Carlton has taken West Australian Josh Bootsma with its first selection (22 overall) in the 2011 AFL National Draft held in Sydney tonight.

Bootsma, a rangy 190cm wing/half-back whose father Brad represented Fremantle in 23 matches through 2000 and 2001, will jet into Melbourne on Sunday and commence training with the senior group at Visy Park the following morning.

The apprentice electrician, who watched on with family members from his aunt’s home in Perth as his name was called, said of his drafting - “it’s definitely a relief and there’s excitement . . . I’m overwhelmed to be on an AFL club list”.

“To be at a club on the rise and with Chris Judd leading it . . . it’ll be terrific to play alongside him because he’s a great team leader from what I’ve seen on TV, and then there’s the young talent coming up and a couple of West Aussies also there to guide me along the way,” Bootsma said.

“I hope to play as many games as I can at the lower level next year, and then hopefully try to push for a spot in the senior side. That will be my biggest goal.”

Asked to best illustrate his attributes as a player that he is, Bootsma responded: “Hitting the packs hard, spoiling well and providing run off half-back.”

Carlton’s National Recruiting Manager Wayne Hughes rated Bootsma as “potentially a running midfielder”.

“Josh came to our attention at South Fremantle Colts. He’s a quick, running player with good skills and a right footer.

“He’s a development player, he’s hardly scratched the surface, and didn’t play in Perth until Round 11.

Seen as a long-term development prospect given the strength of Carlton’s current list, Bootsma - “player 212178” as called by Hughes - was the subject of much interest from rival clubs Fremantle, North Melbourne and Sydney.

Recruiters from both North and Sydney held discussions with Bootsma prior to last month's draft combine in Melbourne.

The Dockers had queried whether they could secure Bootsma under the father/son rule, given that Brad also represented South Fremantle in 163 senior WAFL matches. But the league ruled that the father had not played enough games in total.

Fremantle, with selections 16 and 20, named two Victorians Thomas Sheridan and Hayden Crozier. The Western Bulldogs (17) selected Gippsland’s Clay Smith; North (18) named Sturt’s Brad McKenzie; and Essendon (19) went with the Western Jets’ Elliott Kavanagh.

The Swans committed their first selection (21 overall) to Tom Mitchell under the father-son rule, leaving the Blues to land Bootsma.

Bootsma’s 2011 football campaign opened in Albany (where his father worked as a corrections officer) and ended with representation in South Fremantle's premiership-winning colts side - which subsequently earned him a rating from the AFL’s talent manager Kevin Sheehan's as amongst the leading 30 prospects for the draft.

Despite the attention, Bootsma, who labelled his defensive pressure as a key component in his game, said he was more worried about simply playing good football.

Click here to watch a highlights reel of Josh Bootsma in action.