A potential top-five Tasmanian draft talent has declared he's "so ready" to relocate from his home state upon having his name called out in November, as well as addressing speculation about moving back to Tassie once the state's team starts playing AFL games.
Dynamic midfielder Colby McKercher, predicted by many to slot into the top-ten picks at the very least on November 20, is prepared to drop everything and move interstate to kickstart his AFL footballing journey.
Speaking this week viaย AFL.com.au'sย Gettable show, McKercher claimed the excitement among Apple Isle occupants has been palpable since the state learned it had been granted the league's 19th licence.
"It's super exciting because we have so many passionate people around (the state), the amount of talk that's going on about the Tassie team and what could happen [with] the stadium, it's ridiculous, so many people are just super excited and yeah, it's good for the state," McKercher said.
Quizzed about whether AFL clubs have asked him about the potential go-home factor once the state starts playing games in the national competition, McKercher said he's never been more ready for a move away from Tasmania in his life.
"Yeah, they've (AFL clubs) asked it a fair bit, and also you can't help but see things online, like people saying 'this person might want to go home to Tassie'," McKercher continued.
"I don't know about the other (Tasmanian) boys, we haven't had conversations about it, but me personally, I've always been ready for a move.
"I've dreamt of being an AFL player since I was probably five [years old], so I've always figured I was probably going to move away if it was to happen, so it's hard to tell at this stage but I'm so ready to move away and I could live over here forever, there's so much stuff to do."
The 18-year-old dominated at this year's National Championships, averaging 32.8 disposals per game to help guide a generational Allies side to their first-ever title.
Speaking about his current AFL role models, McKercher detailed his desire to be among the league's 'dynamic' and 'damaging' talents.
"I probably don't look at Zach Merrett much, I know a lot of people like to say that I play like him and I do, I see some similarities to him, but I think I'm my own player, and I like to look at it that way," he said.
"I think the dynamic midfielders in the AFL like Connor Rozee and Zak Butters, Chad Warner, Errol Gulden plays a bit more wing, but players like that are [really] damaging with the ball in hand, [they] make something happen, rather than just giving maybe a first handball, I look at those kind of players and try to mimic what they do."
The thrilling Tasmanian prospect is likely to hear his name called within the first ten selections in November.
