YEAR in, year out, you hear of players nominating for the AFL national draft who have overcome major life obstacles.
Western Jets ruckman Jack Fitzpatrick fitted neatly into that category with many pre-draft stories devoted to the chronic fatigue syndrome that was a constant source of frustration for an otherwise fit and healthy young man.
What is rare is the post-draft follow-up story.
Some recruiters do not want to risk their reputation despite the potential reward of the player eventually overcoming a hurdle.
Fitzpatrick - a towering ruckman or key position player who could prove one of the steals of a draft bereft of quality talls - will have his chance to prove he is "towards the tail end" of the illness after landing at Melbourne with pick 50 in Thursday night's draft.
"It was elation," he said of the moment he heard his name read out on a radio.
"As I've said before, I think every kid in Australian wants to play AFL footy and now that I've got the chance to play with an AFL club, hopefully I'll do my bit and hopefully get a game.
"It's amazing really."
Fitzpatrick was joined by some of his new teammates for the first time on Friday.
He not only found a new breed of Demon ready to rise from the ashes of a wooden spoon campaign - but one with a heritage that is second-to-none.
"They're the oldest footy club in Australia," he observed. "They've been around for 151 years."
Fitzpatrick is thrilled to be joining a club in a rebuilding phase. He will grow with the talented crop of youngsters who Demons coach Dean Bailey has stockpiled in recent years.
"You go to Melbourne and you're almost starting off together," he said.
"I remember someone telling me it's almost an under-23 team.
"Although you've got the experienced players, most of the players are young and get the chance to build something together.
"That is really exciting."
Fitzpatrick attended a secondary school graduation for MacKillop College at the time of the draft. He would end up the talk of the school on its night of nights. "By the end of the night I had 70 messages to reply to."
Fitzpatrick - mindful of the fact some of his school mates had missed out on selection at the draft table - showed his true colours.
It was an unforgettable night for the Wyndhamvale Juniors product, but he also understood the pain some of his teammates would have been feeling as the only Jet selected.
"Hopefully in the next couple of weeks they can get their dream to come true as well."
Fitzpatrick insists he will not let his new-found fame get to his head. "You've got to try and keep a level head," the former St Andrews Primary School pupil said.
"You can't change as a person, you've got to remember who you are and where you come from. I'm looking forward to the opportunity.
"It's all about working your hardest and trying to reach that goal of playing a game on the MCG - one day."
Email a friend
Favourites
Del.icio.us
Facebook
Digg
StumbleUpon
MySpace
Reddit
Newsvine
LinkedIn
Kwoff
Twitter