Lee found his way to Windy Hill courtesy of Essendon’s selection number 30. Listening to the draft on radio at his parent’s home in Burnie, his selection came as a great relief.
""I wasn’t sure where I was going to end up but I am really happy to be at Essendon – they are such a good club and very professional,"" Lee said. ""I’m really looking forward to getting to Melbourne. To know what I will be doing is a big weight off my shoulders.""
Lee hadn’t directly spoken to many clubs but said that Sydney and Geelong had shown most interest and spent a lot of time talking to his coaches. Ironically it was Sydney and Geelong that had selections 31 and 32 immediately after Essendon.
Lee played State basketball at under 16 and under 18 level and soccer at under 14 level. He decided to take football seriously about two years ago and he has made excellent progress playing 11 senior games for Burnie last season mainly at centre half forward and full forward
Lee will become the second tall Tasmanian on the Essendon list, along with Jason Laycock.
""He has only been playing football for the past three years. His background is in basketball and soccer. I think he is a really exciting prospect who just needs to get as fit as he can and play more football. He will take some time but he has got the key attributes,"" Essendon recruiting manager Adrian Dodoro said.
Lee has been working hard on getting himself physically ready for the rigours of AFL football. He has added seven kilograms to his frame in the past couple of months.
""He is a big unit and like Monfries (Angus Monfries – Essendon’s first selection) has been playing against men – he has played senior football for Burnie,"" Dodoro said. ""I expect the running will test him out early because he has been concentrating on adding muscle but that will improve with time.""
""He is a terrific contested mark and he will end up playing key position – that could be at full back or up forward.""
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