WEST Coast recruit Adam Carter didn't appear daunted when he fronted up for his first day as an AFL player on Friday, and it's no surprise given his mixed experiences as a junior athlete.
At 16, Carter was on tour as part of an Australian schoolboys cricket team when he triggered heat sensors and tested positive to swine flu at Delhi airport.
After an eye-opening experience in quarantine on the subcontinent, the midfielder appears more than ready for the twists and turns of an AFL career.
"It grew me as a character, I think," Carter said of his Indian ordeal on Friday.
"I pulled up in the airport and it was the time of swine flu. They had heat detectors and the team walked through and all got through OK.
"I was walking through and I pulled up really hot. They said, 'We're going to have to take you for testing, we suspect you have swine flu'.
"My family and team members couldn't speak to me, they just took me away in the middle of the night to this paddock really with what they call a hospital.
"I spent the next five days there with no air conditioning, no TV, no radio, no outside contact.
"It was a pretty eye-opening experience really."
A fast bowler who showed great promise, it was around the same time Carter decided to focus on football - a choice that was prompted by bowling-related stress fractures in his back.
The South Fremantle midfielder was a member of Western Australia's under-16 and under-18 teams and arrived at West Coast via pick No.59 in Thursday's NAB AFL Draft.
"It's a long wait all year and to finally get the opportunity, I can't wait to be around the boys and around the club … I work well in a team environment," he said.
"I'm still obviously very young and there's a lot of experienced players here.
"I'll just try and feed off them all and learn everything I can. Hopefully I get my chance in the future."
West Coast entered the draft at pick No.45, selecting Perth defender Brant Colledge, who was glad to stay close to family and friends.
"I had a couple of interviews with the Eagles, but the clubs keep their cards pretty close to their chest so you don't really know what's going to happen until the draft and until your name gets read out," Colledge said.
"There's a lot of good young talent at the Eagles that will hopefully push for a premiership in the near future.
"Hopefully I can learn from them and be a part of some success."
West Coast traded its first two selections in the draft as part of deals for Sharrod Wellingham and Jamie Cripps, also swapping pick No.88 for Cale Morton.
The club used its last selection in the draft (No.60) to snare West Perth midfielder Mark Hutchings, who finished runner-up in the 2012 Sandover Medal.
The ready-made midfielder spent 2010 on St Kilda's rookie list and earns a second AFL chance after two standout seasons in the WAFL.
