ADELAIDE’S first-round draft pick Patrick Dangerfield will spend much of the year in Victoria, after he confirmed his decision to complete high school at his old school in Geelong.
Dangerfield, 17, was taken with pick 10 in the 2007 NAB AFL Draft. He says he’s “loving it” at West Lakes, but this year will continue to play for the Geelong Falcons in the TAC Cup, and live at home with his parents while finishing year 12 at Geelong’s Oberon High School.
Adelaide’s coaches will devise a training program for Dangerfield and monitor his progress closely through match-day videos.
Dangerfield will also make the trip across the border during school holidays and on the occasional weekend, where he hopes to play for SANFL club West Adelaide.
“[Crows football manager] John Reid is going to come down when I get home to Victoria and map out through the year when I’ll be able to come back over,” Dangerfield said.
“We haven’t delved too much into it yet, but it will all be sorted out when I get back from Dubai.”
“I’ll also have a set program to do from Charlie Walsh, Stephen Schwerdt and also Chris Hink, the weights guy.
“I’ll be able to do weights in the school gym and then I’ll have a separate bike program set up. I’ll be in contact with the club every week and we’ll monitor it like that.”
The Crows leave for their NAB Cup match in Dubai on Sunday, and Dangerfield will travel with the side, then leave for Victoria just 12 hours after the squad returns to Adelaide.
Dangerfield decided before draft day to finish year 12 in Victoria, but he admits his resolve has since been tested.
“Being here [in Adelaide] has certainly made my decision to go home a lot harder,” he said.
“I think it was always going to happen because I didn’t know any of the boys at the time [I made the decision] and I’ve been here so long now and absolutely loved it.
“You sort of wake up thinking you’ve got a 3km time trial to do that day, but at the same time it’s incredibly exciting to be training with these guys around you. You look forward to every day.
“But I still have that drive and passion to finish my studies and I think at home is where I’ll get the best marks.
“Footy can only last for so long and you need a back-up plan after that.”
With such a big changeover in playing personnel at West Lakes during the off-season, Dangerfield knows he could be missing out on a possible AFL debut this year.
“I suppose I’ll be a bit jealous if the other draftees get to play AFL this year,” he said.
“But at the same time, I’ll be incredibly excited for them. I’m sure that will happen with some of the young blokes.”
The classy midfielder described his first-round draft pick label as being “insignificant” now and said he was just looking forward to proving himself like any other new recruit.
At the Falcons, he’ll play under Cats legend Gary ‘Buddha’ Hocking, where he expects to be treated the same as “any other player”. However, as an AFL-listed player, he’ll be ineligible for the Under-18 national championships.
Dangerfield suffered a hamstring strain before Christmas, and is unsure whether he’ll get the chance to play against Collingwood in Dubai.
“It would be great to play, but at the same time it’s not the be all and end all. I’ll just enjoy Dubai and if I get a game good and if I don’t, so be it,” he said.
“I just can’t wait to go.”