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AFL clubs want Thorne in their side
SHANE Thorne was on the verge of quitting football when AFL clubs began knocking on his door in the leadup to tomorrow's national draft.
The Wanderers utility turns 23 today but he wants his biggest birthday present to be delivered to him 24 hours later.
Collingwood and the Western Bulldogs are leading the pursuit of the man they call "Mr Magic" before the AFL Draft is held in Melbourne.
The prospect of a life-changing AFL career was a long way from Thorne's thoughts two seasons ago when he nearly walked away from the game.
"It was coming down to a choice of family man or footballer when my daughter was born and it looked like the first choice would win out," he said.
``Obviously things have changed a bit with Wanderers going well, Thunder getting started and now AFL clubs landing on my doorstep.
``It's been a big shock really, I never thought at age 23 I'd be targeted by AFL clubs.
``When Murray Davis was the high performance coach at Thunder he sent me a text a couple of weeks after the season finished telling me to stay fit in the off season. He didn't say why at the time but after a few AFL clubs rang me I knew the reason.''
The Western Bulldogs reaffirmed their interest a month ago when they took Thorne and his family outto dinner.
But it was Collingwood that convinced Thorne the constant phone calls and long chats about footy were all ``fair dinkum''.
``The Bulldogs sent a couple of recruiting staff up to speak to me after training last month,'' he said.
``We talked about a lot of things about footy and life for a couple of hours at dinner,'' he said. ``Then Collingwood sent some people up a couple of weeks ago and they got right into it.
``They asked me where I could see myself playing at AFL level and I said running off half-back and hitting up the forwards as they led towards me.
``That was exactly what they had in mind for me, so it may be a pointer, who knows?''
SHANE Thorne was on the verge of quitting football when AFL clubs began knocking on his door in the leadup to tomorrow's national draft.
The Wanderers utility turns 23 today but he wants his biggest birthday present to be delivered to him 24 hours later.
Collingwood and the Western Bulldogs are leading the pursuit of the man they call "Mr Magic" before the AFL Draft is held in Melbourne.
The prospect of a life-changing AFL career was a long way from Thorne's thoughts two seasons ago when he nearly walked away from the game.
"It was coming down to a choice of family man or footballer when my daughter was born and it looked like the first choice would win out," he said.
``Obviously things have changed a bit with Wanderers going well, Thunder getting started and now AFL clubs landing on my doorstep.
``It's been a big shock really, I never thought at age 23 I'd be targeted by AFL clubs.
``When Murray Davis was the high performance coach at Thunder he sent me a text a couple of weeks after the season finished telling me to stay fit in the off season. He didn't say why at the time but after a few AFL clubs rang me I knew the reason.''
The Western Bulldogs reaffirmed their interest a month ago when they took Thorne and his family outto dinner.
But it was Collingwood that convinced Thorne the constant phone calls and long chats about footy were all ``fair dinkum''.
``The Bulldogs sent a couple of recruiting staff up to speak to me after training last month,'' he said.
``We talked about a lot of things about footy and life for a couple of hours at dinner,'' he said. ``Then Collingwood sent some people up a couple of weeks ago and they got right into it.
``They asked me where I could see myself playing at AFL level and I said running off half-back and hitting up the forwards as they led towards me.
``That was exactly what they had in mind for me, so it may be a pointer, who knows?''
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