By Jonty Ralphsmith
Nothing is certain at the AFL draft.
A key part of the industry vernacular is Draft locks, those who appear certain to reach their pinnacle and get listed by an AFL club.
Leading into 2022, Beaconsfield boy Mitch Szybkowski was just about in that category.
Assumptions and expectations, however, are dangerous.
To put into perspective the difficulty of reaching an AFL list, each talent pathway club around Australia have almost the same number of players taken in the whole 2022 National Draft – 59.
Put another way, just over 10 per cent of players who nominated were selected.
But so highly was Szybkowski viewed, that he was part of a photo-shoot ahead of the NAB League season with Will Ashcroft and Elijah Tsatas, both who were selected in the top five of the National Draft.
Having seen the development of their players up close, clubs generally can point to one player they can place in the basket of being unluckily overlooked.
Szybkowski has claims to be the biggest name in that book.
Those at the Stingrays will tell you he’s long been the 2004-born player to watch in the region.
The big-bodied midfielder has won just about every award possible in the region.
Skippering his junior club to back-to-back premierships, performing in those big games, winning multiple league best and fairests to go with his sack of club best and fairests and leading interleague sides.
Since he has arrived on the NAB League scene, he has demonstrated excellent midfield craft, using his big body to out-muscle opponents, and there is his quick hands to feed out to the runners.
While there is a belief he may have lacked some athletic traits, he averaged 23 disposals for the Stingrays, played excellent footy for Vic Country and impressed many at Dandenong with the growth in his leadership.
He’s walking proof you can take nothing for granted, but those who have seen him up close say his work ethic will hold him in good stead as he continues to chase his dream, even if he has to do it the hard way.
Crafty forward Ziggy Toledo-Glasman, who was considered a draft smokey after a hot run of form to finish the NAB League home and away season, will return to the Stingrays in 2023.
Finn Emile-Brennan was a lightly-framed halfback who spent all year in the NAB League and Vic Country programs, and was also not selected despite being part of Melbourne’s Next Generation Academy.
From Gippsland Jonti Schuback was the hard luck story, showing glimpses as a halfback and outside player for Gippsland and Vic Country and was invited to the State Combine, but also went un-selected.
Schuback’s Power teammate Liam Serong, the younger brother of Caleb and Jai, will train with Fremantle in the preseason with the hope of winning a list spot in the Supplemntary Selection Period (SSP).
