READING scouting notes of recruiting prospects almost a decade after the teenagers filled out draft forms can be intoxicating. And enlightening.
"Playing with great heart and an intensity that matches his red hair."
" ... midfielder who plays with an intensity greater than anyone else on the field."
"What has been most impressive is his ferociousness on the field. Several of his tackles, particularly one in the final quarter, left opponents very slow to get up."
"His ground-ball work and ability to burst through tackles at full speed is a sight to behold."
"In addition to his sublime inside work, it is also promising to see him finding space on the outside as well getting into the right positions behind the ball."
These are the notes written of Willem Drew leading up to the 2016 AFL national draft when he was leaving a growing impression at under-18 ranks with the North Ballarat Rebels.
And then there was the recruiting scouts' most-telling pointer: Willem Drew was standing up against men in Victorian country football ranks.
He had three senior premierships - at the Koroit Football Club in the Hampden league of south-west Victoria - before he was 18 and being called to Yartapuulti as, to quote the club report at the time, "the surprise pick" at No.33 in the 2016 AFL national draft.
Considering his unquestionable appetite for the contest - and his readiness to deal with seasoned rivals - Drew might have been expected to leave a mark in AFL ranks early in 2017, particularly with a coach such as Ken Hinkley who is renowned for playing youth.
Drew's national league start was delayed until the season-opener in 2019 - against Melbourne at the MCG. Ten AFL games formed the start of his long-delayed apprenticeship ... and then 2020 is wiped out by another foot injury, another sequence of seeking answers from confused medicos and more surgery. The turmoil that began with an Achilles heel issue on one foot became a stress fracture on the other.
"I can vividly remember," says Drew of the darkest hour in 2020, "walking into Ken's office and just saying to him, 'Look, I don't know what is going on. I don't think the doctors know what is going on. I don't know how we are tracking ...'
"Ken was very good with me. He sat me down and spoke of his experiences in footy and life. And credit to the physios and the doctors," adds Drew with special mention to a specialist in Sydney. "He really helped me along the way."
Since his return from surgery in 2020, Drew has played 24 of a possible 24 AFL matches in 2021; 22 of 22 in 2022; all 25 last season and each game of 10 this year. The curse is truly lifted.
DREW sitting under the tap of an opposition ruckman at a centre bounce with 24 seconds left on the clock - rather than against the shoulders of a damaging rival midfielder minute after minute. Take note, he had front position in that contest.
Drew putting the hotly contested ball into the hands of team-mate Zak Butters on the outside .... and everyone knows how the play ends with Darcy Byrne-Jones' match-winning goal for Yartapuulti against Hawthorn at Adelaide Oval on Sunday. Again, the man who started the play under real heat faded into the background ... just as expected from the Willem Drew who is described by his team-mates and coaches as "low key" and "laidback".
"Just trying to go about my business not letting too much faze me," says Drew of his understated ways in life and football.
For every doubt that might have lingered in 2017, 2018 and 2020 when Drew was trapped in the medical rooms at Alberton, that moment at Adelaide Oval is another pay-off for belief and patience.
As was the master class of shadow work Drew did on Western Bulldogs threat Tom Liberatore at the Docklands in that top-four decider late in the 2021 home-and-away campaign.
Inside, just as the scouting notes promised, Drew is very good. Sublime, they said. On Sunday afternoon at Adelaide Oval, patience across four years - 2017-2020 - was more than justified with Drew launching that match-winning play.
"I'd say I am a pretty patient sort of person," says Drew of his resilience amid an injury curse that would have broken many and had AFL list managers looking to cut their losses.
"Looking back, first I am pretty proud to be still in the system. There's been a fair few injuries, a few setbacks, a few stages there where I did not know what was happening injury wise.
"I am really grateful the club have the confidence in me to stick with me; they kept giving me contracts," adds Drew who during the summer signed a long-term deal keeping him at Alberton until at least the end of 2028.
"I am really proud of how I handled it. I kept wanting to get better and improving. Luckily, my body has held up."
The true recognition of all Drew means to his team's game - and his team-mates - was appropriately recognised with the Peter Badcoe VC Medal in this year's Anzac Round clash with St Kilda at Adelaide Oval.
"It is a great honour to win that award for what it represents - not just playing but the other qualities. A great honour," says Drew.
"(Sacrifice true to the Anzac spirit) is something I am more than happy to do. It is part of my role trying to make other players better. I am happy to do it."
KEN HINKLEY recently threw up at a media conference how Drew's inside work should not blind any critic to how effective the midfielder can be when asked to just play rather than shadow.
Eight years ago the scouts were seeing it: "In addition to his sublime inside work, it is also promising to see him finding space on the outside as well getting into the right positions behind the ball."
Drew, now 25, can start a game chasing the ball. He can finish the game chasing an opponent. He is always in the contest.
"It is good to know we can give Drew a job ... IF we need to," says Hinkley emphasising he plays Drew as a classic midfielder not a full-time stopper.
Drew notes: "It changes week to week - having to go to another player or playing my game in the midfield.
"I like to go into most games focusing on what I can control and the little things that make me play well. If I have to go to someone during the game it does not faze me too much. The defensive side of the game comes naturally to me. I love how Ken and the coaches have trust in me to do those roles."
Pre-game, there is the study of what might be on match day.
"We do a little bit," says Drew. "I work with (midfield coach Josh) Carr pretty closely on that stuff. He has been great for me ever since he came into the midfield role. I am always talking to him. More often than not I have played on the opponent before, so past experience helps as well.
"Definitely a little bit goes into it during the week."
When Drew, if needed, is to switch roles is still "more up to the coaches" than just a player's call in a game with restricted levers for a senior coach limited in how often he can send messages onto the field via the team runner.
"They can decide if it needs to happen during a game," says Drew. "I have full faith in the coaches to make that call. It is more at quarter-time and half-time (that a switch is called). More often than not you can tell if an opposition player is getting on top of us ... there might be just a little bit of reminding (along the way)."
The big heart the recruiting scouts noted in Drew makes up for all he does not have "pound for pound" against big-bodied midfielders.
"The toughest one? Patrick Cripps (Carlton) or Marcus Bontempelli (Western Bulldogs)," says Drew. "Those sort of players always want the ball. They are tough and strong. They are big players as well.
"Sometimes you can't stop them. You just try your best to scrap, get a hand in there or a fist. You rely a lot on the team as well; other players helping out."
DREW. Connor Rozee. Zak Butters. Jason Horne-Francis.
Three are on long-term deals at Yartapuulti. All four could forge a long-term partnership that draws comparison with some of the most dynamic and successful midfield groups in AFL history, such as the Fab Four that drove Brisbane to three consecutive flags.
Drew sees much more than just a four-player midfield group on which to judge Yartapuulti's future.
"Our whole midfield mix at the moment is really exciting," says Drew. "You name those three - and we have all seen the talent and ability that they have. It is really exciting to play alongside them.
"And Jase Burgoyne on a wing as well. He is really starting to show some signs. Ollie Wines has had a really good year. He really leads the way for us young players. Throw Travis Boak and Miles Bergman in there as well. We have a really flexible group. Jackson Mead is another one who is playing some really good footy. He is a great team-mate to have. It is a great mix.
"We are still learning and developing. Jason Horne-Francis is in just his third year. The more we can continue to grow and develop, the whole midfield group not just the four of us, the more we can really drive this club. We can push to success."
FROM Waarnambool to Alberton, Drew arrived at Yartapuulti putting aside his fan loyalty to Carlton and with the advice to prepare to work hard - wise words from family members who had been in the elite ranks themselves. Drew is the cousin of Martin Gleeson who played 97 games at Essendon from 2014-2021 and nephew to another Koroit export, Carlton premiership player Adrian Gleeson.
"I did not know a whole lot; I was not too sure what to expect coming in," recalls Drew. "But ever since I have been here it has been about hard work - if you put the work in, you get the rewards. That is as an individual and as a team. It is something we are still trying to chase as a team.
"For me," says Drew of where perception met reality in the AFL, "the biggest thing is to see all the people I watched on television, the stars. Once you get to the club, they are just normal people. That is the biggest thing I love."
Drew is not short of sound mentors, inside and outside the "system" as he calls it.
"I have a fair few over the years," says Drew. "When I first came in Justin Westhoff was a big one for me. I just love the way he went about it. The person he is as well, also Tom Rockliff was another really important one for me. And Ollie Wines from the start. He is someone I have looked up to. I have loved playing with him; he has taught me a lot.
"Obviously, Travis Boak and Robbie Gray. Over my career I have had a lot of good people help me. I have tried to ask as many questions as I can and learn as much as I can as well.
"Biggest lesson is ...," adds Drew with a considered pause. "Biggest lesson is probably you want to play well, but some times you just need to let it happen. Be in that mindset where you are free to go out there to play the way you do. Make sure you are on top of all the little things, outside of footy as well."
Outside the "system", Drew is tormenting himself on the golf course.
"Away from footy I love my golf," said Drew who has his handicap out to 10 today "by playing average".
"That doesn't help ...
"I get out whenever I can with a few of the boys which is good. It is very frustrating for sure. I just love getting out and away from footy, I have a new dog as well. It keeps me busy. Things like that are really good outside of footy."
YARTAPUULTI suits Drew. As much as Drew suits Port Adelaide football.
"I did not know a whole lot (about Yartapuulti) at all," says Drew reflecting on his arrival at Alberton late in 2016. "Coming from Warnambool I grew up as a Carlton supporter. I did not know a whole lot about the club. Ever since I have been here I have loved it - the rich history.
"The biggest thing from the first day I was here was the working class mentality - you train hard, you do all the things you can. We are a really close group off the field. That has really stood out for me.
"(Football) It is something I have always had, I grew up in footy. I have always been a part of footy. For me it is something I love doing for a job and am grateful for. I absolutely love coming to this club. I am doing that as a job."
DREW acknowledges all the recruiting scouts say of teenagers - such as he and Butters - gain from playing against men in Victorian country football leagues.
"Definitely," says Drew of the steep learning curve that does separate the boys from the men.
"A lot. My footy club back home, the Koroit footy club, has had a massive impact on my life and my career. It has got me to where I am today.
"Playing against more experienced players and learning from experienced players in local footy definitely helped me through my juniors. It has definitely helped me since I have been here as well.
"Koroit and what they have done for me does mean a lot. At the time I did not think about them too much. Now, you think about how much footy means to people back in those communities. In rural Australia it is a big deal. You go back home every now and then, speak to the older people and how much it means to them. They are able to follow my journey. I try to give back to the footy club as much as I can.
"(The premierships) are something I am super proud of - we have our 10-year reunion this year, on June 22. It is pretty crazy to look back ...
"(AFL premierships) that is the ultimate goal here. It is something we are all chasing. Not just the players and the coaches, but the whole staff and I know the fans are craving that as well. It is something we are really pushing for."
