Adelaide ruckman Sam Jacobs right behind Reilly O’Brien but will fight for his spot
After nearly a decade of being the Crows’ No. 1 ruckman Sam Jacobs is now behind Reilly O’Brien in the pecking order and stuck in the SANFL. This is how he feels about it.
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Adelaide ruckman Sam Jacobs has vowed to fight for his spot in the side as the season leads into the finals but has nothing but support for the man who has taken his spot in Reilly O’Brien.
O’Brien took over from Jacobs after “Sauce” injured his knee against Sydney in Round 2 and has been that impressive in 10 games that he is now keeping Jacobs out of the role he had owned for the better part of a decade.
But Jacobs, who will this weekend play a third game in the SANFL, said the situation was not new to him and he had nothing but support for “ROB” — as much as he will fight to get his spot back as the club looks like it is travelling towards the finals.
He vowed to continue to give O’Brien tips and encouragement and work as a team.
“He’s obviously been playing some really good footy,” Jacobs told Fox Footy’s AFL Tonight.
“Last week playing against ‘Mummy’ (GWS ruckman Shane Mumford), who I have played a lot of footy against, I was able to give him a few pointers and help him there.
“It (competing for spots) is something I’m used to.
“Even at Carlton (Jacobs’ previous club) we had four of us with (Matthew) Kreuzer, Robbie Warnock, Shaun Hampson and myself.
“So it’s not foreign to me to have to fight for my position.
“Fortunately I’ve been able to string some footy together in the past but it’s new ground to go back to the SANFL and play well and get my spot back.”
Jacobs also had some encouraging words for former Carlton champion Bryce Gibbs, who has found himself in and out of the side this year.
The pair of them will be in the reserves this weekend but Jacobs was confident Gibbs would find his way back.
“He’s one of the best midfielders in the game when he’s up and about,” Jacobs said. “Even last week he’s a guy who’s really driving the standards at the lower level (the reserves) and that’s all you can do at the moment.
“He can’t control selection. We’ve got 43 guys to choose from — it’s a hard spot for the coach.
“I know there’s a lot of outside noise at the moment but that’s certainly not the case inside.
“Sometimes when regular players aren’t playing in the ones people fish around for reasons or excuses … but the reality is the coaches wants a bit more from Bryce.
“I’m really confident that whether it’s him or myself we can have a big say at the back half of the year.”