James Tunstill is prepared to go the extra mile for his footy career.

The Lions’ final selection in the 2021 NAB AFL Draft spent the past year doing the 450km round trip from his Busselton home in the Southwest of Western Australia to Perth to play footy.

Each week he’d make the trip to turn out for either WAFL Club East Perth or the WA State 19s side.

It was only his first full season in an elite program, and it seemed to the many scouts who tracked his progressed that his game developed on a weekly basis.

The 41st pick in the draft has made a name for himself as a hard-working midfielder capable of breaking lines with his run and carry and also his attacking ball use.

However, Lions National Recruiting Manager Stephen Conole said he believed he possessed the traits to play a variety of roles at AFL level.

“We are thrilled to bring James into the footy club and are excited to discover how much growth he has in his game going forward,’’ he said.

“This was his first full season in a pathway program and even then, he was still based in Busselton and had to travel to Perth for his games at East Perth and WA.

“He is a player with a strong all-round athletic base, who is competitive and works with real intent from contest to contest.’’