By Oliver Lees
Sunbury Lions product Josh Goater is doing his best to stay calm ahead of this year’s AFL national draft.
“It’s obviously on my mind that the draft is coming up, but I’m just trying to keep focused, and whatever happens, happens,” Goater said.
“I’ve put a season together which I’ve been happy with so it’s the sort of thing where you have to wait for it to sort itself out.”
A Sunbury local, Goater played the entirety of his junior football with the Lions, where he won two premierships.
He said he first properly entertained the idea of playing in the AFL after stringing together some impressive performances while playing for Vic Metro in under-16s.
At that time he made the choice to ditch his cricket commitments with Sunbury Cricket Club in order to focus on developing his football skills.
The road to this year’s draft hasn’t been short of challenges for the 18-year-old, with COVID-19 creating intermittent interruptions to football over the past two years.
This included the cancellation of this year’s AFL Draft National Combine, where the country’s most promising draft prospects are put through a series of drills and tests as a last-ditch attempt to impress AFL recruiters.
Goater said it was disappointing not to be able to participate despite being invited, but it hadn’t discouraged his ambition of reaching the professional level.
“It would have been a pretty good experience and opportunity to put my best foot forward, but you just have to deal with whatever it is you have to do,” he said.
“It’s been a lot of ups and downs, and everyone’s in the same boat. You just have to make sure you’re ticking all the boxes.
“I’ve had the dream of playing AFL footy for a while now. I’ve just been focused on continuing my training and preparation, because you don’t know when you could be playing, it could be next week or next month.”
Despite the unorthodox season, Goater has established himself as a versatile role player in this year’s draft class.
Playing for the Calder Cannons this season he averaged 24 disposals, two tackles and five marks across seven games, and was given the opportunity to run out for Essendon in the VFL.
Goater was also able to play three senior matches with the Sunbury Lions senior team alongside his older brother Luke, before the NAB League season began.
At 190 centimetres, Lions coach Travis Hodgson commended Goater’s athleticism and professionalism, saying his best game came when playing across half back.
Goater said he was happy with his form in the backline, but recently had been working on his skills in the midfield as well.
“I think I can play some good footy in the midfield. I mentioned that I wanted to have a midfield role and it’s something that my coaches at Sunbury and Calder were really supportive of,” he said.
“Being at Essendon [VFL] for training twice a week, it’s a pretty professional environment that shows you where you need to be in the coming years.”
The AFL national draft will be held on November 24.
