Charlie McCormack is hoping to get picked up in the AFL Draft

The talented young key forward from Ariah Park has enjoyed a stellar last couple of years which has him right in contention to get drafted over the next couple of days.

Ariah Park is roughly an hour north of Wagga and McCormack explained that he and his parents have done quite a bit of travel over the years chasing his football dream.

"Yeah I've travelled a fair bit," McCormack said.

"When I was training with the Giants I was doing around 900km a week training twice with Giants and twice with Coolamon.

"There was a fair bit of travel and getting to places like Wagga so I could get on a plane and travel to Sydney.

"My parents travelled a lot and then when I got my P's it was just a lot of travelling by myself I suppose."

It's been quite the commitment made from McCormack and his parents over the years and he said it would mean a great deal if he were to get picked up by an AFL club.

"It would mean a lot," he said.

"All the hard work we've put in has paid off."

McCormack is preparing for the draft by sitting on a header and he revealed he was a tad nervous to find out what the future holds for him.

"Oh yeah I'm a bit nervous," he said.

"I don't know what's going to happen yet."

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Growing up in Ariah Park, McCormack said his footballing career started with roughly 100 games for Northern Jets in under 11's.

"I started playing footy when I was about five or six playing under 11's for Jets," he said.

"I played about 100 games in under 11's."

In addition to his footballing endeavours, McCormack was also a very talented basketball player who made quite a few representative teams in his junior years.

Just last year he represented NSW Country at the Under 18's Australian Junior Basketball Championships while he also played for Wagga Heat in the Waratah League in 2021.

McCormack revealed that he could've pursued either sport professionally but he made the decision to focus on Australian Rules.

"I did a lot of state stuff up in Sydney," he said.

"I had pathways I could've went down for either one but I enjoyed footy a little bit more."

It's been a big 12 months for McCormack and he admitted that he's put a lot of hard work in over the past year to try and develop as a player.

"I've gotten a lot better," he said.

"I'm a lot more comfortable in myself.

"I've been training and putting in the work over the last 12 months and it's starting to pay off I suppose."

Part of McCormack's growth has been in his goal kicking and accuracy in front of goal which was on display during the Allies recent campaign at the Under 18's National Championships.

McCormack booted 11 goals from four appearances and he said that experience helped him grow confidence in his own ability.

"That grew me a lot more," he said.

"I came out of that with a lot more confidence in myself."

Part of the GWS Giants Academy from a young age, McCormack also believed the program had played a major part in his development.

"Yeah it's helped a lot," he said.

"They just guide you in the right path of what it's like to be an AFL player."

If he were to get picked up over the next couple of nights, McCormack could potentially be on the move to a capital city such as Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide or Perth.

Given there is not a set of traffic lights in Ariah Park, McCormack agreed it would be a big change for himself to adapt to if he were to move to a major city.

"Yeah it'd be a lot different," he said.

"But it's a new experience I suppose and you've got to enjoy it while you can."

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