Mature Swan Riley Buys embarks on a long journey to the AFL

TWELVE months after Geelong plucked Sean Manna from the VFL, Riley Buys has become the latest Werribee star – and Ovens and Murray Football League product – to make it to the AFL as a mature-age rookie after Sydney selected him on Thursday night .

Having selected Northern Knights forward Jesse Dattoli and Norwood forward Ned Bowman in the first round of the 2024 Telstra AFL Draft, the Swans used number 41 to select Buys with their third pick.

The 24-year-old played for Albury on both sides of the coronavirus pandemic before deciding to make his final move to the state football league after three games for Greater Western Sydney at the end of the 2022 season.

Buys joined Werribee in February, was selected in the first round and never looked back, playing as a half-back and helping the club win their first premiership in 31 years, finishing fourth in the best and fairest after being named in the team VFL year. .

Sydney first tracked Buys when he played for Murray Bushrangers in the Coates Talent League in 2017 and 2018 and then followed him closely at Chirnside Park in the second half of this year.

“He’s been someone we’ve looked at all year. He wasn’t there mid-season (for Sydney reasons) but his last half of the year has been really strong,” Sydney list manager Chris Keane said on Thursday night.

“It’s actually a really good story. It’s a story of perseverance and different paths and ways to get on the list.”

“We think he is an AFL player in his own right; he has great AFL qualities which we really like. He has considerable speed as a midfielder and sees the game quite well and can hit it and change angles. We think he is an AFL player. he’s a really good addition to what we have.”

Manna made his debut for the Cats in the first round as a substitute and then returned to the VFL two weeks later before playing the final 10 games for Chris Scott’s side, including both finals where he scored three goals against Port Adelaide in the qualifiers . final victory on the road.

Keane believes Buys will be in contention for a place in John Longmire’s opening round against Hawthorn on the first Friday of the season, but competition for places will be fierce in a team that has reached the grand final for the second time in three seasons.

“You don’t put any restrictions on these types of players,” Keane said. “Obviously he is a more mature player. He understands, I think from a football point of view, the game a little better than the average 18-year-old player. And that’s because an 18-year-old’s game is different to what we see at VFL level.

“He has a good chance of playing (in the first round), but we have a pretty strong team, so if he has to bide his time, we’ll wait and see.”

Sydney FC have opted not to bid for Swans Academy player Joel Cochran at number 47, with the towering defender landing at Collingwood.

The Swans opted to wait and instead select Riak Andrew, the younger brother of promising Gold Coast star Mac, with pick 55, although Keane admitted it was a difficult decision.

“It’s never easy, but first and foremost we’re really happy for Joel that he got the opportunity with Collingwood and got on the AFL list, which in the broader sense is great for the national competition,” he said.

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“The northern academies are obviously working and attracting talent across the AFL on different rosters, which is great. In the end, we were happy with how many names we had left and the players we rated highly. Luckily, one of them in Riac reached us.”

While Werribee star Dom Brew was overlooked, Werribee had another mature-aged draftee on Thursday night with Melbourne’s surprise selection of 24-year-old Aidan Johnson at No. 68.