SOUTH Australian AFL Draft hopeful Phoenix Foster is by his own admission “a bit of a character” and now he hopes to bring his personality to the top level. A ruck who can also play forward, Foster grabbed his chance at the AFL Under 18 Championships and took it with both hands, performing strongly enough to earn an AFL National Draft Combine invite.

The Norwood tall had to split his time between the Redlegs and Immanuel College, while earning the chance to don the tri-colours at the national carnival. Though he had to get his chance through unfortunate circumstances, he knew he had to squeeze through the ajar door and make the most of his opportunity.

“I got lucky with ‘Barney’ (South Australian ruck Harry Barnett) getting Covid as much as I love Barney, it really helped me this year keep my spot in the state team and it was really cool to play alongside him and pick his brain and pick the likes of (Isaac) Keeler‘s brain and (Harry) Lemmey‘s brain,” he said.

“They’re really smart footballers and go about it in a really solid way, really professional way. I was coming in with not much state experience before that, and it was really cool to be around them and see how they go about it. It was a really interesting, really cool experience and now I’m happy to call them my mates.”

Foster has shown he is willing to play any role to earn his spot in a team, and that included having to settle for the second ruck role behind Barnett, who went on to win All-Australian honours in the position. In the end, both South Australian rucks were winners, with Foster also earning a Draft Combine invite, and showcasing his ability inside 50.

“It was a really blessed opportunity. I knew I was good enough that i could hold my own out there, it was where i would fit in my role,” Foster said. “Playing the second ruckman or third tall, it was about doing the grunt work and all the hard stuff that other people aren’t willing to do. Laying blocks and getting my hands dirty and I was lucky I got some reward off the back off that by putting the team first I was rewarded by a goal here or there, or some really nice marks.”

Having suffered tendonitis in his knee prior to the Combine testing, Foster was unable to test himself alongside other draft hopefuls, but said he was fully focused on recovering back to his best with a month to go until the draft. Fast forward to a week before, and Foster is ready for his chance, and he believes he has plenty to offer a club.

“I think my hands are probably some of the best here,” he said. “Being able to get up and go and get the football in a contested situation or around the ground. Being able to kick the ball, especially field kicking for a big dude being able to pick the ball off the ground, make a decision quickly and hit a target cross field where it’s inside 45s in the peripherals.

“My ability to kick the footy for a big dude but also not fall over. I feel like bigs can be prone to falling over at this level, especially if they don’t have the greatest centre of gravity. I feel like I don’t go to the ground and I hold my own.”

Foster does not only offer value on the field, but off it as well, saying that he was not afraid to speak his mind and show his passion for the sport. Though he knew it might draw criticism from fans and media alike, he was not afraid of that fact, and was more than happy to be himself.

“I’m not the usual kid I’m a bit of a character,” Foster said. “I love being able to talk about stuff and have a bit of an opinion every now and again. I feel like the AFL needs more people like that, whether it’s the likes of people who have an actual personality and get a bit scrutinised for it but I think it should be the other way around and we should be embracing people who have a different level of enthusiasm and passion for the game.”

The South Australian has barracked for two teams during his life, starting up with the Gold Coast and watching the great Gary Ablett Jnr strut his stuff, but has more recently turned to the red and blue. Though he admits it might look like a “bandwagony” choice, he said it was about following his close friend, Harrison Petty.

Now a premiership player, Petty has become a critical part of Melbourne’s defence, and Foster described his former neighbour as an “idol”. Though he did change loyalty from the Suns to the Dees, he points out that Petty was the main reason for the change.

“Once I’m all in on a team, I commit full heartedly,” Foster said. “I feel like the Suns were a bit average to start with their time there so I wanted to support a team that was going to get a win, and Harry went to Melbourne and they were still a middling club at that point.

“I thought it’s not too bandwagony if I jump there and obviously the success they’ve had over the last couple of years probably suggests otherwise, but I love the Dees and I love everything that Harry’s doing.”

A South Australian barracking for a Queensland and then Victorian team already has ties to multiple states, and with the Crows and Power just two of 18 possible destinations, Foster knows the chance of landing at either West Lakes or Alberton is rare. In fact, the Norwood talent has all but ruled them out, having assessed their lists throughout the season.

“I know that the Adelaide clubs aren’t in the market for talls this year,” he said. “Port are really stacked and Adelaide have a lot of young bigs. “I know that the prospects for me are interstate and I moved away for school, the moving away factor isn’t a major problem for me. Everyone gets homesick every now and again, but it’s not going to be a major struggle for me, no.”

As for what it would mean for the 197cm mobile ruck/forward, he summed it up in just one word -“everything”.

“I’m not saying it would be the end of the world that it doesn’t happen,” Foster said. “I know it’s more than likely not a lot of kids, there’s only a very select pool of kids who get picked up every year, but I feel like it’s something I’ve worked towards for the last couple of years.

“A really high intensity for the last couple of years now, and it became really real the last year and a half when I knew I probably did have an opportunity, had a chance. I want to make mum and dad really proud as well as myself, that’s something I really want to make happen and I’m really excited for the opportunity coming up.”

Foster is expected to go in the second half of the National Draft or Rookie Draft if he was picked up, with a number of teams in the market for talls. It will be a case of wait and see for the Norwood teen, who will willing to crack in to any team that reads out his name next week.