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BENDIGO Pioneer Brady Rowles experienced a whirlwind of emotions on Friday.
Rowles woke up not feeling confident about his chances of finding an AFL home, but just a couple of hours later he was on the phone to his new coach, Sydney's John Longmire, after the Swans used pick four in the rookie draft to select the 18-year-old.
"I didn't know what to think when my name got shown on the screen with pick four from Sydney... it was an unbelievable feeling that I didn't know how to react to," Rowles, who followed the rookie draft on his phone in Queensland, said on Friday.
"I've already had contact from John Longmire the coach, so it has been amazing.
"To get to any club was the goal, but to be going to Sydney... they've got probably the biggest name in the AFL in Lance Franklin, so it's just unbelievable. I can't wait to get started and into it. I'm grateful for the opportunity they have given me."
Rowles, from Mildura, watched Wednesday night's first round of the National Draft without any expectation of being selected.
"I watched the rest of the draft last night and when clubs started to pass I thought that maybe it's not going to be my year," Rowles said.
"I woke up this morning not very confident, so then for Sydney to select me was just amazing."
Rowles moved from Mildura to Bendigo for school and football this year.
"What we really like about him is his ability to run and carry the footy and he's got genuine pace," Swans' recruiting manager Kinnear Beatson told the club's website
"But it's also his willingness and intent to get across and add a number to the contest which (coach) John Longmire was impressed with when watching his highlights."
Rowles played two games for Vic Country this year as well as 12 for the Pioneers, while his testing at the Draft Combine in October included winning the vertical jump with 98cm.
"I really enjoyed my time in Bendigo. The Pioneers were a great club and the O'Neill family that I lived with was really supportive," Rowles said.
Also drafted from the Pioneers this week were Brodie Kemp (Carlton), Thomson Dow (Richmond) and Flynn Perez (North Melbourne), while Harry Jones (Essendon) and Sam Ramsay (Carlton) are draftees from Gisborne.
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