Through a draft year that is best described as cursed, WA defender Sam Gilbey emerged with a simple goal. Nine holes of golf. 

Struck down by glandular fever through the first half of the year, then COVID during the NAB AFL Under-18 Championships, the resilient teenager was then prevented from playing out the season by a broken leg.

Golf with his close friends was a hobby Gilbey had missed during his recovery, so he set a goal of walking nine holes as a milestone to motivate him, recently achieving the feat ahead of schedule. 

It's one example of the positivity and focus the running defender has shown during a challenging season, which has turned him from a top-rated talent to a potential bargain at this month's NAB AFL Draft.

"These things happen to all sorts of people and it was out of my control, so I tried not to be too negative about it and just do the rehab and stay positive," Gilbey told AFL.com.au. 

"A goal I had for myself was being able to play nine holes of golf walking, and I was able to do that two or three weeks ago and that was at about nine or 10 weeks [into my recovery].

"I played that with one of my good mates, Luke, and we played 18 holes. I walked the first nine and then we had a cart for the back nine, so that was a big one for me."

Gilbey's draft year started with a confusing period during the pre-season when his energy levels were up and down, preventing him from getting a consistent block of training in before the start of the Colts season.

He struggled to run in the opening round of the season and went for a blood test in the week that followed, discovering he had been carrying glandular fever undiagnosed. The clarity was a relief. 

"That was a really strange period, not knowing what was wrong with me," Gilbey said.  

"I thought I had COVID and there were all sorts of things going on. So, it was good to know what it was. 

"After that it was just resting and recovering for four or five weeks, and if I was feeling better after that I could slowly start getting back into things. It was a pretty slow build-up."

Gilbey remembers his first session back with the WA State squad, struggling to get through a session of push-ups, sit-ups, and body-weight squats.

But he worked his way up to jogging and eventually joined Claremont in early June for some match simulation training ahead of his first game back for the Colts team, playing limited minutes. 

His first game without restriction came in the under-18 championships, against Vic Metro, giving him a chance to show recruiters what he was now capable of after impressing 12 months earlier as a bottom-age WA player. 

COVID then struck, however, interrupting his campaign after the following match against the Allies, with his broken leg coming one month later during a Claremont Colts match against Perth. 

Gilbey's approach to his recovery from that point on has highlighted his maturity, according to WA talent manager Adam Jones, with his actions showing clubs how much he wants an AFL opportunity. 

"A lot of kids would have been pretty down, but he's been really determined and come to all our combine training sessions, even though he couldn't do anything," Jones told AFL.com.au. 

"He was just desperate to get back there and show all the clubs that his leg's OK, and he's just been so resilient, upbeat and positive. 

"He was desperate to get the moonboot and the brace off, and he was walking and then on the bike earlier than expected. It's showing in his actions how keen he is for it to happen."

Jones believes AFL clubs have seen enough from Gilbey to know what he is capable of at the next level despite his interrupted year. 

A running defender in the mould of Lachie Whitfield and Hayden Young, he has also modelled his game on Carlton speedster Adam Saad and Melbourne premiership defender Christian Salem. 

"He can take an exceptional mark with a beautiful leap, and he has beautiful skills, so you're getting a highly skilled rebounding defender with excellent marking ability," Jones said. 

"That's how he broke his leg; he was up on someone's shoulders and then on the landing he broke his leg. 

"He played well last year as a bottom-ager and he's had good moments this year, but a club might end up getting a real bargain, because we haven't seen the best of him this year."

Clubs, including St Kilda, have given Gilbey hope that he can make an impact at AFL level next year by highlighting previous players who have overcome similar challenges. 

The commerce student has drawn on the success former Docker Michael Barlow and Fremantle captain Nat Fyfe have enjoyed after broken legs, while the same setback in his draft year was a hurdle dual North Melbourne club champion Jy Simpkin was able to overcome, playing 13 games in his debut season. 

The key piece of advice Gilbey has drawn on, however, was something his dad, Murray, often tells him: only worry about what you can control. 

"From my point of view, my mindset has been that it's not ideal to have something like this happen in your draft year, but at the end of the day, getting sick and breaking your leg is far out of my control," he said. 

"My dad always says to me, 'Only worry about things you can control.' In my mind there's no point being negative about it and getting hung up on it. 

"I've just got to roll on and keep moving forward and be patient and wait for these things to heal. At the end of the day, it is going to make a full recovery and I'm going to be fine."