Delisting is a harsh reality of life in the AFL system and especially for those on the rookie list. In fact, more than 100 players are delisted and leave the game each year.
The realisation that the dream might be over is a sobering feeling for all confronted with this news, although for Ben Speight his disappointment was buffered by the ability to walk straight into something he loves just as much.
You might say he is flying; actually you would, because that’s exactly what he is doing.
The 23-year-old from Hope Valley in South Australia earned his pilot’s license during his four-year, 10-game stint at the Kangaroos and is now working towards his commercial pilot’s license.
Speight still has the passion to play AFL football and hopes the upcoming draft period or a year or two in the VFL system will keep the dream alive, but at the same time he has a career in aviation firmly in his sights.
He has just landed a full-time job with a private jet company.
Speight has loved planes forever, his dad worked for Ansett and he can remember the excitement of going to the airport and jumping in a place whenever they wanted.
That’s when it all started, but things really took off when he arrived at North Melbourne and met Leigh Colbert, a favorite son at North and media personality but also a pilot and flight instructor.
Speight had his first lesson at the end of 2010, his second year on the Kangaroos list, and continued to fly planes at Moorabbin airport as often as his schedule would allow and for as long as his rookie wage would permit.
Two years after taking the controls for the first time, Speight completed his first solo flight, an experience he wryly describes as eventful.
Apparently planes fly in a circuit. That means they follow a particular path so that they don’t run into each other; makes sense.
Also, pilots prefer to take off and land into the wind to assist with elevation and deceleration. As fate would have it, the wind changed during Speight’s first solo flight.
He was faced with a choice to change circuits in a crowded and potentially confused airspace or land with a tail wind – he chose the latter.
“I managed to land it so the tower was pretty happy with me. There was no way I was going around (changing circuits) in my first solo…”
“There could be six or eight planes in the circuit at once and when you’ve all got to turn around in the opposite direction at 250km an hour at 1000ft off the ground, it can be challenging, especially when there are students in the circuit.
“Challenging” is probably a little understated, especially when considering the consequences, but despite the enormity of the situation, Speight refused to panic.
“It’s quite relaxing in the plane really. It doesn’t really bother me. I just did what I’d done before in the plane with the instructor beside me. It all went to plan.”
So how does flying a plane without anyone watching compare with playing AFL football in front of a capacity crowd?
“It’s much easier flying a plane compared to running out in front of 30 or 40 thousand people at Etihad. Doing that was amazing too; it’s much the same feeling personally.”
Flying has always been a relaxing experience for Speight and provided a great release from the pressures of AFL football
“Flying was great for me, every time I got in the plane everything just left my mind and I could just concentrate on flying. Getting away from footy is something that helps on the weekends.”
Despite being in the AFL system for only four years Speight has made the most of the opportunities afforded to him. He helped fund his flying hours using AFL Players’ Association Education and Training Grants and the CEO of Air Stream Jets (his new employer) is a North Melbourne player sponsor.
He reflects on his time in the AFL system with mixed emotions. The highs were playing games and winning, he played eight games in 2011 providing great impact as the substitute. The lows were poor form and injury, a shoulder injury cruelled his 2012 season and he failed to play a senior game this year.
“Some good times and some pretty low times, but that’s the AFL I guess.”
“I am still really driven to want to play at the top level. It just hasn’t worked out for me unfortunately. That’s the way it is I guess.”
His AFL dream isn’t over and on the advice of North Melbourne, he plans to play in the VFL next season, but he is already starting to think long-term.
“Footy is going to take a little bit of a back seat, but it might be time to move on. The passion is still there but I’ve also got to work for the next 30 or 40 years so it might be time to start looking at that.”