By Marc McGowan
Noah Mraz did not have to wait long for his first lesson as a Hawthorn footballer.
The Endeavour Hills teenager, out of the Dandenong Stingrays and Narre North Foxes, realised his AFL dream on Thursday night when the Hawks selected him with the No.34 pick in the draft.
Mraz’s friends, family and some teammates swamped him on his couch before he even heard the AFL’s general manager of football, Laura Kane, complete his surname – and “Sam from Hawthorn”, who he did not instantly recognise as coach Sam Mitchell, rang him soon after.
However, it was the congratulatory text from Hawks skipper James Sicily that delivered the 198-centimetre defender some football education on what he quickly described as the best night of his life.
“Sicily text me, and I said, ‘Thanks, James’, and he replies, ‘That’s the first and last time you call me, James’,” Mraz laughed while reliving his draft-night experience to this masthead. “Now I’m calling him ‘Sis’, every single time without fail.”
This masthead followed Mraz, along with Sandringham Dragons pair Levi Ashcroft and Nathaniel Sulzberger, who relocated from Hobart, throughout this year as they detailed the highs and lows on the road to the AFL draft.
In the first instalment of “Draft dreams” in March, Mraz revealed how he cried while telling Dandenong Rangers basketball coach Jason Manton last year that he was quitting to focus on football.
There were greater challenges to come, with Mraz undergoing a scan on his left foot after representing the AFL academy against VFL team Coburg in April. The news was not good: he had sustained a stress fracture in his left navicular bone, which ended his season after only two games for the Stingrays.
Mraz instantly feared his AFL ambitions were dashed, at least until some recruiters assured him he would still get picked. He even thought this masthead would dump him from the series. But the goal was to give readers an insight, from various perspectives, into how a draft season can go.
Brisbane Lions father-son gun Ashcroft was always considered a top-five prospect, and officially became a Lion when they matched Melbourne’s bid with the fifth pick on Wednesday night.
New Hawk Noah Mraz toured Hawthorn’s Waverley Park facilities on Friday.Credit: Hawthorn Football Club
He joins his Norm Smith Medal-winning brother Will at Brisbane, where their father Marcus played in the club’s famous flag three-peat from 2001-03.
“The Brisbane Lions are just such a great club to be a part of – it’s a very team-oriented culture,” Ashcroft said.
“Everyone has so much fun being together as a group and enjoys each other’s company, which I really love about the club. I’ve been so included when training at the club, even before being drafted. I still felt such a part of what the team is doing and building, so that was a driving force.”
Unfortunately, Sulzberger was overlooked in the national and rookie drafts after holding out hope that Collingwood or Geelong would select him.
There is still a chance a club could invite him to train and audition during the summer for a pre-season supplemental selection rookie spot.
Mraz rode the emotional roller-coaster even on draft night, as his agent Ben Williams – of Big Brother fame – kept him informed of Gold Coast’s failed attempt to trade for Hawthorn’s second-round pick to select him.
Unbeknown to Mraz, the Hawks knocked the Suns back because they wanted to draft him.
“When it said, ‘pick is in’ [on Fox Footy’s coverage], I was disappointed because I was like, ‘Oh, I’ve got to wait some more’,” Mraz said.
An injury ruined Mraz’s draft season, but recruiters saw his potential.Credit: Eddie Jim
“But it was my name, anyway, so I was like, ‘What the hell?’ and everyone went crazy. It was the biggest surprise ever. I didn’t even hear my last name, and didn’t even know it was me.
“They said ‘Noah’ and everyone started screaming, and I was trying to get everyone out the way to see the screen to make sure it was actually me.”
Mraz toured Hawthorn’s Waverley Park facilities on Friday with fellow draftee Cody Anderson, from Eastern Ranges, and has already acquired a new nickname.
“We had to write each other questions [for the Hawks website], and the idiot asked me, ‘Can you sing a Jason Mraz song?’” Mraz said. “I did one little line. I just sang I’m Yours for a little bit. I think I’ve copped ‘Jason’ as a nickname. It could be worse.”
Mraz joins Hawthorn during an off-season where they recruited tall defenders Tom Barrass and Josh Battle, on top of already having Sam Frost and James Blanck on the list, so he knows he will have to bide his time.
The 18-year-old has been back running since August, and managed a slick 6:32 in the two-kilometre time trial in an indication of his athletic traits and how hard he worked to get up to speed after his time off.
Mraz cannot wait to start training with the Hawks on Monday and make his next dream – playing an AFL game – a reality.
“It’s all a bit different. You usually think it’s pretty cool to talk to an AFL player, but now you’re one of them, so it’s just so cool, and I’m so grateful,” he said.
“Nothing changes in who I am, and the person I want to be. I’ll make a little bit more money, but I’m still the same kid, and I just love playing football, and I’m just glad I get to do it at a club like Hawthorn.
“The dream’s come true [to be drafted], but now it’s time to put in the work and do my best to try to get a game and make a career out of this. The hard work is only beginning.”
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