- \n
- Geelong has a knack of finding good players where other clubs don\u2019t look.<\/li>\n
- At Tuesday\u2019s national draft, the Cats selected Oliver Wiltshire from Bellarine league club Barwon Heads and Shaun Mannagh from Werribee in the VFL.<\/li>\n
- One of Wiltshire\u2019s mentors at Barwon Heads was Cats great Matthew Scarlett, one of the club\u2019s greatest ever players and a former assistant coach to Chris Scott.<\/li>\n
- Scarlett\u2019s reputation as a talent spotter is growing. After he retired as a player, he coached at South Barwon in the Geelong league, where Tom Stewart was identified as a mature-age AFL recruit.<\/li>\n
- Stewart, now a five time All-Australian, was vice-captain at the Cats in 2023 and will be a teammate of Wiltshire\u2019s in 2024.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Oliver Wiltshire had just sat on the couch after a day on the tools, working as a third-year apprentice carpenter when his phone rang.<\/p>\n
It was Geelong\u2019s recruiting manager Stephen Wells, letting the 21-year-old Bellarine Football League star know he might want to invite some friends over.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Oliver Wiltshire (centre) flanked by fellow Geelong draftees (left to right) Connor O\u2019Sullivan, Shaun Mannagh, George Stevens and Emerson Jeka.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Chris Hopkins<\/cite><\/p>\n
\u201c\u2018Wellsy\u2019 called me up and said, \u2018you\u2019re going to have a good night, maybe get the boys around, get the family around\u2019,\u201d Wiltshire said.<\/p>\n
At pick 61, on Tuesday night, the second night of the AFL national draft, Wiltshire\u2019s name was read out, joining VFL product Shaun Mannagh and Warrnambool\u2019s George Stevens as fairytale additions to Geelong\u2019s list.<\/p>\n
Wiltshire, a former St Joseph\u2019s College student, spent the past two seasons playing local footy for Barwon Heads, the Bellarine league being the second-best community league in the region after the Geelong Football League.<\/p>\n
COVID had impacted his two under-18 seasons at the Geelong Falcons, wiping out all of 2020, and in 2021, a spluttering season was compounded by injuries.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Oliver Wiltshire (right) in action for the Geelong Falcons in the Talent League in 2021.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>AFL Photos<\/cite><\/p>\n
Wiltshire thought his AFL dream was over, but credits his eventual recruiting to Geelong to the addition of Cats great Matthew Scarlett as an assistant coach at Barwon Heads.<\/p>\n
Despite being quietly spoken at the Cats, Scarlett had a reputation for commanding attention when he spoke. The club\u2019s former chief executive Brian Cook dubbed Scarlett \u201cThe Senator\u201d, noting he didn\u2019t attend many meetings, but was the man all decisions needed to go through to succeed.<\/p>\n
Also known for identifying talent, the Cats great, who helped Geelong recruit Tom Stewart \u2013 now a five-time All-Australian \u2013 out of South Barwon when he was coaching in the GFL, saw Wiltshire\u2019s ability pretty early on in his 2023 campaign at the Seagulls.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe pulled me aside for a chat earlier in the year and said, \u2018do you have any aspirations to play AFL\u2019, and I obviously said, \u2018yeah, it\u2019s every kid\u2019s dream\u2019,\u201d Wiltshire said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Matthew Scarlett was an influential figure at Geelong in his playing days, and remains so to this day.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Paul Rovere <\/cite><\/p>\n
\u201cHere I am today.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s there every training, every game, and towards finals he didn\u2019t take over, but he pumped the chest out, and he got in there. He was unreal to have [at the club], brings all the boys to the side for one-on-one chats.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s rapt for me, I spoke to him pretty much a couple of weeks up to the draft. He\u2019s so rapt for me, over the moon.\u201d<\/p>\n
A bag of 12 goals against Modewarre in April was the performance that put Wiltshire on the map, and he finished the season winning the club\u2019s best and fairest after they exited in a preliminary final.<\/p>\n
That was after he missed out on getting onto Werribee\u2019s VFL list, spending a month training with the Tigers during pre-season, only to be cut.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s made Werribee look a bit silly now,\u201d joked Mannagh, Geelong\u2019s third selection in the draft at pick 36, who remembers Wiltshire training with the Tigers.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a credit to him, the way he\u2019s gone back to Barwon Heads and put on a great year. Stoked for him, and maybe next time Werribee might sign him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mannagh\u2019s selection was inspired itself. Aged 26, he was best afield in the VFL grand final when he kicked six goals in a losing side.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Shaun Mannagh was best on ground in the VFL grand final, and has now been drafted by Geelong.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>AFL Photos<\/cite><\/p>\n
He\u2019s now daring to dream of following in the footsteps of the likes of Tom Atkins, who spent a number of years plying his trade in the state league, only to eventually become an AFL premiership player.<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember playing against Tommy when he was playing as Geelong captain in the VFL,\u201d Mannagh said.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne hundred per cent, I hope in 2024 for some success straight away.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said even though he was a mature-aged recruit, he was like any player on the Cats list aiming to play in the club\u2019s season opener.<\/p>\n
The Cats begun their draft at pick 11, recruiting 198-centiemetre key defender Connor O\u2019Sullivan, then added 206-centimetre ruckman Mitch Edwards (pick 32) from Peel in Western Australia, Mannagh (pick 36), Stevens (pick 58), Wiltshire (pick 61) and Swan Districts\u2019 20-year-old Lawson Humphries (pick 63).<\/p>\n
On Wednesday, Emerson Jeka found a new home at Geelong after four seasons and seven games at Hawthorn. He\u2019d spent the year at Box Hill, but had signed to play for Essendon\u2019s VFL team in 2024, only to get a call five minutes before he was rookie drafted on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was really committed to Essendon \u2026 I didn\u2019t actually think I\u2019d end up here,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was prepared to play at Essendon and hopefully get on their list in February or mid-season, so I\u2019d definitely not given up, but it was a bit of a shock.<\/p>\n
\u201cInjuries this year haven\u2019t helped, but I\u2019m really fortunate Geelong gave me an opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n
Keep up to date with the best AFL coverage in the country. <\/i><\/b>Sign up for the Real Footy newsletter<\/i><\/b>.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
Most Viewed in Sport<\/h2>\n
From our partners<\/h3>\n