IN JUST three years, Victorian midfielder Dylan Moore has gone from being rejected from the under-18 system to the literal leader of the draft pack.
The 18-year-old from Rowville tried out for the Eastern Ranges squad when he was 15 but at 175cm and 66kg, was told he was too small.
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The following year his form playing for Caulfield Grammar forced recruiters to notice him, and he got a call from Ranges region manager Len Villani.
"He said he wanted me to come down," Moore told AFL.com.au.
"I'd started playing firsts at school, and I didn't get much game time, but when I did I was making a bit of an impact.
"I kind of thought, I'm pretty good at school footy, maybe I'll get a look in after all."
He played five games for the Ranges last year, and nine this year with his 2017 season mixed with representation for Caulfield and also Vic Metro in the NAB AFL Under-18 Championships in July.
It was here he was named an All Australian after an impressive showing across all four games, even though he thought he'd be lucky to play two going in.
But it was in October at the NAB AFL Draft Combine that Moore got his chance to show that size doesn't always matter.
He blitzed the field in the 2km time trial with a winning time of 6:09 minutes, and finished second in the Yo-Yo test to Andrew Brayshaw.
It wasn't a surprise. Moore might have first picked up a football when he was five years old, but he started athletics two years after that with a focus on middle-distance running.
His older sister Kasey was responsible. She had a passion for athletics that led to her representing Australia at the 2014 Oceania Athletics Championships, where she won gold in the 400m hurdles and 4x400m relay.
For Dylan, it started with cross country, which developed into love for 800m, 1500m and steeplechase, which he represented Victoria in when he was in year five.
While he always wanted to be a footballer, he initially kept athletics in his life – running cross country on Saturdays and playing football on Sundays – as a way to keep fit.
The double act continued until recently and has paid dividends, with the Tom Mitchell/Lachie Neale type now making up for his short stature with an undeniable ability to outlast any opponent when it comes to endurance.
Dylan Moore in action for Vic Metro this year. Picture: AFL Photos
And it's also made Moore all but forget about that time he was told he wouldn't make it as an AFL player.
"When I was told I was too small, I was upset and angry. I always thought I was good enough, but that kind of gives you motivation," he said.
"These days in the AFL, you see small forwards and smaller players really making an impact, so it's kind of motivated me even more.
"The gut-running, those third, fourth-quarter efforts … I know that I can back myself to run out a whole ground because of my background.
"And, if I play good footy too, hopefully I can make it."
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