Geelong Falcons prospect Lachie Jaques on the injury that set up his draft year and tragic death motivating his side

The tragic loss of a club stalwart and an injury setback have served as motivation for draft prospect Lachie Jaques. The U18 All-Australian reflects on those challenges and his steep rise.

An injury can often be the downfall of an AFL draft hopeful.

For Geelong Falcons prospect Lachie Jaques, it kickstarted his rise from the relative unknown to under-18 All-Australian.

The Falcons co-captain suffered a broken hand at the end of last season and used the time on the sidelines to his advantage, working hard to improve his speed, strength and overall fitness.

“I kind of saw that as a blessing in disguise. Obviously missed a bit of footy at the back-end of last year, but I was really able to have a little mini pre-season before the off-season,” Jaques said.

“It was a really big off-season with that injury, so got that through pretty well and it set me up well for the year.

“Hard work, you get rewarded for that stuff so I definitely felt a bit stronger, definitely with the stuff in the gym.”

Falcons and Vic Country coach Paul Corrigan noticed the hard work and his improvement.

Lachie Jaques was an All-Australian at the national championships. Picture: Josh Chadwick/AFL Photos

“We saw huge inroads by the back-end of last year and we were contemplating playing him at the back-end of last year but we didn’t want to push the hand too much and then jeopardise his pre-season,” Corrigan said.

“He went into pre-season and he was a real leader in the way he went about it, he got super fit and super strong and I think that’s just led into his own performance. Having that continuity of training and playing early on and he has just raised his standards.”

Another major driver for Jaques and his Falcons side this season has been the late Kevin Evans, a much-loved Geelong Falcons trainer who tragically passed away in January.

Evans had spent three decades working in the AFL Draft talent pathway.

The pre-season in particular was challenging but Jaques and fellow Falcons co-captain Brady Hall, his best mate, helped rally their teammates.

The Geelong Falcons now sit in first place on the ladder with three rounds to play in the Coates Talent League season, and Jaques said they are playing every game in his memory.

“It was a shattering time down at the Falcons, he was a great man Kevvie. Now throughout the season we play each game for him and we know he is looking over us and we just want to make him proud, so that’s pretty much our goal of the year,” Jaques said.

“From the bad news we came together and it was a tough time but we got through it pretty well and we will just keep playing each game for him.”

Jaques caught the attention of recruiters with a promising start to the season, averaging 26 disposals and 7.7 intercepts from his first three matches.

The 184 centimetre defender’s form continued through the Coates Talent League and then maintained it during the increased standard at the national championships.

His standout performance came in their tight-win against the Allies where he gathered 22 disposals, nine intercepts and three intercept marks, with his impressive campaign culminating in an All-Australian nod.

Jaques in action for the Falcons. Picture: Rob Lawson/AFL Photos

“My initial goal at the start of the year was to make Vic Country. Obviously got selected and wanted to put my best foot forward during the champs,” Jaques said.

“It was a really good champs, I was quite surprised the way I went.

“I was pretty happy with the Allies game and it has held me in good stead for the back-end of the year.”

The St Mary’s product is the only Geelong Falcons talent invited to the national draft combine.

He played alongside two of his Falcons teammates for Vic Country in state combine invitee Xavier Ivisic and North Melbourne father-son prospect River Stevens.

“It is so cool to see how they go about it, it was an honour to share the field with ‘Iva’ and ‘Riv’ and a couple of other boys from the other regions that I have got to know over the years,” Jaques said.

One of those was fellow All-Australian defender Tobie Travaglia, who had a cruel end to his championships campaign after giving away a free kick and 50 metre penalty that ultimately handed Vic Metro the title in the dying seconds.

“I’ve known Tobie for a while now, we have continued to bond over the carnival so I gave him a bit of a hug and said ‘it’s not your fault mate’. He was a super player, he played well on the day,” Jaques said.

“It was shattering, I was on the ground defensive 50. First I saw the free kick was paid so I was just trying to locate a man and I didn’t really know what was going on to be honest and then I saw the umpire call it 50 metres and you didn’t know what to think. We were like, ‘we have done so well, we have worked so hard for this moment’.

“But that is footy and we made Vic Country proud and that was the best we could do.”

From here, Jaques’ goal is to get drafted – and it would be extra special to be taken by his hometown club, which has made a habit of selecting local Falcons products.

“It’d be pretty special to get picked up from the Cats, obviously watching them my whole life but yet again I’d be happy to go anywhere,” he said.

Originally published as Geelong Falcons prospect Lachie Jaques on the injury that set up his draft year and tragic death motivating his side