AFL draft hopeful Ben Lennon describes his year as “hectic”. The 18-year-old has this year combined VCE with a trip to Europe as part of the AIS-AFL Academy, the Northern Knights, school football and the Under 18 National Championships.
“Time has gone so quick, it’s been a hectic year. I haven’t really had any time to reflect,’’ he says.
Lennon has had informal interest from a number of AFL clubs, as has every young kid with a chance of being drafted come the end of the season.
“It’s pretty nerve-wracking, not knowing where you’ll be going, but it’s just another chapter,” Lennon says.
He’s been touted as one of the top talents in this year’s draft crop, a fact underlined by his selection in the Under 18 All Australian team in the forward line, one of representatives from Vic Metro, alongside possible number one draft pick Tom Boyd.
Vic Metro won four of its five games at the carnival, losing only to South Australia and beating rivals Vic Country by 19 points. Lennon booted four second-half goals to lead Vic Metro to victory over Western Australia.
“It was a really good few weeks,” Lennon says. “You’re playing against the best young talents in Australia.”
But he feared he would miss the championships altogether when, three weeks out from the first game, he tore ligaments in his ankle after stepping on a mate’s foot during training at school footy for Ivanhoe Grammar.
“There was a lot of pain and it was nerve-wracking because I didn’t know if I was going to be able to play in the carnival,” he says. “Thankfully I got up for it and I was pretty happy all in all. You get more confidence from playing well.”
The championships took place over May, June and July, and followed on from his trip to Europe in April.
“It was really good. We played matches against a few different teams from Europe,” Lennon says. “We’re over there to promote the game as well so it was a really great experience.”
The Europe trip came just after an AIS-AFL match against Collingwood’s VFL team, which included the likes of Dale Thomas, Andrew Krakouer and Ben Hudson.
Lennon says his time in the academy was invaluable. “It was great to meet other football people and see how they go about it,” he says. “I learnt so much.”
As for the possibility of where he will head if he is drafted, Lennon says: “Anywhere. I wanna stay home but at the same time anywhere in Australia would be great.”
