It was the night Andrew Boston had been waiting for and working towards throughout his junior AFL career, but instead the promising Broadbeach junior was dealt a shocking blow after he failed to land a home at the 2012 AFL Draft held on the Gold Coast.  

“You have people coming around telling you you’re a good chance of going but when I was finally there and it didn’t happen, I just remember that I was devastated,” Boston said.

“My whole football career was based around that and it didn’t end up happening.”

It was a hard pill to swallow for the exciting 18-year-old who was touted at the time as Queensland’s best teenage prospect, and particularly hard to fathom after receiving notification of  interest from 13 of the 18 AFL Premiership clubs.

“There were some talks between people and clubs that I would go between the 20th and 40th pick in the draft, and afterwards I remember talking to my dad and he said I had to be positive and look ahead to the next phase, but it was pretty hard to be positive about it all.”

However, while it wasn’t the dream start Boston had been hoping for there would prove to be some light at the end of the tunnel for the former Broadbeach Cats star, with the Gold Coast SUNS throwing the talented young gun a lifeline, taking Boston with their first selection in the 2012 Rookie Draft  a phone call Boston says he will never forget.

“That was just an awesome phone call, finding out I had been rookie listed with the GC SUNS was a big relief,” said Boston.

“It was sort of like a wakeup call, and turning  from being really disappointed to happy was great, and to finally get there was overwhelming.”

While many first-year players and rookies tend to start their AFL career at the bottom of the pyramid, a determined Boston says he wouldn’t have it any other way.

“When you get drafted or rookie-listed you’re on the bottom of the food chain from everyone else,” Boston said.

“So you have to work hard, do all the right things and try and be the best out there on the track.”

Elevated-rookie Kyal Horsley took the AFL world by storm in 2012, averaging 18 disposals in 13 of the GC SUNS 22 games, and Boston is hopeful of travelling down a similar path in his pursuit of earning a spot on the senior list.

“I take a lot of confidence away from rookies that have been elevated to the senior list and have managed to play good footy, Kyal was one who got elevated last year and went on to play some great games.

So hopefully my time comes and when it does I’ll be ready for it.”