As the weeks passed by, Ryley Sanders warmed to the idea of wearing a North Melbourne jumper in 2024.

Days after the star ball magnet helped the Allies clinch a historic national championships crown – and days before he was awarded the Larke Medal as the best and fairest player of the carnival – it emerged the Kangaroos, as part of their push for an AFL assistance package, were exploring mechanisms to gain exclusive pre-draft access to him.

It was a bold play by North. Rival scouts were, to say the least, grumpy. But the club believed it was a chance, as Sanders was eligible for the Roos’ Next Generation Academy – he has Aboriginal heritage and hails from North’s Tasmanian zone – but not officially a member.

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Considering North was already destined for two early draft picks – their natural selection, due to their lowly ladder position, as well as possible first-round compensation for losing free agent Ben McKay – after receiving draft assistance from the AFL last year, it was big news. After ample coverage and speculation around fellow 2023 draft class members Harley Reid and Daniel Curtin, it was Sanders’ turn in the spotlight.

And even though Sanders wasn’t closely following the developments in the media himself, Kangaroos supporters certainly were.

“A lot of it’s in the newspapers, which I don’t really look at … But I knew there was a lot of speculation because it was looking pretty likely for a while,” Sanders told foxfooty.com.au at last month’s AFL draft combine.

“When your name is out there a bit, you obviously get a bit of popularity and a few people have said at school games ‘hope you come to North’ and stuff. Even in the street I had a few North supporters saying the same.

“I didn’t have a lot of time to look at it. But just mainly talking to my manager (Nick Gieschen) and Brady (Rawlings) and Will (Thursfield) at North – because obviously they know probably the most about what’s happening – they’ve been really good for me.”

Sanders in AFL preliminary final week was officially approved as a Roos NGA member by the AFL. But the Kangaroos’ hopes of getting priority call over him had faded ahead of the AFL Commission’s official call on North’s assistance package.

Ultimately, the AFL handed North Melbourne three end-of-first-round compensation picks – spread over the next two drafts – as well two additional rookie list spots for next season.

But no exclusive access to Sanders.

“Will gave me a ring when it didn’t get ticked off, just saying unfortunately it didn’t happen but ‘we’ll still keep in contact because we’re still interested in drafting you’,” Sanders said.

“Hopefully they (Roos fans) are not too disappointed that it didn’t happen. But hopefully I can still end up there.”

As well as spending the final stage of his schooling boarding at Melbourne Grammar, the Launceston product’s close friendship with 2022 Sandringham Dragons premiership teammate Harry Sheezel made the prospect of joining the Kangaroos even more appealing.

“He’s like a big brother to me, so maybe playing with one of your best mates is pretty special,” Sanders said with a smile.

“He’s been unreal because he literally went through the same thing as me last year: Playing for Sandy and the Academy, dealing with the pressures of trying to get drafted and then all the speculation on where you might go.

“We were definitely excited when it was looking like we could be playing together. Hopefully it still happens, but if not, hopefully I play against him and tear him up.”

While the Kangaroos have continued to track Sanders closely – and there’s even been suggestions they could pair Sanders with fellow Tasmanian Colby McKercher using their two top-three picks – they’re set to pick powerful medium forward Zane Duursma.

And with Hawthorn weighing up whether to take small forward Nick Watson or Claremont key defender Daniel Curtin, it’s then widely expected the Western Bulldogs will select Sanders with their first pick — a selection they were prepared to trade three first-round picks for in October — barring any late curveballs.

It looms as a shrewd selection for the Dogs, considering the lack of emerging young midfielders on their list. And this year, Sanders is one of the best on-ballers in the pool.

Few players in this year’s pool showed metronomic consistency — at such a high standard — across all levels like Sanders did. He averaged a whopping 36 disposals, 15 contested possessions, six inside 50s, six marks and five tackles for the Allies at the carnival, while he averaged 31 disposals for the Dragons at Coates Talent League level, racking up at least 25 touches in all of his nine games.

But even though he was representing Sandringham in the league, Sanders was a keen Tasmania Devils supporter from afar.

“He’s a great young adult, as professional as they come and also down to earth and genuine,” Devils coach Jeromey Webberley told foxfooty.com.au.

“He’ll often send me texts after Tassie have a win or there’s a good news story in Tassie … When he’s back from school holidays or over the pre-season, he comes and trains with the Devils.

“He hasn’t been with us for 24 months, but in some ways he still feels a little bit a part of our program over the time.”

Thanks to his competitiveness, workrate, strong inside-outside balance and clean hands, Sanders rarely plays a bad game. It’s a trait he prides himself on – hence he identified it as a potential area of improvement 12 months ago.

Sanders said his ability to find balance on and off the field this year was a major reason behind his elite week-to-week performances. He also credited his nutritionist – a fellow footy player who “understands what I need to eat” – for “helping me become a lot more leaner”.

“I feel like I’ve been consistent all throughout my career, but I thought last year I was a little bit up and down, which was something I was really disappointed in,” he said.

“I definitely honed in on asking different people for different advice and then little things like obviously train hard but then how to get away from footy, how to do recovery, how much gym should I be doing – all those little one-percenters add up to the whole big picture of it.

“I think my pre-season was pretty big. I thought I put in a lot of work that set me up for a high fitness level. Then little things like making sure my diet is really clean, doing stretching, recovery, hot and cold ice baths, making sure I’m doing gym, bike.

“Sometimes during last year I was not taking the foot off the pedal and I was just worried about playing then not doing as much gym. This year I’ve focused on getting stronger, fitter and getting a better diet throughout the year, which has helped me play better.”

Sanders was raised in Tasmania and boarded in Melbourne – but supports the Gold Coast Suns in the AFL.

That’s because his dad Adam Sanders – a North Launceston great who also played 284 NTFL games before moving into coaching and development roles – worked closely with a lot of Tasmanian players that were ultimately taken by the Suns during their first few years in the AFL.

“They gave me lots of gear when Dad would catch up with them,” Sanders said. “And Gary Ablett’s just my all-time favourite. I just love him. He’s an absolute jet.”

Sanders said his father had clearly been the biggest influence on his footy journey.

“He just instilled that work ethic into me from a young age,” he said of Adam. “Like he’s never forced me to go to the gym or go for a kick or anything else on me, but he always just said: ‘If you want to make it, these are the things you’re going to have to do.’

“He’s also been so good at the skill acquisition of the game and the footy knowledge, like making sure I can handball with both hands, be super clean, be able to kick well and make good decisions – because I think they’re the most important things. I want to get better, so I’m always asking questions.”

Of all this year’s top draft prospects, Sanders is one of the most ‘ready’ for AFL. His dedication on and off the field is unquestionable, while his decision to move away from home to finish his schooling has seen him mature quickly.

“Physically I’m pretty ready to go because I’ve put a lot of work into my body and my strength. And mentally I’ve been preparing for this forever,” Sanders said.

“Obviously I’ve already moved away from home, so I think I’ve kind of got rid of those baby steps already. A lot of the boys that move from home can struggle a bit with homesickness.

“But I’m ready to get cracking straight into the footy, which is pretty exciting.”