Star duo boosts Devils
Backline buddy May ‘hits all his markers’
AFTER showing their talents to AFL recruiters in competitions interstate, teenage tyros Oliver Davis and Sam Collins return for the Tasmania Devils for their under-19 clash with Queensland on the Gold Coast on Friday.
Davis is back from his foray into the SANFL with Adelaide while Collins is back from Victorian side Oakleigh Chargers.
Devils interim coach Mathew Armstrong said the Queensland game was a key part of the lead-up to the 2021 AFL National Draft.
ALL-AUSTRALIAN defender Jake Lever has backed his backline brother-in-arms Steven May to line up in Melbourne’s historic premiership bid on Saturday.
The two defensive pillars will be key components of the Demons’ push to break a 57year premiership curse against the Western Bulldogs in the grand final at Perth Stadium.
May injured his hamstring in the preliminary final win over Geelong and was subbed out of the game in the third quarter.
“He’s going really well,” Lever said after training at Joondalup on Tuesday.
“He’s hit all his markers, obviously didn’t do any of the match play on Saturday, but that was the plan.
“It’s really important for him to be able to be confident in his body. Once he is, he’s a pretty good player.”
May and Charlie Spargo, who missed training on Monday with a rolled ankle, are expected to be fully tested in the Demons’ main training session behind closed gates on Wednesday.
Lever is the only Melbourne player with previous grand final experience, having been a part of the Adelaide outfit thumped by Richmond in the 2017 decider.
“If you look at 2017, Adelaide were probably the favourites going in and you almost start to imagine what it’s like and everything like that,” Lever said.
“I’ve really tried to stay in the moment this time.
“It was a little bit of a different build-up last time … we travelled to Melbourne and my family lived in Melbourne at the time. It’s obviously super hard to stay focused.
“But this time, with the circumstances that we have right now, it’s been quite unique but it’s been nice to be able to just relax and really stay focused.”
Lever, now 25 and a father of two, has changed dramatically in a lot of things he does since 2017, and one of those is his mindfulness.
“I love my meditation. I’ve been doing that for about three years now,” he said.
Talking to his family also helped keep him grounded.
“I’ve got two kids and a wife back home. Speaking to them every day really grounds me and almost takes me back to just being grounded and not focusing too much on the game,” he said.
The defender’s teammates could use his technique, Lever saying some were “a little bit edgy” as they endured a long wait for the grand final before settling in to their work this week.