Never before in the history of the Club has a recipient of the Rookie of the Year award gone on to win the Merrett-Murray Medal in the following year.

But Tom Rockliff is not your ordinary footballer.

The 183cm midfielder has gone from strength to strength since arriving at the Lions - but it almost wasn’t to be.

Rockliff was overlooked a staggering 85 times before being drafted, and was finally selected in the Pre-Season Draft - not the National Draft - by the Lions at Pick No.5.

Rockliff sat and watched as teammates Daniel Rich, Todd Banfield, Jack Redden and Aaron Cornelius were picked up in the National Draft, as well as other unknowns including Steele Sidebottom, Jack Watts, Nic Naitanui, and Jackson Trengove.

List managers around the country saw Rockliff as a somewhat undersized and slow small forward, but the Lions took the punt on someone they saw to be a natural footballer - and have reaped the rewards beyond what they could have imagined.

The minute he arrived at the Club, Rockliff’s work rate was second to none. He worked hard over his first two seasons to become one of the Club’s most promising young talents. He was rewarded for his efforts with a Rising Star nomination in 2010.

But 2011 was where Rockliff really hit his strides.

He emerged as one of the Lions’ most exciting success stories in 2011, establishing himself as an elite midfielder of the competition, a true professional, and a team leader both on and off the field.

Rockliff’s leadership qualities were recognised from early in the season as one of the youngest players in the Lions’ history to be elevated to the Club’s leadership group.

He went on to display outstanding and consistent form on the field, being among the Lions’ top five for the season in key statistical categories including disposals, marks, goal assists, and tackles.

Such was his achievement and contribution to the team, Rockliff led the final Club Champion voting tally by two votes despite missing two games of the season with a calf injury, and became the youngest ever player to be awarded with the Merrett-Murray Medal.

Rockliff was his usual humble self when accepting his well-deserved award, which has previously been won by the likes of Michael Voss, Simon Black, Justin Leppitsch, Jason Akermanis, and Chris Scott.

“It doesn’t sit comfortably with me right now, sitting in that category with the blokes that have won it in the past,” Rockliff said.

“I think I’ve still got a lot of work to do before I can be mentioned in the same sentence.”

Rockliff credited the coaches and staff at the Lions for their role in his development.

“[Midfield coach] Shane Woewodin has been great for me this year, and great for the Club. And it’s sad to see Jade [Rawlings] and Beau [McDonald] go, because they’ve been really important parts of the footy Club and it’s sad to see the back of them,” he said.

“We know we’re going in the right place. We do give our all every week and it’s a shame that we’ve only been able to produce four wins this year, but hopefully next year we can go a lot further.”

“There’s plenty of Clubs out there who passed on me and didn’t want to give me a chance.”

“I’m so grateful to the Lions for taking a risk on me three years ago, and I hope I can repay that in years to come. “