Melbourne's draft play for Werribee premiership forward Aidan Johnson has been in the making for more than a year, with the Demons having kept tabs on the 24-year-old since his stint at the country footy level.
Johnson was among the biggest surprises on night two of the AFL Draft, with his name being called at Pick 68 to see the Demons conclude their haul for 2024.
The strong and menacing tall forward had a strong finish to his campaign with the 'Bees this year, booting 11 goals in a five-game spell to see out the home and away season and cement Werribee's minor premiership title.
The Tigers went on to claim the VFL premiership with a win over Southport, with Johnson holding down his role as a forward target who can also pinch-hit in the ruck.
Prior to Johnson's VFL venture, the 193cm forward had a stellar promising stint with Ovens and Murray Football League outfit Lavington - the same club 2023 Werribee hero and Geelong recruit Shaun Mannagh represented.
Johnson had caught the attention of Melbourne during his time with the Panthers, with local references and recruiters alerting the Demons of his prospects.
"We've tracked Aidan for a while actually," Melbourne recruiter Jason Taylor said.
"It was a reference and a contact that first got us involved and looking at Aidan. We've been really impressed by his improvement.
"Todd Patterson first got a link through Lavington to Aidan. We were trying to get him in our own VFL program back then and as it turned out he ended up staying and playing country footy.
"We watched him up there, and he's got a lot of talent. He came down to Werribee where he got himself in better condition over the last 18-month period, and so we continued to watch him. He had a really good finish to the year this year.
"He played up forward and started to really take his marks and hit the scoreboard. He's quite athletic, and so he's good air and ground, and he's very, very aggressive."
Given Johnson's efforts at the state league level this year, the forward-ruck draftee looms as a recruit who could have an instant impact in the red and blue as Melbourne look to strengthen their forward third.
Placing no limitations on their newest selection, Taylor sees plenty of upside in the Johnson acquisition.
"We just think he could potentially have an instant impact for us. We're excited by what he could become," Taylor added.
"He's a mature body, has played some really good VFL footy, which suggests he can step up.
"His ability to play second ruck, even though he's only 193cm, he's got an excellent leap. He did really well at VFL level against the taller rucks. We feel he's got a real point of difference."
Johnson joins top 11 selections Harvey Langford and Xavier Lindsay in landing at Melbourne via this week's AFl Draft.
The Werribee forward wasn't the only Tigers player to be picked up on Thursday night, with half-back Riley Bice landing at the Swans at Pick 41. The duo join Mannagh and Sam Clohesy in earning AFL opportunities in the past 12 months out of the Werribee system.
Richmond VFL forward Sam Davidson was another to be drafted this week, with the Western Bulldogs selecting this year's Fothergill-Round-Mitchell medal winner at Pick 51.
