BEN CROCKER remembers the excitement that engulfed his house when St Kilda drafted his brother Sam in 2010. There were hugs, cheers and tears as the ticker at the bottom of the television screen showed the Saints had used pick 43 on the lightly built Oakleigh Charger.
"It was still light, and our friends started driving past the house tooting their horns. That went on for hours," said Ben, who was 13 at the time.
The next week the family put on a party to celebrate Sam's achievement, and the boys' mum Vicki decked out the house in red, black and white. The food plates were St Kilda colours, as were the flags up and down the stairs and the balloons out the front (until Sam ran out and popped them all before anyone arrived).
Ben went to every club family function, got a thrill seeing his older brother presented on stage next to Nick Riewoldt, Lenny Hayes and all the other Saints stars, and during the pre-season would knock on Sam's door in the middle of the afternoon asking to go to the park.
"He would come home at four o'clock and I'd come in to ask if he wanted to go for a kick, which I'm sure wasn't on his agenda, and he'd be fast asleep," Ben said. "It was exciting having a brother on an AFL list, and I think watching and feeling it first-hand definitely sparked the fire for me."
Five years separate the Crocker brothers, but this season they are aiming for the same thing, although slightly different versions of it: Ben wants to get into the system and Sam wants to get back.
Sam, now 23, lasted two years at St Kilda before being delisted. His first season started well before shoulder surgery, and he missed his second pre-season. He came back underdone, didn't hit form, and although he hoped the Saints would give him one more year, he prepared himself to get cut at the end of 2012.
"I knew it was coming. It did hurt, like it would anyone, but it wasn't a shock. But it's still something that you don't want to happen," Sam said.
Looking back he wishes he did a few things differently, like invested more time in recovery away from the club, and latched onto a senior member of the team to learn from him. He doesn't regret how all-encompassing footy was, but it was only after he left did he realise all his eggs were in that basket.
"When you get drafted you go from being at school and studying straight into a full-time job, and then all your mates are at uni. Then you get delisted and it catches you out for a little bit," Crocker said. "You put everything on hold for footy, but you find your feet after a while."
Sam Crocker (second from right) training with St Kilda in 2011. Picture: AFL Media
Ben's hopes were emerging at about that point. As a 15-year-old he was a standout more than Sam ever was at the same stage: he could mark above his head, hunted the ball around the ground and impacted games. But he, too, was aware of the blow it had been for his brother to get a chance and then lose it.
"There was a sense of disappointment, and he didn't really know what to do," Ben said. "When you get drafted your mind sets purely on football, and after getting delisted I think he felt a little bit stuck."
After two years mostly playing with Box Hill Hawks' reserves team, Sam has enjoyed a solid season in the seniors this year, with his penetrating left-foot kick and smarts with the ball deployed in the backline.
Last year he had the chance to move to another VFL club that wasn't an AFL-affiliate for more game opportunities, but backed himself in to win a spot with Box Hill.
He hopes AFL clubs have noticed the changes in his game since he left the system, and thinks they'll recognise the fact he has hung in.
"I think I'm good enough to get back into [the AFL], and my resilience in sticking around would show that I'm capable of getting back into the system and staying there," he said. "Whether it happens or not, who knows? I think I'm worthy of getting another go."
Ben is pushing for his first shot. Some recruiters who have interviewed him this year remember him from the days of coming over to visit Sam during his draft year, and he can recall some of those conversations as well.
"Tony Elshaug, the recruiter from St Kilda, came around back then and he probably spoke the most of the ones I can remember," Ben said. "He still talks a lot."
The 186cm prospect has grown into his year, and although he has been moved around the ground from team-to-team, his best footy has come across half-forward and through the midfield.
After some impressive games last year as a bottom-ager, including the Chargers' Grand Final win in the TAC Cup, he was added to the 35-player NAB AFL Academy squad.
He kicked the winning goal in Vic Metro's final game of the carnival, has played two games in the VFL for Port Melbourne, and last week kicked five goals for the Chargers. He's confident and backs himself, and is putting in the work.
"He does his weights every day, but I almost don't even think that's for footy but just to look good," Sam said, laughing.
"In the pre-season we had a lot of kicks at Carey Grammar because clubs had told him that's what he needed to work on. His progression has always been a lot faster than mine at the same stages of our development."
In between training and playing and watching a handful of Sam's games, Ben has picked up another role in footy: as one of Hawthorn's flag-bearers on game-day for some pocket money.
The 18-year-old tried to keep it quiet, but the Chargers region manager Craig Notman was at one game, recognised him from the crowd walking the boundary armed with a flag, snapped a photo and that was that. Next year, he hopes to be on an AFL ground for other purposes.
"What appeals to me about being drafted is probably the challenge. I want that in my life, the fact it's not going to be easy and I'll have to work hard for it," Crocker said.
"If I do get the chance I'm going to appreciate it. Watching Sam and having someone in the family who's been through it all, and having quite a lot of friends in the AFL now, there's so many people to go to for advice."
