ADELAIDE
Luke Thompson struggles to remember when he got his private helicopter licence – flying comes so naturally to him. His father runs a fleet of three choppers to survey soil prior to mining, so he's been around them for years. Luke passed three exams and clocked 50 hours of flight time to score the private licence and is currently studying to obtain his commercial licence. Post footy, he can see himself running a small tourism company - something that allows him to play football on the weekends and fly from Monday to Friday. - Harry Thring

BRISBANE LIONS
He might be one of the youngest at the club, but rookie defender Justin Clarke is arguably the smartest. Not only did he finish in the top echelon of high school students in South Australia, Clarke has secured his RA-Aus recreational pilot's license, which means he can fly two-seater planes. So when he's not stopping the competition's most fearsome forwards in years to come, watch out for the 195cm giant overhead. Midfielder James Polkinghorne also has a love of – and is more than handy at – restoring vintage motorbikes. - Michael Whiting

CARLTON
There's no shortage of multi-talented individuals at Visy Park. Matthew Kreuzer is the official ambassador for this year's Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix, to be held at Philip Island in October. He is an aficionado on the sport and hopes to get more heavily involved in it post-football. Fellow big man Shaun Hampson was an excellent junior athlete, excelling in the 100-metre sprint and the discus. Chris Yarran is the last teammate that Blues players would choose to step into the ring against, being a skilled boxer. Marc Murphy was a classy left-handed batsman and a handy medium-pace bowler who appeared destined for state cricket when he made his debut in Melbourne district at 16. Nick Duigan has completed a Masters degree in psychology and works as an ambassador and psychologist at headspace, the national youth mental health foundation. Aaron Joseph is apparently the pick of several budding guitarists at Visy Park. - Ben Collins

COLLINGWOOD
Deep-thinking ruckmen don't come around all that often, but first-year Magpie Brodie Grundy isn't like most big men. As a highly-driven intellectual, the 19-year-old enjoys writing poetry. For his year 12 English studies, Grundy submitted a poem about the contrasting emotions experienced in relationships and the good and bad in life. Here is an excerpt: 'The crumbling cliff face is highlighted by the golden sun, in stunning shades of raw sienna, amber and violet. His sadness causes tremors, sending sandstone plummeting over the cliff face. He cannot help but observe down below creamy, soft caressing sands of time, filled with assorted passing impressions of those gone before'. – Ben Guthrie

ESSENDON
Stewart Crameri used to be a power-lifter, work in his family's hardware store, and occasionally ride his bike to footy training. But now, as an AFL player, life is a little different for the strong Essendon forward, even though he still finds time to relax, often with an instrument in his hands. Crameri plays the guitar (well, according to some) and sometimes accompanies his work on the strings by singing a tune. - Callum Twomey

FREMANTLE
Luke McPharlin's musical talents as a singer, songwriter and guitarist are relatively well known given he has performed live on the Footy Show but when a Dockers player was asked who had the best hidden talent McPharlin was a clear choice. The 2012 All Australian defender has his own band and has produced his own single called Leaders that was released in September 2011. - Alex Malcolm

GEELONG
Before arriving at the Cattery, Jed Bews dreamed of making Australia's Olympic team as a pole vaulter. Encouraged by his father Andrew, who competed in pole vault before becoming a star footballer at Geelong and the Brisbane Bears, Bews set a record for the Geelong region when he cleared four metres during an under-16 event. He posted his best jump of 4.65m in a competition in Melbourne in December 2010. Matching Sergey Bubka's world record of 6.14m was always going to be tough, so after being offered a father-son place on the Cats' list he chose to devote his time to football instead. - Adam McNicol

GOLD COAST
For the young Suns list, it's all about sporting prowess. From the not-so-hidden talents of Karmichael Hunt in rugby league to the exploits of Josh Hall and Jack Hutchins in athletics and swimming respectively. Hall was one of the best higher jumpers in Australia before switching sports two years ago. He cleared 2.26m in 2011 and is still ranked in the top-10 on the all-time Australian list. Hutchins was a brilliant junior swimmer and competed at the world championship trials in 2009, almost cracking 23 seconds for the 50m freestyle. Matt Shaw can mix it up with the best on a surfboard, and even has a remarkable similarity to one of his heroes, Owen Wright. - Michael Whiting

GREATER WESTERN SYDNEY 
Every now and then you come across a freak athlete who ends up being good at just about whatever they turn their hand to. Jeremy Cameron is one of those types. A promising fast bowler as a junior and a golfer of some renown, he also loves spending time fishing and shooting at his home in Dartmoor and no doubt gives the fish and his targets a hard time while doing that too. Callan Ward is the club's resident hairdresser, while young midfielder Adam Treloar is a massive NBA fan and is credited with owning 32 NBA jerseys. Defender Adam Kennedy is the table tennis champion, although GWS welfare manager Craig Lambert also rates himself highly in that pursuit. - James Dampney

HAWTHORN
If ever a Hawks player cuts his finger in the club kitchen or rolls an ankle playing basketball in the Waverley Park gym, defender Kyle Cheney will be well placed to provide first aid; the former Demon is in training to become a nurse. Among other Hawks, Shane Savage is an apprentice chef, Taylor Duryea the in-house (self-taught) hairdresser, and Ben Stratton the club DJ, providing pre- and post-game changeroom music. Matt Suckling is regarded by many of his teammates as the best all-around sportsman at the club – hardly surprising given he hails from the famous sporting breeding ground of Wagga Wagga. - Mark Macgugan

MELBOURNE 
If Fox Footy is looking for some decent summer programming, then how about "All Rounders – the quest for the best all-round sportsman in the AFL"? And the candidate from Melbourne would surely be the spring-heeled speccie machine, Jeremy Howe. The Tasmanian was a former tennis prodigy who gave footy away for a year in his teens to concentrate on tennis. He was also a gun cricketer, cutting his teeth with and against his first cousin Matthew Wade, the sometimes Australian Test 'keeper. These days he excels at golf and plays off single figures. "He's good at everything," marvels teammate Chris Dawes. - Ashley Browne

NORTH MELBOURNE
Roos midfielder Ben Cunnington is as comfortable out on the sea with a fishing rod in his hand as he is inside the centre square at an opening bounce. Cunnington's great passion is deep-sea fishing, but often during the AFL season he contents himself with heading out onto Port Phillip Bay alone in his new boat. There is also a band of keen golfers at North, with coach Brad Scott, Daniel Wells and Ryan Bastinac boasting the sweetest swings.
- Nick Bowen

PORT ADELAIDE
Paul Stewart's hidden talent has seen him receive airtime on Channel Seven's Sunrise and become somewhat of an internet sensation. Stewart is a talented mime and while it's not known whether he performs at parties, his lip-syncing of legendary footy commentator Bruce McAvaney is perfectly executed. Video of Stewart miming McAvaney's commentary has had almost 13,000 Youtube hits and was discussed by club chairman David Koch on Sunrise earlier in the year. - Harry Thring

RICHMOND
Midfielder Shane Tuck grew up in the '90s listening to the Red Hot Chili Peppers top the charts with classic tunes like 'Under the Bridge', 'Scar Tissue' and 'Give it Away'. Inspired by the American rockers, he took up the drums in high school and is known around the club for his skill on the skins. The 31-year-old has become less active through his 167-game career at Richmond, but he still finds time to play as part of band Less Than Zero. Tuck is into a variety of musical styles, with punk rockers NOFX, heavy metal band Pantera and progressive four-piece Tool among his favourites. - Nathan Schmook

ST KILDA
Nick Riewoldt can speak German, Rhys Stanley is a strong sprinter (although that's not really hidden, given he won the 2009 Grand Final sprint), Nick Dal Santo is apparently very good at networking (regularly mixing with the club's corporate sponsors) and Daniel Markworth was an elite junior sportsman in tennis and basketball. However, when it comes to horticulture, Ben McEvoy has all of his teammates covered. A country boy at heart, having grown up on a cattle farm in the small north-eastern Victorian town of Dederang, McEvoy has bought a couple of hundred acres of land near the town of Stawell. With the help of his brother-in-law, he has sowed his first grain crop on the property. He runs the farm when he's not busy with football and plans to live there full-time when his career is over. - Jennifer Phelan

SYDNEY SWANS 
Growing up on a farm in Bright in north-east Victoria, Sam Reid developed a love of animals, as his family property was littered with dogs, cats and horses. It is a theme he has carried to his house in Coogee,where he has a French bulldog named Frankie, two cats and a menagerie of birds and fish. He plans to take it further, starting a Certificate II in Animal Studies, which means he will spend time at a zoo every fortnight and could lead to a career with animals when his playing days are over. Teammate Ryan O'Keefe's cooking exploits became well known through his appearance on 'Celebrity MasterChef'. But he is taking his passion for cooking and healthy living to new heights, currently hosting his own YouTube show titled 'Healthy Eating with Ryan O'Keefe'. - James Dampney

WEST COAST
Bradd Dalziell was a very good cricketer before he got drafted by the Brisbane Lions in 2007. He represented WA at under age level but more impressively he played 27 WACA first-grade matches for Gosnells alongside respected first-class cricketers Luke Pomersbach and Ryan Duffield. Dalziell's record stacks up really well compared to many highly-rated players at that level. He made 766 first-grade runs, averaging 31.92, including a highest score of 148 batting at No.4 behind Pomersbach, who made 31 in a match where no other player reached 50.  Mark LeCras is the club's table tennis king. - Alex Malcolm

WESTERN BULLDOGS
Patrick Veszpremi is a gun fisherman who has entered plenty of competitions in his spare time. Will Minson plays the saxophone, speaks German and is a very handy cook. Jordan Roughead was a talented junior basketballer in his time. Matthew Boyd is still hitting the books, currently completing his masters degree in business. Easton Wood was a sprinter at high school, and is now the resident DJ at Whitten Oval. Jason Tutt represented Australia in men's under-19 softball. Ryan Griffen loves the outdoors, and is a keen camper. Liam Jones loves writing his own music, and can rap with the best of them. He also loves to play the ukulele. Bob Murphy can sing, and used to be in a boys choir, while Dylan Addison is the club's best guitarist. Koby Stevens owns his own apparel label, specialising in beanies which his teammates can often be seen wearing. Jack Redpath is actually a carpenter outside of football, while Tom Campbell was an antique furniture removalist before he was drafted. - Jacqui Reed