AFL CEO Andrew Dillon read the first eight names in last year's Telstra AFLW Draft without a hitch.
But as he got to pick No.9, he paused.
With that selection, the Collingwood Football Club had selected Lucy Cronin, from "the mighty Kew Comets".
The early selection was somewhat of a surprise given amount of footy Cronin had missed with a torn ACL, but her talent speaks for itself.
"I had no idea [the draft pick] was coming so early in the night especially, but seeing 'Dills' up there with a little bit of a smirk on his face – I had no idea at the time, but looking back, he put a bit of mayo on it," Cronin told AFL.com.au.
"'Dills' was my junior footy coach from under 12s, along with Paul O'Sullivan. I played with his daughter. They both coached us to three or four premierships, we had a really good team.
"It was awesome to have such great role models through them both, and seeing 'Dills' now up there as CEO, it's pretty funny to see the connection now. But I'm really lucky to have come through with someone so experienced.
"He's a bit more reserved (as coach), just lets it play out."
Cronin ruptured her ACL in the 2022 Coates Talent League off-season, missing the start of her final year of junior footy with Oakleigh Chargers.
It put her behind the eight-ball when it came to Vic Metro selection, missing out on the under-18 national championships.
Such was her form at the back-end of the Chargers' premiership campaign, she was selected in the top 10 of the draft regardless.
"Coming in, I was a little bit slow to get off the ground. I felt like my first few games were not quite up to the standard I wanted, but it was fair enough, coming off a long-term injury like that," Cronin said.
"I think having less pressure of wanting to get drafted, and a focus on just wanting to play my best footy and put my best foot forward, it really helped me come out of my shell and solidify my spot as a key defender.
"I had come into the team not really knowing where I wanted to be playing. I'd played a bit of everywhere the year before. So, I got to really know the half-back craft and how to play to my strengths. I think that helped me get to where I wanted at the end of the season.
"Obviously getting the extra few games in through finals was really helpful and gave me the confidence that I'd had a long enough season to show everyone what I was capable of.
"Having such great coaches and support around me at Oakleigh, I think they really let me know it's okay not to play Metro in your final year.
"If you have a good enough season surrounding that – especially in games where girls did go off to Metro and I was left to help the younger girls in the backline – having the support to know I can still play really good footy and show people in different ways that I'm capable of being at AFLW level, that helped me to play my best."
