The NAB AFL national draft is where dreams come true and hearts are broken. For Port Adelaide recruit Travis Boak and family, it was a combination of both.

The Boaks were expecting to hear Travis’ name called that day by Geelong, who had promised to take the impressive midfielder with pick No 7.

But the club - a stones-throw from Geelong Falcons, where Boak played in the TAC Cup, and Torquay, where he lived with his family, didn’t get the chance to honour its promise.

In the time it took the Power to read out his name, the 18-year-old was confronted with the reality of leaving his family. A daunting task for any teenager, but even more so for Boak, who lost his father in 2005 following a battle with cancer.

“The hardest part was probably that (draft) day. Obviously, I got picked up by Port Adelaide and I was so excited because it’s nearly every kid’s dream to get drafted by an AFL club. I was over the moon and mum was behind me and straight away yelled out ‘No!’ and just started crying, which sort of made me feel bad. Then my sisters started crying and my girlfriend was crying and I was just sitting there thinking; ‘What am I meant to do? This is my dream.” Boak recalled.

No one was more surprised to hear his name called by the Power than Travis.

“I had absolutely no idea. I didn’t even think I was going to go in the top 10. I thought I was a chance to get drafted, but it was a massive surprise to go at five.” Boak said.

But the modest Boak shouldn’t have been surprised at all, after being approached by each of the 16 AFL clubs. The classy ball-winner represented Vic Country in the Under-18s, toured Ireland with the AIS-AFL side in 2005 and has been compared to Tiger Brett Deledio by management at the Geelong Falcons.

Since the emotion of draft day, Boak has settled in at his new home at Alberton, impressing both on and off the track.

“It was pretty tough moving over at the start, leaving mum and the girls,” Boak said. “But mum is over the moon and now that she’s come over here, seen where I live and a bit of Adelaide, she just loves it.

“Coming over with Ryan Williams (also drafted by Port Adelaide) from Geelong made it so much easier. And living with the host family - Chris and Tracey (Jones) - at the moment, has just been fantastic. They are pretty much doing everything for us.”

Boak’s relationship with girlfriend Rose is also blossoming despite the distance.

“We’ve been together for a year-and-a-bit now. She’s been over about three times already and probably coming down again in a couple of weeks.”

Port Adelaide has earmarked Boak as an integral part of the ‘Powerevolution’ that is taking place at Alberton. The Power has gone from having the league’s oldest list in 2005 to its third-youngest, with an average age of just over 22.

“It’s incredible at the moment. Every player at the club is just excited about the years to come and there are only a few players over the age of 28-29. There’s just a really young vibe and it’s just fantastic to be around the club,” Boak said.

Boak says he feels no pressure about becoming the club’s equal-highest draft pick, along with Michael Stevens in 1998.

“I actually didn’t even know that until a few people said it when I got over here. I haven’t really thought about it too much, or the expectations. I suppose even Bryce Gibbs is the same, you know? He’s the No 1 draft pick, but it goes to the back of your mind. All you want to do is go out and play footy and train on the track as hard as you can.”

Training is something Boak is relishing at the Power, where he has completed his first full pre-season since he chose to pursue footy over cricket. A talented fast bowler, Boak was diagnosed with stress fractures in his back in 2004, which made him pull up stumps on his cricketing career. But like the challenges and adversity Boak has already faced in his short life, he took it all in his stride.

“Before this year I’d never done a preseason [because of] previous injuries and my back, so this was a massive step. I think it was after the first day that I realised how hard it was - I wasn’t too good that first day! Since then it’s been unreal. Just to come off the track and go home at night and think about what you’ve just done, it’s just awesome and you feel so energised.

“Since I’ve been here, I’ve put on about 4-5kg. I was a bit of a stick when I first came over, but I’m slowly getting there.”

For a young man trying to break into one of the best midfields in the AFL, Boak could not have a better mentor than workhorse Kane Cornes.

“Kane Cornes has been fantastic - watching tapes, helping me out on the track and just giving me encouragement. Salo (Steve Salopek) has been awesome, too. I think living with him for a few days and talking to him has really helped because the situation he faced (when he was drafted by the Power) was pretty similar to mine.”

But, through it all, there’s one person that’s never far from his mind.

“Dad was a mad Carlton supporter like me, so he was probably cursing on draft day,” Boak smiles. “But he would be over the moon to see me fulfil my dream and I’m just trying to go out there and make him proud.”