From the moment he walked into the Carlton Football Club, Dillon Viojo-Rainbow has been on cloud nine.
Having worked so hard to gain entry into the AFL, the first-year Blue is loving his new surroundings, and it’s easy to see why.
The former Bacchus Marsh junior has had a star-studded list of mentors and players to learn from – including Chris Judd, Bryce Gibbs, Marc Murphy and Kade Simpson – as he looks to make the jump from outstanding junior to AFL regular.
“It’s been all I thought it would be,” Viojo- Rainbow said.
“You get to play the sport you love on a daily basis with the best players from around the country. I couldn’t ask for anything more.
“I have some great mentors at Carlton, players who have been through it all and know what it takes.
“To be able to learn from them is pretty much all you can ask for as a first-year player.”
In his final year of junior football, Viojo-Rainbow ensured all 18 AFL clubs were well aware of him.
For the Western Jets, he was regularly seen bursting off the half-back line and hitting a teammate lace out with his lethal left foot.
The Blues were quick to snap him up with pick 28 in the national draft.
Since arriving at the club, the 180-centimetre-tall young star with blistering pace has been working closely with two of the Blues’ best, Andrew Walker and Dylan Buckley.
“At the start of the year we sat there as a group and discussed how to get the best out of ourselves,” Viojo-Rainbow said.
“We work with mentors who have been around for a few years.
“As I was playing half-back, I looked down at the list and thought who would be a good mentor?
“I chose Andrew and Dylan, and they’ve been a great help since day one.”
Viojo-Rainbow has been plying his trade for Carlton’s VFL affiliate side Northern Blues through the first half of the season.
He nominated the speed of the game and the bigger bodies of senior players as two of the major differences between the VFL and TAC Cup.
While happy with his progress since joining the Blues, he’s hoping to build a little more consistency in his game as he pushes for a senior call-up.
“That is my main goal, to get that first game,” he says.
“I also want to play more consistent football in the VFL.
“I have patches where I play a good half or a good quarter, but I’m yet to have a game where I’ve put four solid quarters together. I want to play good football with the Northern Blues and then hopefully get selected for a debut.”
Viojo-Rainbow was part of a star-studded Western Jets 2014 squad, several of whose players are beginning to make names for themselves in the AFL. Liam Duggan, Corey Ellis, Connor Menadue, Jayden Laverde and Brenton Payne were all selected in last year’s draft in what was the best draft outcome in the Jets’ history.
Viojo-Rainbow said it had been great to see his former teammates succeeding at the|next level. “I have kept tabs on the boys with how they are going and how they are tracking,” he says.
“We try and catch up as much as we can. It’s great to see them doing so well.”
