Sydney Swans great Kieren Jack has called on the club’s fans to look ahead to this year’s Rookie Draft with high hopes – and stories like his own are why.
Jack is among the many in Swans history who were drafted as rookies but would blossom into stars of the game, donning the red and white in 2005 and farewelling the Sydney faithful as a 256-match icon in Round 23 this year.
Jack and Heath Grundy have played the most games in Swans history of all players secured at the Rookie Draft, while names like Brett Kirk, Nick Smith, Dane Rampe and Jake Lloyd are just some of the many other gems uncovered via the same pathway.
There's a cyclone of hype surrounding Matt Rowell, Noah Anderson, Luke Jackson and a host of other young guns tipped to feature in the top 10 as the AFL Draft gets underway on Wednesday night – and their dazzling highlight reels demand it.
But Jack has reminded Sydney supporters to spare some anticipation for the Rookie Draft.
“All the kids that come into the footy club are treated equally. Whether you’re pick five or the last pick in the Rookie Draft everyone’s got an equal opportunity,” Jack said.
“It’s a great place to learn. You essentially gain respect through hard work and following the processes that the boys have put in place. Our fans should be confident that all the kids we pick up are in a really strong environment where they can learn and become the best footballers and people that they can.
“Hopefully we can see a few more Rookie Draft success stories come through the footy club.”
Jack is the subject of one of the most dogged Rookie Draft success stories in the club’s history, having arrived standing at just 176 centimetres, weighing only 72 kilograms and ‘hooking’ the footy on the back of a background in rugby league.
The young Swan spent the majority of his first two seasons playing reserves footy as a lockdown defender, so limited was his game.
But countless hours of kicking practise with development coaches Brett Allison and Peter Jonas would iron out his deficiencies, setting him on the path to sharing Sydney’s 2008 Rising Star award with Craig Bird, before compiling a trove of other career honours.
Jack won a premiership with Sydney in 2012, co-captained the club in the years spanning 2013-2016, won a Bob Skilton Medal, earned All Australian selection and is a member of the greatest NSW team of all time.
Six members of the Swans’ 2012 premiership side were recruited as rookies in Jack, Grundy, Smith, Mike Pyke, Marty Mattner and Shane Mumford, with the latter two beginning their careers at Adelaide and Geelong respectively.
Jack credits the Swans’ extraordinary Rookie Draft success to two crucial personal attributes.
“I think it’s probably two things. One thing is you’ve got to put the hard work in; there’s no substitute for hard work,” Jack said.
“And the other thing is character. Kinnear Beatson and the Swans look into character. They put a real emphasis on character because the reality is you need a hell of a lot of resilience to have a strong career because there are a lot of downs. There are also ups, but there are a lot of downs, so you’ve got to be able to ride them out, have strong character and dig your way out of it.”
Sydney will take selections five, 25, 32 and 44 into the AFL Draft, before resetting for the Rookie Draft on Friday morning.
