Van Hattum Hype: How projected top 5 pick is handling the pressure

He’s been described as a ‘generational ruckman’.

Some draft experts have him being taken inside the top five. Some say he is a player with the potential to change the direction of a club.

But Harry Van Hattum isn’t quite believing the hype - he’s just keen to be drafted.

In person, despite his immense stature, he’s fairly humble, but with an air of confidence and plenty of balance in the way he speaks.

The buzz around him has at times hit fever pitch throughout this season with the star-studded Northern Knights, the all-conquering Vic Metro, the AFL Academy selection and his school outfit, Ivanhoe Grammar.

Van Hattum admits he can feel the pressure, but tries to relieve that by focusing on what he can control.

“Obviously it adds a bit of external pressure,” he told SEN.com.au.

“I try not to look at it as much, but I still definitely see some phantom drafts from Cal Twomey and things like that.

“It definitely adds another layer of pressure to each game. It always just lingers in the back of your mind, having that expectation on yourself. But I just take it week by week and try not to think about that as much as I can.

“There’s not much I can do about it (the hype), so I just try to let my footy do the talking.”

From Hurstbridge Auskick to Eltham juniors to St Mary’s Greensborough, through the pathways, and now on the doorstep of the elite level, Van Hattum’s journey has picked up steam in the last few years.

Social media hype

A clip of a banging goal he kicked out of the ruck when playing school footy earlier in the year did the rounds on social media.

As an 18-year-old boy in Melbourne, it’s hard not to look at what’s happening on the ‘Gram’ or Tiktok, and although ‘H’ didn’t mind seeing his own highlights hit his feed, it’s not something he actively chases.

This comes with good advice from Max Hayes and Tom Petroro at TGI Sport who look after Van Hattum.

“I try not to look. It pops up on your Instagram feed every now and then, but I definitely try to stay away from looking up that kind of stuff. It's probably not good for you,” he said of the new age of socials.

“You can get carried away by it, which I’ve spoken about with my managers before, so I try to stay off that as much as I can.

“It's all part of it. Obviously it's cool to watch, but you don't spend your whole time researching and looking yourself up. It is cool to see some of your clips, I guess.”

Richmond interest

The No.1 pick has occasionally been seen next to Van Hattum’s name in draft forecasting.

It’s highly unlikely to happen given the convoluted nature of this year’s draft with the pointy end set to be dominated by father/son and Academy picks.

He’ll most likely be pushed to three or beyond which has him firmly in the range of Richmond, Essendon and perhaps even West Coast. (But unlikely Hawthorn, the club he supports).

There’s been more than enough interest over the course of the year, particularly from the Tigers.

“I've spoken to a fair few, probably about eight or nine clubs. I’ve spoken to Richmond the most, they’d be the main ones.”

He was even in the mix to play a VFL game with the Tigers but that didn’t eventuate having already featured at Talent League level as well as in the National Champs, for the AFL Academy team and for school.

Which three items would you save?

Prospective draftees are often thrown curly questions from some recruiters and that was no different for Van Hattum when he spoke to Carlton while away with the Academy squad earlier this year.

“On the New Zealand trip with the Academy boys, Carlton asked, ‘If your house was on fire, which three items would you save (it can’t be pets or people)?’.

“I think I said my phone, a signed Luke Hodge jersey and my passport.”

What would you choose, reader? (A question to ponder).

He’s also been quizzed on adversity.

Kilimanjaro at 14

Van Hattum admits he’s had a fairly good upbringing and has been fortunate growing up in Kangaroo Ground.

But he did recall a moment as a 14-year-old atop Africa’s most perilous mountain when he was truly tested.

“I haven't really faced any life-changing issues, but I guess on the mental side of it, climbing Mount Kilimanjaro when I was turning 14 was a huge mental challenge for both me and Dad,” he remembered.

“The altitude sickness from climbing that high, I literally couldn't walk any faster than one foot in front of the other, the slowest pace you can possibly go. That was a huge mental challenge for me. To overcome that was a pretty cool achievement at such a young age.”

Intestinal fortitude and mental strength aside, the towering teenager prides himself on having “elite skills for a ruckman with an elite handball and elite kick”.

The best comparison he could think of was Fremantle’s former Melbourne premiership player Luke Jackson.

“Having a Luke Jackson type follow-up is definitely one of the key aspects of my game.”

Family ties

The progeny of Rod - a fireman and former local footy legend - and Kim - an renewable energy engineer, Harry credits his family for his rise to the top.

His sister Jess also had a stint at the Knights last year before returning to local footy at Eltham.

Harry says his old man, ‘Dutchy’, has been a great influence on his career having helped out as an assistant coach at junior level.

“Dad would be a key supporter and key driver for my footy stuff,” Van Hattum said.

“He's just always been the person to get me out of bed in the morning, to get me to go to training, get me ready, get my diet right.

“He's been huge in my football development.”

The Rocca & Dattoli effect

The inspiration and influence doesn’t stop at home.

His Talent League coach is a renowned footy name - former Collingwood and Sydney star Anthony Rocca - who has been instrumental in his development.

“I've been with him for three or four years. He's been huge for me for both my forward craft and ruck craft,” Van Hattum said of ‘Pebbles’.

“I met him through becoming a future at 16 at Knights level, and ever since then he's been like massive for me in terms of my footy development, my ruck development, so he's been another huge key driver for me.”

Then there is Heidelberg icon Vince Dattoli, the father of Sydney Swans talent Jesse.

‘Vinny’ does a lot of work through the north and the east with plenty of talented kids, so much so that Matt Rowell thanked him in his Brownlow speech last year having worked together at Carey Grammar.

“Vinny Dattoli has also been a huge driver for me too. I’ve done a lot of training with him over the past four or five years. I did a lot of work with him over the pre-season trying to get my touch perfect.”

Leap to fame

The attributes that these coaches have helped with will hopefully hold Van Hattum in good stead if and when he is drafted.

But he has a warning for those who are expecting him to hit the ground running as an immediate fix in the ruck position.

“If I'm lucky enough to get drafted, going into the AFL system I probably won't be ready enough to play ruck straight away, it will take a while to develop. So hopefully I’ll get a bit more forward craft and become a really good key forward as well, because then I’ll probably play a bit earlier as a forward at an AFL club instead of a ruck straight away.”

His vertical leap of 103cm is a thing of beauty and rates equal second overall (alongside Knights teammate Sam Gayfer) from an AFL Draft combine viewpoint.

It’s a centimetre better than West Coast’s former star ruck Nic Naitanui and only bettered by GWS defender Leek Aleer’s freakish ability with a 107cm leap.

“After the testing in pre-season I remember looking up the AFL draft records with Sammy Gayfer and the record was 107cm, and we saw we were equal second. So that was pretty cool to find out.

“I don't think I'll beat that, but top three is cool. Hopefully I can get close.”

Finding balance

At times in 2026 Van Hattum’s head has been spinning.

Playing for different teams, under different coaches with different game plans all while juggling it with immense draft expectations.

But he manages to find a balance.

“It’s definitely a fair bit of a challenge,” he said. “In a footy sense, going from playing for the Academy team, and then school, and then Metro, and then back to Knights and then school again - I found that pretty challenging because there are so many different voices, so many different coaches to listen to, so many different playing styles, and then the footy itself, there's such a different standard between them all. I find that a bit challenging to adjust to.

“In terms of balance for school, doing VCE and having so much study outside of footy has me not thinking about footy 24/7, so I find that balance pretty good.

“I still find time for mates on the weekend. I go to school with a lot of my mates as well, so I get to hang out with them there and hang out with the boys after footy.

“It's a bit of a challenge balancing it all, but I’ve just got to find time to prioritise the right things still and just have different areas of focus.”

National Champs critics

Some draft critics believe that Van Hattum underperformed at the Under-18 National Championships with undefeated champs Vic Metro. He felt he worked into it as his match fitness returned following a lower leg injury prior.

“Coming in at the start I was definitely underdone, a bit unfit, just out of it for a while. I had an Achilles injury, and I didn't play footy for a month before the first game, so I was really unfit and definitely not game fit,” ‘HVH’ said.

“It took me the first three games really to get going again, which is a bit annoying, because obviously at Vic Metro you want to perform at your best, that's what it's there for.

“So I was a bit disappointed in that sense, but I definitely took that last game to make a stand, and then I've been in good stead since.”

All the phantom drafts, the accumulation of draft points, the jockeying to move up the draft order and trading of picks can create quite the headache.

So after all is said and done, Van Hattum simply wants a spot on an AFL list, wherever that may be.

“I wouldn't care at all where I end up. Playing AFL is a dream, so I would love to play it anywhere,” he said.