FIRST there was the idea. Then there was the execution. In the finish, Lochie Burrows ranks it as one of the proudest things he has achieved this year. And it has nothing to do with the talented draft prospect's work on the football field.
As part of his year 12 studies at Melbourne's Wesley College, Burrows' key assignment in his product design and technologies subject was to build a new concept product.
As classmates picked different ideas, Burrows, a versatile prospect from the Sandringham Dragons who could be a top-20 pick at next week's draft, saw it as an opportunity to help a wider issue.
He chose to make a rocking chair for children with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), complete with a sensory pad on one arm of the chair and a fidget tied to the other.
"I knew that ADHD is a rising problem that heaps more people are starting to get diagnosed with, including people who are younger and older, and a couple of my friends have been diagnosed with it," Burrows told AFL.com.au.
"I started thinking about how I can help young people with their first bit of development and to get through schooling so the rest of it can be easier after that.
"A rocking chair is something I always thought was cool, and my idea was to make one of those but for kids. I'm not diagnosed with ADHD, but I know so many people who are and that's why I wanted to make something that could maybe help someone."
Burrows had previously researched ADHD and its effects on the brain, so knew how the neurodevelopmental condition impacted self-regulation, attention spans, impulses and activity levels. In year 11, he made a vest suitable for kids with ADHD with similar themes, before taking it up a notch this year.
"I'd found out more about how they regulate their emotions, how their brains work, how they think and when they're thinking about things how their brains go to multiple places at once," he said.
"With the chair if they are able to express their emotions while doing work in a classroom while they've also got that movement regulation of rocking or while their hands are occupied with the pad or feeling the fidgets, it's going to help regulate their emotions and also help to focus on their learning too."
It's a story Burrows has proudly told the many clubs who have visited him this year at his Bentleigh house and those who have interviewed him through the season. They, like his teachers, have been impressed with the effort and intent, as well as the final product.
For his assessment, Burrows also had to piece together a 75-page folio on the development of the project, including criteria pertaining to the issue the product solves as well as describing its materials, its ethical sourcing and its recyclability.
He has also considered adding a desk to one side of it or even making it an egg shape with some stars and glitter inside where kids would be able to see when in the dark. "But that curved bit of wood was a bit too much for me, so we didn't go for that one," he said.
Clubs have watched Burrows take on any challenge thrown at him this season, with the 18-year-old sent to half-back with Vic Metro and starring there despite never playing in the position, to being a rugged and tough inside midfielder, to using his jump and overhead marking to make an impact in the forward half.
But scouts have also warmed to his personality, with his school project surprising even those closest to him.
"Whenever I show my friends they all say, 'I wish it was a bit bigger because I want to go on it', but I think most of them think it's pretty cool. My parents probably didn't think I was able to make something like it, and my teachers like it as well," he said.
"I've had a couple of people say, 'Let me know when the business starts and I'll invest or buy a couple', but it's just cool that through school I was able to do something and hopefully have an idea to improve an issue like that."
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Burrows' business plans might need to be put on hold soon, with an AFL career awaiting him. The blond-haired Burrows, whose grandfather Brian Thredgold was a star for South Adelaide in the SANFL in the 1960s, caught the eye with his adaptability this season and he believes he could step into a club and fill whatever role is asked of him.
"I think I'm a pretty good lockdown back, there's not too many people who kick goals on me so I'm pretty happy down there. But I also like to think I'm a tough player so I like it in the midfield too," he said.
"I'm a competitive person so no matter what I'm doing I always want to win. I also like to have this mentality where when I'm showing my game off, there's two sides. You can show offence and defence and defence isn't something you have to do, but it's another place where you can show what you're good at. Tackling is something I've worked on and something I'm good at, so it's always something I try to do."
In one game against Brighton Grammar, the Wesley captain recorded 16 tackles.
"I realised I'd had a couple because at half-time I was so sore it was ridiculous," Burrows said.
"I love chucking my body on the line. There's not too much I worry about out there."
The same can be said for his chats with clubs, with Burrows comfortable in his own skin and happy to be himself. He has spoken to all bar one club (Gold Coast) and has more visits lined up over the next week.
"I know a heap of people when they go into the interviews they don't try change themselves, but they try to act slightly different or say answers that people want to hear. But the biggest thing with myself I think is I always try and be myself and stay the same," Burrows said.
In between finishing his exams, Burrows has been training with close friends and Dragons teammates George Dimer and Tyson Bradley, as well as Vic Metro teammate Sam Gayfer, with all in the mix as selections on the opening night of the draft.
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All are pondering where they might end up, with the wait starting to drag out, but Burrows has already thought about what he might gift a more senior teammate if he moves interstate or shifts out of his family home in his next adventure.
"I'm at the stage where I'm pretty excited for the draft but I'm nervous too. And I just want it to be finished and want it to happen already," he said.
"I was always thinking that if I ever got drafted to a club and I moved into a house with an older player and they had a young kid, I imagined it would be pretty funny if my thank you gift to them was the rocking chair for their family and kid. I always thought that would be pretty nice to do."