All draftees face a nervous wait before their name is called out on Draft day, but Curtis Taylor's patience was worn particularly thin by the time North Melbourne selected him with pick 46.

The Calder Cannons' forward/midfielder attended the first selection round on Thursday night, but went home disappointed. Come Thursday when the next rounds began, he was the last player left at Marvel Stadium 90 minutes in, without a destination.

However some clever wheeling and dealing by North resulted in a dream come true.

“I am absolutely over the moon. I am really stoked,” Taylor told Fox Footy.

“It was a long wait, just waiting with mum and dad. But now that it’s happening, I am that excited to get into it.”

Taylor played in Keilor’s Essendon District league Premier Division flag in 2016 and his coach Mick McGuane speaks highly of him.

“He’s just got a real appetite for the game which is what you have got to have if you want to make your dream turn into a reality,” McGuane told the Mooney Valley Leader.

“All the hard work and sacrifices based on what you have to do to match your talent and your skill set gives you every opportunity to get picked.”

 
McGuane said he first saw Taylor’s drive and determination in an Eastern Districts Football League under-14 game for the Blues.

“He was incredibly brave, and I am not talking just at the contest,” McGuane said.

“Just in terms of his work rate and his effort to shoulder the responsibility of trying to get his own team over the line.

“That was a signature game for me, for a young kid, to say one, ‘he’s got what it takes because he’s competitive’.

“He might not have had the depth of talent around him to get the job done, but he single-handedly tried to lift his group to win a premiership that day.”

Cannons' coach Ross Smith described Taylor’s versatility.

 “(He’s) someone that can certainly play in the middle but can also go forward, is a good mark and can kick goals,” Smith said.

“In my time, he hasn’t played a lot down back. But he’s a good clearance player, he’s got good clean hands.

“He can certainly take a mark and he’s a reasonable kick at goal as well and a good size. He’s probably a little bit in the Mark Le Cras mould.

“Maybe he’s a little bit bigger than Mark (Le Cras) but he seems to be that sort of player.

“What Curtis has got is his ability to go through the middle which I haven’t seen Mark Le Cras do a lot of.”