PLENTY of draft hopefuls face a decision between pursuing football or another sport. Fewer have to make the call between a dancing or AFL career. And even less than that have danced on stage with Justin Bieber. 

Meet Archie Hill, a versatile running half-back in this year's draft class who is the nephew of Geelong premiership forward Cam Mooney and has been a member of Gold Coast's Academy since he was 12. We'll get back to the football journey soon, but when you've got a link to one of the biggest pop stars in the world, that's where you start.

Hill has been a dancer since he was a little kid, starting classes the same time as he begun Auskick.

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"I was a massive fan of The Wiggles and Michael Jackson when I was four, and my mum threw me into a local dance class. After that I started competing and I loved it. It was a battle between footy and dancing and sometimes I'd have to leave at half-time of a footy game to go to a dance competition," he told AFL.com.au.

"In 2017 when I was nine, Justin Bieber was touring Australia and he was coming to Brisbane. He had a competition where you could learn a dance, film it and upload it to YouTube for a chance to dance with him during the show.

"I thought 'Why not audition?' but I think the whole of Queensland did, to be fair. I rehearsed every night for three weeks, I was so locked in. Then we filmed it, I got all dressed up and uploaded it to YouTube. Justin handpicked six kids from Queensland to do the Brisbane leg of the tour and when I found out I was one of them I was crying I was so excited."

Hill already had tickets to the show, but he quickly became a VIP. The youngest of the group, Hill got to Suncorp Stadium an hour before the doors opened to rehearse on stage and met Bieber. Then later on they were taken up in front of 45,000 fans.

"It was insane. He's such a chill dude and very down to earth. He made it a really safe space for us. Obviously we were all pretty nervous and I'd just turned nine but he really welcomed us in and gave us a little tour of the stage and then later introduced all of us one by one to the crowd and gave us all a hug."

An interview from the time still sits on YouTube, with a young Hill talking about how Bieber, who recently headlined Coachella in his major return to live shows, was a bit "sweaty". He also was featured Channel Seven's The Morning Show with his incredible claim to fame.  

Hill is proud of his dancing background, having been on a singing, acting and dancing scholarship from year seven at Gold Coast's Trinity Lutheran College through to last year, when he graduated year 12. "I couldn't sing at the time, but I learned," he said. "I'm no Justin Bieber." 

Football still remains his priority though, and Hill has seen what it takes to make the grade, having worked closely with the Suns' Academy graduates in recent years – including their haul of five locals at last year's draft. 

He has just finished a stint with the Suns playing in the Talent League, where he averaged 22 disposals and four inside-50s, as well as two games with the Marsh AFL Academy, and will push his wares with the Allies at the mid-year carnival which starts in June. 

"This is something I've been preparing for since I was 12. I know I had to make the decision at 16 which way I wanted to go with footy or dancing, but from when I was 12, I've just been looking forward to this year and preparing as best I could," he said. 

"I'm excited for the business part now of the second half of the year."

Hill has shown clubs he can run and run, deliver the ball nicely off half-back and that he can take things on. He's also comfortable on the wing or further up the ground and the mix of roles already this year has impressed. He trained with the Suns' AFL squad over summer and felt up to that challenge, but is keeping an open mind about where he could head at the end of the year.

"I just want to play AFL footy, I don't care where I go. Obviously Gold Coast would be unreal staying at home, but it's a pool and I'm happy to go anywhere," he said.

He has some experience in his corner. Mooney married Hill's dad's sister and their families are close. Hill, a Cats fan, has bounced advice off the three-time premiership player ahead of his draft campaign.

"We see them a couple of times a year and we take turns for Christmas and we might go down to Geelong or they might come up here," he said.

"A couple of times a year we do a father-son golf trip with him and our families. He's been good to me and I respect everything he says about the game.

"Last Christmas he said 'You're going into your 18th year now and give it everything you've got because you get one really good chance at it. Don't look back and think if only I tried a little bit harder'."

In between his football, Hill has started studying architecture this year, itself a creative outlet he's enjoying. But of course the dancing still remains part of who he is: he's running the musical – Grease – at his former school and after seeing the new Michael Jackson biopic, he filmed a TikTok dancing to Billie Jean.

"I've seen the movie four times and I cried the first night," he said. "Not because it was sad but because how beautiful it was."