COMBINING Year 12 with the beginning of an AFL career has been a hot topic in recent weeks.

Melbourne’s Jack Watts is the latest to try the juggling act after others such as Dustin Fletcher and Brendon Goddard before him.

Hawk Xavier Ellis knows a bit about combining footy and schooling as he was drafted by Hawthorn in 2005 with a year to go on his secondary education.

Ellis never put himself up for senior selection in 2006, choosing instead to concentrate on his studies at Melbourne Grammar.

But he says that was his choice and other options might work out better for other players such as Watts.

“I was never going to play any senior footy that year. I sat that year aside to complete school,” Ellis said. “Jack has obviously made the decision to have a crack at playing and that is what Melbourne wants. He will be a very good player and he’s got to work hard.

“He’s a No. 1 draft pick and he is obviously a good player with a lot of talent.

“He’s got a lot of hard work in front of him but I’m sure he’ll prove those people wrong over his journey. He’s three games into a 10-12 year career.

“Plenty of people expect too much from young kids, especially a fella trying to complete Year 12.”

Ellis is sympathetic to the scrutiny Watts has received. As a top three draft pick himself, plenty of people were keen to see him get out on the park and deliver instant results. But he says the key is not to worry about what people outside the club have to say.

“I really couldn’t care what anyone says. That’s how I roll. People have got opinions and they always love opinions. If they’ve got criticism you should take it, but if they’ve got compliments you should take that too,” he said.

“I don’t feel any extra pressure (as a top three pick). I think Clarko and the coaching staff have been happy with how I’ve been progressing as a player.

“I’ve got a lot of improvement ahead of me if I work hard. I don’t feel any pressure because I don’t take too much interest in what other people have to say.”

Ellis worked his way into the Hawthorn side over the next couple of years but invariably found himself on the fringe of the team.

He missed the first final last year but worked his way back into the team and was one of Hawthorn’s best afield in the grand final, racking up 27 touches. But while that game made the football world sit up and take notice of him, Ellis said it was not his best effort.

“In the last half of last year I was playing some pretty consistent football. The grand final I don’t personally think was my best game by any stretch of the imagination. I made quite a few errors,” he said.

“But to play in round 17 against Geelong last year in front of 90,000 and then the next week against Collingwood in front of 80,000 that gave us a good stepping stone into the grand final. Being the underdogs there was no pressure and we enjoyed hunting sides.”

This year has been a different story for the Hawks as they struggle to get consecutive wins on the board. They have already been written off by some, but the 21-year-old Ellis hasn’t lost hope.

“We were thinking we’d be in a better position than we are now,” Ellis said. “We had a look at some stats from last year during the week and St Kilda were in the exact same position this time last year and they played in the prelim last year. It’s not all bad news and there is definitely a lot of hope left.”