When Ollie Wines became the first ever Port Adelaide Brownlow medalist, the midfielder had a little dig at the teams that didn’t draft him earlier on way back in 2012.
Nothing like an athlete who has a point to prove.
And there’s been a few superstars over the years who’ve been unwanted at the top level but have then gone on to make all the teams that overlooked them look like galahs.
Martin Pike – The One-Year Contract Man
Always a talented footballer, Martin Pike had a few off-field issues that caused him to be considered a risk for AFL sides to take on.
Having played for 3 clubs in his first 8 years in the system, Leigh Matthews and the Brisbane Lions juggernaut of the early 2000s offered Pike a 1-year contract for the 2001 season.
He proceeded to win another three premierships with Brisbane on minimum wage, along with the premiership he won with North Melbourne in 1999.
Fair to say Brisbane got their money’s worth.
Ben Wallace – Undrafted NBA Hall of Famer
The Detroit Pistons great just entered the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame after an incredibly successful career in the NBA.
2004 Champion, 4-time Defensive Player of the Year, All-NBA teams galore, but was overlooked in the draft.
Whilst at College, scouts were impressed with his ticker and defensive prowess, but in the early 2000s if you played in the paint you needed to be huge.
Whilst Ben was 6ft9in, teams were only really interested in centres above the 7ft mark. Didn’t he prove them wrong.
Johnathan Thurston – Too Small to Play Rugby League
JT was considered too small to be a promising NRL prospect, despite his elite performances as a schoolboy.
Not a single team was interested in him due to his small stature, until the Bulldogs offered him a contract.
The thing is, the contract didn’t have a salary, JT would only get paid match fees.
He managed to play in 7 games in his first year, but couldn’t play in any more because the Dogs had breached the salary cap.
A couple of years later, the Queenslander played off the bench in the Bulldogs 2004 grand final victory.
The next year he signed a deal with North Queensland and the rest is history.
Dean Cox – From Rookie List to All Time Legend
How the hell did Dean Cox go as the 28th pick in the rookie draft in the year 2000?
He was considered un-coordinated and raw in his draft year and was the 5th option ruckman in his rookie year for East Perth.
Throughout the year, he progressed to become their first-choice ruck and won the Simpson Medal for being best on ground in their WAFL win that year.
Fast forward to 2014, he retired an AFL premiership player, a 6 time All-Australian, and considered to be one of the best ruckman of all time that changed how the position was played.
What a guy.
Jamie Vardy – From Park Football to England Striker
This guy did it the hard way. After toiling in the lower tiers of English club football for more than 5 years’, Vardy eventually signed a deal with Leicester City in 2012 at the age of 25.
In one of the most unpredictable seasons in history, the Leicester City went on the win the 2015-2016 Premier League Championship.
Vardy was key, scoring 24 goals (the second most in the comp), and was voted Premier League Player of the Season and FWA Footballer of the Year.
Not bad.
Tom Brady – Drafted 199th Overall in 2000
Enough said.
Any other athletes out there with a chip on their shoulder? Let us know on our socials below!
Written by,
Declan Jones & Dan Hutcheon
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