AFL mid-season rookie draft 2025: West Perth recruit Roan Steele’s move to Perth justified

Roan Steele’s risk to move himself across Australia to better himself as a footballer has paid off after the mature-age wingman landed at Collingwood on Wednesday night. West Perth will be without their prized recruit after he was taken by the Magpies with pick No.8 in the mid-season rookie draft on Wednesday night after an impressive first seven games at the Falcons. The 23-year-old moved from Victoria where he was an established star at the Casey Demons to try his hand at the WAFL and thrived, averaging 21 disposals and kicking five goals in his short stint at West Perth. SEE EVERY PLAYER SELECTED IN THE AFL’S MID-SEASON DRAFT Steele had a medical with Collingwood while they were in town to take on Fremantle at Optus Stadium but he had no inkling they were going to bring him back to Victoria. “You’re always a little bit surprised, it came out of the blue and I did what they wanted in terms of the medical and from there it was a waiting game on my end,” Steele told The West Australian. “In hindsight (the move west) is justified now, the dream has come true. I was pretty happy moving over here for the experience whether it happened or not in terms of being on an AFL list. “Now that the dream has come true, hindsight shows that it’s justified a little bit for sure.” While Steele has only just been drafted there is a reality that by the end of the season he could be an premiership player with the Magpies on top of the table and primed to a tilt at a second flag in three seasons. “It shows that it’s not as far away as you think,” he said. “I just want to get over there, meet everyone as soon as possible and do a bit of hard work and see what goes from there. “The experience now shows that nothing’s too far away if you work hard enough.”