Harvey Thomas is hoping to get picked up during the AFL Draft

The 2023 AFL Draft is held over Monday and Tuesday before the Rookie Draft will follow on Wednesday.

Top prospects across the country will find out whether all their hard work has paid off and Thomas revealed that he had mixed feelings ahead of the draft.

"I'm feeling a fair few emotions," Thomas said.

"I'm obviously quite nervous, but I'm also excited at the same time.

"To get to this point of the year and to be amongst it and be a chance is exciting."

It's been a strong season for the young utility who has shown his ability to play at all ends off the ground over the past 12 months.

Thomas also had a good showing at the recent state combine and believes that he's done all he can to end up at an AFL club.

"When I look at the year as a whole I've been pretty happy with what I've been able to achieve," he said.

"Obviously you look to improve which I've done, but as a whole overall it's good to get to this point of the year and be sitting as a chance."

Thomas wasn't able to pinpoint the exact start of his footballing journey but revealed that it all began at Maher Oval.

"I can't remember exactly when but it was at a very young age at Auskick at Turvey Park," he said.

"My older brother Harrison he started in Auskick and I went down, because I was there I was pretty eager to play and I forced my way out there trying to get a game.

"That's what I've been told by my parents but it all started at Turvey Park juniors and I played there for my whole career pretty much until I moved away."

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Thomas made the decision a couple of years ago to make the move to Melbourne to attend Caulfield Grammar in an effort to advance his football opportunities.

Having recently graduated, Thomas believed that it was a worthwhile endeavour and said it had allowed him to develop his talents.

"I think it's given me a bigger opportunity with footy and school, those two in particular," he said.

"I think moving away I've definitely got a lot more out of my academics and also with the footy as well.

"We all know Victoria is a big AFL state so I was right amongst it down there and there were higher levels of junior footy that I was able to play in."

Thomas was quite the talented junior and made a number of representative teams from a young age.

While always dreaming of playing AFL one day, he revealed that it was the move to Melbourne that made him realise that Australian Rules is what he really wanted to pursue as a career.

"As a young, young kid it was always the dream," he said.

"I think that can be the case for a lot of kids that age but it probably wasn't until I made the decision to move away that I thought that's what I want to do is try and play AFL.

"That was one of the reasons why I chose to move away and the parents were pretty happy for me to do that because of the school as well."

In addition to his opportunities down south, Thomas said that the GWS Giants Academy has also played a major part in his development over the years.

"Giants Academy has been awesome for me," he said.

"I've been a part of it since under 13's I believe.

"The coaching and support especially I've noticed after I did move away in year 10.

"I was still getting all the constant calls and they were really trying to help me out and keep me as involved as possible.

"It's definitely been more difficult since I've moved away but they've been great to keep me involved and keep in touch with me."

It's been a busy year for Thomas who has juggled school commitments with footy which has seen him play for five different teams.

There's also been a fair deal of travel involved for Thomas during that time but he revealed that he embraced the challenge.

"I've actually enjoyed it because it's something I'm probably not going to do ever again," he said.

"You are never going to be able to play for five teams in a year again or travel all around the country to play.

"I've sort of embraced it and there's definitely challenges, but I think they've been overlooked by the opportunities it's given me."

While nothing is yet confirmed, Thomas said it would mean a great deal to him and his family if he were to get picked up by an AFL club over the next few days.

"Yeah it'd be awesome," he said.

"They've always supported me to go for what I want to achieve and to be able to share that moment with them would be awesome.

"It'd be paying them back for all their support and time since I was a young kid."

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