Tom Jonas, Jack Hombsch urge understudies to go hard on the field and in the classroom

PORT Adelaide defenders Tom Jonas and Jack Hombsch say they would do anything for their teammates and their selfless approach to the team stems from their years of playing school footy.

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PORT Adelaide defenders Tom Jonas and Jack Hombsch say they would do anything for their teammates and their selfless approach to the team stems from their years of playing school footy.

Jonas and Hombsch, in China for the clash agaist Gold Coast, returned to Rostrevor College last week to speak with four students who are part of the state under-18 squad — Luke Valente, Ben Jarvis, Jacob Kennerley and Cameron Taheny ahead of the national championships starting on June 3.

Jonas played in the school’s second XVIII team in Year 11 then held down full back of the firsts in Year 12 “because I wasn’t good enough to play anywhere else”.

Rostrevor College footballers Luke Valente, Ben Jarvis, Jacob Kennerley and Cameron Taheny with Port Adelaide defenders Tom Jonas and Jack Hombsch at the school’s oval. Picture: Dylan Coker.

He later joined Norwood, was rookie listed by the Power and is now one of the best defenders in the AFL.

“It’s such a fierce comp and there’s such a strong camaraderie playing with your mates, I think you probably err on the side of playing school footy over club footy at stages,” Jonas said.

“You’re playing footy with your best mates and there was always a strong inter-school rivalry, it would get fierce on the field and it was good going into battle side by side the same way it is on an AFL list now, you spend so much time with these blokes you would do anything for them.”

Jack Hombsch and Tom Jonas clash as both go for the ball against Geelong in Round 5. Picture: Sarah Reed

Jack Hombsch in his Rostrevor and Sturt guernseys in 2010. Picture: Sarah Reed

For Hombsch it was another level again given he was a boarder from Roxby Downs and playing footy with schoolmates he also lived with.

“It was the most enjoyable footy I’d played at the time,” Hombsch said.

“You’d play on the weekend, go to school Monday and talk about the game and get ready for next week.

“When I get back and have a chat to them now it’s just about having some fun and enjoying it because you won’t play another level like it where you’re spending so much time with your mates.

“Enjoy it while you can while there are no real ramifications of the result I guess.”

Jonas and Hombsch both get back to Rostrevor Old Collegians games whenever they can, particularly Jonas whose brothers Ben and Sam played in the division one amateur premiership last year.

“There’a a great mateship, you come out of it with a lot of close friends and we catch up and reminisce on a few stories from back in the school days,” Jonas said.

“When Jack and I get out there we’re behind the barbecue and turn a few snags and run into a heap of people you know.

“It would be good to get back and play alongside them at some stage.

“It would be nice to have a year or two running around with them whether it’s A or B or C grade just to say you played with your brothers is one of those things that people like the Cornes boys would look back on and never take for granted.”

Jack Hombsch and Tom Jonas in Shanghai, China last year. Picture: AAP Image/Tracey Nearmy

Rostrevor also has Darcy Fogarty (Adelaide), Malcolm Karpany (West Coast), Toby Pink (Sydney) and Harrison Petty (Melbourne) in the AFL system this year.

But Jonas and Hombsch are both preaching the importance of studying as hard as training to the young footballers wanting to follow in their footsteps.

Jonas got a Year 12 score of 96.55 and has just finished his law degree after nine years of study, while Hombsch got a score of 90 and is studying business.

“I don’t definitely want to be a lawyer, it’s hopefully one of those things that will play out as my career comes to its later stages and whether I use it or not it will hold me in reasonable stead going into the post-footy world,” Jonas said.

“There were a few times I couldn’t get motivated to do a subject or exam but I was only doing 1-2 a semester and it offered me a bit of a chop out from footy as a good distraction or release.”

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