Player Watch #25 Billy Cootee - Welcome to Sydney - Pick 42

[robbieando]

Welcome to the Swans

Best and Fairest for Norwood in 2025 and SANFL Team of the Year selection on the Wing

Billy Cootee wins first Michael Taylor Medal - Norwood Football Club

norwoodfc.com.au

Get to know Billy Cootee - Norwood Football Club

norwoodfc.com.au

Norwood - SANFL

sanfl.com.au

 

[SwansProudly]

Welcome,

 

[Jeffers]

 

[MarkP]

Ok, I lol'ed at th epick.

I am now claiming bandwagon front row seats.

Lets go Billy, me and you, wild ride and best of luck.

 

[SM]

What a Cutie

 

[Callipygian]

Billy Cootee Drafted by Sydney - Norwood Football Club

norwoodfc.com.au

 

[Ticky009]

Billy Cootee Drafted by Sydney - Norwood Football Club

norwoodfc.com.au

I like the fact he went to SA for better opportunities. Could have stayed in Vic, has proved he's willing travel to play footy. Swans will like that.

Best of luck Billy.

 

[Bonz]

What a Cutie

vonn is that you?

 

[Swansujelly]

vonn is that you?

she toook her car and ran..

 

[joeykanga]

Will debut in gather round best on at his old haunting ground Norwood with Aaron Francis cheering on and all of Norwood happy for a Swans win.

 

[SBD Gonzalez]

Rootie Tootie Cootee.

 

[sthmelb_dimmies]

It really should be Billee Cootee, or Billy Cooty

 

[SSwans2011]

Don't mind this pick. We've drafted a couple of players in King and Kyle with high ceilings that might take a few years of development (don't know enough about Phillipou to know where he falls into this). I like balancing that with someone who can potentially give us some more depth in the more immediate future.

 

[kelpie_X]

No one will want to go near him with a name like that! Brownlow medal for sure.

 

[SwansLifer]

Ok, I lol'ed at th epick.

I am now claiming bandwagon front row seats.

Lets go Billy, me and you, wild ride and best of luck.

Ditto.

 

[Adnico26Parker]

Love this!

 

[RainMachine]

In terms of horrible nicknames, I vote Cootee pie. Or “QT 3.14” if you will.

 

[Callipygian]

I look forward to seeing Billy play and what he's got.

It really is a great story and I'm curious why we picked Billy when there are no doubt a lot of other similarly credentialled players out there. I think he offers us some midfield insurance in the short term, with the possibility of being an option longer term. He seems to be a neat user of the ball and able to win his own ball too. Will have had to have shown a fair bit of resilience in his career to date, I suspect.

To summarise the articles about him: his background is he comes from Mt Beauty in the Victorian Alps. He played with the Western Jets as an underager before being recruited to Essendon's VFL team, where he played 3 seasons and had the honour of captaining them (for at least one game) as a 20 year old. Then he moved to Norwood where he has played the last 2 seasons (helping the club to narrow GF and prelim final losses), including winning the 2025 B&F. He is studying construction management at university. (Happily that is a degree also offered at UNSW - I wonder if I have checked this before he has!)

Good luck Billy!

 

[Kiama Chris]

I think there's not a huge difference between players at this level of the draft so I think the recruiters have to back their judgement. Like Bice he has had to push himself to make it which I hope speaks to his character and determination.
I think the recruiters have done an excellent job of improving our depth in terms of body type and ceiling plus a good mix of positions and readiness to play with a degree of versatility.

 

[Nool Carpenna]

I like this pick... little bit more experienced and hardened than your average draftee.

Difficult to see him not producing at VFL level and that means he's going to, at very least, be putting pressure on the guys in the ones to perform.

 

[SwansLifer]

I like this pick... little bit more experienced and hardened than your average draftee.

Difficult to see him not producing at VFL level and that means he's going to, at very least, be putting pressure on the guys in the ones to perform.

Actually think this is a great support of the VFL program. We got a couple of mids in that can legit start in there from R1 next season and then see if they can put pressure on the AFL mids.
It seems the last couple of years the club has used VFL like a put your best players in the middle U-11s team. Needs to be better overall in terms of system at least and I think that will come in 2026.

 

[Jimbo OZ]

Love this!

You don't have that set up unless you think there's better than an even chance of getting drafted.

 

[Adnico26Parker]

You don't have that set up unless you think there's better than an even chance of getting drafted.

Perhaps he knew but didn’t think it would come at pick 42, maybe we tipped him off it would come later but King not going sooner made us go sooner on his pick?

 

[Callipygian]

I had the same thought: he looked hopeful of being drafted, perhaps even hopeful that we would draft him and so he (and his mates) were primed when we were on the clock.

 

[sthmelb_dimmies]

Love this!

Part of the Cootee trade involved sending Fantarancis to Norwood: