Heath Mellody was sporting a new look at the AFL Draft combine. Usually standing out with the long, curly locks flying through the midfield, the Hale School graduate was hard to recognise with a buzzed dome.
He and schoolmates in Perth shaved their hair in the name of brain cancer research to venerate a Hale student.
Ryan Murphy passed away in early 2023 from glioblastoma, an incurable brain tumour. Mellody and his friends have been paying tribute ever since, with all proceeds being donated to the Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research.
It's become a tradition at a school that has meant so much to Mellody. He opted to play his state-based footy with Hale in the PSA over the Claremont Colts.
From representing Western Australia at the national championships to running out on Optus Stadium for the WAFL Grand Final, his stocks have just kept on rising.
"School, academy, state and WAFL, it's just been so good," Mellody told ESPN.
"I love playing PSA footy with all my schoolmates. I sort of realised it'd probably be my last time playing with them.
"I didn't want to take it for granted, just tried playing like I usually would, preparing the same for any game. I loved every game and just had so much fun playing with my mates."
With no vision of the competition and no data being captured by Champion Data it kept Mellody hidden through the first portion of the season. That all changed at the National Champs.
"I was playing predominantly halfback and in the trial games I was having more of a split, and I was always playing a bit better in the midfield.
"I was always planning on playing midfield for parts of the first two games but that just didn't eventuate. But just before halftime of the Marvel game (against Vic Country) I got moved into the middle.
"I definitely prefer playing inside and it was just super fun going in there. We sort of mixed it up a bit in there and it gave us a bit more intent, bit more run and carry which in the end really helped.
WA was trailing Vic Country 38-10 before his move on-ball. They then piled on nine goals to three in the second half to storm over the top in front of every recruiter in the country.
Mellody was the firestarter. He won hard balls through the middle and used his trademark dash to put speed on the ball in transition. His hands were lightning under pressure and he had some special moments forward of centre that will be ingrained in those recruiters' minds.
The then-17-year-old finished with 33 disposals in the biggest 'pick me' game of the year.
He ended his epic champs with the Larke Medal around his neck as the best performed player at the carnival, joining the likes of Will Ashcroft, Sam Walsh and Christian Petracca by winning the award.
In truth, Mellody has been a prospect in demand since blitzing the colts grand final last season as a bottom-ager when he collected 25 touches and kicked a beautiful goal breaking the paint of 50 in a Claremont triumph.
"I loved playing Claremont colts last year. Getting connection with Charlie Banfield and Cody Curtin, playing AFL now, and going up against Toby Whan and Fred Rodriguez on Optus.
"That was so much fun and playing well in that finals series gave me a lot of confidence to go out and perform well this year."
That ended up being his final game of colts footy for Claremont because he was immediately called up to the senior team for a finals run this year. The Tigers surged from the middle of the ladder to make an unlikely grand final against a Peel side loaded with Fremantle talent.
Their best player in that grand final run was a teenager that missed his debut phone call because he was in second period at school.
"Ash [Prescott], the coach, gave me a ring while I was at school so I didn't actually pick it up. He called during the first couple periods... The head of sport at Hale told me to go get my phone and give him a call back!
"I went and did that and he was like 'Yeah, you're playing this week'."
Mellody's run at league level included a best on ground performance against a West Coast reserves midfield boasting the likes of Elijah Hewett, Fin Macrae and Harry Schoenberg. He took them to task with 34 disposals and a goal as Claremont rolled into finals.
"The biggest challenge was just working around the physicality of it. Obviously I'm a little bit smaller so it's going to be hard for me to body up so just working around that, getting off body, getting on the move a bit.
"The transition to the midfield made it a lot more comfortable for me at the level."
Mellody is now on the precipice of the top five, and has genuine pick 1 buzz. He's the most in-demand WA prospect since Luke Jackson, and West Coast is right in the mix at pick 3.
Mellody's beautiful kicking action and insatiable appetite to run and deliver is ideal for the modern game. He takes the ball from inside to out with leg drive that's reminiscent of Bailey Smith, though prides himself on his ball use going inside 50 and can pull off miraculous kicks when given space.
It may well be the Eagles who call Mellody's name, but the Bombers or Tigers will have first call on the unflappable teenager.
"I don't really have a preference to be honest. I'd just love to go anywhere, whether that be staying home or going interstate. I feel like it would be super cool and a great experience going anywhere... I've got a lot of support around Australia so I'll be able to manage if I were to move."