Future Gold Coast star Dylan Patterson has revealed why he chose the AFL over NRL, declaring that Australian Rules football is 'much more skilled'.
The 18-year-old is set to be selected in the top five of November's AFL National Draft as one of the Suns Academy players.
As well as being a prodigious Aussie Rules utility, Patterson was also a talented rugby league fullback, who received contract offers from four NRL-aligned clubs when he was 15 years old.
However, Patterson decide to pursue a career in the AFL, detailing why he chose Australian Rules over rugby league.
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"There’s a lot more variety in it (Australian Rules). Things can happen all the time," Patterson told Fox Footy.
"I feel like in rugby league, there might be an occasional linebreak or something and then everyone’s up, which makes it exciting.
"But in footy, there’s just always something happening – and you don’t get that in rugby league. Scores are low, but that’s why when they score it’s so exciting. But in footy, the momentum changes all the time.
"I’m not taking anything away from rugby league, because there’s very skilled players and I’m friends with some very skilled contracted players at my age.
"But I think AFL, you need to be so much more skilled and it just requires a more overall athletic profile. You can’t just get away with being only good at one thing, you have to be capable of doing your job."
Patterson still has a soft spot for his time in rugby league and believes he could have made it in the sport if he chose it.
"Yeah, I miss everything about it (rugby league), to be honest," Patterson said.
"But it’s the same with a lot of things: You miss things because of the memories you create from them.
"It was a very enjoyable time for me, I could see success coming from it. It doesn’t necessarily mean I want to go back to it, but if I had a chance to play one more game, I wouldn’t say no."