Rookies drafted

By Paul Pickering
PAKENHAM’S Alex Silvagni and Berwick’s Levi Casboult yesterday spoke of their unbridled relief at being selected in the AFL rookie draft.
The rookie selection meeting, conducted via an internet link on Tuesday morning, represented the last chance for aspiring AFL players to find their way onto a list for 2010.
Fremantle snapped up Silvagni, a 22-year-old defender from the Casey Scorpions, with pick 24, rewarding the 2009 VFL Team of the Year member for a six-week training stint out west.
Silvagni told the Gazette he was following the draft online via his iPod, but lost connection just before his name was posted.
Ex-Collingwood player Danny Stanley, who had also been training with the Dockers before being selected by the Gold Coast yesterday, delivered the good news via a congratulatory phone call minutes later.
“I wasn’t sure too sure what would happen today, so I’m a bit relieved,” Silvagni said.
“I had all my bags packed last night, ready to go home. I bought $200 worth of food last week and thought, ‘oh no, I’m going to have to eat all this food’, so last night I was cooking up steaks and milkshakes and all sorts of stuff.”
Silvagni said he is undaunted by the prospect of moving from one side of the country to the other, noting that the Dockers have displayed their willingness to give rookies – such as 2009 revelation Greg Broughton – a chance at senior level.
“It’s such a young list, so I think they’ll need some more mature bodies when they’ve got injuries to their best 22,” he said.
“I think they played 11 first-year players last year, so there’s plenty of opportunity there.”
Casboult, who played his junior footy at Beaconsfield and Berwick before starring for the Dandenong Stingrays over the last two seasons, was selected by Carlton with pick 44.
It was an ideal scenario for the life-long Carlton fan, who will now join former Stingrays team-mate Rohan Kerr at Visy Park.
“I go for the Blues, so it’s a dream come true really,” he said.
“I don’t really know how to describe it. It’s just unreal to see your name come up.”
Casboult, who has only been playing footy for four years, returned to the Stingrays program as a mature-age player this year. He led the TAC Cup in contested marks this year, splitting his time between a key forward post and the ruck.
The 196cm 19-year-old trained with the Blues and St Kilda before the draft, but was unsure about his prospects on Tuesday morning.
“I didn’t have any indication whether they were going to take me or not, so it was a nervous wait. And I’m definitely glad it’s over now,” he said.
Meanwhile, former Gippsland Power team-mates Mitch Golby and Jack Weston are also big-league bound after being chosen by Brisbane (pick 16) and Geelong (pick 21) respectively.
Golby is a silky-skilled left footer from Kilcunda-Bass who missed most of 2009 with a knee injury, while Weston is a versatile key-position player from Foster.
Both played for Vic Country in the AFL Under-18 Championships this year.