Former South Adelaide under-18 small forward Jake Tarca says he can be an “x-factor” at Geelong

Jake Tarca thought he was hearing things and had to look twice at the TV after Geelong called out his name at the AFL national draft.

Former South Adelaide under-18 small forward Jake Tarca is thrilled to be on Geelong’s list. Picture: Nick Hook

Jake Tarca thought he was hearing things and had to look twice at the TV after Geelong called out his name at the AFL national draft.

The Cats selected the South Adelaide under-18 small forward with pick 68 last month.

But heading into the draft, Tarca never really felt confident his dream of landing on an AFL list would come true.

New Geelong recruits (L-R) Darcy Fort (Central District), Tom Atkins, Jake Tarca (South Adelaide), Blake Schlensog and Stefan Okunbor. Picture: Peter Ristevski

“I was at a family friend’s house watching the draft on Foxtel and when my name got called out, everyone went nuts,” Tarca, 18, says.

“I didn’t think it was real and waited for my name to come up on the TV and made sure it was spelt correctly. It was unreal.

“I had no real knowledge of Geelong being that interested in me – it was a pretty big shock.

“I got heaps of text messages and Patrick Dangerfield called me that day.”

Tarca had been living in Victor Harbor with his mother Rebecca, father Paul, brother Bradley, 15, and sisters Tahlia, 5, and Tylah, 1.

He would drive 45 minutes from home to Noarlunga Oval and back for training and games each week.

Tarca starred for South’s under-18 side this past season, booting 27 goals in 15 games.

He also played three reserves matches for the Panthers and was part of the state under-18 squad that claimed the national underage championship.

Tarca is enjoying pre-season training so far and is learning lots from Dangerfield, Gary Ablett and Joel Selwood.

Ex-South Adelaide under-18 small forward Jake Tarca’s big marking will now be on show at Geelong after the Cats picked him at last month’s AFL national draft Picture: Jonathon Parker

“It’s been really good,” he says.

“They expect us to be as professional as them out on the track and it’s great seeing how they go about things and learning from them.”

Tarca joined a handful of SA-based players picked by Geelong, including ex-South teammate Nathan Kreuger, Jacob Kennerly and Ben Jarvis (both Norwood), along with Darcy Fort (Central District).

Tarca says he can add speed and be an “x-factor” in Geelong’s forward line, but knows he has plenty of hard work ahead of him to crack into the Cats’ line-up.

“I have the ability to kick a lot of goals,” he says.

“But I need to work on my endurance and body size in the gym, get that to the standard of AFL.”