BANYULE young gun Brayden Sier proved to be the surprise of the 2015 National Draft when he was selected by Collingwood at pick No. 32.
The 17-year-old – who was the youngest player selected in this year’s draft – had to take the path less travelled to make his way onto an AFL list.
Sier played just two TAC Cup games for the Northern Knights and didn’t attend either the national or state draft combines.
Instead, he spent the majority of the season dividing his football commitments between school side Marcellin and NFL Division 3 club Banyule – where he played six senior games in the Bears’ inaugural season in the competition.
While pleasantly surprised with how early in the draft Sier was selected, Banyule senior coach Jason Plant said he knew the youngster had genuine talent from his first night of pre-season training.
“The first time I laid eyes on him this year I made a comment to the under-19s coach that he won’t be playing under-19s, he’ll be playing with us in the seniors,” Plant said.
“We looked after him early, played him on the wing and instructed the boys to feed him the ball a bit because he was a good mover. After one or two games we played him on the ball because he’s a really strong kid and got stronger as the year went on.
“He did a lot of work in the gym and his height shot up too. He turned into one of those really mobile tall midfielders.
“He’s as surprised as everybody (to be picked at 32) and he sent us a text on Tuesday night and just said ‘wow’. It’s a great story.”
Sier was twice named Banyule’s best player in his six appearances, including in the Bears’ Round 19 win over grand finalist Epping.
Plant said his penetrating kick and strength to break out of tackles were among the qualities that would have attracted AFL recruiters to him.
“He’s been picked up as a midfielder, but he can go forward and is a long kick,” Plant said
“He’s one of those guys who just glides across the ground with fantastic balance and great awareness, a bit like Scott Pendlebury where he can pick the ball up with two or three guys around him but he’ll make his way out of the pack.
“He is quite strong so when he gets challenged in a tackle he can get out of it with his upper body strength.”
As well as impressing in his appearances with Banyule, Sier also enjoyed a strong campaign with school side Marcellin, where he took out the best and fairest in the school’s AGSV premiership season.
He also made the most of his chances when selected for the Northern Knights late in the season, reaffirming his star quality with two dominant performances.
“His last two games he just slotted in really well and caught the attention of all the scouts,” Northern Knights talent manager Peter Kennedy said.
“The last game against Gippsland, who were in the finals and we weren’t, that’s when he stood up. He played really well and I think he caught everyone’s attention.
“After the season ended and because of the amount of attention he had, he trained with the Western Bulldogs and Essendon.
“We were fairly confident he would be picked up and speaking to Brayden he said he did have some interest from AFL clubs who said if he was still there late in the draft that they’d consider him.”
Kennedy described Sier as a late bloomer, likening his development to Marcus Bontempelli and Kyle Langford – who were both drafted from the Knights over the past two seasons.
Collingwood General Manager of List Management Derek Hine said Sier was worthy of his No. 32 selection.
“He’s a boy that shows extreme power and although he’s a work in progress, he’s certainly worth the investment,” Hine told Collingwoodfc.com.au.
“I’m really confident with the character of the boy and his family, he’s really going to be able to really attack the system.”
The Northern Football League congratulates Brayden on being drafted and wishes him the best of luck with the Collingwood Football Club.
