LOCAL HEROES KICK
IT’S a unique club, Geelong.
Unique because when the Cats run out for Saturday night’s AFL Grand Final, nearly half the team will be made up of local players.
From the backline, they read: Jack Henry, Lachie Henderson, Tom Stewart, Jed Bews, Sam Simpson, Patrick Dangerfield, Luke Dahlhaus, Gary Ablett, Gary Rohan and Gryan Miers.
“There’s a story with everyone of them, mate,” former Geelong Falcons talent manager Michael Turner explained. “A lot of those players that you mentioned, if you go and check their draft, they went pretty late.
“The local clubs and us have done a good job to get them there but Stephen Wells and his recruiting staff have done a great job to pick them.
“It basically comes back to the player … they’re the ones that get the job done.”
Many started their careers at Geelong but others have come back to the region — one of the reasons Jeremy Cameron wants to join the club, we’re told, is for the lifestyle.
“There’s no other footy club in the AFL that’s got that many local players playing for them in a grand final,” Turner said.
“It is a very unique thing in this day and age of the trade and the draft, to have that many local players in your team.
“I don’t think there’s a stronger football region … set up like that anywhere in Australia.”
Only Dangerfield, Henderson and Rohan were top selections. The others have been speculative picks, including three father-son selections, who have gone on to enjoy fine careers.
There was Henry’s transformation from decathlete to footballer, Stewart’s rise from the local ranks to the elite level, Dahlhaus’ lucky break as a rookie and Miers’ seven-goal grand final performance with the Falcons.
In Ablett’s case, he lived up to his venerated father’s lofty standards and forged his own reputation.
There are no Falcons players in the Richmond side, making it easy for ex-Cats captain Turner to pick who to support.
“I won’t be worried about Richmond too much,” he said.
“When I’m watching Geelong, I’m wanting Geelong to win but the thing that makes it extra special for me is I’m watching 10 Falcons players run around.
“That makes the Geelong footy club pretty unique.”
LACHIE HENDERSON Pick: No. 8, 2007 national draft
Local club: Birregurra
“Hendo came in and out of the APS system. He got drafted very early as a marquee player to Brisbane and went to Carlton and played well. The thing I admire about Lachie, it’s been a great year for him because he was dropped off Geelong’s list and they rookied him, obviously for a bit of a back-up plan in case they had injuries and all that sort of stuff. I don’t know at the start of the year whether Geelong would have had him in their 22 but he’s had an outstanding season.”
JED BEWS
Pick: No. 86, 2011 national draft
Local club: Leopold
“He’s hung in there and in and out of the side. He’s always been a good player but all of a sudden, it’s clicked. He’s always been quick but he’s got bigger and stronger. He’s had an outstanding season. Supporters have got to realise the fact he’s given a really important job each week. He plays on one of the best forwards and one of the most dangerous forwards because he’s got the strength now and the ability to match them with speed. Jed’s … just a quiet kid that goes about his business and gets his job done.”
LUKE DAHLHAUS Pick: No. 22, 2011 rookie draft
Local club: Leopold
“Luke was very close to not getting drafted. The big knock on him was his size and his kicking. When the draft combine came up, he didn’t get invited. I can specifically remember, I sat him on a seat and told him some white lies about the draft combine and I said to him, ‘The AFL clubs will go back and have a look and see who’s been voted in and who hasn’t and I’m sure once they review that, you’ll get an invite’. It comes through on email that the state combine was selected and he wasn’t even selected in that. I got on the phone to (AFL talent manager) Kevin Sheehan and told him it was a welfare thing … (and) surely we can get him a screening at the state combine. Through those channels we got him an invite. Low and behold, he gets rookied to the Bulldogs and starts playing his career at Williamstown footy club and gets into the Bulldogs side and he’s a bloody premiership player, and he might be again on Saturday with Geelong.”
TOM STEWART
Pick: No. 40, 2016 national draft
Local club: South Barwon
“When he was with us, he was obviously good enough because we played him in the team and made our squad but he was a bit disengaged with us. I think he went on a holiday at one stage with his dad to Bali … and we weren’t that impressed about it. He just wasn’t engaged in the program and we actually dropped him.
It’s one of those great stories — he goes to South Barwon and if Matty Scarlett wasn’t at South Barwon, he’d probably still be at South Barwon.”
GRYAN MIERS (right) Pick: No. 57, 2017 national draft
Local club: Torquay/ Grovedale
“I’ll be honest, I didn’t take much notice of him because we had a pretty good side that was coming along. What really caught our eye … he went back to Grovedale seniors in the finals and had some really big games. When you hear those things, you hone in a little bit more and then we started preseason … and he was breaking sub 6min (in the 2km time trial). The only bloke at Geelong that could do sub 6min is obviously Mark Blicavs and he was an Olympic and Commonwealth Games-class athlete. A bit like Dahlhaus, he had that unusual kicking style but I don’t think anyone is knocking him at the moment.”
GARY ROHAN
Pick: No. 6, 2009 national draft Local club: Cobden
“He was with us as a 17-year-old and never made the squad and I know he was really disappointed, just talking to his mother. He needed a fair bit of encouragement. We invited him back as an 18-year-old. He was playing out at Cobden with Ben Cunnington and I can still remember him training at Camperdown. (Former coach) Gary (Hocking) picked it really quick that he looked a really special player because of his athleticism and particularly his speed. I can still remember at GMHBA Stadium one day … he ran down, baulked a couple of players, took two or three bounces and kicked a goal. He was drafted off that day, I’ve got no doubt. For Geelong to win the premiership, he’s got to have a really good game.”
SAM SIMPSON
Pick: No. 53, 2017 rookie draft Local club: St Joseph’s
“God he was skinny when he came to us. He had really good skills, he could really run and I just remember talking to Stephen Wells a few times during the season. He didn’t come out and dominate like a Gryan Miers but what he did was silky smooth, just what you see in the AFL now. From my perspective, what you see at our level … if you give the players two, three, four or five years, eventually they start doing it at the AFL. He’s a great story getting into the side late in the season because he hasn’t played a lot of games and he’s going to line up for a grand final and could play in a premiership. It’s just a great
opportunity for him.”