Geelong has selected local lad Tom Stewart in the NAB AFL Draft.

The Cats snared Stewart with their second selection (No. 40) in the NAB AFL Draft.

Stewart is a dashing defender who finished second in Geelong's 2016 VFL best and fairest and earned selection in the VFL team of the year.

He previously played under Cats assistant coach and former star defender Matthew Scarlett at Geelong Football League powerhouse South Barwon.

The 23-year-old spoke to the Geelong Advertiser a week out from the draft and spoke about how it would be feel if he was drafted.

“It would be amazing,” he said.

“As a young bloke you always dream of it, but until it happens it’s a pretty surreal feeling thinking about it.

“It would be a dream come true — for all the hard work and effort you put into it.

“It would be fantastic.

“The aspiration (of going to play VFL) wasn’t to get drafted, it was to just test my wares at VFL level and, I suppose at the end of the day, I was just there to play good footy.”

Stewart was invited to the recent Draft Combine but was sidelined from the physical testing by a shoulder injury.