North Launceston's Brandon Leary has found his feet rather quickly after being overlooked in the AFL draft.
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The 19-year-old forward started training with Hawthorn this week in pursuit of the available spot on their list, putting the initial disappointment behind him.
"It was pretty hard to take on the day, probably harder than what I expected," he said of missing out.
"But I suppose going into it, I knew I definitely wasn't a certainty, so it was probably me more trying to just tell myself that it's not the end of the world - life goes on, you've got to pick yourself up and there were a lot of boys who didn't get picked up and it wasn't just me.
"It was just about getting myself back up and I feel like I managed to do that pretty well. I had a day or two to think about it and now I've managed to get this opportunity, which I'm thankful for."
If successful in joining Hawthorn, Leary would be picked up in the pre-season supplemental selection period, the same way fellow North Launceston products Rhyan Mansell and Jay Lockhart got on an AFL list.
Several days into his training routine, which will run until December 20 before returning in January, the 177cm forward has been learning from experienced players like Luke Breust and Chad Wingard.
"It's definitely a new experience to what I'm probably used to and it's been great to learn off all of the experienced players and people that you've probably watched play footy for a long time," Leary said.
"It's been good doing the training and different stuff like pilates, some boxing and some grappling and stuff like that - it's just good to get in and go hard at that."
Leary's progression over the last three seasons has gone from playing in George Town's NTFA Shield-winning under-21s to a genuine chance of being an AFL player.
The former Exeter Primary and High School student kicked four goals in his TSL debut in April 2021, finishing the season with 36 majors across 17 games which earned him a spot in the league's team of the year.
His performances also saw him picked as an over-age player for the Tasmania Devils' 2022 season, in which he excelled, kicking 33 goals from 14 games, sitting only behind Harry Sheezel (number three draft pick) and Aaron Cadman (number one).
Those numbers earned him a call-up to the state draft combine in Melbourne, which requires several clubs to be interested in a player's services.
North Launceston coach Brad Cox-Goodyer is proud of Leary's resilience after missing out in the draft.
"Brandon was unlucky to miss out on being selected after such a rapid rise in his footy," Cox-Goodyer said.
"He very quickly moved on from the disappointment and has been training very strongly, so it's great that he gets his chance over the next couple of months to show that he is capable at the level.
"We back him in 100 per cent and wish him all the best."
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