WESTERN Jet Jayden Post admits an AFL career was a distant dream this time last year.
Post, who turns 19 on Friday, was dropped from the Jets after round one last season but a move to centre half-back provided the launching pad to a startling 2008 that culminated in him winning the Barry Round Medal for the Jets' best and fairest.
"The team started winning a lot last year, so I found it hard to get back into the team," Post said.
"They brought me back in and threw me down back and from there I started playing some good footy and building on it each week."
The transformation for the Altona Juniors prodigy was complete when he was selected at No. 26 by Richmond in the national draft on Saturday.
Still, he thought he was in a dream on Saturday night when he was playing football at Williamstown beach in yellow and black stripes, just hours after hearing his name called out on the radio at his family home in Altona.
His mother Debra, father Brendan and sisters Carly and Emily were overjoyed to see him realise his AFL dream.
Debra had worked hard on her son's cooking skills in case he had to move away; Brendan gave him a job after finishing year 12 last year to help him afford Sunshine-based personal trainer Barry Conlan, who has helped turn Post into a pillar of strength.
The change has been reflected on the field. Post accumulated 35 disposals and 18 marks in a TAC Cup final.
Richmond recruiting manager Francis Jackson said the club was more impressed by Post having 50-odd more marks than any other player in the competition.
"Even though he was viewed as a 19-year-old by most clubs, we viewed him as an 18-year-old because he has played all the season at 18," he said.
"We thought he was a really talented tall, and it was important to get in a quality key-position player, given next year's draft is an eight-month draft with the change of birth dates and the concessions coming in."
The 194-centimetre, 88-kilogram athletic Post has been one of the most consistent talls in the competition, and can play at either end of the ground.
Post said he was relieved that he got his wish to stay in Victoria.
"I had a feeling I was going to go to Port Adelaide at one stage," he said.
"I wasn't anxious or anything; I don't really care about where I go, but there was also a bit of relief that Port didn't read out my name.
"I think now that I have been drafted by a Victorian side, I'm probably a lot happier to stay home. There won't be too much of a change for me because I can stay at home."
Last Modified on 03/12/2008 18:13