One month ago, the lives of around 75 young men across the country were changed forever.

The national draft is a culmination of months and years of hard work, both by club recruiters and footballing hopefuls, in a bid to fuel success.

For the scouts, success looks like a team with strong depth. For the players, success is being selected as part of that team.

On draft day this year, the Eagles broke with tradition in recruiting four Victorians with the club’s first four selections, meaning four young men would move to the other side of Australia to pursue their football dream.

It also meant that four families would prepare to set one less place at the dinner table and say goodbye to a beloved son and brother.

West Coast’s first selection in the draft, Liam Duggan, was just 17 when his name was called out. His parents and brother had travelled to the Gold Coast with him so they could spend time together before the moment they had all been waiting for.

Liam’s mum Neisha said the day was a blur.

“It was exciting and emotional all at the same time,” she recalls.

“There was a buzz and we tried to take that in and appreciate that side of it, but it did get quite nerve-wracking.

“Right up until the very end, we’d heard that it was just such an even and open draft, so I think all families felt very similar, that we really weren’t too sure which clubs were interested.

“We were just so happy when his name was called out and that it was called out by West Coast which we’re very appreciative of.

“You’re in a national draft and anything can happen.”

Of course, in amongst the joy of success came the realisation that Liam would be moving more than 3000 kilometres away.

For the close family, Neisha said this would take some getting used to, joking that she might resort to “stalking” Liam to check up on him.

“I must admit the distance of being away from home, that’s going to be an adjustment, but we were just so thrilled that all his hard work was being rewarded,” Neisha said.

“We’re a tight-knit family and we’ve done a lot together, so I think that will take some time for me.

“And it’s a lot for the boys too. While they’re obviously trying to do their best football-wise, they’re also trying to adjust in a whole change in location and all those sort of things that come with that.”

Having welcomed players from interstate since inception, West Coast has a finely-tuned induction process, which begins by inviting parents to spend several days at the club meeting other parents, staff and touring the facilities.

The club also ensures each interstate player spends at least his first year with a host family, who work closely with staff to make the new recruits feel at home.

Neisha said the experience made her feel much more at ease about her son living so far away.

“The induction was excellent, really,” she said.

“They made us feel very, very welcome and I thought they were very thorough in what they were explaining to us, and I suppose being that distance away, the parents needed to feel very comfortable.

“We met Liam’s host family and we’re just rapt with all that, they’re lovely, lovely people.

“So that has certainly made it easier just for us to picture where he’s training and where he’s living and all those sort of things has made that adjustment a bit easier.”

Neisha is now looking forward to a big family Christmas and hopes it won’t be too long before she will be watching Liam play football again.

“We’ve watched him play since he was 10 years old, so I would love to think that would certainly be our no.1 priority, to get over and watch him as much as we could.

“Whenever that may be!”