AFTER missing out on his draft dream, Matthew Cottrell can still barely believe the situation he now finds himself in at his boyhood club.
Back in November, Cottrell’s first opportunity at the draft ended in disappointment.
As he put it, something he had thought about for 18 years didn’t come to fruition. Then, last Friday, he was part of history.
Eyeing off a year in the VFL after his time at the Dandenong Stingrays, Cottrell now finds himself preparing for a maiden year in the AFL.
“I was training at Frankston VFL when I was working one day and I got a call-up from my manager,” Cottrell said.
Calling your parents may seem like a chore sometimes.
— Carlton FC (@CarltonFC) February 8, 2019
This was definitely not one of those times. #BoundByBlue
“It hurts, not hearing your name get called. You think about it for 18 years.
“Carlton contacted me before the draft and they thought they might take me late, but it wasn’t to be.”
The transition to full-time football is something that Cottrell was coming to terms with, as well as pulling the jumper on as — officially — a Carlton player.
After two years as a carpenter, the generational Blue put it bluntly: “I definitely prefer doing this.”
“The step-up has been huge, being here full-time every day,” he said.
“I’ve been working the tools for two years so it definitely beats that.
“My grandpa played 12 games in the late 1950s so we’ve all been Carlton fans. It feels unreal to pull on the jumper — wearing it today, I don’t want to take it off.”
Cottrell’s — who wants to be recognised as a “running ball-user” — burst onto the scene at Ikon Park this summer when he accomplished an all-too rare feat.
He said he was hoping to repeat the dose the next time he comes up against Ed Curnow time trial, after beating the running machine last time around.
“Ed’s not too happy, he reckons he’ll get me next time,” he said.
“We’ll see — I’m just happy to push him along.”
