AFL Draft 2014: Jack Lonie desperate to arrive at club in peak condition
PICK ME: AFTER an early glimpse at AFL life, it didn’t take Jack Lonie long to do everything to ensure he would replicate it.
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JACK Lonie’s first encounter with Nathan Buckley was a blur.
Unsure if he was nine or 10, Lonie just remembers his handshake with Collingwood royalty as “the best thing ever” after watching cousin Ryan Lonie in one of his 123 Magpie games.
Lonie was also afforded a tour of Collingwood’s Lexus Centre, and a flight to Adelaide where he roomed with Ryan’s twin Nathan and watched the left-footer line up for the Power.
MEET JACK LONIE AND SEE HIM IN ACTION IN THE VIDEO PLAYER ABOVE
Lonie — a Carlton supporter — admits he didn’t fully appreciate his early glimpse at AFL life, but it wasn’t long after and he was doing everything to ensure he would replicate it.
“Apart from being 174cm there’s nothing he can’t do or hasn’t done,” Dandenong Stingrays talent manager Mark Wheeler says of the crafty goalsneak.
“That’s it. It’s his height. And from about 14 he’s done everything to make sure recruiters can’t not pick him, he hasn’t given them a choice.”
Lonie will start pre-season with Frankston Dolphins on Monday, desperate to arrive at an AFL club in peak condition should he get drafted.
And while the flavour of the month for recruiters is taller prototypes, their similar affection for prospects delivering in big games is a major tick for Lonie.
The Stingrays co-captain took out Vic Country’s MVP, slotted eight goals from two TAC Cup finals this season and booted nine goals to steer Seaford to under-16 grand final glory.
He kicked four goals from 24 disposals and 15 score involvements against Western Australia and Dandenong believes if Vic Country’s first three games were televised Lonie would have been All-Australian.
And after 173cm Brisbane Lion Lewy Taylor took out this year’s Rising Star, does Lonie think his size will matter?
“That was a confidence booster,” he says of Taylor’s gong.
“It shows it doesn’t matter what your height is, as long as you work hard and you’ve got the skills anything is possible.”
Fremantle recently made a home visit and could pair the Hayden Ballantyne-clone with the original, while St Kilda always keeps a close eye on the Stingrays.
And Wheeler says while Lonie’s work ethic reminds him of Sam Mitchell, the Ballantyne comparison runs deeper than having a knack of finding goals and applying forward pressure.
“He’s got some serious spunk about him,” he said.
“He doesn’t take a backwards step. There was a practice match where he was copping a bit and after kicking a couple of goals he gave it back and got in their heads.”
Lonie ranked top-10 for agility at draft camp, ran a 14.12 beep test and experts believe while he might need to serve a state-league apprenticeship in 2015, he has done enough to get a chance.
JACK LONIE
AGE: 18
HEIGHT: 174cm
WEIGHT: 67kg
CLUB: Dandenong Stingrays
POSITION: Small forward
SUPERCOACH AVG: 98 points
PLAYS LIKE: Hayden Ballantyne
PREDICTED DRAFT RANGE: 30-60
IN THE MIX: St Kilda (41), Richmond (52), Fremantle (54)
Originally published as AFL Draft 2014: Jack Lonie desperate to arrive at club in peak condition
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