Incoming Geelong utility Connor O'Sullivan has addressed his Kardinia Park arrival after hearing his name called at Monday evening's National Draft.
On night one of proceedings at Marvel Stadium, Geelong traded one spot back from its original No. 8 position with the Bombers, who attained Victoria Country product Nate Caddy - whom Geelong was also thought to be intrigued by pre-draft - with what turned out to be Pick 10.
With the 11th selection, the Cats then pounced on O'Sullivan, a standout key-position backman who plied his defensive trade with a Championship-winning Allies unit that also produced fellow top-ten talents Jed Walter, Colby McKercher, and Ryley Sanders.
Like Caddy, O'Sullivan didn't catch any wind of potential pick dealings between Andrew Mackie (Geelong's football boss) and Adrian Dodoro (Essendon's outgoing list boss).
"I had no clue (about the live-trade), to be honest," O'Sullivan said on Monday evening after his Geelong move was sealed.
"Sort of that eight-to-twelve range was where Brett [and] my management team thought I'd land, but sort of between those picks, I had no clue. I was just sitting there twiddling the thumbs, sort of waiting for the moment I suppose."
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Once his name was called, the 18-year-old Murray Bushrangers product was greeted on stage by Geelong premiership legend Joel Selwood.
"My heart was racing the whole time, standing up on stage shaking Joel Selwood's hand," O'Sullivan continued.
"It's obviously very special, he's obviously a legend of the club, and it's a privilege to have him here tonight. It means a lot and it shows that going forward, I'm going to have to take responsibility and hopefully [it's] my time now, which is amazing.
"He was just like 'relax, enjoy it', all that sort of stuff to calm me down a little bit, he's obviously done it before, he's been in big moments before, so he was pretty chill. It definitely helped sort of calm the nerves a little bit."
O'Sullivan was also quizzed on his preferred position on the field, as, while the youngster displayed his defensive proficiency during his draft year, the Albury native is also plenty capable of playing forward of the ball at the elite level.
"To be honest, I think my strength in my juniors was the sense that I got thrown around [the field] a lot, so I've sort of become pretty comfortable with [playing] both forward and back," he explained.
"I think, obviously, they're both areas that I've got strengths in but also have a lot to improve on at either end, so I think I wouldn't pigeonhole myself right now.
"It'll be up to the situation that we're in come next year, I suppose."
O'Sullivan will soon acquaint himself with his new Geelong teammates when he begins pre-season training.
