HUNTER Holmes remembers the countdown to the 2020 Telstra AFL Draft with a mixed sense of uncertainty and nerves. His older brother Max hadn't played a game that season due to COVID-19 hitting the globe, but remained a chance to get selected as the ultimate draft bolter.
"I remember even on draft night we didn't even know if he was going to get drafted. He'd worked so hard that year but obviously there was no footy, and he was training all year round," Holmes told AFL.com.au this month.
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"A month before we had absolutely no clue then there were inclinations of something happening. I remember a night before he was talking about what he would do if he didn't get drafted, like playing VFL, and it was a pretty unreal moment when he went at pick 20 the next day."
Holmes was 13 then as he watched Geelong climb up the draft board to take his brother and is 18 now, hoping to follow in Max's path to the AFL by being drafted next month.
He has converted from being a St Kilda fan to following the Cats, getting to Max's games whenever there isn't a clash with his own, including on Grand Final day last month in Geelong's loss to Brisbane.
"It was a good first half… I thought we had it, but it wasn't a great second half. It was pretty amazing to see him out there. That's what you dream of, playing in a Grand Final. He probably doesn't love it now but looking back it was his first experience of it, it just didn't go his way," Holmes said.
"It's always been my dream to play AFL since I was a kid. But definitely seeing him out there makes me think it can be a chance and can really be a career I can take. It's really fuelled that fire even more to go out there and play.
"I always train with him, so that's obviously a massive thing for me. And throughout the year if I'm ever struggling with anything I ask him for advice and I'm pretty lucky to have such easy access to such good advice from someone who has done it before in a very similar pathway to me in terms of how his footy's gone.
"It's pretty unreal seeing him out there every week and coming from a similar spot it gives me hope and confidence that I can get there."
The midfielder played for the Oakleigh Chargers this year, taking strides as a wingman averaging 19 disposals and three clearances to get into Vic Metro's under-18 team and feature at the Marsh AFL National Under-18 Boys Championships. It saw him win an invite to the national Telstra AFL Draft Combine, where he showed his athletic traits by finishing third overall in the 20-metre sprint with a 2.89-second run.
"I didn't do any Coates League last year and was just hoping to play in round one to be honest. I started playing some good footy there and I thought maybe I'd be a chance to go late if I played well but I didn't really have any expectations. I just wanted to show what I could do," the 188cm prospect said.
"I didn't know how I was going to go but I played some pretty good in the first three weeks, and that I was good enough to play at that level. I was lucky to play champs with Vic Metro, which was huge, so that was pretty unbelievable."
The 18-year-old's running prowess is a surprise to nobody who knows his pedigree, with Holmes' mum former Olympic runner and Commonwealth Games gold medallist Lee Naylor.
"Mum's been huge for me, my biggest supporter for sure. The running and athletics, not just the genetics, but she's always been my running coach and drilled in how important it is to run well and efficient. I don't think I'd be close to being drafted without my athleticism. More than that she's just been unreal with her advice, which is some of the best advice because it will be around how hard I've tried and how I've attacked the footy," Holmes said.
Having finished school at Melbourne Grammar last year, Holmes has spent 2025 jumping between his football commitments and aspirations and his commerce degree at Melbourne University.
With the Draft Combine completed and the names only three weeks off being called, Holmes is also keeping an eye on where the Cats' picks have landed if the chance arises he can join Max in the hoops.
"That's the dream, but you never know what's going to happen. The Combine was the first time I've chatted to them, so hopefully I get some more leading into the draft," he said of the Cats. "They've gotten to know me over the years, but they don't give much away and it was a pretty basic chat so who knows."