As draft night quickly approaches, North Melbourne coach Brad Scott has reflected on the trials and tribulations he faced as a young 18-year-old joining the AFL.
Scott, who was drafted by Hawthorn with pick 60 in 1994 before being re-drafted with pick 85 in 1996, will look to use his experiences to guide the next crop of Roos’ youngsters.
“I can impart some of the lessons I learnt to some of our young players,” Scott told NMFC.com.au.
Despite his twin brother Chris being drafted by Brisbane the year before, and subsequently winning the 1994 Rising Star Award, Scott didn’t feel any pressure to perform once drafted.
In fact, he believes a laid-back approach largely contributed to his initial failure in the system.
“I started in footy a little bit later than (Chris) did, he was already a very established player, and had a pretty decorated junior career,” Scott said.
“I was late to the game and probably preferred to play some other sports as a teenager. It was a mistake when I look back on it. I had pretty low expectations of myself. I just wanted to go and fall into line and do as I was told, rather than setting really high expectations of myself.”
For most young footballers, being drafted to your favourite team is a childhood dream, but for Scott, suddenly working alongside his idols really impacted his willingness to improve.
“I came in with a bit of lack of self belief in my own ability. I walked in on my first day at Hawthorn and I met my heroes.
“Jason Dunstall was still there, John Platten, and Dermott Brereton was still around, so it was an amazing experience and I was a bit awestruck. I was training on Darren Jarman who was a boyhood idol, and I just took a backseat and let them go about their business and tried to be seen and not heard.”
Having not played a single game for the Hawks in his first year at the club, Scott was delisted at the end of 1995.
“When I was delisted it really gave me the jolt I needed, and I went back with a completely different attitude and I was determined I was going to have real crack at it,” Scott said.
“At that stage my attitude was, ‘I don’t care what number I get drafted, I just want to get an opportunity’, and once I got that opportunity I was never going to let it slip.”
Hawthorn re-selected the young defender with its final pick of the 1996 draft, and he went on to become a dual premiership star with Brisbane.
Preparing for his ninth season as North’s senior coach, Scott has seen young recruits make the same mistakes he made as an 18-year-old.
“I see a lot of similarities with players who get a bit awestruck by some of the superstars running around and they forget what they do well,” he added.
“You see players who are very comfortable being the big fish in the small pond, and when they get to AFL footy, they get a bit of a rude shock that everyone’s got talent, and everyone works pretty hard, but it’s the exceptional players that take it to a new level.
“Don’t sit back and just wait for it to happen. My great lesson was you’re in control of your own destiny and you can have all the support in the world around you, but at the end of the day it’s up to you. You’ve got to drive your own performance, and you’ve got to drive your own standards and certainly use all of the resources that are available to you.”
North will look to add to its list this Friday night, taking five selections into the national draft.
