Many paths to AFL, despite loss of NAB League: Miers
GEELONG forward Gryan Miers has urged draft prospects to take a breath and not get too concerned, after the NAB League was officially called off this week.
The under-18 competition was set to play regionally but new Victorian government coronavirus restrictions led to it being abandoned for 2020.
That decision left hundreds of players without a chance to push their cases to be drafted at the end of the year.
Miers was one of the great beneficiaries of the Geelong Falcons program, when he shot into draft consideration in 2017.
The Grovedale product admitted he hadn’t fancied his chances of being drafted in pre-season but a 50-goal season, punctuated by a sevengoal haul in the grand final,
Langford 2, Draper, McDonaldTipungwuti, Shiel,
Zaharakis, Saad, McKenna.
Cameron, Shaw 2, Coniglio, Ward,
Himmelberg, Finlayson.
Merrett, Ridley, Hurley, Smith, ZerkThatcher.
Whitfield, Coniglio, Haynes, Shaw, Himmelberg. Metricon Stadium. with the Falcons led to Geelong taking him with pick 57 in the 2017 AFL Draft.
Miers is close to some players preparing to play for the Falcons after coaching under-16s at Grovedale last year. He was disappointed the NAB League was off but stressed that the call shouldn’t discourage youngsters.
“I don’t think it’s the be-all, end-all for this year,” he said.
“I wouldn’t have got drafted if my year (was cancelled). I was never really planning to get drafted at 18, I was kind of lucky to get into a good side to then put my name up for it.”
Even after he burst onto the Geelong list, Miers spent 2018 in the VFL learning the game.
Since making his debut in Round 1, 2019, he hasn’t missed a match for the Cats, and has played 35 games for 39 goals.
He said his journey was proof that there were different ways to make it at the top level.
“You see people like Tom Stewart, Tim Kelly who were 24, 25 years old and finally get their chance,” Miers said.
“Just keep enjoying your footy, it’s not a rush. A lot of players won’t come in and play (straight away), they might play when they are 22. So don’t rush yourself, just enjoy it and go with the flow at the moment and down the track you might get your opportunity.”