Gus Teixeira played through iron deficiency and virus as top AFL draft prospect

A midfielder-forward who plays for the Sandringham Dragons and St Kevin's College, Teixeira is rated among the most promising prospects in the November 19 draft, with recruiters placing him in top-five contention. The problems began in April and lingered until the AFL under-18 championships ended in mid-July, yet he still earned All-Australian honours, including 22 disposals and four goals against the Allies, and helped Victoria Metro win the national title.

"I'd be playing at full-forward, particularly at the back-end of games, because I could barely run. I'd be gassed even after just one sprint," Teixeira told The Age. "It was kind of embarrassing because I couldn't run, and I'm supposed to be a midfielder. I knew there was something wrong, but I just kept going."

He eventually went for testing and was found to have a significant iron deficiency, a lowered immune system and signs he was tracking towards glandular fever. The fatigue also affected his schoolwork. "I had a virus that whole time," he said. "But I got an iron infusion, and now I'm feeling so much better, and I'm not sick any more."

Dragons coach Rob Harding said Teixeira deserved to be an early draft selection. "What he's done this year under sufferance, not being 100 per cent, is seriously impressive," Harding said. "Aerobically, he's a really good runner, he's strong in the contest, and has power and speed that allow him to burst out of stoppages. He'll end up a midfielder in the AFL, in the 'Dusty' [Dustin Martin], [Sam] Lalor mould." Harding added that he would not have predicted Teixeira as a top-five pick at this time last year, but he had trained well and kept getting better.

A subsequent right calf injury, sustained playing school football for St Kevin's College, was believed by medical staff to be an offshoot of the iron deficiency. His only appearance in the second half of the Talent League season came in the Dragons' two-point preliminary final loss to Gippsland Power, which ended his junior career. He went from a likely first-round selection who had never previously represented his state to one of the country's blue-chip prospects, and it would be a stunner if he was not gone within the first eight or nine picks.

"It was a year of ups and downs, but I'm pretty happy overall," Teixeira said. "When I'm feeling good, I've got heaps more to show. I'm very confident I have more to give. Obviously, I've done all that forward stuff, so I have that, but I've always seen myself as a midfielder. There are heaps of star midfielders like [Will] Ashcroft and [Nick] Daicos, and that's the type of player I want to be."

Teixeira, whose father Matt was born and raised in Brazil, will join ex-Magpie and Demon Heritier Lumumba and Port Adelaide's Christian Moraes as AFL footballers with Brazilian heritage.