Melbourne star Jack Viney opens up on life in the footy hub as a new dad
Melbourne star Jack Viney didn’t hide his disappointment at being replaced as Melbourne captain by Max Gawn. But the move has had an unexpected benefit for the new Demon dad.
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Jack Viney had been preparing to enter hub life alone.
As the June due date drew nearer for he and wife Charlotte’s first child, talk of quarantine hubs grew and the Melbourne vice-captain had resolved that he would jet off.
It was his “responsibility”.
But that all changed in one swift moment – when he saw baby Mila for the very first time on June 26.
“I thought I was willing to leave Charlotte and the bub for a month or two to play football, because I felt like that was part of my responsibility, and Charlotte had family around her,” Viney recalled this week ahead of his first Fathers’ Day.
“But then after going through the birth and those initial few days, it quickly turned to, ‘Either Charlotte has to come with me, or I have to stay back’.
“I probably underestimated how much work actually goes in!”
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Born via caesarean section at the Epworth Freemasons hospital in Melbourne, little Mila could not have estimated what she could be in for in her first few weeks “earthside”.
Neither could her parents.
As they found their feet – amid the haze of sleeplessness, nappy changes and adjusting to a new way of life – Jack and Charlotte soon faced the reality that the nursery they had carefully curated at home over the final months of pregnancy may not get much use just yet.
“I felt like I was really hands-on (after the surgery), and if I was to leave Charlotte, she would be really under the pump,” Viney said.
He had the conversation with Melbourne about not going.
They were supportive, but ultimately after five days in hospital and just four days at home, at just nine days’ old Mila was on the plane to Manly.
“It was definitely challenging at the start, just finding our feet as parents, let alone doing it without family,” Charlotte said.
“But it’s definitely helped having other young mums around to kind of give me some advice and just bounce things off.
“She travelled to three states in one month, which is crazy to think.”
Now 10 weeks old, FaceTime gets a workout for Mila as she regularly catches up with her grandparents and family who remain locked down in Victoria.
“We’ve got nothing to compare it to, but I think it would be harder if Melbourne wasn’t in the state it’s in now,” Charlotte said.
“As much as that is so sad with everything going on, there’d be so many other young mums doing the same thing and not being able to see family – there’s so many people in the same boat as us who aren’t in the hub, so it’s been challenging but we’ve made it this far.”
HUB LIFE, BUB LIFE
The pair, who met at school and married in January 2019, reckon they were “open-minded” in their approach to becoming parents.
“We knew it was going to be challenging,” Viney said.
Charlotte jumps in.
“We also thought we were going to have family around,” she exclaims.
They embarked on “hub life” thinking it would be five weeks, with the team eventually moving to its final Maroochydore hub in July to see out the season.
“At times it’s felt easy, and time has gone really quickly, and then at other points – which is almost a daily occurrence – you feel like all of a sudden it gets a bit hard and time starts going a bit more slowly,” Jack said.
“It’s been good to work through together, and kind of learn how to parent in a unique environment.”
Both the club and the AFL have helped out, he said, facilitating delivery of necessary items – like a bassinet – to the hub and pitching in wherever they can.
And then there’s been Charlotte.
“I definitely have a new found respect for all mothers in general,” Jack said.
“I definitely underestimated how much work goes into raising a little child. It’s a tremendous effort Charlotte has done, particularly in the situation we are in.
“She’s been extremely strong through the whole situation. We’ve only had a few tears. But to make it this far, I knew before, but now I definitely know how resilient and strong-minded Charlotte is.”
FOOTY AND FATHERHOOD
Footy doesn’t stop in the hub, which Charlotte explains had been another adjustment.
“You’re going for dinner with the boys, breakfast lunch and dinner with the team, training and recovery, it’s just very hands-on all the time with the team,” she said.
“So it’s hard for him to have to juggle both family and football and draw that line. I’m sure it’s in the back of his mind a lot of the time when he’s got his football stuff but also separating it.
“He’s done a very good job, both looking after us and still being professional.”
Viney gets up in the night to Mila “sometimes”, Charlotte laughs.
With all three in one hotel room, it’s hard not to when she cries.
Does she sleep?
“Short answer … no,” Charlotte says.
Once fastidious with preparation, Jack was in for a reality check.
“It’s been … interesting,” he said.
“You get taught how important sleep is and that it’s the best form of recovery.
“But then you have a baby and all of a sudden the most important form of recovery gets turned upside down. You’re up every few hours, it’s the last thing but consistent.
“But it’s amazing how the human body adapts and how you can function off not much sleep.
“That’s been the biggest realisation – you don’t need your perfect night’s sleep to get up and perform and function. I think as parents you just adapt and life changes.
“I was (a stickler before). You always try to do recovery to the gold standard and your priorities change when you have a little one, and she doesn’t care you’re a footballer.
“She’s hungry, or she needs a nappy change, and that’s all that matters. You accommodate it and fit the rest in and fit the rest in around her.”
TAKING THE PASSENGER SEAT
Footy doesn’t take a back seat as such now that Mila’s here.
Perhaps the passenger seat for the 26-year-old, who spoke of his disappointment at losing the club’s captaincy over the off-season.
It’s almost “time off”, he says, which he tries to enjoy, squeezing the most out of training, weights and recovery before being “on the clock” at home.
“I think there’s certainly a lot of extra responsibility and energy spent as a captain of a football club behind the scenes stuff,” Viney said.
“I’ve always behaved and approached my football the same way, regardless of being a captain, a vice-captain or having no leadership title.
“I’ve just gotten back to going about my business the same way I was with the captaincy role.”
He maintains that his attitude hasn’t changed despite the title change, and as contract negotiations ramp up, he has used the burn of last year’s five-win season as fuel.
“I put in all the work over the off-season and pre-season and I think it’s put me in much better stead this year to perform consistently,” he said.
“There’s an opportunity for us to make finals and that’s why we’re up here. Everyone has made so many sacrifices to achieve that, and we have an opportunity there to make it, and I think we all want it really badly.
“We’re going to do our best to make that a reality and make sure those sacrifices aren’t for nothing.”
DEMON DADS
Today marks Viney’s first Father’s Day.
He’ll be in Cairns, preparing for Monday night’s meeting with Fremantle as the Demons desperately fight to break back into the top eight.
His own dad, Todd – a former Demon of 233 games – remains in Victoria and is on babysitting duties for Jack and Charlotte’s beloved Bernese Mountain Dog Sebastian.
The former captain is “a big teddy bear” when it comes to being “Pa” to Mila, Jack says, who hasn’t needed to provide much advice to his now-father eldest son.
“There hasn’t been too many things specifically about parenting or being a dad. But I think his job’s kind of done, him and mum,” Jack said.
“They instilled the strong values in me growing up, and they were terrific parents and provided me with all of the opportunities to develop into the human being I am today.
“Dad’s pretty confident in the parents that Charlotte and I are, and we know we’ll do the same with Mila. Dad likes to sit back and watch, and he’s a big teddy bear, so Mila will get anything she wants.”
Charlotte has a few celebrations up her sleeve for Jack on Sunday, and there’ll be a team affair to mark the occasion.
“We’re all planning something like a barbecue or something when the boys get back, and the kids will do some craft and make a big sign for them,” she said.
“Mila can do some finger painting.”
PARENTING 101
THE BEST BIT
Jack: “The best part is getting to cuddle and see her do new stuff every day. You’re kind of pinching yourself that we both co-created this little human.”
Charlotte: “Just looking back on photos from those first few days in Manly and seeing how far we’ve come and how far she’s come and how much more confident we are as parents from those early days. That’s definitely the best bit – just having each other.”
THE HARDEST BIT
Jack: “The nights. Early, it was the feeding stuff and getting some weight on her and we had a few issues there, but now everything’s settled down it would be the nights. Sleep, please!”
Charlotte: “Definitely our first week in Manly. We were such new parents that it was still learning the ropes of everything and we were just in a hotel room, learning and without family around.”
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Originally published as Melbourne star Jack Viney opens up on life in the footy hub as a new dad