THE BLOND BOMBSHELL
NARKLE IMPRESSES ON AND OFF THE FIELD
HE’S the kid with the curly blond hair and sparkling on-field moves who has become a cult figure in only two senior AFL games.
Meet “Quincy”, “Narks” and “Narkle Sparkle”, also known as Quinton Narkle, from Wesley College in Perth, the school that boasts Ben Cousins, Lance Franklin, Michael Gardiner and cricketers Mitch and Shaun Marsh among its alumni.
And while Narkle’s Geelong journey has been brief — his debut would have come earlier but for a 2017 knee reconstruction — the club has long-term plans for him.
Its national recruiting and list manager, Stephen Wells, knew he was recruiting a young man with onfield and off-field skills when taking him at pick 60 in the 2016 national draft.
“All our research suggested he was a top quality young man who will be a leader down the track and he couldn’t have been more highly endorsed from the people we spoke to,” Wells said.
“I first saw him in a club game in Perth and then his under-18 championships year in 2016, including a game at Geelong against Vic Metro when he played well, kicking a few goals.
“That game did him the world of good from a drafting perspective. Plus he was a tough kid who ran hard and could kick goals.”
Narkle is also quietly spoken but inwardly confident as he strives to emulate present-day midfielders such as Nat Fyfe, Dustin Martin and teammate Patrick Dangerfield.
“I want to be an exciting player like those three, not just a standard ball-winning midfielder,” he said yesterday.
“I’m not really outgoing but I’m quietly confident and if I want to do something, I will put my mind to it.
“I knew I had to step up in that game at Geelong in the under-18 championships. I had played all right in my first three championship games, but if I wanted to get drafted I had to play really well in that game. I went out and played a pretty good game.
“There were a lot of boys playing in that match who are on lists, like Andy McGrath, Jordan Galluci, Tim Taranto, and Paddy Kerr kicked quite a few goals. Plus on our side were my second cousin Sam PowellPepper, Shai Bolton, Zac Fisher and Sam Petrevski-Seton.”
Narkle and Powell-Pepper went through Wesley College together, and while similar in their exciting talents could not be further apart from a hirsute viewpoint.
“I was born with blond straight hair and I shaved my head a few times, so when it grew back it started getting curly. My mum’s hair is naturally blonde as well,” said Narkle, who has seven siblings (two older brothers, one younger and four younger sisters). “When I first went to Wesley kids used to come up because they had never seen an indigenous kid with curly, blond hair. “I won’t be doing what Sam (Powell-Pepper) has done and cutting it all off..” Geelong is confident Narkle, who is passionate about legal graffiti and recently painted the boots of Tom Hawkins and Jamaine Jones for indigenous round, will soon commit to a new deal. He is the most recent addition to Geelong’s rich indigenous history, which dates back almost 60 years to when the great Graham “Polly Farmer finally agreed to leave the WAFL and bring his talents to the VFL. For Narkle, being at a club with other indigenous players such as Cockatoo, Jones, Kelly and Parfitt has made his journey from Perth an easier one. “Having the other boys at Geelong with the same backgrounds means we understand each other a bit better, which really helps,” he said. “I tried to help Tim (Kelly) out whenever I could when he first came over. “I have family in Melbourne with my nan and pop, and I get up there and stay with them. So I have good support over here which is important.”