New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.<\/a><\/p>\nThe setback, literally, stopped O\u2019Brien\u2019s car. But it didn\u2019t stop the interview.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe (O\u2019Brien) accidentally got the car bogged!\u201d Willem Duursma tells foxfooty.com.au with a laugh.<\/p>\n
\u201cDad had to get some of the teachers from school to come help get him out of the driveway while the interview was happening. So they got the car out for him \u2013 it was pretty funny.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd it turns out that one of the teachers that got him out was a really big Eagles fan. So he had to get looked after with a couple of tickets.\u201d<\/p>\n
Willem Duursma and Zane Duursma playing together in 2023. Picture: Daniel Pockett\/AFL Photos\/via Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a light-hearted player reflection on the AFL club interview process, which can be an intimidating event for prospects. After seeing older siblings Xavier, Yasmin and Zane all deal with the meeting experience during their draft years, Willem has gone through it all himself in 2025.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the more interviews you have, the more prepared you are for them,\u201d possible Pick 1 Duursma says.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been pretty nice experiencing all the different questions. They\u2019re all pretty similar, but I think the more confident you are going into those interviews to answer their questions directly, the better you are for it.\u201d<\/p>\n
There\u2019s Zoom calls and home visits in the middle of the season. Then there\u2019s the structured, more formal catch-ups at the AFL draft combine where clubs set up in corporate boxes around the MCG and sit across the table from players.<\/p>\n
First-round prospect Sam Cumming reckons he had 16 club interviews in the first two days at the combine.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt first, it\u2019s definitely pretty daunting, especially when you\u2019ve got an Adem Yze (Richmond) or a Connor Idun (GWS Giants) looking across from you,\u201d Cumming tells foxfooty.com.au. \u201cIt\u2019s all part of the process.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not too bad. I guess you get used to it at some point.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sam Cumming of South Australia. Picture: Jason McCawley\/AFL Photos\/via Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images<\/p>\n
The key, for top-10 prospects like Dylan Patterson and Sam Grlj, is to embrace the conversation \u2013 for the simple reality is clubs just want to get to know players better.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou present yourself to the best of your ability each time and I think it is challenging, but I really enjoy it,\u201d Grlj tells foxfooty.com.au.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy should I shy away from it when I want to do this for a living? So I might as well embrace it.\u201d<\/p>\n
That is, though, easier said than done when scouts reach out to prospects for the first time.<\/p>\n
Central District forward Aidan Schubert remembers being next to his mum at home when he received a text from a club requesting an interview. He \u201cwas just so happy\u201d, describing it as \u201cone of the best moments and feelings\u201d.<\/p>\n
The interview that followed, however, didn\u2019t go to his liking.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t think I did too well,\u201d Schubert tells foxfooty.com.au. \u201cI was thinking about it for the next week because it was my first club and it was a dream to have a club come to my house<\/p>\n
\u201cI was just so nervous. When they pull out the video camera and everything like that, that\u2019s when it really hits.\u201d<\/p>\n
At least the recruiters left the Schubert house well fed.<\/p>\n
\u201cMum\u2019s huge on that (catering). Every club that\u2019s come has had pinwheels, cookies \u2013 she loves it,\u201d he says with a smile.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe likes treating them. She\u2019s a good cook!\u201d<\/p>\n
While every club\u2019s questioning differs slightly, the interviews are reasonably similar across the board.<\/p>\n
Aidan Schubert of Central District. Picture: James Elsby\/SANFLSource: Supplied<\/p>\n
Although, as there is every year, there\u2019s the odd curly question that forces prospects to think a bit longer and deeper.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was asked by Carlton: \u2018If your house was on fire and you only had three items to take, what are you taking?\u2019 I said my phone and my laptop \u2013 because I don\u2019t really want to replace them, it\u2019s a bit of a hassle \u2013 and also my golf clubs \u2013 because I don\u2019t want to have to replace them either,\u201d Duursma says.<\/p>\n
A common one, as Eastern Ranges duo Sullivan Robey and Lachy Dovaston both experienced, is: What\u2019s something no one else knows about you that we should know?<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t even know that!\u201d Dovaston tells foxfooty.com.au.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was also asked if I\u2019d found $500 on the ground what I\u2019d go spend with it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Top Gold Coast Suns academy chance Zeke Uwland remembers being left puzzled about one particular question.<\/p>\n
\u201cSomeone asked: \u2018What\u2019s something that you did for someone that you got no benefit from?\u2019 How are you supposed to answer that?\u201d he tells foxfooty.com.au.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven if you\u2019re helping someone you\u2019re going to benefit because you feel good.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sandringham Dragons forward Archie Ludowyke was somewhat caught off-guard by a reasonably straightforward one.<\/p>\n
\u201cProbably the main one \u2013 although it was so simple, it was so hard to answer \u2013 was just like: \u2018What would be one trait that you\u2019d change in yourself to become a better person?\u2019 It was so different that it\u2019s so hard to answer,\u201d Ludowyke tells foxfooty.com.au.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think I said just my leadership and communication outside of footy, as well as inside of footy, just reaching out to mates and seeing how they are.\u201d<\/p>\n
Top WA chance Jacob Farrow, who\u2019s met every club except Gold Coast, was asked by Richmond to nominate the craziest thing he\u2019d ever done.<\/p>\n
Curnow insists no bad blood with Voss | 01:33<\/p>\n
\u201cThey stumped me, so I was there for a bit thinking,\u201d he tells foxfooty.com.au.<\/p>\n
\u201cI said probably doing a backflip off a high wall and nearly cracking my head open.\u201d<\/p>\n
Murray Bushrangers defender Harry Dean hasn\u2019t had as many interviews this season due to him being tied to Carlton as a father-son selection \u2013 a reality one club boldly explored on the first day of the combine.<\/p>\n
\u201cI got put on the spot in the first interview by a club (on the Friday),\u201d Dean tells foxfooty.com.au.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey said: \u2018What are your intentions getting out of these next couple of days, knowing that you\u2019re a father-son to Carlton?\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cI just had to think about it, it put me on the spot a fair bit, it was a hard question to answer.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fellow club-tied player Louis Kellaway \u2013 a Richmond father-son prospect \u2013 was asked by Fremantle which Dockers player he \u201cwould kick off the list\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201c(It) was a little bit weird,\u201d Kellaway tells foxfooty.com.au.<\/p>\n
\u201cI talked around it \u2026 I just said I\u2019d slot into the midfield well with (Caleb) Serong and (Andrew) Brayshaw.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was a tough question to answer.\u201d<\/p>\n
Andrew Brayshaw of the Dockers. Picture: Robert Cianflone\/Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images<\/p>\n
Woodville-West Torrens prospect Jevan Phillipou claims he hadn\u2019t had any \u201cweird\u201d questions from clubs. But there\u2019d been some unique experiences.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve had a few where I\u2019ve had to analyse vision,\u201d Phillipou tells foxfooty.com.au. \u201cThey play a clip and ask what I\u2019ve picked up on. I had a case study where they asked me what I would do in a situation. What would my initial reaction be and how would I handle it?<\/p>\n
\u201cI also had to interview someone from Carlton. I had to interview them first for two minutes. I had to pick someone in the room and interview them. It was pretty cool, I got to be on the other side of it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI asked: \u2018What drives you in life or what gives you purpose in life?\u2019 I went pretty serious, I didn\u2019t muck around. I asked him what he looks for in players, what catches the eye straight away \u2013 those sort of questions, to get to know him as a person on a deeper level and then to know what\u2019s in a recruiter\u2019s mind.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"With two older brothers and an older sister already in the AFL system, Willem Duursma has witnessed \u2013…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":228706,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[3531,28952,63,689,3423,138185,20855,33337,1129,138190,138175,138180,138182,3499,120008,127778,3451,29980,2526,3507,138189,2105,2485,9130,2536,120007,138186,43,138187,138181,3417,15695,138178,39780,138188,138177,44,677,701,138183,3247,138179,3519,138174,138184,1124,41,39,42,40,133829,138176,7067],"class_list":["post-228705","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-aidan-schubert","tag-andrew-brayshaw","tag-australia","tag-australia-and-new-zealand","tag-ben-waterworth","tag-bogged-car","tag-case-study","tag-central-district","tag-charlie-curnow","tag-club-interviews","tag-club-recruiter-interviews","tag-combine-interview-process","tag-communication-outside","tag-daniel-pockett","tag-draft-combine","tag-draft-mail","tag-dylan-patterson","tag-family-home","tag-father-son-prospect","tag-father-son-selection","tag-forces-prospects","tag-getty-images-inc","tag-gold-coast","tag-gold-coast-suns","tag-harry-dean","tag-harry-dean-carlton","tag-head-open","tag-headlines","tag-home-visits","tag-intentions-getting","tag-jacob-farrow","tag-jason-mccawley","tag-light-hearted-player-reflection","tag-louis-kellaway","tag-meeting-experience","tag-memory-stands","tag-news","tag-oceania","tag-queensland","tag-reverse-grill","tag-robert-cianflone","tag-rohan-obrien","tag-sam-cumming","tag-schubert-house","tag-scouts-reach","tag-south-australia","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories","tag-voss","tag-weirdest-recruiter-club","tag-west-coast-eagles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/228705","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=228705"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/228705\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/228706"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=228705"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=228705"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=228705"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}