By Luke Voogt
Former Geelong Falcons Tanner Bruhn, Oliver Henry, Charlie Lazzaro and Cameron Fleeton have begun their AFL journeys after earning selection in the 2020 draft.
Bruhn and Fleeton will head to GWS Giants, while Henry and Lazzaro earned places at Collingwood and North Melbourne respectively.
Many correctly tipped polished midfielder Bruhn, who the Giants selected at pick 12, to be the first Falcon drafted.
Bruhn has silky skills, can win the contested ball and is a goalkicking threat in his forays forward.
A knee injury ruled him out of playing for Vic Country last year and surgery complications would have resulted in him missing the start of this season, cancelled due to COVID-19.
But Bruhn impressed talent scouts at recent training sessions in the lead-up to the draft.
Henry, the younger brother of Cats defender Jack, went to Collingwood at pick 17.
Henry booted 18 goals in his 15 NAB League games for Geelong Falcons last year, including a five-goal haul.
The 187cm utility has a big vertical leap allowing him to play above his height up forward or as an intercept-marking defender.
North Melbourne selected midfielder Charlie Lazzaro at pick 36.
Lazzaro averaged 20 disposals – a high percentage contested – per game at the Falcons and laid plenty of tackles during the NAB League season.
Tall defender Fleeton joins his Falcons teammate Bruhn in western Sydney, after the Giants selected him at pick 58.
At 192cm tall, Fleeton can intercept, mark and play against key forwards, and uses the ball efficiently in the back half.
Geelong Cats picked up three rookies in the draft: Max Holmes, Shannon Neale and Nick Stevens.
The Cats selected Sandringham Dragons midfielder Holmes at pick 20 following a swap with Richmond.
Standing 189cm tall, Holmes is an athletic wingman and the son of dual Olympian and Commonwealth gold medallist Lee Naylor.
He initially followed in his mother’s footsteps, winning the Australian under-18 400 metre hurdles title, before choosing football.
After missing much of 2019 due to a broken arm, the 18-year-old recorded elite results in various agility and speed tests in the lead-up to the draft.
At pick 33 the Cats selected athletic ruckman Neale from South Fremantle.
The 17-year-old impressed in the WAFL under 18s this year playing eight matches, averaging 13.4 disposals and 2.8 marks.
At pick 47, Geelong selected Western Victorian Rebels product Stevens, who the Cats described as “a classy ball-user and excellent decision-maker”.
While Stevens has spent most of his junior career in the backline, the Cats are confident he has the ability to play in other parts of the ground.
Standing 192cm tall, Stevens was in good touch in two trial matches for the Rebels at the start of the year averaging 23 possessions (11 contested).
He averaged 14.3 disposals and 3.5 defensive rebounds per game in the NAB League in 2019.
