Sleepless night for top three pick

MOST 18 year olds are choosing not to get any sleep at this time of year, but aspiring football star Lachlan Hansen had little choice in the matter on Friday night.
The next day was to be the biggest of his short life and, despite trying to escape the situation during the week, there was no longer any chance of avoiding it.
“Last night (Friday), I started getting a bit nervous,” Hansen said.
“I was pretty good during the week. I had gone to Phillip Island for a few days with my mates, so I didn’t really think about footy. I was just trying to take my mind off it and hope for the best when it came around.”
A sleepless night ensued and there was little chance of it subsiding the next morning.
“Once I got here (Telstra Dome, where the draft was held), I started getting really nervous,” he said.
“I felt a little bit sick before I came, but as soon as my name got called out and it was the Kangaroos, I was over the moon. I was loving life.”
As a member of the Australian Institute of Sport’s AFL academy, Hansen had the opportunity to spend a week with Richmond last year and he cannot wait to get amongst it as a listed AFL player.
“I trained at Richmond for a week last year, so I got a taste of it and now I get a fair dinkum taste of it,” he said.
Despite having clubs clamouring over his potential, Hansen believes he still has plenty of room for improvement.
“My opposite foot isn’t really up to standard, so I’ll need to work on that, and probably my low balls,” he said.
Kangaroos coach Dean Laidley believes Hansen will have little trouble adapting to AFL level.
“He’ll fit right in with our playing group. He fits into the North Melbourne culture very well and that’s very important,” Laidley said.
“You can be laid back, but you can also be a competitor and that’s what he is.”
He is also confident that the talented youngster can make an impact at senior level next year.
“He needs a good three or fourmonth preseason behind him to get some miles in his legs and start to put a bit of weight on,” Laidley said.
“But we think he’ll be able to come into AFL footy pretty quickly.”