The prospect of moving away from family and friends is daunting for anyone – let alone a teenager fresh out of high school.

But the reality is that a large number of draftees are required to head interstate to realise their AFL dream.

Daniel McStay was just one of seven recruits from the recent AFL National and Rookie Drafts who relocated to Brisbane late last year to join the Lions.

The Eastern Ranges product said having teammates who were going through, or had gone through, similar challenges certainly helped him settle into his new environment.

“It's a lot easier to communicate with guys going through the same thing, moving interstate and dealing with the same kind of things and if you ever need anyone to talk to, who better than the people who you're going through it with, so that's made it a lot easier,” McStay told the Back Page Lead recently.

“The welfare staff have been great in really making us feel welcome and bringing us together.

“In our first week at the club, the second and third year players took us away to an island and we had a weekend away with the boys...we were just mucking around, went to the beach and having some fun, it was good just to relax with the guys and get to know them, nothing too serious."

Just two months into his first AFL pre-season, McStay has set realistic expectations on himself, and understands that players of his size (194cm) generally take longer to develop.

“Being a key position player it's obviously a lot tougher to break out in your first year of AFL footy, so I'm planning on just getting on the training track and doing everything possible to improve and work on my deficiencies, and just become a good NEAFL player if that's possible,” he said.

“The plan is basically to stay injury free for my first year and take it from there I guess.”