Growing up Jake Lloyd was no stranger to elite sport, but it was football that took a backseat as he pursued representative basketball. In fact, Lloyd says he was about 17 when he considered a career in AFL.
“I played a lot of basketball as a kid and didn’t focus on footy until I was 16, Lloyd told Sydney Swans Media for On the Mark.
“I started to make a few representative teams and it went from there.”
He joined the North Ballarat Rebels in the TAC Cup and represented Victoria Country. The now 30-year-old was taken in the 2013 Rookie Draft before making debut against Fremantle in 2014. He later went on to earn a Rising Star nomination that season.
Fast forward 11 seasons and the veteran is set to run out alongside Dane Rampe for their 200th game together when the Sydney Swans take on Essendon.
Lloyd credits his father Tony, who runs a personal training business as both a sports hero and for his success. “He’s the reason I’m playing footy.”
The reliable midfielder hails from Horsham in Victoria, which happens to be Adam Goodes’ hometown. If it weren’t a balance of fate and hard work that lends to Lloyd’s longevity, it’s his long list of pre-game superstitions that have the 200 gamer playing at his best.
“I have heaps [of superstitions] before a game but not so much before training,” Lloyd admitted.
“We probably don’t have time to go through them all.”
Some examples include, “Left sock, then left boot before my right. I’m the last to run out, and in my warmup, I have to do a certain number of reps.”
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