IT'S a case of Eaglehawk one week, Dubai the next as Port Power draftee Jesse Palmer makes his first steps into the AFL world.
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The 78th pick and Power's second in Thursday night's AFL national draft, Palmer's run to the "big league" began in Swan Hill.
The Palmer family moved to Eaglehawk early in 2013.
For Jesse it was a move further west as he began studies at St Patrick's College and played for North Ballarat Rebels in the AFL Victoria TAC Cup under-18s competition.
A 190cm forward, Palmer's strong hands were a feature in the Rebels run to the finals.
Played primarily as a medium forward, Palmer had the occasional stint in midfield.
He said on Friday that being drafted was a "dream come true".
"It's taken a lot of hard work to be where I am at now, but there's even more hard work to come," the 18-year-old said.
Overhead marking and contested play are two of the major strengths of his game.
"Greater endurance is what I have worked on a lot at the Rebels and in training with North Ballarat Roosters."
His footy pursuits are closely followed by parents Shane and Zenda, and sister Shanii.
Palmer's clubmates at Port Power include Echuca's Ollie Wines.
A hard-at-it onballer in his time with the Bendigo Pioneers, Wines was taken at pick 24 in the 2012 draft.
Another young gun bound for the AFL, Kerang's Jaden McGrath will join Brisbane Lions on Monday.
"It will be meet and greet and then head off to a training camp at Noosa later in the week," the Bendigo Pioneers midfielder-forward said.
Now injury-free, McGrath is raring to get into pre-season workouts.
"The hard work starts now," McGrath said.
"At the AIS-AFL Academy the message was always not to be complacent about training.
"There's a lot of work to earn selection for squads or the draft, but that's just the start," McGrath said of the challenges ahead with the Lions.
Off the football field, McGrath spent years 11 and 12 in the specialist sports program at Bendigo Senior Secondary College.