VIC METRO winger Georgia Patrikios (pictured above) is coming into Tuesday's NAB AFLW Draft as one of the favourites to be selected with the No.1 pick, but has had a pretty handy sounding board.
Her former Calder Cannons and Metro teammate Maddie Prespakis has been through this all before.
Like Prespakis before her, Patrikios was named player of this year's NAB AFLW Under-18 Championships (Prespakis won alongside Nina Morrison), and looks set to be taken with one of the first three Victorian picks by either the Western Bulldogs, Carlton or St Kilda.
Prespakis awaits at Ikon Park should the Blues pick up Patrikios with pick No.2.
>>The 2019 NAB AFL Women's Draft will be live streamed on womens.afl, the AFLW App and the AFLW Facebook account from 10.40am AEDT on October 22.
"There’s a bit of everything, a bit of nerves, a bit of excitement. I just try not to read into it too much," Patrikios said.
"I’ve sort of done all I can now for the draft, and the Combine was just doing my best and that’s all I can really do. But I’m not stressed too much, I try to limit how much I think about it and just get on with day-to-day life.
"I have Maddie Prespakis, who has gone through it all so she’s someone who I can rely on to talk me through it or give me advice. And then I have my brother and he’s real cool, calm and collected, so he puts things in perspective for me and he’s always there if I need a chat. Mum and Dad, they’re always there, too."
Patrikios is one year younger than her brother Perry, who she followed into Auskick and junior footy at West Coburg in Melbourne's north, before crossing to nearby Pascoe Vale to play youth girls in her teenage years.
She's now played for three years for Vic Metro and was named All Australian for the past two, as well as claiming the player of the championship gong.
"I didn’t really expect it to be honest. I was just sitting there looking around at the girls that I thought it was going to be and then I heard my name," Patrikios said.
"I’m really honoured. To see girls like Maddie and Nina who won it the year before and then seeing where they’ve ended up, it’s pretty crazy to think that I’ve won that medal now, too.
"My confidence was a lot higher this year, compared to the last few years. Being a top-ager, just tried to set an example for the younger girls and just be a good role model for them, playing the best that I could for the team.
"I think the pressure to perform mainly comes from myself. I think I’m my harshest critic. Because if you really look at it, there’s no one really putting pressure on you to play well, it’s more yourself."
Should Patrikios end up at Carlton, she'll be in familiar surroundings. The 18-year-old is in her first year of a sport coaching and development degree at La Trobe University, who have a partnership with the Carlton College of Sport.
"I’ve been doing placement [at Carlton] with the VFLW team and been helping out the S&C (strength and conditioning) staff for their trainings," Patrikios said.
"I’ve been doing the on-field scoreboard for the games that are played at Ikon. Just little stuff like that around the club to help out."
Yet another footballer with a basketball background (Patrikios played at representative level for Coburg Giants before sticking with footy), the speedster moves well out on the field, with a tantalising, elusive step.
"It has its advantages. When I come to game day, no one really knows [what I'm going to do] if I come up to them and I sidestep them."
