.
His full arsenal of aerial ability, athleticism, and versatility was on display, and bar one game, couldn’t be dislodged from the side thereafter.
But none of that mattered at Tumby Bay on Tuesday night as the Foster sat and waited, hopefully, he’d at least, maybe, catch a glimpse of his name on the tiny screen in the corner of the bar.
But the Phillipou call changed everything – he was on his way to Geelong.
“I just burst into tears and my family and the boys mobbed me,” he told the Adelaide Advertiser this week.
“It had reached the stage where I was wondering if it was ever going to happen and I had just had a couple of tough phone calls with my manager dampening expectations and preparing for the disappointment.
“In a matter of moments I got the call from Mattaes and then had guys like Tom Stewart from Geelong buzzing me – I can’t even describe how it felt.”
Foster flew into Geelong on Wednesday night and had his first walkthrough of the club with Player Development Manager Mark Worthington on Thursday, where he shook countless hands, tried to remember a long list of new names and got his first batch of official Geelong Cats kit handed to him.
It all happened very quickly for the 197cm 18 year old, but judging by his demeanor this week, he couldn’t be more eager to make the most of his opportunity.
Geelong List Manager Stephen Wells shared Foster’s enthusiasm.
“Phoenix showed great potential this season with Norwood, but his performance during the National championships for South Australia was also of a really high quality,” Wells said.
“We think his athleticism, size, and versatility, combined with his strong hands in the air makes him really valuable addition to our list, and we look forward to bringing him across to Victoria and helping him develop his game even further.”
