The Draft by Emma Quayle is a book about Australian Rules Football. So most of you will stop reading now…
Quayle’s book follows the 2007 draft, and focuses on five boys out of the 1200 who nominated – Trent Cotchin, Cyril Rioli, Ben McEvoy, Brad Ebert, and Patrick Veszpremi. Each of them was vastly different, and Quayle’s descriptions of their style of play, temperament, and attitude is the most gripping part of this book. In describing the individuals, she also exposes the grueling draft process and how mental health, and mental fitness, is as important as the physical. It’s not enough to be a good kick.
Trent was different. His mind looked further ahead. After an under-10s game at West Preston one weekend, Peter asked his son how he’d managed to chop off so many opposition kick-ins. “Easy,” Trent told him. “I just watched the kid’s eyes.”
You’re reminded while reading just how young these boys are, and going through a process that requires physical and mental stamina. Many of them are away from their homes (Rioli was a boarder at a school in Melbourne, far from his home in the Tiwi Islands); have no family support; and are also trying to complete their final year of school. And then, once the draft begins, they are faced with starting their careers far from home. Veszpremi, who lived in Melbourne with his mum and brother, and close to his maternal grandparents, is picked by the Sydney Swans. Quayle writes –
He sat beside his Pa on the couch and, in his own way, tried to tell him that things would be fine. “They have good fishing in Sydney…” he said.
I mentioned that the process was/is grueling – that’s because there are so many selection camps; round-robins; pre-season games; and fitness tests that lead up to the actual draft. All of these are described. And then there’s the vacillations of the coaches and selection panels. All of this is described. And then there’s the actual draft (which, like the Brownlow Medal, is a stunningly dull affair unless you’ve got something riding on it). The draft is also described. So while I flew through the first part of the book, the bulk of it got bogged down in football detail that I think only the most hardcore fans would enjoy.
I received my copy of The Draft from the publisher, Penguin Books Australia, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.
2.5/5
Cyril, known as Junior, was terribly homesick. He frequently visited his cousin, Dean Rioli.
Dean’s wife Sam would cook some curried chicken, Darwin style, before dropping them back at the boarding house.
As part of the 20 Books of Summer reading challenge, I’m comparing the Belfast summer and Melburnian winter. The results for the day I finished this book (June 29): Belfast 11°-18° and Melbourne 5°-12°. And, as it happened, I was in Fiji when I read this book and the weather that day was 16°-27°.
Pingback: 20 Books of Summer (except that it’s Winter) | booksaremyfavouriteandbest
I’m not sure you enjoyed reading this. I was a hardcore Hawthorn fan from babyhood, but the club under Jeff Kennett degenerated as you might have expected and the revelations of racism suffered by Ryoli and young Indigenous recruits at Hawthorn, and the pathetic failure of the AFL to deal with it, have meant that I no longer follow football.
I really enjoyed the first quarter of the book, that was focused on the personalities of the players – you can still see some of what was described in those still playing (namely Cotchin).
Totally understand why you gave away the Hawks under Kennett!
I have many thoughts on the stuff that has happened recently regarding racism at the club – probably too much to put here, but needless to say some of the very specific details of what happened to those players spoke volumes (I’m saying this through the lens of my limited cultural training within the context of counselling/ social work). I have no doubt that every club (football and other sports) have a poor history in terms of racism, and they all need to do better, but the Hawthorn revelations were particularly chilling.
I don’t enjoy any sport, but weirdly I find sport psychology really interesting! I think I’d get completely lost with this, but the first part does sound interesting.