HARRY Lemmey wasn’t sure if he’d be selected when he sat down with family and friends to watch the 2022 NAB AFL Draft.
The first night flew by and Lemmey tried to keep himself busy as the second night rolled around, trying to take his mind off both scenarios that could occur on Tuesday night.
“I watched the draft with friends and family on Monday night, just not thinking I was going to be picked up but more just watching with friends,” Lemmey said.
“I kept myself busy on Tuesday, did some gym in the morning then went to the beach, killed some time and came home just in time for the draft and had a few family and friends over.”
What ensued was Lemmey being selected by the Carlton Football Club at pick No.47 with his friends and family ‘going nuts’ when his name was read out.
Lemmey had never set foot in IKON Park before he arrived on Wednesday morning, flying across first thing in the morning to Melbourne.
Not for the first time amongst Carlton draftees, Lemmey may have found out he’d be moving interstate a few seconds earlier, as the broadcast delay put him a couple of picks behind.
‘Mum and dad decided to put an iPad or something up in the corner and there’s a big buzz, I know Mick [Agresta] was calling me as it was read out, because mine was a bit delayed and I said ‘I haven’t actually found out yet but it’s fine’,” he said.
“Then he heard the buzz and it was going crazy at the Lemmey household.”
Playing for West Adelaide in South Australia, Lemmey is a talented tall, with the ability to play at both ends of the ground as well as in the ruck.
Lemmey does not want to pigeon hole himself into any position as of yet, with the natural forward keen to develop his offensive and defensive craft.
“I probably see myself playing as a centre half-forward but I’m definitely not closing off that centre half-back side,” he said.
“In the under-18s for the ‘Westies’, I showed the potential that I can play at both ends of the field.
“It’s not cementing myself in one position yet, I want to keep growing at both ends of the field and then that’ll take care of itself.”
Because of the sudden move, Lemmey will be staying with fellow tall and South Australian Lewis Young for the time being, hoping he can get some advice from the backman about moving interstate.
Another familiar face for Lemmey was Ollie Hollands, who was drafted at pick No.11 the night before him, with Hollands spending some time in Adelaide alongside Lemmey, with Hollands' dad even pulling on the West Adelaide guernsey.
"I’m staying with Lewis Young for the first few weeks, he’s from Sturt, I know Corey Durdin. There’s a few SA boys around and Brad Ebert who has just been picked up as a development coach," he said.
"There’s a little bit of connection there with Ollie, he grew up in Adelaide and his dad played for 'Westies', so I’ve had a round of golf with him before. It was good to have a familiar face when you walk in and there’s 80 new faces getting thrown at you."
