“Dude, we're going to Utah!

“I'm wearing a Collingwood guernsey at the moment!”

And so began Brodie Grundy’s life as a Collingwood footballer.

The 202cm ruckman was drafted by the Magpies with pick No. 18 in Thursday's National Draft and was on the phone to his best mate Ben Kennedy within minutes.

As luck would have it, Kennedy, too, is bound for the Westpac Centre.

It’s little wonder that Grundy and his new club both feel as if they have have hit the jackpot.

“I get along really well with Ben. We played in the midfield together for the state team and we always get a bit of grief given to us because we live in each other's pockets a bit too much,” Grundy told collingwoodfc.com.au.

Watch Grundy’s first interview with CTV as well as his heartwarming phone call to Ben Kennedy in the video above.

“We kind of joked around (saying) "imagine if we went to the same club", having a bit of a laugh the other day and it’s happened so I can't wait to jump on the phone to him and give him a call.

“He'll be stoked.”

Grundy was universally acclaimed as the most accomplished junior ruckman in the draft pool but the speculation didn’t do anything to calm his pre-draft nerves.

“I'm a pretty relaxed kind of guy. When I woke up this morning, I chucked in about eight Weet-Bix and I only ate two so I felt pretty nervous. When you see all the boys and all your mates you kind of cool down a bit.

“I went down to Surfers Paradise today and had a nice little stroll. I came back and you're putting on your trousers and your polo and your palms start sweating a bit but I suppose that's all a part of it.”

It’s only three short years since Grundy began playing Aussie Rules, but he has a firm grasp on the enormity of his achievement.

“It's a massive honour. It's the biggest club in Australia and I just feel really privileged and especially really honoured to be a part of such a famous club.

“It's pretty nuts. I never thought that it would ever happen.

“You just play footy because that's what you enjoy doing. For myself, I really love the challenge and the camaraderie and the mateship and to be able to get on an AFL list is just an added bonus and to be at Collingwood, it's just the best thing, really.”

Grundy and fellow draftees Kennedy, Tim Broomhead and Jackson Ramsay (who all hail from outside Victoria) will arrive in Melbourne over the weekend and fly out to Utah for the side’s high altitude training camp with their new teammates in December.