EMC Alumni

On June 1 ex-student Jai Culley was  drafted to the West Coast Eagles as the Number 1 pick in the Mid-Season AFL Draft.  

Jai graduated at EMC in 2020. During his time at EMC he was a strong member of Kurunda and the Leaders in Sport Program. Jai was a very popular student amongst his peers and was able to build great relationships with his teachers. His goal to play AFL has extremely evident back in Year 11 when he was waking up at 5am each morning to complete running and gym sessions before coming to school. 

We are all really proud of Jai as his story is a great example of, ‘hard work will pay off, just not always immediately’. 

See below an article excerpt for Fox Sports

Ben Waterworth from Fox Sports@bjwaterworth

June 1st, 2022 9:22 pm

The struggling West Coast Eagles have added a ready-made rookie to their list, with big-bodied midfielder Jai Culley taken with Pick 1 in the 2022 AFL mid-season draft.

The Eagles pulled no surprises with the opening selection of Wednesday night’s draft, selecting Culley — the hottest prospect of the mid-year class.

Described by Dandenong Stingrays coach Nick Cox as the best 19-year-old in the NAB League, Culley has a beautiful kick and can push forward to hit the scoreboard. Recruiters believe he has the potential to play early for the Eagles as a 193cm big-bodied on-baller.

Mitchell Riggs

Health and Physical Education Domain Leader