EX-AFL PAIR SHAPE SEAGULLS’ FUTURE
LIKE most things in the modern age, it all started with a tweet.
On April 8, with the footy season under way, former Richmond and Port Adelaide forward Jay Schulz jumped on Twitter.
‘So after the start of the season have got an itch again to play a few games, so if any teams in Victoria need a forward as well as a kicking coach for the club feel free to flick me a message.’
Former North Shore coach and Power teammate Jason Davenport was unsurprisingly the first to reply, tagging North Shore.
By April 27, Schulz was lining up at full forward in the blue and gold at West Oval against the Giants.
Now, alongside former AFL teammate Matt White, the pair are giving North Shore some hope after enduring a winless season so far.
“I’m really confident we’ll have both of them on-board next year too,” Seagulls coach Mark McDowell said.
“We’re looking at Jay to have a more formal role in coaching and we’ll be using both of them to help with recruitment, because players that have played so many AFL games and played for a couple of clubs have a good network. “We want to tap into that.” Schulz, 34, and White, 32, had taken different paths to Windsor Park.
Schulz had retired from footy after two years at St Kevins in the VAFA until he got on Twitter, while White was still showcasing his trademark speed for Montmorency in the Northern Football League and Southern Districts in the Northern Territory, before making his North Shore debut in Round 10.
“Getting thrown into the high level of GFL footy, he (Schulz) has been trying to catch up with his fitness,” McDowell said of Schulz, who has kicked six goals in five games.
“And he tweaked his calf, then had the snowball effect of resting that and still trying to get match-fit.
“He’s been really important to us because he gives us that tall target up forward that we desperately need.
“Matt, on the flip side, has had an impact immediately. He’s been in our best players in his two games.
“He works well with Jay in tandem. They understand how each other play and that’s had a benefit to ‘Schulzy’ with Matt in the side.”
McDowell says White “certainly” still possess his signature pace, gathering 20 disposals on debut and 18 last round against Leopold, including seven clearances.
Their knowledge has proved valuable for the club.
“For example, we have two players going at the ball carrier and that releases one of their receivers to get the ball, so we’ve been doing a bit of work to shut that down and that’s been driven by ‘Schulzy’, he’s got some great drills for that,” McDowell said.
“We really need to roll that out in a full pre-season to get everyone to understand that style. Going forward, that’s the type of stuff we want to bring in with the help of Matt and Jay.”