Joel Fitzgerald | Pick 16 in the 2026 Mid-Season Draft (27.05.26)
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How did Joel Fitzgerald feel after being drafted by Melbourne?
Waitley on SEN. With pick 16, the Melbourne Football Club has selected Joel Fitzgerald from the Williamstown VFL side. Joel Fitzgerald, welcome to SEN and welcome to the big league.
Thank you.
How's the night been for you?
It's been very good. It doesn't feel real, to be honest. Just wrapped.
Last night's draft, it's on AFL.com. Where are you watching?
I was at training down at Williamstown. I got off the track a little bit early and some of the boys just had it watching on their phones, so I just tuned in and, yeah, a bit of a nervous wait, but, no, it was good.
Did you have a hint of what was coming?
I thought I was about a 50-50, which didn't help the nerves too much. But, yeah, about a 50-50 chance, I thought. So, yeah, yeah.
Describe how you feel when your name does get called at 16.
Oh, it was just unreal. All the boys just swarmed me. It was just a massive relief, a dream come true, and, yeah, I was just absolutely stoked.
So walk us through a little bit of your journey, Joel, as VFL since 2022. Prior to that, were you anywhere around the draft as a teenager?
I was down at the Northern Knights for a couple of years. I was around about, well, thereabouts. Not super close. Yeah, just went through there for a couple of years. Then went down there to the VFL. I was there for a couple of years. And then I've been at Williamstown ever since. And then, yeah, I was lucky enough to move into the midfield this year. And, yeah, I was lucky enough to get picked up last night, I suppose.
Was it always your dream to find a place on an AFL list?
Yeah, absolutely. Always wanted to since I was a kid. Yep. it was unfortunate not to get there as an 18 year old, but, um, yeah, lucky enough to be here now.
So there's a bit to deal with when that happens is how did you go absorbing when you missed out in your draft year and plotting a different course?
Oh, we just have to get on with it. Um, I was still happy just playing footy at a high level VFL and yeah, I just kept putting my foot forward, best foot forward and yeah, something good come of it. It did. If not, I was just going to enjoy it. And, um, yeah, it's worked out for me now, which is good.
It has. So how did you come to be at Williamstown? And this is where you've really flourished.
Yeah. Um, after a couple of years at Estes and I just thought, uh, wanted to, wanted to change and try it out like a standalone BFL club. Um, haven't looked back to be honest. I made plenty of good friends down there. Uh, Justin Platt's been very good for me the last few years. And, um, yeah, no, I absolutely love it down at Williamstown and yeah.
The numbers have gone off the charts this year. So just, just tell us about your, what is it? Two, four, six, your seven games so far this season.
Yeah. Um, puppy and I had a meeting in the off season. Uh, he just put it forward to me that maybe a positional change would be good. So I've had a run around the midfield in the off season and then just played a few games in there this year, the last, well, the whole year really. And, um, Yeah, I'm lucky enough to get on the end of some good taps from Big Prusey and Alex Murkov, who are very good, and made life a bit easier in there.
So your numbers become hard to miss. When did clubs start talking to you?
Maybe about a month ago. Yeah, I'd say about a month ago, but I'd probably dealt with most of that. I didn't really... I did try not to let it affect me too much.
You didn't let it affect you. You've gone 40, 37 and 39. It's almost as if you're auditioning, Joel.
Yeah, I know.
I don't even know how to say that. Did you talk to Melbourne in the lead up to the draft?
Yeah, I did. Spoke to them a couple of times.
What was Joel Fitzgerald's journey in the VFL leading up to the draft?
Still didn't really get too much of an indication of if I was going to get picked or not. But I thought they were my best chance. And yeah, lucky enough. They did select me last night, which is good.
Who did you have to share it with? Once you finished a training, who did you have to share it with?
My parents surprised me there. They ran to the rooms. They were waiting in the car park like weirdos.
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Chapters
4 chapters
1
How did Joel Fitzgerald feel after being drafted by Melbourne?
0:01–4:13
2
What was Joel Fitzgerald's journey in the VFL leading up to the draft?
4:13–6:33
3
What challenges did Joel face after missing out on the draft as a teenager?
6:33–8:01
4
How did Joel transition to playing for Williamstown?
8:01–9:10
Speakers
3 identifiedMore from Whateley
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