SUCH is the nature of the NAB AFL Draft that young footballers all over the country could end up anywhere with any group.

But for Jade Gresham and Nick O’Kearney, their arrival at the Saints continues a long history of playing in the same teams.

Gresham, the Saints’ first pick at the NAB AFL Draft and O’Kearney (the club’s first rookie pick) were schoolmates at Parade College in Melbourne’s northern suburbs.

O’Kearney was one year above Gresham but the two played together for Parade’s first 18.

“I’ve known him for a few years now. We went to school together. It’s good to know someone at the club. I’d been there since Year 7 and he was a year older,” Gresham said.

“We played at Vic Metro together where we played five or six games together. That was good.”

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The familiarity the two had with each other has proven to be a positive in the past and will bode well for their future.

O’Kearney admits that the fact they knew each other had been a help when they played at the NAB Under 18 championships.

“I think we knew each other’s style. Both being midfielders, we knew how each other operated and what our strengths were. It made it a lot easier for us compared to the boys from the other regions,” O’Kearney said.

Gresham knew his football future last Tuesday night but O’Kearney had to go through the disappointment of not hearing his name read out, only to be selected at the rookie draft the following Friday.

The two had kept in contact the whole way through.

“I gave him a text the day after the day saying how good it would be if he came to the Saints. We had a bit of a chat and it all worked out,” Gresham said.

“I asked the recruiters who they were looking at and they didn’t give me much but it was a good outcome.”

As they find their feet on the club’s training camp in the Sunshine Coast, the two have been paired up with senior teammates – Gresham rooming with Jarryn Geary and O’Kearney with Tom Curren.

For O’Kearney, his arrival at the Saints has more than a few in his family quite excited.

“The Saints hold a spot close to my heart. My nan and all mum’s side of the family are all mad Saints supporters,” he said.

“If there are any clubs I would have liked to go to, the Saints were high up on the list.”