But as is the way with most country football clubs, the call went around and their coach recalled with a chuckle that Kanoniuk may have had a kick with the Hamilton twos a few years ago. Soon enough we had a number. Kanoniuk laughed when Snap Shot tracked him down, before making his case. "I am just keeping my career prospects open in my ripe old age," he said with tongue firmly in cheek. Kanoniuk said he was keeping his AFL dream alive. "I had a bit of a run around a couple of years ago in the twos and got a few doughnuts on the stats sheet."

It turns out Kanoniuk is a freelance writer with a great reputation for his sharp music writing, particularly when it comes to Melbourne's famous local scene. He thought he'd test the application process, which is a relatively simple one – albeit with a vetting process – making himself available for a couple of drafts and now a mid-season draft as, in his words, mature key position prospects are hard to find. "You never know, some clubs might want to roll the dice," Kanoniuk said. "I have dropped about 18 kegs since the last draft. They might be tracking that and say, 'He is having a dip'."

Since the AFL website listed the nominations in full on the weekend, with the 31-year-old's name included, Kanoniuk's phone has been running hot. "It flew under the radar until the mid-season one, I got a few messages and a few calls," he said. Darragh Joyce in action for the Saints early in the 2019 season. Credit:AAP LUCK OF THE IRISH Keeping up with the changing rules is hard enough for umpires and spectators, let alone Irish recruits who have to learn the game from scratch.

So spare a thought for Irish-born St Kilda defender Darragh Joyce (a hurling player in Ireland), who finally earned his first free kick on Saturday after giving away 10 (including six in the opening round against the Suns) in his first three games. As luck would have it, the three-quarter-time siren rang seconds after the umpire blew his whistle to award Joyce the free for head-high contact from the Giants' Tim Taranto, meaning the 22-year-old never had a chance to take his kick. That's unfortunate for Joyce, whose mum is a cousin of Essendon premiership player and cult figure Kevin Walsh. Joyce has earned one free kick and given away 11 in four matches to continue in fine style a trend among Irish-born footballers of giving away more frees than they receive. Snap Shot has found that not one of the eight current Irish players who have made their AFL debut is in the black when it comes to the free-kick ledger, an indication perhaps of how tough the rules are for newcomers to this game.

Or perhaps it's a fact of life for Irish players, with the late Jimmy Stynes famous for giving away a 15-metre penalty in the 1987 preliminary final that made Hawk Gary Buckenara's job of kicking the match-winning, post-siren goal just that little bit easier. Even Sydney premiership player Tadhg Kennelly, who mastered the game as a running defender, gave away four free kicks before finally earning one in his eighth match, with the veteran giving away 153 free kicks and earning 93 in his 197-game career. SPARE A THOUGHT FOR MUM Now, we respect that the Scott brothers keep their private lives private, but it's hard not to feel a bit sorry for their mum, Lynne, this Sunday with the AFL fixturing Geelong v North Melbourne on Mother's Day.

As someone well versed with the role footy plays in family life, we're almost certain it won't bother anyone much, with the two boys coaching against each other in Chris' first season at the Cats on the day before Mother's Day in 2011. But Snap Shot thinks those in charge of fixturing need to pencil into the fixture requests that the Kangaroos and the Cats avoid each other on Mother's Day in the immediate future. Brad and Chris Scott faced each other as AFL coaches for the first time before Mother's Day in 2011. Credit:Pat Scala