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Despite an outstanding first season in which he played all but one game, No.2 pick Finn O\u2019Sullivan kept a low profile.<\/p>\n
He was one of just six players from the 2024 draft to play more than 20 games but attracted about 5 per cent of the headlines his good friend and No.1 pick Sam Lalor attracted in 11 matches for Richmond.<\/p>\n
It suited the country kid from Koroit, who, despite boarding at Xavier College in the final years of secondary school, continues to carry a drawl developed in the small rural town not far from Warrnambool.<\/p>\n
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North Melbourne\u2019s Finn O\u2019Sullivan had an impressive debut season in 2025, even if he didn\u2019t attract the hype of others from his draft year.Credit: Jason South<\/p>\n
Words fall from his mouth with the rhythm of running water as he explains why he fell for the Kangaroos in his first season.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like this club really suits me as a person. We fly below the radar a bit, so we just go about our business, but not in the spotlight too much,\u201d O\u2019Sullivan said.<\/p>\n
That might be about the change as four-time premiership coach Alastair Clarkson enters the fourth year of his five-year deal with the demand for wins rising after 11 wins in 69 matches since 2023.<\/p>\n
O\u2019Sullivan, who barracked for the Hawks as a kid when Clarkson helped turn country kids such as Jordan Lewis, Jarryd Roughead, Luke Hodge and Lance Franklin into superstars, is one of the players who holds the key to the coach\u2019s reign stretching beyond 2027.<\/p>\n
He is the youngest of the formidable five players picked inside the top four of their respective drafts, joining Harry Sheezel (pick three, 2022), George Wardlaw (pick four, 2022), Colby McKercher (pick two, 2023), Zane Duursma (pick four, 2023) as the club\u2019s future.<\/p>\n
The 19-year-old will push into the midfield in 2026 to show his poise and running power after finding his feet across half-back last season.<\/p>\n
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The next generation of Kangaroos, from left: Colby McKercher, Zane Duursma, Finn O\u2019Sullivan, George Wardlaw and Harry Sheezel on draft night. Credit: Getty Images<\/p>\n
It will be another step in his development, but already he is showing signs that he might be special. It\u2019s the reason why the Kangaroos could not pass him up when external noise was loud that they should use their first pick to fill a need for a key position player.<\/p>\n
They picked O\u2019Sullivan then traded back into the draft later to add tall defender Matt Whitlock to the list (meaning their first selection in last year\u2019s draft was pick 16) rather than pass up on O\u2019Sullivan.<\/p>\n
Kangaroos midfield coach Michael Barlow has worked closely with O\u2019Sullivan after being a development coach last season.<\/p>\n
He knows O\u2019Sullivan has the right mix of high cruising speed and endurance for the modern game. Importantly, he also has the attitude needed to lift the team off the bottom rungs of the ladder.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe is very humble, respectful and hardworking,\u201d Barlow said. \u201cBecause of his humility, he is probably naive to what his limit might be. But at the same time, he is so willing to learn, absorb coaching and take feedback and be a good teammate.\u201d<\/p>\n
Being a good teammate is important in successful clubs, and O\u2019Sullivan\u2019s words match those who say his nature makes him exactly that.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t dive too deep into the future or any accolades I want to achieve. For me, it\u2019s just about getting some wins on the board for the club,\u201d O\u2019Sullivan said.<\/p>\n
\u201cOnce you get the first and second game [on the board], you\u2019d say, \u2018what can I do now to make the team better?\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s really cool how quickly it happened for me to want to get wins on the board.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wins on the board is a phrase O\u2019Sullivan uses multiple times during our interview, as it\u2019s all that\u2019s on his mind. He enjoyed the Roos\u2019 five wins last season, and now wants to share the same feeling more often with his teammates.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe connection is very tight. Everyone\u2019s real close mates. Everyone wants to play for each other and get the best out of each other. We just have to show that on the field.\u201d O\u2019Sullivan said. \u201cWe have got talent. It\u2019s just more about playing for each other, playing freely and getting the job done.\u201d<\/p>\n
O\u2019Sullivan doesn\u2019t carry any of the baggage which comes with being anchored in the bottom three spots on the ladder for the past six seasons. He sees teammates with skill and promise and opportunity, and considers those who have been around for a while as fonts of football knowledge.<\/p>\n
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Spring-heeled Kangaroo Finn O\u2019Sullivan. Credit: AFL Photos via Getty Images<\/p>\n
Barlow is bullish on O\u2019Sullivan. He says his body is about 60-70 per cent of full maturity, but his running is already elite.<\/p>\n
Part of the process to getting better this season will be knowing when to give the ball to his first option and when to use his talent to light up a game.<\/p>\n
But only part. He will be encouraged to use his strength, which is his running power.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s something I want to use as a weapon,\u201d O\u2019Sullivan said. \u201cI still have to train it and use it to my advantage because it will hopefully help my team.\u201d<\/p>\n
The word \u201cteam\u201d is never far away from his lips; a learnt habit that keeps getting reinforced at the house he shares in Yarraville with his older brothers Jack and Paddy and former Bomber Luamon Lual.<\/p>\n
Jack is on Carlton\u2019s VFL list and Paddy is kicking around at Uni Blues in the VAFA. In 2022, Finn watched them played in a premiership together at Koroit, the club\u2019s seventh in succession in the Hampden League.<\/p>\n
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There will be pressure on coach Alastair Clarkson in 2026 if the Roos don\u2019t start to show signs of improvement.Credit: Getty Images<\/p>\n
There is no chance of O\u2019Sullivan getting too big for his boots around them. And he is loving the chance to live under the same roof as his siblings again after his years at boarding school.<\/p>\n
\u201c[We] have not been living together for a while.[It\u2019s an] unbelievable feeling living with your brothers again,\u201d O\u2019Sullivan said.<\/p>\n
At the Kangaroos, he feels as though he is surrounded by a bunch of brothers, who have bonded under the low-key, sometimes avuncular approach of Clarkson, who is spending more time one-on-one with his players this pre-season.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like he\u2019s a real personable guy, that\u2019s one of his weapons as a coach. When you hear that feedback from him directly, it\u2019s a real uplifter,\u201d O\u2019Sullivan said.<\/p>\n
As long as the coach sticks to football. His strike rate when attaching nicknames to players is declining. \u201cHe tried something early but like all his nicknames, they don\u2019t stick,\u201d O\u2019Sullivan, who is known as \u2018Foss\u2019 for obvious reasons, said.<\/p>\n
In O\u2019Sullivan, the Kangaroos have found one, a genuine footballer who grew up around sport, is popular wherever he goes and free of the adornments many crave.<\/p>\n
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Barlow realised what mattered most to the 19-year-old when he was part of the North Warrnambool team that beat Koroit in last year\u2019s Hampden League grand final after being runners-up more than once in the previous decade.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe is humble and down to earth, but you can\u2019t take Koroit out of the boy,\u201d Barlow laughed.<\/p>\n
Although O\u2019Sullivan holds a key, he instinctively knows football success relies completely on team and community. It\u2019s in his blood.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of people just expect it to click, and that\u2019s just not the way it works. Just stick with us, coz, um, yeah, we\u2019re trying our guts out,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n