AFL draft prospect Ollie Hollands grew up a Carlton supporter and would be excited to join the club if the planets aligned on Monday.
The Victorian midfielder is projected to be taken in the first round, with the Blues holding pick 10 and in need of a hard running wingman – which Hollands projects as.
“It would be nice (to be drafted by Carlton). I’ve grown up being a Blues supporter, so it would be nice to see myself in the navy blue, but obviously I’m happy to go anywhere,” he told SEN’s Sportsday.
“I had a tour a while back with the club and Michael Voss did take me on the tour which was nice and it was great to meet him and I wasn’t quite expecting it and he caught me by surprise. It was nice to meet him.
“We spent a little bit of time going through the new facility that they’ve done at the Blues. It’s pretty crazy, the new facility. It’s pretty unbelievable. They’ve got a bit of an indoor field there and it struck me by surprise.”
Hollands outlined how he would describe himself as a player.
“I’m an inside-outside midfielder. I had the opportunity to play in a mix of roles this year and I’d probably say I’m quite versatile and can play on a half back flank or a half forward flank or a wing,” he said.
“I’m a high work-rate player and I use that and my endurance, just being able to cover the ground with my two-way running and I think that’s probably me.”
Hollands also gave his thoughts on the draft process and the continuous interviews with clubs.
“It definitely gets a bit full on. Obviously there’s a bit of a mix between having them over zoom and in person. I guess the best approach is to stay honest and that makes it a lot easier,” the midfielder said.
“It’s quite exciting being able to speak with clubs in person. The last few years with COVID it’s leant more towards zoom.
“Especially at the combine it was quite full-on. I think I had about 14 chats with clubs over two days and it can be quite tiring. It kind of depends on how the club makes that approach, like some clubs are super laid back and make it a bit of a conversation and other clubs like to pepper you with questions.
“It kind of depends on how the club makes their approach with the interview as well.”
The AFL’s National Draft gets underway on Monday night.