Eddie Betts's protege sets out on ever-more-popular footy path via Melbourne private school

Mere months after quitting the AFL, footballing legend Eddie Betts was back in action over summer, bringing joy to fans of the Northern Territory Premier League.

Alongside Betts on the Palmerston Magpies line up was Waylon Davey, some 20 years his junior.

In one game, Betts and Davey both scored three goals. And, as the 15-year-old heads to Melbourne this year, their paths, too, are not without parallel.

Betts grew up in regional Western Australia and South Australia but arrived in Melbourne as a 14-year-old to attend a TAFE program for Indigenous youth that was overseen by former VFL player Phil Krakouer.

The small forward was famously passed over by AFL clubs in the main draft, before being picked up by Carlton in the subsequent pre-season draft. By 350 games of AFL later, he had established himself as one of the greats of the game.

Waylon Davey may never play a single match of top-level footy. However, some say he has the drive, skills and family tradition to make it work.

According to Josh Heath — the senior coach at Palmerston who plucked Davey out of the under-16s — Davey offers a sprinkling of magic on the field.

«He reads the play really well, understands where his positioning needs to be and he's just got those silky skills.

»He kicks goals from miraculous angles and does all that flashy stuff that you see, that Cyril Rioli-type things."

Rioli is perhaps the most prominent example of a path Davey has just stepped onto.

While Betts was drawn to Melbourne by Krakouer's TAFE program, Rioli — and now Davey — came to attend private school.

The four-time Premiership winner grew up on the Tiwi Islands and in Darwin before moving to Scotch College in the leafy, inner-eastern suburb of Hawthorn.

Walking between manicured lawns and