Draft hope hailed as the next Cripps

ENTERING his draft year, Tom Green knew he had to slim down.

“I think I was carrying a bit of excess fat,” Green said.

“It was mainly about portion control, making my portions a little bit smaller, and that’s worked wonders.”

Green dropped 8kg last summer on the back of the change, setting the foundations for a sterling year which has left the Greater Western Sydney academy member in the top-10 conversation ahead of the AFL national draft.

The Giants will be hoping Green slips to their Pick 6, but Melbourne has not ruled out making a bid at Pick 3 and Adelaide (Pick 4) and Sydney ( Pick 5) has also shown significant interest.

A contested beast compared with Carlton’s Patrick Cripps, Green hails from Canberra but has Richmond links.

His grandfather, Michael Green, played in four premierships for the Tigers in the 1960s and ’70s and father Richard played for Richmond’s under- 19s before a career in the army.

Therefore, it is little surprise the 18-year-old follows the yellow and black and attended the 2019 grand final at the MCG.

“I’m a Richmond supporter but I wouldn’t have minded if GWS won, knowing some of the guys and that sort of thing,” Green said.

Captaining the Allies, Green was the sixth-ranked player at the under-18 national championships and averaged the most contested possessions of anyone, with 16.3 a game.

Strong in the contest and clean with his hands, the Cripps comparisons are clear and the Blues star is a player Green has watched closely.

“He’s someone I certainly try and model my game on,” Green said.

Green trained with the Giants in pre-season and said he was a “massive advocate” for the academy.

Having finished school last year, Green has been studying a Bachelor of Politics and International Relations at the University of Canberra this year but has no plans to be prime minister one day.

“Probably not,” Green laughed. “I’m interested in history, that’s why I picked it. But one thing it helped me with last semester was it probably helped me be one of the more informed 18-year-old voters in the country.”