AFL Draft: Cody Curtin delighted to follow in footsteps of brother Dan after being drafted by Brisbane

Cody Curtin will follow in the footsteps of his brother Dan after being drafted by Brisbane — and the Claremont product said his brother was just as excited as he was himself after hearing he was heading to the reigning premiers. Having been heavily linked to his brother’s club Adelaide in the lead-in to the draft, Curtin did not make it through to the Crows’ first selection of the second night at No.50, instead being nabbed by the Lions with pick 43. The 200cm prospect was a late riser on draft boards after slotting six goals in Claremont’s WAFL grand final victory and dispelled any doubts over his athletic prowess by running an impressive 6min24sec 2km time trial at the national draft combine. Curtin said his brother — who finished as the runner-up in the Rising Star to Fremantle’s Murphy Reid after a stand-out second season at AFL level — had been a great sounding board as he looked to navigate the pre-draft process. “He’s over the moon as well, just for me being able to fulfil my dream of becoming an AFL footballer,” he said. “He’s really excited to see that come true for me.” Curtin will walk into a club which has claimed the last two premierships and will be able to count former West Coast captain Oscar Allen, who joined the Lions in free agency over the off-season, among his mentors. He said he could not have picked a more ideal destination to start his career if he had tried. “There’s a lot of people to learn off in that side. I think that’s going to set me up really well,” Curtin said. “I’m over the moon, I’m so excited. “There’s a lot of mixed emotions. It was just pure excitement in the first bit and then just straight away, the emotion set in, I got a little bit teary, a little bit overwhelmed with all of it, just with all the work that’s gone in over the last two years.” Among Curtin’s most notable traits in the pre-draft process were his passionate goal celebrations, which he whipped out with regularity as the Tigers thumped South Fremantle in the colts season decider. While not sure which part of the ground he would spend the early part of his career in, Curtin said he would be happy to take his penchant for celebrating through to AFL level. “If I get my chance as a forward, I’ll definitely pull them out,” he said. “I just want to get over there and get to work and see where I go from there.”