MATTHEW Hayball feared his dream of playing in the AFL was over when he failed to make South Australia’s squad for this year’s national under-18 championships.
“It pretty disappointing to be overlooked,” the 18-year-old told geelongcats.com.au on Wednesday evening.
“But I guess I’m really glad that it wasn’t the end of the line for me, when I thought maybe it would be.”
Indeed, Geelong’s recruiting boss Stephen Wells kept Hayball firmly in his thinking, even after he missed out on the national champs.
And Hayball played his part by stringing together a number of impressive performances in the SANFL under-18 competition with West Adelaide, during which he showed off his pace and silky skills.
Then, on Tuesday night, he was rewarded for not dropping his bundle when the Cats produced one of the biggest turn-ups of the NAB AFL Draft by selecting him with their final pick (No. 70).
“I guess it was a bit of a shock,” Hayball said. “I’ve come out of nowhere, I guess, in a lot of people’s opinions.
“It was only within the last couple of weeks that I met Ben Corcoran, who is Geelong’s SA recruiting officer. So it all happened really quickly.
“But I had been talking to Stephen Wells quite frequently over the past week or so.
“Obviously nothing was set in stone, and the Cats didn’t make any promises, but it was all looking pretty promising.
“So I had high hopes of being drafted and I was fortunate enough to be given the opportunity.
“I can’t wait to get into it and prove they made the right decision.”
Hayball was told during the footy season that a couple of AFL clubs were monitoring his progress.
West Adelaide’s senior coach, Mark Mickan, who spent some time working as a scout for Geelong before taking on his current coaching role, was among the people who encouraged him to nominate for the draft.
“When I nominated I was just hoping for the best,” Hayball said. “I hadn’t been contacted at all when I nominated, but I guess it was lucky I did.”
Hayball watched the draft at a mate’s house, surrounded by close friends.
“They just went crazy when my name got called out,” he said.
“I’m so glad that the Cats saw enough in me without playing in the under-18 championships to give me the opportunity.
“I’m really keen to repay their faith.”
The fact he is now an AFL player will take some time to sink in.
“It is quite surreal,” Hayball remarked. “It is unbelievable. I got a call from Joel Selwood last night and text messages from the good majority of the team.
“It’s just been unreal. All these guys I’ve been idolising for so long, they know my name now.
“It’s certainly surreal.”
Hayball is likely to arrive at Simonds Stadium on Friday.
He will have a couple of days to acclimatise before being thrown into a modified training program.
“I’m quite a versatile player, which Stephen Wells said is one of the reasons that the Cats decided to select me,” Hayball said.
“I’ve played a lot on the wing, and I’m a left-footer, so I guess I would love develop into an Isaac Smith-type player.
“I like his ability to run and carry and his long left foot.
“Of course, time will tell what position the Cats want me to focus on.
“But I’ll be coming over with the mindset that I need to work extremely hard, because that’s what’s it’s going to take to be successful and show everyone that I deserve to be there.”
