ONE OF the surprises of the 2011 NAB AFL Draft was sprung by Carlton, when it selected 24-year-old Sam Rowe with pick 44.

Rowe, who stands 198cm and is an athletic strong-marking forward, was rookied by the Sydney Swans in 2005 and spent two seasons at the club without playing a game.

Four years on Rowe was handed another chance on Thursday, but the interest lies here: the Blues actually wanted to take the South Australian at last year's NAB AFL Rookie Draft, but he resisted.

"We watched Sam last year and were actually going to pick him as a rookie a year ago, but he had a year to go on his carpentry apprenticeship," Carlton recruiting manager Wayne Hughes said.
 
"So, in fairness to his long-term welfare, he said he'd rather try to finish his apprenticeship. He appreciated the opportunity to be a rookie, but from his long-term view he thought it would be the right thing to do."

After a strong season in the SANFL with Norwood - of which the Blues monitored closely - Rowe became a Blue officially after being told he would be picked last month.

"I actually told him he was going to get picked five or six weeks ago because he was going to Europe for a holiday," Hughes said.

Carlton coach Brett Ratten said the success of mature-age recruit Nick Duigan in 2011 - Duigan was drafted as a 26-year-old after impressing with Norwood in the SANFL, the same club as Rowe - had given the club belief it was making the right call on Rowe.

"We identified his talent last year and he fitted some of the positions we've been screaming out for, and we kept in contact with him through the year," Ratten said.

"The confidence that we took out of Duigan this year was important, and Nick shows him that you can come in and fit into the team really well and quickly."

As well as Rowe's skills - his kicking is his standout feature - Ratten was most impressed with Rowe's competitive instincts, something the coach believes has developed out of his unusual path to the top level.

"There's no doubt that players now sometimes have to go through the system, go out and then come back after waiting a few years," Ratten said.

"But the talent is there and it's good to see players get a second chance."