WHEN Sam Menegola was delisted by Fremantle late last year after three seasons on the club’s rookie list, he found himself wondering if he would ever make it back to the AFL.

The 23-year-old had, after all, also spent a year on Hawthorn’s rookie list prior to joining the Dockers.

He thought it might be a case of two strikes and out, with no AFL appearances to his name.

“I never stopped wanting to play AFL footy,” the 23-year-old told geelongcats.com.au.

“But a realisation set in that I had used my two chances and I wasn’t going to get another go at it.”

Menegola then suffered a serious ankle injury in his first scratch match with his new WAFL club, Subiaco.

At that point, he turned his focus towards developing a post-footy career as an insurance broker.

“I landed at a really good company and was very happy with that,” he said.

How times have changed.

Menegola eventually played his first official WAFL game for Subiaco in early June.

In the ensuing four months, he hit such a purple patch of form that he ended up averaging 27 disposals and kicking 18 goals in 12 home and away matches.

He subsequently finished third in the Sandover Medal, just four votes behind the winner, Aidan Tropiano.

In the 5-4-3-2-1 voting system, Menegola polled 41 votes, an average of 3.42 per game.

He starred in the finals series with 28 possessions and two goals in the semi-final and 30 touches and a goal in the Grand Final, capping off his turnaround by helping Subiaco win the WAFL premiership.

“In the second half of the season, I was pinching myself when I thought about how well things were going,” Menegola reflected.

Suddenly, the AFL was back on the agenda.

After meeting with a few clubs, and scoring an invite to the WA combine, he nominated for the draft.

Then, on Tuesday night, his remarkable revival reached a new high when he was selected by the Cats with their second pick (No. 66) in the NAB AFL Draft.

“It was quite easily the best draft day I’ve ever had. None of them are fun; they’re always painful,” Menegola said.

“When you get rookie-listed you’re still ecstatic, but to get senior-listed is really, really cool. I’m absolutely pumped with it.

“We’d had a fair bit of interest from a fair few clubs throughout the year, so leading into the draft we thought there was a really good chance that I would be selected.

“But going into any draft, you know there’s that real good chance that you’re not going to be picked, so I was definitely nervous.”

“I actually didn’t speak to Geelong until Stephen Wells rang me on the morning of the draft.

“I think they spoke to my manager Colin Young quite a bit, and they spoke to Simon Lloyd, who I was with for a few years at Fremantle [and who has joined the Cats as director of coaching].”

A change of on-field role was a driving force behind Menegola’s form spike.

“When I was on Fremantle’s list I was playing in the WAFL predominantly as a tagger or across half-back - really negating roles,” he explained. “I was never really let off the leash.

“But Jarrad Schofield, the Subiaco coach, said that if I came to Subi he would let me play as an inside midfielder. He wanted me to just go and play footy.

“Jarrad gave me the opportunity and then kept helping me along the way with feedback and ideas on how I could improve. So he played a massive role in what I was able to achieve.

“The role he gave me and the way he coached me through the year was perfect, really. I enjoyed having the freedom to actually just go and get the footy.

“That culminated in winning a flag with Subi, which was unbelievable.

“To be honest, the whole Subiaco footy club was fantastic. It was a privilege to play for them.”

For his part, Schofield believes the time away from the AFL system made Menegola a more rounded player.

"Twelve months out of the system enabled him to relieve the pressure on himself to succeed," Schofield said.

"But what he showed this year, and what we probably hadn't seen in previous years at both Freo and Hawthorn, is his ability to play as onballer.

"These days teams are going for that big-bodied onballer and he's able to do that."

Schofield also praised Menegola for making major improvements to his kicking.

"I know there has been some question marks on his field kicking, but his kicking was sensational this year," Schofield said.

"In terms of him being ready, physically he definitely is, but mentally I do think he's ready to go and I think Geelong have picked up a nice little player there."

Now Menegola is priming himself for the start of a new footballing journey at Simonds Stadium, one he hopes will at the very least include a debut AFL game.

“I’m hoping I can have an impact,” he said. “Firstly, I just want to get across there, work hard and earn the respect of the group.

“I think that’s what springs to mind when I think about goals for next year.

“I feel like I’ve done an apprenticeship in football now. I feel like I’m ready; I know what I have to do.”

With Alex Malcolm - AFL Media