Adelaide Crows development player Hamish Latchford thriving alongside full-time recruit Lachlan Sholl
Adelaide Crows development player Hamish Latchford and AFL-listed Lachlan Sholl are working together to get the job done in the SANFL, despite living in different worlds.
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Adelaide development player Hamish Latchford walks into the Crows changerooms and his smile is an automatic action.
Looking around the room there is Josh Jenkins, Myles Poholke, Tyson Stengle and Bryce Gibbs and the reality sinks in he will be joining them in action in the state league.
Rookie Lachlan Sholl is also in the room. This is his first season with the Crows after being taken with the No. 64 pick from Victorian TAC Cup side Calder Cannons in last year’s national draft.
Scholl is enjoying life as a full time footballer, something he has dreamt about since first lacing up a pair of football boots.
The day before the game, Sholl had a light run at the club to “blow out the cobwebs” in a sort of mini dress rehearsal for the contest. The rest of the day is all about recovery and having his body well prepared.
“I chill out really, just relax,” Sholl, 19, said.
This week, Latchford has been getting his hands dirty as a landscaper on a Blackwood worksite. It is not his trade, but some work he has taken on while taking a break from business property studies at university.
On Saturday, Latchford’s job will be to help quell Port Adelaide’s attack in the SANFL Showdown at Alberton Oval. And alongside him on the half back line will be Sholl, the pair coming from different directions in life to fight for the same cause.
“I love it, it is an awesome experience,” Latchford said. “It is cool no matter who you are playing against and playing alongside guys like Bryce Gibbs is awesome.
“I get a grin when I walk into the changerooms and get the chance to play alongside these guys.”
Latchford, 21, played school football at Prince Alfred College before wearing the PA Old Collegians jumper for the past three years. He was a member of the side which claimed the Adelaide Footy division one flag in 2016.
It was his coach at Old Collegians, Magarey Medallist Brett Backwell, who encouraged him to “have a crack” with the Crows state league team to expand his skills.
There is the admission he gets a little nervous before games, that want to not let his AFL-listed teammates down.
“You don’t want to bugger anything up, but they make you feel comfortable and tell us not to worry about skill errors,” Latchford said.
“They know we are young and just trying to learn from them. They interact with us, they know the position we are in, we are just development guys trying to take as much out of it as we can.
“They are very engaging which is awesome, all the AFL blokes. (Coach) Heath (Younie) backs us in and trusts us, he is awesome at calming us down.
“Andy Otten is the main leader back there (in defence) who we look to. He has all the experience and guides us, encourages us.
“It is quite a young backline, there are the young draftees. But they are so skilled I’m actually learning off them.
“I’m loving every minute of it. That is what they say to us, have fun and go out there and play footy.”
This is Sholl’s first season of senior football with the “bigger bodies” and he describes it as a great experience. He even acknowledges pre-season training fast tracked his game.
His pre-season involved sessions with the development players and Sholl said they had been awesome.
“They have come in and played their role and some,” he said. “They all come in with a smile and ready to play, and have a good time doing it.
“They are all really good guys too which makes it easier.”
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