Overlooked Collingwood father-son prospect Tom McGuane has spoken after being bypassed at last week's AFL National Draft.
McGuane, the son of premiership Pie Mick McGuane, was told ahead of the draft that Collingwood would not match a bid at the AFL National Draft and would weigh up its options at the rookie intake.
The Magpies instead opted to select small forward Jai Saxena onto their Category B rookie list, a member of the club's Next Generation Academy.
The teenager has been given a train-on opportunity at Adelaide, alongside Southport's Zac Foot, and spoke to reporters after touching down in the city of churches.
"I can't wait, I'm super grateful for the opportunity and can't wait to get stuck in," McGuane said.
"My ultimate goal is to play AFL footy, and I'll do whatever it takes.
"It was a little bit disappointing (last week), I met with a few clubs and didn't know what was going to happen, so for this opportunity to arise, I'm super happy.
"I've had the same mantra of controlling what you can control, and for me, it's just working hard.
"My Dad's always said the harder you work, the luckier you get, so I've stuck by that, and now that the opportunity has arisen, I'm super grateful."
McGuane revealed his conversations with Adelaide had been minimal, and he did not know he would be offered a chance to prove himself until the night before touching down.
"I've always had that inner motivation, and I've loved footy, I was born into it with Dad and have always trained so hard so I've always had that chip on my shoulder to prove myself right and really train hard and really train hard," McGuane said.
"I believe I can be at the top level one day, and it might be the harder way now, but whatever way that is, I'm just super grateful for the opportunity."
McGuane averaged 28 disposals for Western Jets as a clean midfielder in 2025 and played on the wing for Vic Metro in 2025, with his footy IQ, work rate, and ball-winning noted as strengths to his game.
