Garry Lyon is a huge fan of GWS defender Connor Idun.
The 23-year-old began to establish himself as one of the competition’s elite lockdown defenders in 2023 which was capped off by a strong finals campaign.
At 193cm and 92kg, Idun has the ability to shut down both tall and small forwards, while his athletic ability paired with improving skills has seen him become a weapon with the ball in hand exiting defensive 50.
While looking through last season’s AFL Record Season Guide, Lyon was looking for a list of number one draft picks before randomly opening to a page where Idun’s name was at the top having been taken at pick no. 61 in the 2018 Draft.
Even though clubs are getting better at identifying elite talent early in drafts, Lyon believes Idun’s late selection shows gems can still be found in the third and fourth rounds.
He even went as far as to compare him to one of the modern greats in terms of medium-sized defenders.
“There's a list of all the number one draft picks and I can run through them and we can talk about them,” Lyon said on SEN Breakfast.
“(Some say) it (gems later in the draft) don’t happen (as often) now.
“It just happened as I was looking in the book to get to the number one draft picks … I just opened on a random page, and up the top was pick 61 - GWS Giants - from the Geelong under-18s - Connor Idun.
“He had a year. Did you watch his finals? I think in two years' time we’re going to look at him and go, ‘This is sort of Tom Stewart territory’.
“I mean, that’s high praise, (Stewart is) a five-time All-Australian.
“But Connor Idun’s abilities and his physical attributes (are so impressive).
“There you go, that’s just a random pick 61.”
Idun was born in London, but was raised in Geelong where he began playing footy as a 12-year-old.
The defender finished sixth in GWS’ best and fairest in 2023 as the Giants went within one kick of a Grand Final berth.