An opportunity to further his career in the AFL industry has proven too hard for Nick Connors to resist, with the triple-premiership-winning St Mary’s star the first confirmed departure from the GFNL premier.
The 28-year-old has spent the past four years working with Fremantle in a recruiting and list management position that allowed him to remain in Geelong.
However, Connors, who entered local football folklore for the goal that sunk Colac in the dying seconds of the 2019 decider, will head across the Nullarbor early in 2026 for a role at the Dockers’ headquarters.
“I just want to get a bit more involved in the football side of things and be amongst it inside the four walls of the club, which will offer some more opportunities to work with some coaches, just learn a bit more about the game, which I’m obviously interested in,” Connors told K rock Football.
“My role will still have a fair bit of list and recruiting stuff, and then more stuff with the coaches around in the data side of things, which is where my skills lie.”
The holder of a master’s degree in sports analytics, Connors agreed to the move in the days leading up to St Mary’s upset GFNL grand final win over St Joseph’s last month, not telling his tight-knit family until after the match.
He first joined the Dockers as an intern in 2019, before securing paid employment following the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I pull all the stats in and try to figure out who’s who’s draftable from a numbers point of view,” Connors said.
“And then work in the trades and list strategy space.
“Contracting, tracking that, making sure we’ve got enough money to go after certain players.
“There’s a lot of admin work, so to speak, but I also get to sit in the draft meetings.
“And when I get some time, I go and watch some VFL, AFL players as well.”
Connors, who made 146 senior appearances in navy blue and green, beat the clock to feature in the Saints’ 13-point win after suffering a knee injury in the first semi-final victory over Newtown & Chilwell.
He missed the preliminary final against Colac, but passed a fitness test on the Wednesday night before the decider.
“I got told there was a little risk that something could happen out on the ground,” Connors said.
“Honestly, it just felt fine once I was out there; the adrenaline and the situation and everything, once I got into that first quarter, I think I got over it.
“I was probably more worried about the anxiety with it all, and trying to get my head around, ‘Is it going to go?’
“I never really got a clear answer in terms of like how likely it was going to go. So I had to work through that; that was probably the hardest thing.
“In terms of physically, that was fine out on the ground. And in training, it actually felt fine.
“You’re so in tune with your knee, you actually forget about it. You’ve got to still play footy and play well.”
Connors, who is likely to play local football with fellow former Saint Tom Lang at North Beach, admits departing with St Mary’s well-positioned for further success isn’t easy.
“It’s super hard to leave,” he said. “When you win a flag, it’s those connections and bonds you get with the group.
“You can’t say they’re not going to be up there again next year, not losing many, and they might get one or two back.
“Leaving the chance to win another is a big call, but obviously I will be barracking for them over the other side of the country.”
X: @krockfootball
