By Jonty Ralphsmith
Narre North Foxes junior Noah Mraz is the wildcard of the 2024 draft class.
Any mention of a mobile key defender causes ears to spruik up in the talent pathway industry.
Quality talls are hard to find; key defenders even moreso.
The basketballer turned footballer has been restricted to just three appearances in 2024 due to injury, which creates an interesting proposition for AFL clubs.
In a midfield-dominant draft crop, his scope is particularly intriguing; key-position players can be hit-and-miss at the best of times, and taking a player with essentially no exposure in his top-aged season – he was unknowingly hampered by the navicular injury in the three games he played in 2024 – carries risk.
But his form and rate of improvement across 2022-23 was so compelling that some still think he can overcome the setbacks to go in the first two rounds.
The AFL Academy prospect has put on nine kilograms of muscle since his injury, impressing those in the industry with his attitude towards his recovery.
Another factor to consider is his relatively late commitment to the game; prior to playing for the Stingrays’ under-16s in April 2022, he had no representative footy under his belt.
He was close to giving up footy entirely following 2021, before the Stingrays’ call flipped his script.
Mraz was a Vic Metro level basketballer as a teen, which has given him dexterity that he can translate into footy, and means he still has so much to learn.
“I say now I want to be a footy player but it was a basketballer first,” Mraz recalls.
“I dreamed of playing in the NBA.
“I was never going to get there obviously but basketball was always first growing up – football was something I just did once a week, I barely trained.
“I would have a kick around, leave, then go to basketball.”
At 198cm with excellent athleticism and good skills for a tall, multiple clubs view him in the top echelon of key defenders.
After being encouraged to trial with the Stingrays as a 16-year-old in 2022, he impressed those in the industry with his raw skillset, which led to selection for Vic Country at the under-16s national championships, and a late season debut for Dandenong.
A strong 2023 followed, showing his versatility for Dandenong and playing a game for Vic Country as a bottom-ager, where he was an aerial presence in the backline.
Despite growing up as a forward, it’s behind the footy where he’s made his mark, shutting down multiple now AFL-listed key pillars including Archer Reid and Jordan Croft during the 2023 Coates League season.
Mraz averaged 11 disposals and three marks in his 12 CTL games in 2023, but the clearest sign of his potential was his ability to not get outmarked and win one-on-ones.
The ruthlessness which is pushing him to work harder than anyone off-field in 2024 is shown on-field when he’s given the opportunity to lockdown.
“I love playing teams who have a good forward and seeing my name next to them ,” Mraz said.
“My favourite part about being a defender is getting a matchup and beating them.
“I love that competitive part of it, thinking ‘you’re not going to touch the footy’.
Amplifying the frustration of the injury has been the fact that Mraz graduated year 12 last year, believing he would have plenty of time to prepare himself for a productive season in between his teaching degree.
“It’s been pretty disappointing,” Mraz said.
“Everything that could have gone wrong, did go wrong.
“It gave me a chance to work on a few deficits while not playing but with the injury, I didn’t get to do much but I feel like my attitude was alright throughout it.
“At the start of the year I thought it was perfect, I will have so much time to train, play footy do all this extra work but it didn’t work out.”
The AFL National Draft will take place on Wednesday 20 November and Thursday 21 November before the preseason and rookie drafts the following day.
