On Mitch Szybowski:
”For the Dandenong Stingrays, the AFL draft was as much a story of who didn’t get selected as who did. Jaxon Binns was taken at No.32 by Carlton. Henry Hustwaite was taken at No.37 by Hawthorn.
Mitch Szybkowski was taken by no one.
And that left Stingrays coach Nick Cox stunned. Cox was surprised when his captain’s name wasn’t called in the national draft, but he assumed he would at least be picked up as a rookie the following day. The 186cm midfielder was overlooked in that too.
An hour or so after the rookie draft, Cox spoke about the “brutal side of football”. In the days since, he has been in constant contact with Szybkowski and his family. He says the 18-year-old’s emotions range from “angry, disappointed, upset, all those things”.
The way Cox saw it, Szybkowski had done more than enough to be drafted.
He averaged 23.1 disposals in his seven games for the Stingrays, played well for the AFL Academy against Collingwood’s VFL team, was among Vic Country’s best players in the national championships, and was selected in the NAB League Boys team of the year.
Ahead of the draft, AFL talent oracle Kevin Sheehan called Szybkowski a “midfielder with a sharp competitive edge” who “attacks the ball aggressively and lays strong tackles on the opposition”.
“A good ball-winner with clean hands and great vision, he also creates for his team with smart ball use,” he noted.
“Was among Victoria Country’s most consistent players at the national championships, averaging 24 disposals and four tackles. Demonstrated his power at the draft combine with his running vertical jump of 83cm, which ranked eighth overall.”
Cox says he was dumbfounded a player who had been “highly touted all the way along” was passed over.
“Perplexing. He’s got great attributes – an inside mid with a big body, a good decision-maker, really good with his inside and outside work – and he was really consistent,” he says.
“I suppose if there was a question mark, it would have been with his speed. But his power and stuff around the stoppages is at a high level. I can’t work it out.
“He had a great season. His numbers were good. His impact was very good. He was one of Vic Country’s better players.
“Before the draft we thought we had three genuine chances. Two of them got through. I would have put my house on Mitch and that’s disappointing.
Cox adds: “What I will say is he will find a way eventually. Whether that happens in the next 12 months or longer, because of who he is as a person and as a footballer, he will find a way to get there. He will have to do it a different way than what we all thought.”
VFL and interstate clubs have been quick to contact Szybkowski, who won a bundle of league and club best and fairests as he came through Beaconsfield Football Netball Club.
He and Binns figured in Caulfield Grammar’s APS premiership this year, as did Blake Drury, who had no takers in the national draft but was the first player claimed in the rookie draft.
Cox hopes Szybkowski lands a train-on position with an AFL club and is considered for a listing in the pre-season supplemental selection period.
He says the AFL has support mechanisms in place for young players overlooked in the draft, and officials had contacted Szybkowski, who is managed by Mark Kleiman.
“There are a lot of tools he can use to work through it,” Cox says.
An AFL recruiter agrees Szybkowski was the “hard-luck story” of the draft.
“He wasn’t one for us – we’re OK for inside mids, and he’s one of those – but I thought someone, somewhere would pick him,” the recruiter says.”
