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Troy Menzel admits he had very little idea that Carlton would select him in the 2012 National Draft.
The Central District talent had been in contact with the Western Bulldogs in the lead-up to that year’s draft indicating that they could select him inside the top six picks.
The Bulldogs held picks 5 and 6 but opted to take Jake Stringer and Jack Macrae instead.
Port Adelaide also showed interest in taking Menzel at 7, but they instead took future Brownlow Medallist Ollie Wines, leaving the Blues to snap up Menzel at 11.
“I had absolutely no idea. I had a few clubs say they would take me if I was available at certain picks,” he said on Sportsday SA when recalling his draft memories.
“I spoke to the Western Bulldogs, they had 5 and 6. They were pretty strong that they would like to take me at one of those, which didn’t happen.
“Port at 7 said that if I was there they would most likely take me which didn’t happen. So that fell through.”
Menzel said there hadn’t been much dialogue with the Blues prior to that fateful day on the Gold Coast in November some 11 years ago.
He looks back now knowing that the signs of him ending up at Carlton were indeed there.
“Carlton was actually a team who I had barely spoken to pre-draft,” he added.
“I had an interview with them maybe halfway through the year but apart from that I’d had no contact with them at all.
“It wasn’t until about 30 minutes before the draft started that their head recruiter at the time, Shane Rogers, came up to me out of nowhere, shook my hand and said, ‘Good luck, mate’.
“In hindsight, I think he knew they were going to take me but it was something I just glanced over. I look back on it now and read between the lines.
“Once it fell to Carlton I didn’t have any expectations that they were going to take me, so when they did take me it was a surprise.”
At the very top of that 2012 draft, the newly established GWS had been offered concessions with the first three pickles which they used on Melbourne trio Lachie Whitfield, Jonathan O’Rourke and Lachie Plowman.
Melbourne then selected highly rated SA talent Jimmy Toumpas at 4.
Menzel alluded to the possibility of it being a very different outcome if the Demons had not scuppered Port’s plans by snaring Toumpas.
“Melbourne ended up going with Jimmy Toumpas which meant Port went with Ollie Wines at 7,” he explained.
“A lot of clubs also had Jimmy going in the top three as well, but with GWS going with the three Melbourne boys (Whitfield, O’Rourke and Plowman), you can understand why they wanted to do that.
“Port probably weren’t really sure where he (Toumpas) was going to land. I think the Bulldogs as well could have floated the idea of taking Toumpas and myself at 5 and 6, two Adelaide boys, if he was there.
“It was sort of a wildcard one where we weren’t too sure where it would play out.”
Menzel debuted for Carlton against the Power in Round 8 of the 2013 season before going on to play 40 games and kicking 47 goals in the navy blue.
He then moved to the Adelaide Crows where he added a further four AFL games across two seasons.
Following his delisting at the end of 2017, the 28-year-old played with Tea Tree Gully in 2018 before returning to Centrals for two seasons in the SANFL.
Menzel then crossed to Woodville-West Torrens with immediate success, playing in the 2021 premiership with the Eagles.
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