Geelong has selected two young talents on the opening night of the 2019 NAB AFL Draft at Marvel Stadium.
The Cats list management team waited patiently until their first selection was called and chose Geelong Falcons midfielder Cooper Stephens with the 16th overall pick.
The 188cm inside midfielder co-captained the Geelong Falcons in the AFL NAB League and averaged 25 disposals in his first two games before he suffered a leg fracture in round three.
View this post on InstagramWe can confirm Cooper has put a shirt on... and it's a Cats polo #StandProud #WeAreGeelong
“It is great to pick a local fella that can play as a strong running midfielder,” Recruiting and List Manager Stephen Wells said.
“Cooper is an outstanding character and he coped very well with the adversity of breaking his leg in a draft year.”
Three picks later the Cats called out Dandenong Stingray Sam De Koning.
The 200cm defender was a consistent performer for Vic Country this year, earning under-18 All-Australian honours.
De Koning averaged 12.5 disposals and 4.8 marks per game.
Despite spending most of his football to date in defence, Wells believes De Koning has the potential to have an impact across the ground.
“We are hoping Sam can develop over the next few years.”
“His opportunities aren’t going to be restricted to a tall defender though, he has done well as a forward and also as a potential ruckman.
Geelong will enter the second night of National Draft with picks 26 and 38.
“We don’t have anything locked in for tomorrow.”
“I think there are five picks before our first one, so we will be open to picking what comes our way and we may even trade the pick out or in, we just don’t know yet.”
Round two of the NAB AFL Draft will commence at 7pm tonight.
