Keenan Ramsey was only two when his mother noticed his lack of reaction when she covered up one of his eyes and waved her hand in front of it. He can't remember being diagnosed with cancer in his retina, having chemotherapy in an Adelaide hospital or having his eye removed and replaced. "It's more thinking about what it would have been like for my parents and how much it would have thrown them around," said the teenager. "It happened to me but it almost feels like it didn't, because it happened so long ago."

What Ramsey does remember is being encouraged to do things, try things and not hide away from what had happened. At first that meant going off to primary school, talking to the other kids and showing them his new eye. As he grew up it was about playing basketball, getting into cricket and joining a football team near his home in Port Lincoln. "Mum and dad wanted me to tell my story and they always wanted to talk about it and make me feel comfortable with it, instead of protecting me. I think that made things easier for me, growing up," he said.

Competitor: Keenan Ramsey, pictured at the draft combine during the week, has sight in only one eye. Credit:Pat Scala

"They never used to say 'you can't do this,' or 'you shouldn't do that.' They always wanted me to play footy, go away to school, and do everything I wanted to do and because of them I never thought I couldn't do something. I just see how I see, same as everyone. It's something that's never felt like a disadvantage at all."

He doesn't imagine that ever changing. Ramsey is one of 100 players at the draft combine this week, a tall defender who played every game for South Australia in this year's national championships, handled some good opponents and according to coach Brenton Phillips moved more like an AFL player on the training track than anyone else in the team. "I think his number one quality is his competitiveness. That's what struck me about him and that's why I played him down back," Phillips said. "He's got good closing speed, he kicks the ball so well and he loved playing against good players. You could see it in his face: 'This is a good challenge, I like this.' "