By Connor Burns
Back in 2021, a young Flynn Gentile entered the AFL Draft buoyed by his chances of realising his dream of becoming an AFL player. It was a dream he’d had from the very start, ever since watching his father ply his trade for Airport West. Gentile’s father Angelo would eventually finish up his playing days having taken to the field over 400 times for the mighty Eagles, etching his name into club history in the process.
But unfortunately despite great hopes, Flynn would leave that draft riddled with heartbreak and disappointment after not having his name called on three separate nights. November the 24th and again on the 25th… and once again on the 26th.
The now 21-year-old recounted his emotions at the time of missing out on the opportunity to live out a boyhood dream, and the fire that still burns inside of him.
“As an 18-year-old you sort of let your emotions get the best of you and think what if and planning things for when you do get drafted,” he says.
“When it didn’t happen, it was a bit of a heartbreak, but it just drove me to keep going and not give up.”
Gentile grew up obsessed with sport, competing with older brother Ned in many backyard battles. It didn’t matter whether it was football, cricket or basketball, Flynn always had someone to chase and compete with. Nothing was given to him, and that’s the way he liked it.
“He’s a couple of years older than me so we always had a bit of a rivalry growing up playing all kinds of sports,” Gentile says.
“I followed in Ned’s footsteps; he paved a pretty good pathway for me to follow. I know a lot of younger siblings agree that having an older sibling, you’ve got someone to chase, someone a little bit quicker and stronger than you as your growing up.
So, it was good to compete with him just to get that little bit better.”
The Coburg star says it was “pretty special” to have grown up playing football with his brother, with it producing memories that will last a lifetime.
“Playing with him at Airport West in juniors, then at Calder [Cannons] and seniors at Airport West, sometimes you take it a bit for granted how special it is. Not many people get to play with their brother so to do that regularly, it’s pretty special,” he says.
His parents have also had a massive impact on his career to date, with his father Angelo inspiring him to follow in his footsteps, while his mother Renae acted as the “glue” of the family”, driving her sons around everywhere to sport.
“I grew up watching Dad play footy until he was 41. I was lucky getting to watch him play most Saturday arvo’s which was a blessing because I’ve heard a lot of great stories about him,” he says.
“Hearing all the stories about him playing footy, that sort of motivated me to live his legacy.”
“Mum was the glue in the family, she was the one driving us everywhere to footy when Dad had commitments of his own, so it was a pretty eventful household, very sports driven.”
After an impressive top-age year with the Calder Cannons, Gentile was hopeful of being drafted but after getting overlooked his focus remained the same, continuing to push towards reaching the AFL. He soon found a second home at Coburg and has been able to take his football to the next level over the past three seasons.
“Going into the draft you’ve got your hopes up a bit. I didn’t speak to any clubs that year but through other people I had heard that there was a bit of interest,” he says.
“I was doing pre-season at Essendon VFL and then got a phone call from Coburg, and they wanted to meet up. Essendon sort of gave me the run down and couldn’t offer me anything solid. I then had a meeting with Sturg (Andrew Sturgess) and Seb Spagnuolo, the coach and CEO at the time.”
“They just told me the brotherhood and connection that Coburg had and the family values, and I knew once I heard that, that’s where I wanted to play my footy. Just the family values, it was special to me.”
He had an immediate impact at Coburg finishing fourth in the club’s best and fairest in 2022 and also won the Phil Cleary Rising Star Award. He had another strong season in 2023, once again putting his name in lights for a long-awaited AFL opportunity.
But it has been his 2024 season that has made people stand-up and take notice. The 21-year-old was voted in to be vice-captain ahead of this season, before going onto play great football. It culminated in a five-game win season for the club, which is their best result since 2016, while Gentile also made the VFL Team of the Year and won the Jim Sullivan Medal – Coburg’s Best and Fairest.
Ahead of this season the youngster had set some lofty goals for himself, with not even him believing they were attainable.
“During pre-season the leaders sent out a survey on a few goals that each individual wanted to achieve, and these were personal goals,” he says. “A couple of mine were to play in the Vic vs SANFL game. I made the squad of 50 but didn’t get picked for the final squad, the other was to make the VFL Team of the Year.
“I thought at the time it might’ve been a bit ambitious but that was a goal for me and to achieve that, I’m fairly proud of myself.”
The young gun has been a leader of teams in the past but admits it took a bit of time to learn the ropes and back in his style of leadership at VFL level. That was before a chat with current captain Jesse Corigliano which helped kickstart his leadership journey.
“To be recognised at 21 years old as vice-captain of a VFL club, I was a bit daunted at the start. But after a few conversations with Jesse just hearing how he does it and what he uses to keep focused [was important],” he says.
“He’s been a big role model in that aspect of teaching me how to lead at VFL level.”
Initially trying to lead and act in a way foreign to him, Gentile soon was able to get the best out of himself and his teammates.
“At the start I was trying to be someone I’m not and I came to the conclusion that I got voted in because of who I am,” he says.
“We [the leaders] all offer something different and that’s why you’ve been voted in the position that you’re in, so use that as a strength. Everyone’s different, there’s no wrong or right way to lead a team.”
While he is focused on pushing his case to play AFL football, Gentile says it is important to continue to “love” the game as it helps himself and the team perform well on-field.
“We play footy because we love it, so the more we can get that out of each other, the better off we’re going to be. We’re going to attract more recruits and just naturally become better footballers when we’re having fun,” he says.
Gentile has now been overlooked in three drafts and despite the disappointment, he has used those setbacks as motivation on his quest towards achieving his dream.
“For me it’s okay to embrace the disappointment, but just use that as fuel to drive myself for the next period of my football journey and that was the rest of this season,” he says.
“I think I did that pretty well, it set me up to again go into a draft this year or back at Coburg next year.”
The goal is still firmly on getting drafted for the Gentile, pushing himself to the limit this year and leaving no stone unturned. It is those values of hard work and resilience that are synonymous with the Gentile name and have been passed down through his family.
“Dad drove me to push myself to the highest level I could get to. He’s always been my harshest critic but supported me in the same way. Growing up as a junior footballer, you get accolades and all of that, but he was always telling me where I could get better.”
“Some people saw it as a bit tough, but I knew he meant it in the best way possible and just wanted me to get better, he still does.”
Gentile loves the Coburg Football Club and bleeds red and blue, but as much as that is true, he is so driven to take his football to the next level and looks forward to becoming a distinguished AFL player is given the chance.
“As much as I play footy because I love it and I love playing for Coburg at VFL level, the goal for me is to get drafted and be a 100, 200 game AFL player,” he says.
“That’s the focus for me and second to that is making Coburg the best team possible and taking that as far as I can in the meantime.”
Off the field Gentile keeps himself very busy with a full-time job and loves his training for footy, while also dipping his toe into some other sports.
“I’m a plumber by trade, apprentice in my second year. So, that’s what I do for work, and I think that teaches me a lot of lessons in footy as well about working hard, starting at the bottom and working your way up the footy chain,” he says.
“Outside of work and footy I’m very sport orientated, so I like to play a bit of golf and I’m starting from the bottom there as well, I’m not very good but I like the challenge.”
This November he will once again throw his hat in the ring in what will be his fourth attempt at making the big-time, and with a great season behind him, could this be the year for the mature ager?
