Kane Lambert had to watch 836 players drafted ahead of him before being taken by the Tigers
HE was a junior star, won TAC Cup and VFL best and fairests and took the points against the opposition’s best player each week. So why did it take six years for an AFL club to take a chance on Kane Lambert?
Richmond
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KANE Lambert stepped out of Richmond’s yellow and black stretch limousine with his sunglasses on and an empty Corona bottle in hand.
It was 4pm and Lambert had been chauffeured from Punt Rd to the Yarra Valley for best mate and former Tiger Adam Marcon’s wedding.
About 24 hours earlier, Lambert had kicked Richmond 28 points clear of Adelaide in the third quarter of the 2017 Grand Final.
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You could only imagine the frivolities that would have taken place that night.
Lambert’s next task was to deliver a wedding speech, and his dusty appearance — after limo riding in a Tigers’ polo and without socks — might have had onlookers concerned.
“I don’t think he’d slept too much,” Marcon said. “He sobered up a little by the time he had to make his speech.
“But I had Kane’s suit for him at the venue and he scrubbed up well.”
If you think this was a scene out of the movie The Hangover, think again.
Lambert arrived in style — alongside Jason Castagna, Dan Butler and housemate Jayden Short — and, much like his belated AFL arrival, he was ready to go.
“He was taking notes for his speech months out,” Marcon said. “He was asking us questions and wanted to cover all bases. When he got to that moment he wanted to be prepared and not anxious. He’s an absolute professional.”
By the time Lambert grabbed the microphone, no notes were required.
“He just recited it, because he’d prepared so well,” Marcon said.
“He did a fantastic job, and that sums him up pretty well.”
The ensuing beers were well deserved, because the premiership player’s career had not followed the script.
On Lambert’s 18th birthday he got his driver’s licence in the morning and was overlooked in the first of six national drafts in the evening.
In total, Lambert watched AFL clubs take 836 players before Richmond finally took him.
Lambert has long been a workaholic. He had to be.
“I’m not the most talented player out there, but I want to be the hardest working,” he said.
“That’s basically how my game works. My strength is my work-rate, plain and simple.
“I (look at) GPS numbers and how many contests I can get to. That’s my main focus.”
This season, Lambert has topped Richmond’s GPS in 14 out of 17 games. In nine of those matches — 10 including the Grand Final — he also out-ran all 22 opponents.
In five games this year, Lambert has clocked more than 16km.
His dedication to nailing his heartfelt wedding speech would not have surprised his coach, Damien Hardwick.
“It’s no coincidence he works incredibly hard,” Hardwick said. “He’s one of our best trainers.”
In fact, after a quiet half in Round 1, Hardwick said this: “He was working too hard. He was trying to get involved too much — he’s such an important player for us.”
But Lambert, 26, has talent. You don’t place third in Richmond’s best-and-fairest in a premiership season, ahead of captain Trent Cotchin, without ability.
That puts Lambert in fine company.
Luke Hodge and Jarryd Roughead rounded out Hawthorn’s podium in premiership seasons, while Brownlow medallists Sam Mitchell (Hawthorn) and Jimmy Bartel (Geelong) have each done it twice.
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This year, Lambert sits 13th in the AFL coaches’ award. Again, he is ahead of Cotchin.
The knock on Lambert was always his size.
“I was probably one of those people where you look at his size and you automatically think, ‘I’m not sure if he fits in an AFL mould’,” Hardwick said.
“But he’s got incredible key strengths, and every level he’s played at he’s excelled.”
Lambert couldn’t do much about his 178cm height. But after he was overlooked on his 18th birthday, despite winning Northern Knights’ best-and-fairest, he quit football to bulk up.
“I sent tapes to two clubs and have said since day one he’s a right-footed Anthony Stevens,” former Knights coach Denis Pagan said.
“Josh Caddy and Dylan Grimes played in that team, but nobody wanted to know about Kane Lambert. I was flabbergasted.”
So, in 2010, Lambert packed 10kg onto his frame and paid the bills by stacking 20L tins of paint at a Preston factory run by Marcon’s father, Adrian.
In 2011, Lambert and Marcon joined VFL club Northern Blues, where several coaches promised to push the pair to Carlton.
“Lambert has been knocking over the best opposition player each week. I’ve definitely made Carlton aware,” 2011 coach Darren Harris said.
That year another 160 players were drafted, none of them Lambert.
In 2012 Robert Hyde took the coaching reins.
“I’m going to promote them for a rookie spot at Carlton,” Hyde said.
“That’s the pathway, and the game’s becoming a bit shorter up top — it’s not your giants any more.”
That year another 130 players were drafted, none of them Lambert.
In 2013, Lambert won the VFL Rising Star, the Northern Blues’ best-and-fairest and was one vote off the J.J. Liston Trophy.
Another 117 players were drafted, including Northern Blue Jacob Ballard (Fremantle), but none of them Lambert.
Ironically, Ballard now stars for Richmond’s VFL team.
The Blues drafted 12 rookies from 2011-13. Ciaran Byrne and Tom Bell (now at Brisbane) are the only survivors.
Lambert and Marcon were fed up with empty promises, and so in 2014 they crossed to Williamstown.
Early on, Lambert recovered from hip surgy. In September, he delivered.
How is this for a semi-final stats sheet? Lambert recorded 32 disposals, 17 clearances, 15 inside 50s and kicked four goals — three in the final quarter as Williamstown fought back from 32 points down at the final change.
It was the match that made his career.
“Kane had a really strong VFL finals series,” Tigers recruiter Francis Jackson said. “When the standard steps up, he was able to play his best footy.
“We’re delighted someone who’s been knocked back a couple of times dusts themselves off and perseveres.”
Lambert was preparing for work at a gym before the 2014 rookie draft, when he received a voicemail from Tigers list boss Blair Hartley.
“I’d had no contact from any club, let alone Richmond,” Lambert said.
“I actually thought a couple of my (Williamstown) mates were going to get picked up — Adam Marcon and Michael Gibbons.”
When Marcon learned the news he dashed to Lambert’s house via Rebel Sport, sporting a new Richmond jumper.
“It was like a dream come true for both of us,” said Marcon, who was rookie-listed by Richmond in 2015.
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Within hours Lambert was grouped with Jack Riewoldt, Dustin Martin and Ty Vickery in an “Amazing Race-type” dash to the airport for a flight to Townsville.
Just as quickly, Lambert forced a change to Richmond’s recruiting policy.
“You know when you go to the Gold Coast (theme parks), and you have a thing, ‘You’ve got to be this high?’,” Hardwick said.
“I used to have that in (Jackson’s) office. I’ve now brought it down after Kane came in, so anyone above 120cm gets in for our club.”
Originally published as Kane Lambert had to watch 836 players drafted ahead of him before being taken by the Tigers