Reigning premier Geelong swooped on Cowan, a Daylesford and North Ballarat Rebels player, with selection number 56.

Cowan was home with his family during the draft, sharing the moment with his father Steven, mother Jenny, sister Maddy, 16, and brother Joel, 12.

Listening to the draft on radio, Cowan was shocked by the news.

He said Geelong had visited him at home in the lead-up but going to the Cats had still ``come out of the blue''.

``I'm at a loss what to think.'' he said. ``I'm struggling to come to terms with it. I'm on cloud nine.''

Cowan said he was happy to be going to a club so close to home.

Being drafted to an AFL team has long been Cowan's dream.

And it is a long way from his first game for Daylesford in the under-12s as a nine-year-old.

After progressing quickly through the local club's junior ranks, Cowan was also a member of Daylesford's 2007 premiership side as a 16-year old.

He was a schoolboy star with St Patrick's College in Ballarat and established a big reputation as a player who, once he got the ball, had all the time in the world to dispose of it.

Cowan credits mentor Howard Clarke, the man who offered him a football scholarship to St Patrick's College, as the biggest influence on his football career.

Cowan went on to secure a spot as a Victorian Country under-18 representative for North Ballarat in the TAC Cup Under-18 competition.