Tara Murray
Darley’s Aaron Cadman is the cream of the crop after being taken at pick one in the AFL draft on Monday night.
After speculation over whether a bid would come for father-son pick Will Ashcroft at pick one, Greater Western Sydney selected Cadman with the first pick.
Speaking after he was drafted he said it was so special to be picked by the Giants.
“Never in a million years would I have thought I would be in this position,” he said on the draft coverage.
“To share it with my family and friends and all the people in the room, it’s super special. I can’t wait to get into it.”
Cadman said a positional move by his NAB League coach at the Greater Western Victoria Rebels, David Loader, proved to be the right one. He said he couldn’t thank him enough.
“We sat down at the start of the year and that’s when I was a wingman actually sat me down and said we might throw you down forward as a key position forward,” he said.
“It worked out pretty well.”
Cadman said he had already had a few conversations with the Giants, but it had been about living arrangements and him moving to Sydney.
Speaking to Star Weekly last month, Cadman said his focus this season was just making the Greater Western Victoria Rebels squad.
“There was no way I was predicting this year,” he said at the time. “It was unexpected, as I was just trying to make the Rebels.
“Then to have one thing happen after another. I played some alright football and got selected into some cool squads.
“I’m looking forward to finishing it.”
For Cadman he said it was the coaches that got him to where he is now.
“The coaches have really helped me,” he said. “They did a lot of one-on-one sessions at training, working on my marking skills and forward craft.”
Being drafted caps off a big year for the key forward, having also made his senior debut for Darley in the Ballarat Football League.
It was something he had dreamed of for a long time.
“I had always looked forward to playing with both my brothers, but one was injured that day,” he said.
“All these guys had been there while I was in juniors and I used to look up to the older guys. To have them as teammates was pretty special.”
