TODD Marshall was thinking about quitting cricket a long time before he eventually chose football as the sport he wanted to pursue professionally.
The Deniliquin teenager was first picked in representative cricket teams as an under 12, and rose through each level as a promising bowler, first as a paceman before turning to off-spin.
In 2014, Marshall was selected in New South Wales' talent academy, which saw him train most Sundays through winter in Wagga Wagga. By then he started to have doubts that cricket was for him, but in January last year he was chosen to tour England with the Australian combined high schools team.
"I wasn't really enjoying cricket as much as I could've been, but when I got picked for that I thought, 'Well, I can't really pass up this chance'," said Marshall, who is now considered perhaps the best tall prospect in this year's NAB AFL Draft pool.
• Read Todd Marshall's profile at the AFL Draft Pool
"We toured England and Cardiff in the middle of last year, moving around on the bus with the same driver for a month. We played about 10 games, and won about half of them, but when I got home I decided that footy was what I wanted to do. It was a pretty big decision to stop what you're doing and chase another dream."
At that point, in September last year, Marshall could never have imagined how 2016 would unfold – at least to this point.
He didn't know if he would be good enough to make the Murray Bushrangers' under-18 list; he didn't expect to be playing for the Allies at the national carnival, and he didn't know much about the GWS academy let alone think he would be at the centre of a controversy over his eligibility.
"It's been a hectic year so far, but I'm having fun," Marshall said.
The 198cm forward's swift rise took a little while to take off, after he broke his wrist playing locally for Deniliquin at the end of last year. He required surgery on his scaphoid in December, and couldn't get involved in ball drills at Bushrangers training until February. His time on the sidelines made his mind unclear about whether he was good enough.
"I couldn't compare myself to the others as I was just in the rehab group doing running. I didn't know if I was up to that level or what they thought of me, but luckily they kept me. It was cricket season too but I couldn't play cricket either, so it was a pretty boring summer for me," he said.
His first game for Murray came in a practice match against Dandenong, and he kicked a couple of goals and started to catch attention from recruiters.
Todd Marshall in action for the Allies against Vic Metro. Picture: AFL Media
By the second round of the TAC Cup, he had everyone talking – in a draft full of smalls and midfielders, Marshall was a key forward who had speed on the lead, was agile at ground level, took one-grab marks and finished his chances. "He started to stand out quickly," one recruiter said.
His emergence started to raise questions, though. He was tied to Greater Western Sydney's academy through its vast Riverina region, but his later call to quit cricket meant he had spent little time with the Giants.
He had been on their radar, and was getting invitations to join the local academy from the age of 14, which he had left alone because of cricket. The first contact he had was when GWS academy coach Jason Saddington called in April to ask if he wanted to play that weekend for the club's NEAFL side.
He did, and enjoyed playing with and against AFL players and seeing the lift in standard. But clubs continued to question the Giants' hold on Marshall given his late entry to the academy, and the AFL investigated his registration.
Marshall, along with his parents and manager, met with the League. The AFL then ruled that Marshall would not be eligible to join the Giants under academy rules due to "a registration issue", which referred to some confusion around Marshall's paperwork and consent in signing up to the club's academy.
The Giants were disappointed to lose first call on the most promising key forward available this year, while other clubs were pleased he would be available to all. Marshall didn't have strong feelings either way.
"After just coming into the system, to then have your name everywhere in that time was strange. My mates have gone off it a little bit, but in the midst it was pretty tough and they were talking about it pretty often," he said.
"It didn't really bother me too much either way, but I'm happy to be in the open draft.
"I wouldn't say it's daunting, but it is a little bit scary thinking you could move to Perth or Adelaide or Brisbane, but I'll have to take it how it comes if it does work out that way."
Marshall performed strongly in the division two championships for the NSW-ACT Rams, including a four-goal effort against Queensland.
The 17-year-old's first three games for the Allies in the division one championships have been quiet, but each has seen a glimpse of his talent: a big mark, a swivel and goal, or a pack being crashed.
Plenty of recruiters see him as the best tall in the draft, and a strong back half of the season could see him rise even further. He's taking it as it comes.
"I wasn't even sure if I was going to get picked for the Bushrangers with what I did over the pre-season, so if someone said last year that I'd be playing division one championships I would've said, 'No way'. It's been a bit of a surprise to me, but I'm pretty proud of how I've gone," he said.
Want more draft news?
• Listen to this week's Road to the Draft podcast
• The draft pool: Cal Twomey analyses this year's best prospects
• NAB AFL Under-18s: 2016 fixture, news and video
