CAUGHT off-guard. Speechless. “Bloody stoked.”

Friday 10 February will be a day that Hudson O’Keeffe won’t ever forget.

Speaking in the moments after he was informed he’d a Carlton player in 2023, O’Keeffe detailed the series of events which led to the most memorable of afternoons late yesterday.

The wheels were set in motion last week after a phone call from his manager, but not even O’Keeffe himself was expecting the news he received after wrapping up training.

“I got the call from my manager, saying nothing is guaranteed but there could be a spot open up at Carlton. I was just like ‘yep, get me on board!’,” O’Keeffe said.

“I came in, did a medical on Tuesday and started training yesterday with the team.

“I was halfway through a set in the gym and got called into the office, where there was the recruiting team and ‘Vossy’.”

The 2022 year marked O’Keeffe’s draft campaign, where he admitted that he thought there was interest from Carlton leading into the national and rookie drafts in November last year.

And while there was the disappointment of going undrafted, it’s now part of O’Keeffe’s story — and he’s hoping it’s just the first of many chapters in elite football.

“[The recruiting team] sat me down and said ‘we’ve been looking at you for a while and we’re going to you a spot’,” he said.

“Towards the end of the season, when I started playing my better footy, Carlton reached out and we had an interview. I knew going into draft night that there was a bit of interest and the potential that they took me.

“They didn’t, but that’s part of my journey — I’m here now and that’s all that matters. I’m a Blue!”

O’Keeffe’s “journey” has been a bit here, there and everywhere in recent months. Desperate to make his AFL dream a reality, O’Keeffe was willing to throw himself into whatever challenge presented itself.

The road, eventually, led to IKON Park. But that wasn’t without some detours along the way.

“Hectic! It’s been very hectic,” he said.

“I’ve been jumping from here and there, going back to the Oakleigh Chargers, training with them, training with Essendon a couple of weeks back and now training with Carlton.

“The news is great — I’m very happy.”