Top-five prospects George Wardlaw and Elijah Tsatas are completely different players with a close bond and an eerily similar rollercoaster AFL draft journey.
The 182cm Wardlaw is the best inside midfielder in this year’s draft class, modelling his game on four-time Demons club champion Clayton Oliver. The 187cm Tsatas is a prototype athlete that has everything a club looking for a midfield/wing prospect needs, modelling his game on emerging Swans star Chad Warner.
Despite their on-field differences, the duo share ample similarities, both on and off the field.
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Both have been integral members of the Oakleigh Chargers’ set-up for several years, joining the successful NAB League club via Surrey Park (Tsatas) and St Peter’s (Wardlaw).
Both have experienced the frustration of being struck down by injury in their final draft year and, consequently, missing big chunks of the season. They’ve both learnt a lot – primarily to stay patient and resilient – but managed at least one standout game on the national stage to remind and reassure recruiters they deserve to be in the top five mix.
Both have somewhat played the Robin role to this year’s draft Batman in Will Ashcroft. The latter has widely been considered the No. 1 prospect for most of 2022, with Wardlaw and Tsatas seemingly always ranked slightly below the Lions father-son gun. (Although Sandringham’s Harry Sheezel believes if Wardlaw had played the entire year, he’d be right in the Pick 1 mix.)
They’re an odd couple. But they’re a damaging, dynamic duo on the field and have a strong, long-term mateship off it.
Wardlaw and Tsatas have been playing together – and causing ample headaches for opposition sides – at various levels of footy since representing Vic Metro at Under 12s. The image of Wardlaw winning a contested possession at the coalface then feeding the footy out for Tsatas to sprint forward and spear the ball inside 50 to a teammate is ingrained in the minds of many rival coaches.
“We have played enough footy with each other to understand each other’s strengths,” Wardlaw said of Tsatas to foxfooty.com.au. “It‘s awesome and pretty satisfying winning a hard ball and just letting him go to work running along the wing or wherever he may be.
“He’s a terrific player. His ball use and his speed are pretty prevalent. He’s still able to hit pretty hard kicks at top speed, which is something I really admire.”
Tsatas says he and Wardlaw have been “best mates” since they were 12 years old. The friendship between their mums is just as tight.
“It’s such an awesome one-two combination, we complement each other so well,” Tsatas told foxfooty.com.au. “We’re so different, but we also have that connection on the field – and I think you can see it when we play together.
“Seeing him (Wardlaw) go about it this year has been awesome. He‘s obviously had a horror run this year with injury, but we’ve sort of been in the same boat as well, doing rehab together at Oakleigh and that just brought us closer.”
LUCKLESS RUNS
Wardlaw and Tsatas’ respective 2022 campaigns have been hindered by injury.
In the Australian Academy’s match against Collingwood’s VFL side in May – the game Wardlaw announced himself as a Pick 1 candidate and won the team’s best on ground medal with 18 disposals and eight tackles – Tsatas pulled up sore. Scans later revealed a small fracture in his foot that would ultimately sideline him for almost three months.
Wardlaw in the following weeks had two best-on-ground performances for his school St Kevin’s before suffering a hamstring injury during a training session. It was the first of his three hamstring setbacks for the year, with the third coming just minutes into a school match in mid-August. Subsequent scan results came back positive, but he was still ruled out for the rest of the season as a precaution, meaning he finished 2022 without playing in the national Under 18 championships.
They were devastating blows for the two Chargers midfielders, particularly after such strong starts to their respective NAB League campaigns. Wardlaw kicked two goals and averaged 20.7 disposals, 9.3 contested possessions and 5.7 tackles from his first three games, while Tsatas averaged a whopping 32.8 disposals, 9.0 score involvements and 8.0 marks from four games.
Despite the lengthy sideline stint, Wardlaw was told not only his draft dream was alive, but he also still sat at the pointy end of the class.
“I’ve spoken to certain people at certain clubs who reassured me that given my success at the start of the year, I was in a position where I could potentially do things that minimise my risk of injury again,” he said.
Conversely, Tsatas was able to get back for the last two months of the season, firstly via Wesley College – where he kicked three goals in one game – then the Chargers where he was a standout in his final two NAB League matches. He finished with 38 disposals and 13 inside 50s against the Sandringham Dragons in a stunning return game before booting 1.2 from 34 disposals and eight marks against the Bendigo Pioneers.
Touted externally as a top-five prospect all year, Tsatas said he felt like he had a point to prove to upon return – but primarily to himself.
“It was just trying to prove I was still good enough,” he said.
“Internally, there was a little bit of a chip on my shoulder. It wasn‘t really something that I made public. It was something in my mind that I just wanted to tick off and I was pretty happy to do that.”
It also meant Tsatas was able to play in Vic Metro’s national carnival decider against Vic Country, in which he produced an eye-catching 30-disposal, five-clearance display.
“I just wanted to show what I could do on the national stage because I hadn’t ticked that box. I thought I was able to do that, which was pleasing,” he said.
DRAFT YEAR LESSONS
For Wardlaw and Tsatas, this year has been one of learning – primarily off the field.
Both players are managed by Paul Connors, who’s provided the duo with invaluable guidance during uncertain times. Wardlaw claims he “wouldn’t know where I’d sit at the moment” without Connors’ support.
“I‘ve learned to stay patient and have resilience to an extent because staying connected to the team and training, but just not playing, takes its toll,” Wardlaw said. “So having good people in my ear who were providing positive information surrounding the draft and any concerns I might have, really helped me.
“Being injured while especially being around school where culture is so important, talking to the coach and he insisted I could still have an influence on the culture of the group without playing.”
For Tsatas, he considers spending so much time on the sidelines a blessing in disguise.
“I learned heaps. I learned more off the field with rehab and diligence and that sort of thing than I would have on the field,” he said.
“So in hindsight, looking back, it wasn‘t the worst thing to happen. But obviously it was a bit bittersweet, watching the champs on the sidelines.”
The Chargers pair are likely to be taken within the first five selections of November’s draft.
After the Giants traded up to Pick 1 – almost certainly with the intention of selecting GWS Rebels forward Aaron Cadman – and North Melbourne snared Picks 2 and 3, there was speculation Tsatas and Wardlaw could end up at the same club. However it seems only one will head to the Kangaroos, who’ve been heavily linked to Sheezel.
Wardlaw, at this stage, appears more likely than Tsatas to be taken by North, meaning the latter could end up at Essendon – should the club wish to go down that route. Although Wardlaw is somewhat hopeful he’ll slip past the Kangaroos as he’s a “pretty big fan” of Essendon.
“It‘s a dream to get drafted, so regardless of where I go, I’d be over the moon and I don’t really mind where I play. But it’d be pretty cool growing up for a team and eventually playing for them. That’d be awesome,” Wardlaw said.
For the record, Tsatas is a Tigers fan.
Tsatas oozes a healthy confidence both on and off the field. He says if he had Pick 1, he’d take himself – and the No. 1 mantle would be something he’d treasure dearly.
“I’d love to be the No. 1 pick,” Tsatas said.
“I think I‘ve always wanted to be the best and prove that I’m the best. That’s just the way I’ve been wired as a kid growing up, but if I was lucky enough to have that privilege, I’d take it with both hands.”
Above all, Tsatas and Wardlaw are mightily competitive. Winning the ball and winning as a team drives their passion for footy.
Asked what makes him tick on the field, Tsatas said: “Definitely winning and winning contests drives me to play. I’ve always been a winner through my juniors – I had a really successful junior club – and coming though Oakleigh we were a pretty successful NAB League club.”
Asked the same question, Wardlaw responded: “It’s pretty hard to describe. It‘s like when you’re out there, you’re winning the ball but you’re not really thinking about it – and then after, that’s what means the most to you.
“I think playing with a team that you really enjoy playing with and you know they have your back and a team you‘ve built culture with is really important. Once you win or once you achieve success, you can really celebrate it with your friends and your teammates.”
