Adelaide’s call to select defender Tom Doedee with pick No.17 has been described by some as one of the biggest surprises of the 2015 National Draft.

But the promising 18-year-old, who has only played football for three years, was on the Club’s recruiting radar even before he accepted an invitation to do the pre-season with the Geelong Falcons late last year.

His rise in the 12 months since has been rapid.

After a limited pre-season because of injury, Doedee (pronounced 'Doo-day') started out playing practice matches for the Falcons B-grade team, but quickly worked his way into the senior side.

Doedee, who played at centre half-forward and full forward for junior club St Joseph’s, was tried in a new position in defence where he impressed with his competitiveness and courage.

By the middle of this year, the 187cm, 83kg, teenager had been chosen to represent Victoria Country at the Under-18 National Championships.

Unfortunately, he was only able to play three games after breaking his ribs. Crows National Recruiting Manager Hamish Ogilvie remembers the contest where the injury occurred.

“Tom reads the play well and is a great intercept mark. He’s also really brave,” Ogilvie said.

“He went back with the flight to take a mark and got caved in. He still took the mark, but he broke his ribs and the doctor made him come off the ground.”

The next step in Doedee’s draft journey was receiving an invitation to the Combine. There, he showcased his athleticism, finishing fifth in the agility test and ninth in the relative vertical jump.

By the time the draft rolled around, he’d spoken to 14 clubs including Adelaide.

Doedee had all but ruled out the Crows, who spoke to him “two or three months before any other club” as his prospective future club after the trade period.

“I certainly wasn’t expecting to go in the first round,” Doedee said.

“And I didn’t think it was going to be the Crows who would pick me, judging from what I’d read or heard, and especially when the Club traded its middle-round picks (in the trade period) – I thought that probably wasn’t good for me!

“But when I heard Don Pyke say the name ‘Tom’, my heart skipped a beat. I was sitting on the couch at home with my head in my hands in disbelief and Mum and Dad were screaming. It was surreal.”

Ogilvie said the Crows stayed true to their talent order in selecting Doedee, who he says has the versatility to play multiple positions at AFL level.

“We rated him highly and we picked him,” he said.

“Tom can play anywhere. We’ve seen him play defence and forward, but he could maybe play on a wing or in the midfield as well. He’s an elite athlete and a very driven young man.

“He’s got a lot of upside based on what he’s been able to do in just one year in the TAC Cup.”

Doedee said he’d surprised himself with his progression in 2015.

“At the start of the year I thought I was a 0.1 per cent chance of being drafted,” he said.

“I was just trying to get a game for the Falcons. I ended making the Vic Country squad, but I wasn’t thinking too much about the draft at that stage.

“It wasn’t until I got invited to the Draft Combine that it became a bit more of a reality … but still I never expected this.”

Geelong Falcons Talent Manager Mick Turner rated Doedee as the “best one-on-one defender” in the TAC Cup this year.

In Turner's eyes, he was one of the only players to appear comfortable against Eastern Ranges goal machine (and Hawthorn draftee) Blake Hardwick, who booted 56 majors in 16 games.

"A lot of people who follow the TAC Cup reckon he (Doedee) is the best one-on-one defender in the TAC Cup," Turner told AFL.com.au.

"He used to play on Blake Hardwick who got drafted to Hawthorn, he was one of the very few players I could see controlling him.

"The upside to Tom is he hasn't been in football for long, he's very athletic and he's got a lot of scope for development.

"Adelaide, it's just a complete list management decision that they need a good one-on-one athletic defender that can play on small and talls and that's Tom Doedee – they've got a good player."

After his name was read out, Doedee’s phone quickly lit up with calls and messages from Crows coaches, recruiters and players.

“Don Pyke called and also Jake Lever, Taylor Walker, Rory Sloane and Troy Menzel,” he said.

“It was crazy. I’ve only watched these guys on TV over the past four or five years and now I’ve got a chance to play with them.”

Doedee will begin training with his new teammates next week. He said he was looking forward to embarking on a new adventure in Adelaide.

“I’m excited. It’ll actually be nice to move away from Geelong and experience somewhere else,” he said.

“I’m keen to get over there and get started.”