WHILE the majority of AFL draftees start from scratch, Kieran King is looking forward to linking back up with a familiar face when he begins his career at the Brisbane Lions.
King, picked up by the Lions with the No. 81 selection of Saturday’s draft is a graduate of the AFL/AIS Academy.
As such, he’s already come under the watchful eye of Lions coach Michael Voss.
“When I went on the AIS tour of South Africa, Nathan Buckley was originally the mentor for my midfield group but he (Voss) took over when Buckley had to head home for other commitments,” King said.
“To be able to learn from someone who has achieved so much in the game was amazing and I feel really comfortable knowing that he’ll be my first AFL coach.”
The young East Fremantle midfielder still had a year of junior eligibility remaining when the Lions made him the penultimate pick of the draft.
He followed the selection process with his family in Perth and thought his chance might have passed him by for this year as the end of the draft approached.
“I was hopeful that I might get drafted – but I certainly didn’t expect it,” he said.
“I was listening to the draft and it was probably more about seeing where all the other WA boys ended up, because there were so many of them.
“When I heard my name get called I wasn’t really paying all that much attention. I couldn’t believe it and I just sat in silence for about 10 seconds.”
A top notch junior athlete and 400 metre runner before focusing on football, King was one of three Western Australians snared by the Lions in a draft crop that also featured two Tasmanians (Aaron Cornelius and Bart McCullough) and a South Australian (Jack Redden).
Aside from No. 7 pick Daniel Rich, Perth has also supplied the Lions with Todd Banfield (No. 41).
Banfield has played senior football for Swan Districts and his most recent game was the 2008 WAFL grand final against Rich and Subiaco.
“I talked a couple of times with (Lions recruiter) Graeme Hadley after the state screening testing but I wasn’t sure whether I’d get drafted,” Banfield said.
“The biggest thing for me is just getting over to Brisbane and getting the respect of the other players to start with.
“I want to put in the hard yards and do everything I can to make sure I make a career out of this.”