Steele describes it as a "miracle" that Canberra's five-year AFL draft drought was broken by two best friends, from the same club, same school, who'd been inseparable since they were 11.

Just last Christmas, when their families holidayed together at Lakes Entrance, Victoria, they played backyard cricket and didn't, in their wildest dreams, envision AFL careers.

So when Steele was preselected by the GWS Giants at pick 24, and Austin taken by Port Adelaide at selection 69 on Thursday night, it was almost the perfect dream.

"This time last year we both thought this dream was out of the picture ... it's a miracle," said Steele, a midfielder, who ruptured his knee last year.

"I was ecstatic for him that he got on an AFL list, but I was also really disappointed it wasn't at the Giants.

"We were talking about it a couple of nights before the draft actually. I said, 'Imagine if you come here [to the Giants] next year, we can live together, it'd be unreal. We were shell-shocked at the possibility of it happening. It would have been a dream come true, having your best mate at the same club.

"It's still not over, anything could happen, we could still play together before our careers have finished."

Steele and Austin began playing together for the ACT Under 12s representative team, developed through the Belconnen Magpies club and even finished school together, at Gungahlin's Burgmann Anglican School.

After being drafted, two of the first people Austin received calls from were Steele and Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley.

"Jack knows I've been sweating it out over the last month or so," Austin, a key defender, said. "I always thought in the back of my mind, it'd be a great story if we could both get there together - two Canberra boys, both Belconnen boys, went to the same school and grew up together.

"I was crying for a bit after the announcement, tears of joy. We've always done things together and I think he was a bit upset we wouldn't be at the same club. But at least we're both in the same system.

"It probably hasn't sunk in. If you'd told us last year that both of us would be in the AFL, or even one of us, I think we both would have laughed at you. It's not that we didn't believe in our ability, it just seemed so far away.

"With both of us getting drafted it probably gives hope to next year's [Canberra] guys coming through too, because there's a lot of potential. Recruiters are looking more at the area."

Jason Tutt, selected by the Western Bulldogs in 2009, had been the last Canberra player drafted. Another AFL product from Canberra, St Kilda's Josh Bruce, believes ACT footy is about to enjoy a resurgence at the top level.

"Footy's kind of reinvigorated in Canberra, especially since the Giants have kind of made it their own," said Bruce, who started his AFL career at the Giants. "I've seen Jack and Logan both play when they were in the Giants Academy. It's really good to see more players getting picked up from Canberra, because there was a bit of a lull there for about 10 years or so."

The man who mentored both Steele and Austin since they were 12, John Harper, thinks he knows why.

There were seven players drafted from the NSW-ACT this year, the most since 1998. It has coincided with the NSW-ACT Rams returning to the TAC Cup, a national Under 18 competition based in Victoria, which puts players more directly in the focus of AFL scouts.

"I was an assistant coach of the Rams in 98 when Lenny Hayes [St Kilda] and Mark McVeigh [Essendon] came through, Logan and Jack reminded me very much of those lads, they were willing to listen and learn and they're just good kids," Harper said.

"It helps them get exposure ... whereas when the Rams dropped out, a lot of our local kids weren't getting looked at.

"I've known these boys since they were 11 or 12. Logan rang me last night, he was a bit in tears, I was too. For both of them to get this opportunity, that's what it's all about."

Harper received calls from the Bulldogs, Port Adelaide and the Western Bulldogs about both players in the lead-up to the draft.

But Port Adelaide's recruiting manager, Geoff Parker, admits seeing Austin playing for the Rams had helped seal the deal.

"It exposes them a lot more, it makes them easier to see them all in one spot," Parker said of the TAC Cup competition. "When they're all spread out through the different state leagues, it makes it harder to follow them.

"I saw his size, the way he can read the ball and intercept a mark, plus his ability to kick coming out of the back 50 with precision and penetration. He 's a good kid, he shows a real desire."

Austin also has football pedigree. His cousin is St Kilda and All-Australian defender Sean Dempster.

"He's been a massive influence," Austin said. "I've been able to look up to him and learn from how hard he works. I never thought I'd be joining him in the AFL system."