Roos stumbled across Hannebery
01/12/2008 4:58 PM
Dan Hannebery was not the reason Sydney Swans coach Paul Roos went to watch a schoolboy grand final in Victoria four years ago.
Roos was there to watch his nephew Joel play but came away with Hannebery's name firmly etched in his little black book.
On Monday the teenage midfielder from the Oakleigh Chargers officially began life as a Swan after being chosen as the 30th pick in the national draft on Saturday.
Roos spoke with genuine excitement about Hannebery's chance of making it into the AFL.
"I think he ran 10 minutes 30s at the draft camp for three kilometers. If you could cover ground like that, you know you've got a real chance to be an AFL midfielder," Roos said.
"He's got really good skills."
"I remember watching him play (in that schoolboy grand final). He was the star player."
"You tend to follow their progress, so when (Swans player manager) Stuart (Maxfield) threw on his tape I made the comment I remembered him as a bloody good player then."
Hannebery remembers Roos' appearance at the junior decider as the 'talk of the day' but tried to act cool at the time.
"I remember there were whispers that day that Paul Roos was there but you've just got to do what your coach tells you," he said.
"You can't afford to worry about showing off, you can't afford to do that as you'll lose your focus."
"But I never really spoke to him until Saturday when he called, which was pretty awesome."
The Swans also picked up promising forward Lewis Johnston and defender Campbell Heath at the draft.
Roos said there would be no pressure placed on the trio to play senior football in 2009.