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Any club that is keen on selecting Footscray Bulldogs VFL captain Lachlan Sullivan in the upcoming Mid-Season Rookie Draft will have to wait.
Over 200 players are eligible for next week’s mid-season draft as state league players around the country vie for a crack at AFL level.
Unfortunately for Sullivan, he won’t be one of those, due to a costly error on his end.
To be eligible on June 1, you must have nominated for the national draft in 2021. Sadly for Sullivan, he didn't nominate as he was focusing on his upcoming exams to become a fully qualified electrician.
Adding more frustration to the situation, the 24-year-old has not been granted an exemption to partake in the draft.
Proving to be a costly mistake, Sullivan wonders whether more can be done to communicate the intricacies that are required to be eligible.
“I didn’t nominate for the end of season draft last year, I forgot as I was doing my electrical exams at the time, so I completely forgot to do it,” Sullivan told SEN.com.au.
“I didn’t realise that to get into the mid-season draft without nominating last year you had to get an exemption and I don’t know if a lot of people know that rule.
“It comes up so quickly, you don’t really talk about it that much and then two weeks out everyone seems to be mentioning it – I personally didn’t know that you had to re-nominate for every draft.”
Once realising that he wasn’t eligible, Sullivan reached out to a leading player manager in a bid to try and receive an exemption.
“I met with a player manager three weeks ago, just to see what he would say and where he thought I was at, he said he’d speak to the AFL and try get me an exemption but on Monday he emailed me and said that he’d spoken to the AFL and apparently the exemptions closed the week before I met with him,” he added.
“I had no real way of knowing that, because there’s not much made about the mid-season draft in general.
“More needs to be made about how the process works, you’d think that you’d be able to know what’s going on, but I just didn’t.
“I’m told that the AFLPA sent an email out to player managers saying that the exemptions are closing on May 11th but obviously I didn’t have a player manager at the time so there was no way of me knowing that.
“It just seems too harsh to not let someone nominate, why is there a cut-off date? If someone wants a chance, they should just be given a chance.”
Currently averaging 29 disposals, seven clearances and five tackles at VFL level, Sullivan would be a great fit for a side that is after a midfielder.
Such is his form, several clubs have expressed interest in the midfielder, making his ineligibility an even tougher pill to swallow.
“I’ve heard a few clubs are following but I haven’t spoken to them personally, that’s why I really tried to get an exemption.”
Despite the setback, the highly-touted junior remains motivated and driven to hopefully one day get that chance to live out his dream of playing AFL.
“I’m more motivated than I’ve ever been because I’m playing the best I ever have at this level. In previous years I didn’t have the desire to play at AFL, I just wanted to play the best I could at the highest level,” he added.
“Now that I know there’s a chance, I’m more driven than ever. I deal pretty well with setbacks and yeah, it is annoying that I don’t get to nominate, but there’s always the end of the year and maybe it’s a good thing that I miss out, I don’t know.”
While Sullivan bides his time, he will look to continue his superb VFL form for the Dogs when they meet Williamstown this Saturday.
The mid-season draft takes place from 6:30pm AEST next Wednesday, June 1
Any club that is keen on selecting Footscray Bulldogs VFL captain Lachlan Sullivan in the upcoming Mid-Season Rookie Draft will have to wait.
Over 200 players are eligible for next week’s mid-season draft as state league players around the country vie for a crack at AFL level.
Unfortunately for Sullivan, he won’t be one of those, due to a costly error on his end.
To be eligible on June 1, you must have nominated for the national draft in 2021. Sadly for Sullivan, he didn't nominate as he was focusing on his upcoming exams to become a fully qualified electrician.
Adding more frustration to the situation, the 24-year-old has not been granted an exemption to partake in the draft.
Proving to be a costly mistake, Sullivan wonders whether more can be done to communicate the intricacies that are required to be eligible.
“I didn’t nominate for the end of season draft last year, I forgot as I was doing my electrical exams at the time, so I completely forgot to do it,” Sullivan told SEN.com.au.
“I didn’t realise that to get into the mid-season draft without nominating last year you had to get an exemption and I don’t know if a lot of people know that rule.
“It comes up so quickly, you don’t really talk about it that much and then two weeks out everyone seems to be mentioning it – I personally didn’t know that you had to re-nominate for every draft.”
Once realising that he wasn’t eligible, Sullivan reached out to a leading player manager in a bid to try and receive an exemption.
“I met with a player manager three weeks ago, just to see what he would say and where he thought I was at, he said he’d speak to the AFL and try get me an exemption but on Monday he emailed me and said that he’d spoken to the AFL and apparently the exemptions closed the week before I met with him,” he added.
“I had no real way of knowing that, because there’s not much made about the mid-season draft in general.
“More needs to be made about how the process works, you’d think that you’d be able to know what’s going on, but I just didn’t.
“I’m told that the AFLPA sent an email out to player managers saying that the exemptions are closing on May 11th but obviously I didn’t have a player manager at the time so there was no way of me knowing that.
“It just seems too harsh to not let someone nominate, why is there a cut-off date? If someone wants a chance, they should just be given a chance.”
Currently averaging 29 disposals, seven clearances and five tackles at VFL level, Sullivan would be a great fit for a side that is after a midfielder.
Such is his form, several clubs have expressed interest in the midfielder, making his ineligibility an even tougher pill to swallow.
“I’ve heard a few clubs are following but I haven’t spoken to them personally, that’s why I really tried to get an exemption.”
Despite the setback, the highly-touted junior remains motivated and driven to hopefully one day get that chance to live out his dream of playing AFL.
“I’m more motivated than I’ve ever been because I’m playing the best I ever have at this level. In previous years I didn’t have the desire to play at AFL, I just wanted to play the best I could at the highest level,” he added.
“Now that I know there’s a chance, I’m more driven than ever. I deal pretty well with setbacks and yeah, it is annoying that I don’t get to nominate, but there’s always the end of the year and maybe it’s a good thing that I miss out, I don’t know.”
While Sullivan bides his time, he will look to continue his superb VFL form for the Dogs when they meet Williamstown this Saturday.
The mid-season draft takes place from 6:30pm AEST next Wednesday, June 1
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