The Gold Coast SUNS selected West Australian Jarrod Garlett with their second selection (pick No. 15) in Thursday night’s national draft.

The exciting run-and-carry player arrives at Metricon Stadium after a stellar final season of underage football that saw him excel for his state in the national championships, before playing senior football for South Fremantle in the WAFL at the back end of the season.

Garlett’s dynamic skills and ability to create something out of nothing have drawn comparisons with Hawthorn triple-premiership star Cyril Rioli and Sydney speedster Lewis Jetta.

GC SUNS List & Strategy Manager, Scott Clayton, was thrilled to snare Garlett.

“(Garlett is) a beautiful speed and endurance combination, which gives him a chance to be a real elite inside-outside midfielder,” Clayton told SUNS TV.

“Amazing speed, courageous, and he really wants to play footy and is determined to play.”

The classy midfielder excelled at the AFL draft combine in October where he ran a 15.2 beep test to place equal fifth and recorded a 10:19 3km time trial to highlight his elite endurance.

Garlett backed up these impressive performances with a second placing for the standing vertical leap test (76cm) as well as finishing in the top-10 for the clean hands and goalkicking assessments.

The 18-year-old shares a special bond with his grandparents, having been raised by them since he was three years of age in Perth. Garlett, and his grandfather, Rev. Sealin Garlett, have been preparing for his name to be read out on draft night for many years.

The pair would rise at 5:30am daily to run 6km across both hard and soft stand to engrain a strong work ethic in Garlett and harden his body for the demands of an AFL environment.

Pick 15: Jarrod Garlett (South Fremantle)
Height: 177cm
Weight: 73kg 
Position: Midfielder/forward