Written during the NAB AFL Combine, before Anderson joined the Hawks

DARWIN draft prospect Jed Anderson says he's ready to grasp his opportunity to forge an AFL career, having had a false start when he was on a Greater Western Sydney scholarship program as a 16-year-old.

Anderson spent the 2010 season playing in the Giants ' TAC Cup team while attending St Ignatius' College, Riverview, in Sydney.

And the end of the year he returned home to Darwin, where he's played the past two seasons with the NT Thunder in the NEAFL.

He played in the Thunder's premiership team in 2011, when he was 17, and he was a member of the team that lost this season's Grand Final to the Brisbane Lions' reserves.

Now he's finally eligible for the NAB AFL Draft in November — and he said he's willing to go anywhere to ignite his career at an AFL club.

"Hopefully I get to do my first pre-season this year, play in the AFL next year and become the best AFL player I can be," he told AFL.com.au.

Anderson is a 181cm midfielder and half-back with a relentless attack on the ball and the ability to run and carry.

GWS has first dibs on his signature because the Northern Territory is its zone. The Giants could put Anderson on to their senior list or they could list him and then trade him on.

Anderson said his first experience with the Giants was positive despite his decision to leave.

He enjoyed his football and he enjoyed going to one of Sydney's most renowned schools, even if he found it difficult at first.

"I finished Year 11, which I was proud of," he said. "I never though I'd get that far."

Before the 2011 season, however, he was unsure about spending two more years in Sydney before he could be put on to the Giants' senior list. The suicide of a family friend helped prompt him to return to Darwin.

"I just decided to move home," he said. "Just to be near my family for a year or two more."

Anderson grew up the fourth of eight children. (There are five boys and three girls.) The family lived in Katherine until he was 11, when they moved to Darwin.

The hardest part of returning home to Darwin from the Giants was dealing with the death of his father, David, with whom he had a particularly strong relationship. His father died in late July.

"It was the hardest thing I've ever gone through," he said. "Just to lose someone so close and someone you've always looked up to.

"I got woken up by my little brother and he said, 'Dad's fallen over'.

"I quickly rushed downstairs and I saw my Mum and my older brother Jacob standing over him. They were just in shock. They didn’t know what to do.

"So I ran over, pushed my brother out of the way and started CPR. I knew it from the course I was doing.

"It didn’t click to me at first what I was doing. After I sat down and got told that Dad had passed away I just really thought to myself about how I'd try to help him.

"That just gave me heart to strive for my achievements.

"I ended up playing the weekend of when he passed away. I had one of the best games I've played in my life.

"I just went out there to give my best. I just found something in myself to dig deep because he would have wanted me to play."

The match was against the GWS reserves at the TIO Stadium in Darwin. Anderson's entire extended family turned out to support him.

He kicked five goals from half-forward and the midfield in a performance that ranked him clearly best on ground.

Anderson made the All Australian under-18 team as a bottom-ager last year and was a member of the Northern Territory team that won the division two title in the under-18 championships this year.

He said his game matured during those two years, especially during his performances with the Thunder.

"I just played my own game last year," he said. "I didn't really worry about anything else other than playing footy.

"This year it was more about the team things and the team values and what you bring to the team."

Last year Anderson completed Year 12 in Darwin. "That was one of my best achievements."

This year he began work as a trainee in marine logistics and maintenance, working on the Darwin Harbour. He hopes to advance towards becoming a captain in the years ahead.

Alan McConnell was the GWS high performance manager during their pre-AFL season of 2010.

McConnell stressed that Anderson was 16 when he left his tight community in Darwin to play footy at a national level and go to a school that demanded academic excellence.

"He was really out of his comfort zone, not only with footy but because he went to Riverview," McConnell said.

"He excelled in that environment and he was very well regarded, but there was an identity problem.

"He was a leader among his peers at home. He'd gone through life as the biggest fish in the pond, but then he found he had to re-establish his credentials.

"It was difficult for him. He missed the outdoor life — and he was so young.

"We were really disappointed when he went, but it was the best thing from a life point of view."