Past Martin Leslie (1989-1995)

[Grimreepah]

Pick 1 in the 1986 VFL Draft

187cm
90kg

 

[Grimreepah]

Link to article

Leslie has the honour of being the first-ever No.1 draft pick selected, with the VFL introducing the national draft in 1986.

Drafted at the end of 1986, he stayed with Port Adelaide for two more seasons and impressed during the national carnival of 1988, where he won All Australian selection.

He didn't debut until 1989, by which time he was 26. In just his second year he shared the club's best and fairest award (with rover David Bain), although later in his career injuries took their toll.

The unfashionable but effective backman would go on to play 107 matches for the Bears, who at that time were still relative newcomers in the VFL/AFL and finding it tough.

 

[Hollow Knight]

According to Emma Quayle's book, Leslie didn't even know he'd been drafted until he read it in the paper the next day.

 

[Grimreepah]

 

[Grimreepah]

At this year's National Draft Martin Leslie was interviewed on his experience when he was first drafted.

His interview starts at 4:00 and goes to 7:02

[YOUTUBE]UwF7gOQxKFc&feature=related[/YOUTUBE]

 

[ZoBlitz]

AFL Draft: Martin Leslie looks back on inaugural VFL national draft

“I had spent a full season at Port Adelaide and won their best-and-fairest from Greg Anderson on the last vote of the night and then headed up to Darwin for two months,’’ he told the Herald Sun.

“The job they had lined up for me hadn’t come through so I was a bit short on cash.

“So I went into the dole office to fill out a dole form. It was the first time in my life.

“Then I walked across the road to get a paper and it was on the back page of the Northern Territory News that I had been drafted No. 1

“I had to walk back in and scrap that dole form. It’s a true story.”