JOSH Kelly had to drop a year 12 subject at the start of last year because he was so busy, but thinks schoolwork took his mind off the draft.
If you were organised, James Aish found, juggling an education with footy wasn't so hard.
Luke McDonald enjoyed getting a year of his university degree completed and being a part-time footballer before reaching the top level.
And Jay Kennedy-Harris thinks living in college for 10 months after finishing his VCE saw him grow up much quicker and enter his AFL career a more rounded person.
The debate about raising the draft age, clearly, is not a one-size-fits-all issue.
That's probably why clubs are so evenly split on whether the AFL should lift the eligibility to 19 years: in a recent survey, 46 per cent of club representatives were in favour of a change, and 44 per cent were not.
The points are obvious both ways. Many believe changing the draft age from 18 to 19 would see players be able to focus on their studies during year 12, and then turn their focus to football in their 19th year.
They feel studies can be overlooked in favour of football, and that a year to concentrate on their game without the pressures of school would see them arrive at AFL clubs more prepared – physically and mentally.
Players who came through last year's draft have the best grasp of what it actually means to be in that position.
McDonald finished year 12 at Trinity Grammar in 2012, and spent 2013 doing an arts degree at Melbourne University while training at North Melbourne.
"It took the pressure off at school knowing I had a year up my sleeve to focus on footy," McDonald said.
"All I really worried about in year 12 was my study. And I know speaking to a few of the boys, I think their studies dwindled off a little bit because getting drafted was the main priority."
Moving the draft age to 19 is a long-term view.
But Aish and Kelly also achieved the scores they wanted to during their year 12, and will both start at university in their second AFL seasons in 2015, having preferred to hold off this year as they experience the top level for the first time.
"In some respects school was almost a distraction from the whole draft," said Aish, who has stepped into the Brisbane Lions best 22 comfortably.
"I had something that I had to work hard on at school as well as footy so there was that side of it.
"There were probably two or three periods through the year around exam times where it gets pretty busy, and I was coming back from a shoulder injury at one of those times.
"They're probably the only times, and when you're going interstate, which can get tough. But if you're organised it's no issue."
Kelly also thought having a plan during 2013 gave him an idea of what an AFL career would be like ahead of joining the Giants: knowing where to be, when to be there, and to be prepared.
As top-10 selections, Kelly, Aish and McDonald were probably always going to get drafted last year, which might have taken some pressure off.
For those with less certainty, like Kennedy-Harris who was pick 40 to Melbourne, finishing school and then getting some experience living on campus at Melbourne University's Ormond College studying science helped on a number of levels.
"I grew a lot in the year I had out. I had to learn to look after myself more and learn what works for myself, like what food to eat, which put me into really good stead once I got to the football club," said Kennedy-Harris, who has played every game for the Demons so far.
"It made the transition to being an AFL player that little bit easier."
He caught cabs, trains and trams to training sessions at the Oakleigh Chargers before he got his licence, and had to be more independent.
Kennedy-Harris' experience is the prototype for why people would like to see the draft age raised to 19. He had the motivation to try something else, knowing that football couldn't last forever, if it happened at all.
The opposition view fears that Kennedy-Harris would be the exception rather than the norm.
They think players could go on a 'gap year' and solely wait for the draft to happen, getting sidetracked along the way, and Kennedy-Harris understands that opinion.
"That's where it will get a little harder because at one stage I'm learning this idea of discipline but at the same time I am faced with these problems that the other guys [who are at school] aren't faced with," he said.
"At Uni your friends want to go out on a weeknight – that doesn't happen in high school.
"If you don’t have the capacity to say 'no' then it puts you in a really difficult position when it comes to your footy. You can really get found out if you don't have that drive inside you."
North Melbourne's Luke McDonald (left) and Melbourne's Jay Kennedy-Harris (right) celebrate a premiership together in 2012 at Trinity Grammar
Those who believe the status quo is best also say the top players would get caught at the TAC Cup level and stagnate. There is legitimacy in that: 11 of last year's first 13 picks have made their debuts in the first half of 2014.
Kelly says waiting an extra year would have been difficult, given he thought he was ready for the next step in his career.
"It's definitely something to look forward to right from the start of the year. Even the year before you're working hard, the draft day is something you have in your calendar," he said.
He would also have liked to get a taste of VFL action towards the end of the season having seen his former Sandringham Dragons teammate, and now Collingwood defender, Tom Langdon be better for it.
"A game or two would have been pretty good. I think that would be beneficial for sure. Going up against bigger bodies, it's pretty different to TAC Cup. It could prepare you for AFL more," he says.
Players will likely lean towards their own experience as the best pathway because that is what they know.
Kelly and Aish think 18 works, but Kennedy-Harris saw the benefits of an extra year. McDonald did too, but would have loved to go straight into an AFL career after finishing school.
"It's always going to be a really tough question to answer," Kennedy-Harris said.
