Mitchell Edwards is set to line up for Geelong in the biggest match of his 19-game career on Friday night when he returns home to Perth to take on Fremantle in a Semi-Final.
However, if fate had shifted slightly three years ago, Edwards could have still been playing in the same game, but in purple and white instead.
Edwards was drafted to Geelong with Pick 32 in the 2023 National Draft despite spending the season as a Fremantle Next Generation Academy member. The AFL had, between 2021-23, changed the draft rules, meaning clubs could not match bids on their NGA players (excluding northern states teams) before Pick 40.
Inside50 Player Management manages the 21-year-old ruckman. Director of the agency and former West Coast gun Chris Waterman said the Dockers knew the talent Edwards possessed, and were eager to take him.
But with Fremantle already having the likes of Luke Jackson, Sean Darcy and Liam Reidy in its squad, list manager David Walls had other priorities in the early stages of the 2023 draft.
"David Walls was pretty keen on what (Edwards) had. He just had his ruck stocks filled up at that point," Waterman told Zero Hanger.
"But if he was still there, they were certainly gonna pick him up as a late pick or rookie.
"They had their quota of ruckmen, but they knew he was a special player.
"And he probably went earlier than they thought he was going to, so that's just the nature of the draft. But they certainly knew that there was a talent there, that's for sure.
"Since then they've picked up (Mason) Cox and also got one of our other boys, Aiden Riddle, as a young emerging ruck, so they certainly got their ruck stocks in order."
Cross-town rival West Coast was apparently not interested in Edwards, despite him being a Western Australian, and didn't interview the young ruck ahead of the draft.
Being fair to the Eagles, Edwards' rise certainly made him a bolter of the 2023 draft crop. Heading into the season, Edwards sat as the third-rated ruckman in WA's under-18s side.
That draft night three years ago ended up working in Edwards' favour, as while he had spent the year as a Fremantle NGA member, the club he wound up at still gave him a Cheshire Cat-style grin, according to Waterman.
"He was a lifelong Geelong supporter, and when his name got called out at Pick 32, wherever it was from Geelong, they were over the moon," he said.
"He loves (Geelong). He's a kid from an hour south of Perth, just south of Mandurah. And now he lives in a town that's just south of Melbourne, so it suits him right."
After battling injuries during his first two seasons at The Cattery, Edwards has had a breakout campaign in 2026, playing 19 games and impressing as a first-string ruck.
On Friday night, he will come up against Fremantle star ruck Jackson, who could have been his partner in crime in an alternate universe. It is a battle Edwards is excited for.
"Obviously Luke is a great player, and I love the way he goes about his ruck craft and that kind of stuff. I guess I will try to match my game; I take in lots of learnings from this year," Edwards said in a press conference on Wednesday.
"I have played against some good ruckmen, him being one of them, and I guess I have just built on that during the year. If I get my game on point, I think it can stack up against his, hopefully.
"If I can nullify him, I think that is a win for us, so I will be trying to do that."
