A NOBLE PURSUIT FINDING FOCUS
IT’S a typically cold and blustery day at Williamstown Football Ground. Inside the change rooms, South Barwon youngster Lachie Noble sits quietly in the corner.
Around him are AFL regulars Harry Taylor, Cam Guthrie, Scott Selwood and Lachie Henderson, all making their bids to return to the big league.
As a lifelong Geelong fan, Noble is as much awe-struck as he is preparing for his debut for Geelong at VFL level on June 16.
Then he hears Taylor call for him to come over before the team runs out.
“I was thinking, ‘How does he know my name’?” Noble says with a laugh.
“He said, ‘ Good luck, do your best and do what you do because that’s why you’re here’.
“He sort of looked after me the whole game, which was exciting for me, just for him to even come up to me.
“I was just sitting there really nervous because I didn’t even expect to get a VFL game this year and it came out of nowhere.”
Noble admits he found the going tough despite gathering eight disposals and a goal in his only VFL game so far.
But it had been a whirlwind period for the 19-year-old.
The VFL Cats became the fourth side he played for in just two months, following appearances for the GFL interleague senior side, the Vic Country under-19s and, of course, South Barwon, making him one of the most in-demand footballers going around.
The Modewarre junior just soaked it all up.
“I started with the interleague and that was very different for me, playing with a new bunch of blokes I haven’t played with before, so it was a new experience and it was good to play alongside them and get up to Etihad,” Noble said.
“Vic Country, down at Ballarat, was another good experience. All the guys I played in TAC Cup were playing with me, so that was a good learning curve.
“The VFL was pretty tough against bigger bodies and up against men.”
Playing with four different teams, juggling new structures and meeting new teammates is no easy task, but the youthful exuberance the small forward possesses has carried him through.
After kicking 34 goals in the Geelong Falcons’ premiership year last season, Noble followed his “mentor” and now South Barwon coach David Farrell to McDonald Reserve.
And five goals on senior debut announced to the GFL that the Swans had landed a good one.
“‘Faz’ is like a mentor to me, I look up to him,” Noble said.
“He carries me under his wing and if I need to learn something he’ll take time out of his day to make sure I understand.”
Now able to focus on solely his football at South Barwon, Noble says he is looking forward to a crunch clash with Newtown & Chilwell today.
“Newtown was pretty wet the last time we played them and we got up by a few goals, but hopefully we can get up this week and if we do have a good shot at finals,” he said.