Grassroots game: Where it all began for AFL grand final Dogs and Demons
Bailey Smith was a Knight, Max Gawn was a Monder, Angus Brayshaw was a Rover – how the Dees and Dogs forged their paths to the AFL Grand Final.
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On Saturday they’ll hit football’s greatest stage, the AFL grand final.
But years ago the Melbourne and Western Bulldogs players were under-age hopefuls at junior football clubs all around the country.
From a small country town in Queensland that also produced Jason Day to the three Demons who played juniors together and tales of persistence from the VFL, here are the journeys to the top and, for one team at least, grand final glory in 2021.
MELBOURNE
Jake Bowey
It’s no wonder Bowey is regarded as an “elite” kick and a natural footballer. He’s had a football in his hands pretty much his entire life. Bowey was four when he started in Auskick with the Highett juniors at Turner Rd Reserve. His father, Brett, the former St Kilda rover who played 85 matches between 1988 and 1994, can recall many kick-to-kick sessions with Jake in the front yard and in their street.“He’s always showed a bit with his ball ability, the hand-eye coordination,’’ Bowey senior said. A star junior, Jake played almost 200 junior games for Highett. He couldn’t get enough of football. On one weekend he was the best afield in the under-11 premiership and backed up a couple of hours later in the under-12 grand final. Highett was chuffed when he was selected in the Vic Metro under-16 team. And in 2019 he made his senior debut for Highett. His senior career was away …
Ben Brown
The big forward is Tasmanian born and bred, playing his under-age football for Devonport and Glenorchy. Drafted from Werribee in the VFL, he played 130 games for North Melbourne for 287 goals before reigniting his career with the Dees this year.
Angus Brayshaw
Perth-born Brayshaw played all of his junior football with the Hampton Rovers, often with his dad Mark as goal umpire. Demons teammates Jayden Hunt and Christian Salem also came through the Hampton Rovers, with Brayshaw and Salem playing in an under-15s premiership together. The second oldest of four boys, Angus’ football got a kick along in 2011 when he captained the Moorabbin Saints’ Junior Football League Under-15 Division 1 team to a grand final victory – and he led from the front, gaining the medal as best-afield. It was the forerunner to state and NAB League honours with Sandringham Dragons, and eventually Melbourne took him at No. 3 in the 2014 draft.
Bayley Fritsch
Few, if any, families are more celebrated and a part of the fabric at Coldstream than the Fritsch clan. Where do we begin? Bayley’s dad, Scott, is a club great, having played a record 360 matches – including the club’s last senior flag in 2001. Bayley’s grandparents, Dianne and John Jefcott are life members, and his mother, Pauline, has volunteered countless hours at the club. Then there’s Bayley’s brother, Darcy, who tore it apart for the Cougars in the EFNL’s Division 4 this season, winning the goalkicking in a canter. Bayley’s story is one of great persistence. After two seasons in the seniors across 2013 and ’14 at Coldstream, Casey VFL came calling. Injuries curtailed his first couple of seasons in the state league, but his rise was steady from then on, winning the Fothergill Round Mitchell Medal as the VFL’s most promising player in 2017. “It just goes to show, he had a vision of what he wanted to achieve, he had a dream and he didn’t let anything stop him,” club stalwart Samantha Glassborow said of Fritsch ahead of his AFL debut in 2018.
Max Gawn
The Demons captain, all 208cm of him, was always going to be a big fellow. “He used to eat six Vita Brits for breakfast when he was two,’’ Max’s mum Sandra said of her “baby’’. “He’d have them in hot water and cold milk and then he’d follow up by finishing his brothers’ toast.’’ Schooled at McKinnon Secondary College in Melbourne’s southeast, Gawn joked he initially found it hard to get that “private-school relationship going” when he joined the Demons. “The guys were more Brighton Grammar but I got there eventually,” he said. Gawn played his junior career with St Paul’s and then Ormond, and was third in the Under-17 Division 2 league medal in 2008. In 2009, he played with the Sandringham Dragons in the TAC Cup but three games into the season he tore his ACL. Melbourne, though, had seen enough and selected him at No. 34 in the national draft. He now stands as arguably the best ruckman in the AFL.
James Harmes
Harmes grew up in Clyde, just east of Cranbourne, and barracking for Melbourne, with Nathan Jones one of his favourite players. He was understandably elated when he was rookied-listed by the Demons in 2013, and even more so 24 hours later when he received one of Jones’ vice-like handshakes. “I’ve grown up barracking for the Demons so it’s a dream come true,” he said at the time. Harmes was one of those talented sporty kids, excelling in cricket and football. Playing for the Devon Meadows juniors, his first trophy was the under-10s most courageous award. Harmes was also a talented cricketer, once cracking successive half-centuries in senior ranks for Cranbourne. But football soon took over; he made the Dandenong Stingrays list in 2012 (alongside Lachie Whitfield) and had a strong 2013 TAC Cup season, which led to his drafting. The Harmes name is synonyms with Devon Meadows. James played eight games in the club’s firsts as a 16-year-old alongside his brother Patrick. Harmes has become a Demons fan favourite during his 121-game career, and a vital member of the side.
Michael Hibberd
Hibberd’s football journey could have been so different if it wasn’t for some firm advice from a coach when he was 19. In 2009 the lad from Somerville made a terrific start in the VFL with the Frankston Dolphins, so much so that suburban clubs came at him with lucrative offers. In a meeting with Dolphins coach Simon Goosey and assistant Paddy Swayn, he told them he was leaning towards playing local football. “I remember he said, ‘I’m getting $48,000 a year to be a forklift driver and I’ve got clubs wanting to give me $1200 a game’,’’ Swayn recalled. “And I still remember Goose going, ‘Mate, I reckon you’re a year away and I reckon you’re a chance of getting drafted, so just play the year’. “He ended up staying and then got drafted to Essendon and the rest is history. “Every time I see him I say, ‘How’s that $1200 a game looking now?’.’’ Hibberd was an eye-catcher from a young age at Somerville. At age 14 he won the 2005 Mornington Peninsula Junior Football League Under 16s vote count. In the same season the dashing Hibberd played in Somerville’s Under 18 premiership. Then, at 16, he made a brilliant transition to senior ranks, playing a full season in Somerville’s senior side and finishing third in the club’s best and fairest. Hibberd, 31, has gone on to have a fine AFL career, spending five seasons at Essendon before joining Melbourne where he’s in his fifth season.
Jayden Hunt
Another Hampton Rovers lad, Hunt flew under the radar as a junior. Two months out from the draft in 2013, Hunt would have laughed at the prospect of an AFL career. He had never played TAC Cup and did his best work on the Brighton Grammar tennis court, rather than the football field. But Melbourne knew what it was doing and took him with pick No. 57 in the draft. Hunt has become a half-back weapon for the Demons with blistering pace and a sense of adventure.
Luke Jackson
The 19-year-old comes from Bullcreek-Leeming in Perth, later playing with East Fremantle at under-18 level. The ruckman showed huge upside for WA at the Under-18 National Championships before his No. 3 selection at the 2019 draft.
James Jordon
There’s been a few twists and turns in the Melbourne young gun’s journey to the big time, and it began with Yarrawonga in the mighty Ovens and Murray league. Playing his juniors with the Pigeons, the midfielder moved to Melbourne to pursue his studies at Caulfield Grammar at age 15, linking with the powerful APS competition. It wouldn’t be long before the Yarrawonga prodigy found his way back however – he debuted in the seniors for the O & M juggernaut at age 17 in 2018, featuring in a finals campaign and making an impact. Jordon also won the Caulfield Grammar best and fairest in the same year, playing in a multitude of positions. He debuted for the Oakleigh Chargers in June where he bolted into draft contention, and he could hardly believe it when he heard his name read out on draft night. “I had a bit of interest but definitely didn’t think I was going to go this early,” Jordon said just moments after his name was called at pick 33 on draft night. It was a significant rise after being cut by Sandringham in the pre-season of ’18. “It was probably just more around the number of APS boys that they had,” he said.“There were a few that were ahead of me they thought.” His debut for the Demons came in Round 1 this year.
Ed Langdon
The former East Malvern junior was part of Melbourne Grammar’s strong school football side in 2013 that produced a stack of AFL and VFL players. Langdon was drafted by Fremantle in 2014 and moved there four days after his last Year 12 exam. His older brother Tom played 89 games with Collingwood. Langdon played 68 games in five seasons with Fremantle before Melbourne nabbed him, and he’s become the AFL’s running man, and a key Demon.
Jake Lever
From the northern outskirts of Melbourne in the Macedon Ranges, the Romsey junior made quite an impression in his under-age years in the Riddell District league. He captained the under-16s as a potent forward before playing a senior grand final in 2012 at the same age. State duties followed, as full-back in the under-15 Victorian side for the national champs, before repeating the feat at under-16 level, captaining the Calder Cannons’ under-16s the same year. He’s never forgotten where he’s come from, despite his AFL journey taking him to Adelaide after his initial drafting. “I classify myself as a Romsey boy. I lived here all my life, until I moved away when I was 18 (years old). It was fantastic growing up here. I loved it on the farm. It’s a fantastic community feel around here,” Lever told Melbourne FC media. And he’s also never forgotten the “pretty fierce” Romsey-Lancefield rivalry. “There were a lot of grand finals between the two teams, especially when we played each other during the regular season. “There was always a couple of biffs, but it’s all in a bit of fun. You always meet some of the guys your age, who are from Lancefield, and you always get along with them. But it’s just that footy feel and a bit of rivalry.”
Steven May, Melbourne
Darwin-born May played his junior football at Southern Districts Football Club in the Northern Territory Football League. In 2008 he moved to Melbourne to complete his final years of schooling at Melbourne Grammar. After eight seasons and 123 games at the Gold Coast Suns, May joined the Demons in 2020.
Tom McDonald
There was never any doubt how much the 194cm tall wanted to live his AFL dream. From the Horsham District league where he played with Edenhope-Apsley Football Club as a junior, McDonald progressed to the North Ballarat Rebels – some three hours from his Edenhope home. But he would commute every week to training before boarding with St Patrick’s College in Ballarat for Year 12. The decision paid dividends, according to former Rebels talent manager Phil Partington. “Tom’s come along in leaps and bounds since he moved to Ballarat and St Patrick’s College. He has a terrific leap and endurance,” he told the Ballarat Courier in 2010. McDonald earned an opportunity with North Ballarat in the VFL where he played a couple of matches the same year, before his selection at pick 53 in the 2010 national draft.
Alex Neal-Bullen
“Nibbler” is an Adelaide boy with a quirky background as a competitive race walker. He was also a star 800m and 150m runner as a kid. It’s his extraordinary running ability that makes Neal-Bullen an integral part of the Demons’ forward line.
Clayton Oliver
Many may forget the slow, but sure progression of the key Melbourne midfielder, toiling away for Mooroopna in the Goulburn Valley before he shot to stardom at the top level. He appeared a longshot to be drafted, with injuries curtailing the first half of his senior TAC Cup year with the Murray Bushrangers. It’s true that he was overlooked for Vic Country selection at the Under-18 National Championships. But the second half of the year brought a rapid rise. A Richmond VFL opportunity arose, he held his own and then produced three best-afield performances in the final five TAC games. He couldn’t believe it when he received an invite to the draft combine. “He took the competition apart,” Murray Bushrangers coach Darren Ogier told the Herald Sun in 2015. “There was no one who could match Clayton for strength.”
Christian Petracca
Hailing from Melbourne’s eastern suburbs, the Dees’ inside bull played his juniors with Park Orchards in the Yarra Junior league, alongside stints with Warrandyte and Beverley Hills. He was a gun junior, representing Victoria at under-12 level before captaining Whitefriars College in his senior year of high school. And a recent Herald Sun naming of Whitefriars’ best team of the past 50 years had Petracca in the 22 as a rover. Let’s not forget he lit the TAC Cup alight in his time with the Eastern Ranges, too, taking out the Larke Medal in 2014 for the best player in the Under-18 National Championships. Football talent runs in the family, with older brother, Julian, a premiership captain at Mitcham in the Eastern league, a team he played in with elder sibling Rob, who was also a star of the competition.
Kysaiah Pickett
The livewire forward grew up in the WA country town of Quairading. Every week on television he’d watch his heroes Cyril Rioli and Eddie Betts in the AFL, marvelling at their pace and freakish ability to kick goals. Now everyone is watching ‘Kozzy’, who can change a game in a matter of minutes.
Trent Rivers, Melbourne
The young defender grew up in Leeming, WA, playing basketball and football. In his draft year, 2019, Rivers overcame glandular fever in the off-season to be snapped up by the Demons with pick No. 32.
Christian Salem
Another of the Demons’ Hampton Rovers products, Salem was always a standout as a kid. When he was chosen to represent the Victorian under-12s in 2007, it was clear the boy from Brighton had the talent and drive to play in the AFL. “Football is a good team game that I would love to play professionally,’’ Salem told the Bayside Leader at the time. Salem was one of those kids who grew up with a football constantly in his hands. His older brothers Andre and James made sure of it. “Growing up, I was pretty much training all the time when I didn’t have proper training,’’ he said. “They were great support, they were always there for me.’’
Charlie Spargo
He’s a fourth generation VFL/AFL footballer – but he’s on the cusp of achieving what eluded his descendants, an AFL flag. The Albury product’s family name is as revered as any up in the Ovens and Murray league. Charlie’s dad, Paul, coached Albury to five flags after his career with North Melbourne and Brisbane wrapped up in the early ‘90s. A highly-touted junior, Charlie found his way into the GWS Academy as a 12-year-old, before debuting for Albury at 16 – and for the Murray Bushrangers in the same year, featuring among the best in the TAC Cup grand final. The Spargo family’s ties are strong to both camps playing off for this year’s flag. Grandfather Bob Spargo played with Footscray in the ‘50s and ‘60s – including the Dogs’ 1961 VFL Grand Final, while his great grandfather, Bob Sr., played with both the Dees and Dogs in the ‘30s and ‘40s. And Charlie’s great uncle, Ricky, played with the Dogs in the ‘60s and ‘70s.
Tom Sparrow
The 21-year-old midfielder began his footy with the Bridgewater-Callington Football Club in the Adelaide Hills, before moving onto South Adelaide in the SANFL and impressing at under-18 level. Snared with pick No. 27 in 2018, with the young forward enjoying a break-out season this year with 20 appearances.
Jack Viney
Touted as a ready-made AFL player in his Oakleigh Chargers days, the son of Demon great Todd has had no problem living up to the family name. He played under-age football in Victoria and South Australia, but it all started with the Ashburton Redbacks. It’s a proven breeding ground for gun AFL talent, with names such as Luke Ball, Jordan De Goey, Toby Greene, Sydney’s Josh Kennedy and Hawthorn Brownlow Medal star Tom Mitchell all juniors of the club. He claimed best-afield honours as a bottom-ager in the Chargers’ 2011 grand final side, representing Vic Metro the same year. Viney captained South Australia to the Under-16 National Championships title in 2010 after moving to Adelaide the previous year, where he attended Prince Alfred College.
WESTERN BULLDOGS
Marcus Bontempelli
We’ve all heard of Scott Pendlebury’s famous basketball background but we hear less about Bontempelli’s talents on the hard wood. He played for Eltham Wildcats, had a memorable duel with future Boomers and NBA star Dante Exum in their younger days and won a national school boys championship. However, like with Pendlebury, footy won out and he quickly caught the eye of talent scouts at Eltham in the Northern Football League. A late-starter, Bontempelli began in the Under-11s and won five premierships with the Panthers before moving on to Marcellin College and the Northern Knights in the NAB League. He’d feature for Vic Metro in the Under-18 National Championships, bolting up draft boards before being taken by the Bulldogs with the fourth overall selection in 2013. What’s followed has been truly remarkable, AFLPA best first-year player in 2014, 2016 premiership player, three-time Sutton Medallist, four-time All-Australian, AFLCA Player of the Year, Bulldogs captain and this season the Leigh Matthew Trophy winner as AFLPA MVP.
Zaine Cordy
Will go down in history as the first Bulldog to kick a goal in the drought-breaking 2016 Grand Final but could be the hardluck story of next week with a selection squeeze in the Dogs backline. The son of 124-gamer Brian and brother started the journey at Ocean Grove Collendina Cobras and is one of just five players from the club to be drafted to the AFL, along with brother Ayce. Caught the eye of recruiters playing for Geelong College in the APS competition and NAB League outfit Geelong Falcons before being snared by the Dogs under the father-son rule with pick No. 62 in 2014. The historic 2016 premiership was just Cordy’s 11th AFL game, playing as a makeshift centre half-forward. After 18 games this season he would be desperately unlucky to miss out.
Bailey Dale
The Dale name is synonymous with Edithvale-Aspendale Football Club and Bailey was only 16 when he played for the Eagles in their 2013 senior premiership, having come up through the juniors. It was a famous victory; they’d finished last in 2012. Dale said the experience of playing against men helped him greatly. “(Edi-Asp coach) Troy (Shannon) gave me the opportunity. Playing against bigger bodies helped my development. It’s something I won’t forget,’’ he said. Dale got his first write-up in the local paper when he made the Victorian 12 years and under schoolboys team, receiving his jumper from Kevin Sheedy. A few years later he joined the Dandenong Stingrays, from where the Doggies was drafted him in 2014. “He’s one of those kids who has raw talent. We were fortunate to have him for 12 months, we probably only saw the tip of it,’’ Stingrays coach Craig Black said at the time. As he pings off half-back, the Bulldogs are seeing every inch of it now.
Caleb Daniel
The town of Beaudesert, Queensland, has a tick over 6000 residents but has produced two outstanding sportsmen – former world No. 1 golfer Jason Day and Caleb Daniel. Daniel didn’t stay long. The family moved to South Australia when he was six and he rose up the grades at Edwardstown before making the move to SANFL club South Australia. Despite standing 168cm, Daniel was Champion Data’s No. 1 ranked player at the 2014 Under-18 National Championships, averaging 20 disposals a game and earning All-Australian honours. He also finished first in the beep test at the draft combine and thankfully for Bulldogs fans slid to pick No. 46 in the 2014 draft. Those silky skills quickly translated to the AFL, playing all but two games in 2016 as the Dogs charged to the premiership, going on to become one of the most creative half-backs in the league.
Josh Dunkley
A product of the proud Gippsland football region, Dunkley played under-age football at DWWWW – Devon Won-Wron Welshpool Woodside football – In 2012, at the age of 15, he figured in Sale’s senior premiership, its youngest senior player. A few years later the club said he had been “humble, focused and determined’’. Gippsland Power came calling and he was pick No. 25 in the 2015 national draft. Less than 12 months later Dunkley played a valuable part in the Dogs’ first premiership since 1954.
Taylor Duryea
The boy from Wahgunyah can become the 31st player in VFL/AFL history to win a flag with two clubs, having played in Hawthorn’s 2014 and 2015 flags. If he does, he might owe Jack Ziebell’s old man a beer. Gary Ziebell recommended Duryea to Caulfield Grammar, where he impressed in the APS competition, was selected by the Murray Bushrangers – alongside Alex Keath – and the rest, as they say, is history. “I didn’t learn that until after the fact. I was playing a V-Line Cup practice match with the Ovens and Murray side, which is basically the Murray Bushrangers under-15s, I must have played all right, and he (Ziebell’s dad) suggested to the director of football at Caulfield to have a look at me,” Duryea told the Hawthorn website. The Doggies may not be where they are today if he hadn’t closed down Charlie Cameron in the thrilling final minutes of the semi-final win over Brisbane.
Tim English
English’s Wikipedia page definitely needs some work. It’s just four paragraphs at the moment. Hopefully a premiership will see his history filled out because he’s been fantastic to follow since arriving at the Kennel with pick No. 19 in 2016. The skinny kid from Brookton-Pingelly and South Fremantle has built his body over the past five seasons and is now a key part of the Bulldogs set-up. After being the No. 1 big man last season, English’s role has shifted more forward giving the Dogs a strong partnership with Stef Martin.
Ryan Gardner
Originally from Tasmania, Gardner hails from Burnie – west of Devonport for those wondering. After three seasons at Geelong without playing a game, the key defender ended up pulling beers and steam cleaning carpets to get by. He joined Footscray’s VFL team in 2019, aligned to Geelong club Bell Park, and immediately impressed under coach Daniel Giansiracusa. Just a few games later he was elevated to the Bulldogs’ AFL list in the inaugural mid-season draft and made his AFL debut the very next game. It would be a fairytale story – from scrap heap to premiership success – but Gardner looms as the hardluck story of the season with Alex Keath’s return likely to squeeze out him or Zaine Cordy.
Good luck to St Bernard’s FC duo in key roles for @westernbulldogs tonight vs @PAFC. Midfield hard nut Tom Liberatore & dynamic forward Mitch Hannan. The Dogs motto is "yield to no one" so go get em’ scraggers. #YieldToNone#wearestbernards#foreverstrong#upthepit#AFLPowerDogspic.twitter.com/yQgjIjfzxh
— St Bernard's Football Club (@stbernardsfc) September 11, 2021
Mitch Hannan
Hannan started out in the Riddell District with Gisborne and Woodend, growing up alongside Carlton Premier cricketer Liam McKenna – brother of future Demons teammate Pat. Given his story of persistence it might be no surprise he missed out on selection with Calder Cannons as a junior but he was destined for the big time. Hannan joined VAFA Premier power St Bernard’s, winning a premiership in 2015 and the Jock Nelson Medal for best-on-ground. It earned him an invitation to Footscray’s VFL team where he played 14 games and kicked 19 goals and won a second straight premiership. The Dogs’ were keen to promote him to the AFL list but Melbourne swooped with pick No. 46. Hannan made 50 appearances and kicked 55 goals for the club he’ll now face in Saturday’s Grand Final before being traded back to Whitten Oval in 2020.
Lachie Hunter
Another father-son gun with red, white and blue in the veins, father Mark played 130 games while Mark and Jarrad McVeigh are cousins through mum Colleen – who captained Australia in lacrosse. Hunter actually started out in lacrosse before turning to football with Williamstown Juniors. He ended up playing school football with St Kevin’s in the APS, winning premierships in 2011 and 2012. He represented Western Jets in the NAB League and was part of Vic Metro’s Under 18 National Championships-winning team before being drafted as a father-son with pick No 49 in 2012. Having established himself in the Bulldogs line-up as a hard-running, creative wingman Hunter has gone on to form part of the Bulldogs’ historic 2016 premiership and claimed the 2018 Sutton Medal as club best-and-fairest.
Jason Johannisen
“JJ” could have been a Springbok or a member of Bafana Bafana. Born in South Africa, Johannisen’s first loves were rugby union and soccer until his family moved to Australia when he was eight. Instead, he joined a long, long list of rookie list success stories at Whitten Oval. Drafted out of East Fremantle with pick No. 39 in the 2011 rookie draft, Johannisen didn’t have to wait long to make his debut. After being elevated to the senior list midway through 2012 and a few weeks later made his AFL debut against North Melbourne. He’d win a VFL premiership with Footscray in 2014 but truly made his mark on the biggest stage of all in 2016 when he collected 33 disposals to win the Norm Smith Medal in the Dogs’ historic 2016 premiership triumph.
Alex Keath
Keath famously turned his back on Aussies Rules when nominated by Gold Coast as a 17-year-old to pursue cricket and 12 years later looks set to shake off a hamstring injury and play in his first AFL grand final. Keath won an Under 19 World Cup with Australia, played seven first-class matches for Victoria and had stints at Melbourne Stars and Adelaide Strikers before deciding to return to football, becoming the only man to hold a Big Bash and AFL contract at the same time. The key defender was picked up by Adelaide as a Category B rookie in 2015 and spent three seasons on the Crows list before being traded to the Dogs. Born and bred in Shepparton, Keath represented Murray Bushrangers in the NAB League and played the Under 16s and Under 18 National Championships for Vic Country, while he finished high school Melbourne Grammar. Keath still has plenty of roots in the country, even watching an old mate from Shepp play for East Malvern this season at the Peanut Farm in St Kilda.
Tom Liberatore
The son of 1990 Brownlow Medallist Tony has known little but success since lacing up the boots as a youngster. Libba started out at St Bernard’s in the Western Region league, won a premiership with St Kevin’s in the APS competition, back-to-back flags at NAB League club Calder Cannons and represented Victoria at Under 16 and Under 18 level – all alongside fellow Dog Mitch Wallis. Liberatore was named in the 2010 Under 18 All-Australia (along with Adam Treloar and Josh Bruce) and was secured by the Bulldogs as a father-son with pick No. 40. He’s since won a Sutton Medal (2014), finished second (2013) and third (2020) and was part of the historic 2016 premiership. He’ll be hoping that luck continues on Saturday.
Jack Macrae
The prolific possession winner was drafted from the Oakleigh Chargers, with former sharp-eyed Western Bulldogs recruiter Simon Dalrymple falling hard for the left-footer and taking him at No 6 in the 2012 selections. But before Macrae was a Charger, he was a Kew Rover. His father, Dave, had been president of the junior club from 2012-15. After his death in February the “shattered’’ Rovers remembered him as a dedicated president and a “great friend and bloke to many people within our community’’. Jack won an Under 11 best and fairest in the Yarra Junior Football League in 2005. As a Bulldog he’s won many awards since.
Stefan Martin
Martin grew up in Berwick and was a star under-age basketballer. It wasn’t until he started playing football for Old Haileybury under-19s in 2006, winning the best and fairest. The following year he joined VFL club Sandringham, starting in the reserves. But he gained a senior debut against Werribee, after which coach Mark “Wilbur’’ Williams tipped praise on the young ruckman. “He’s exciting. He’s going to be a player,’’ he said. “He used to play basketball and it shows – he’s got unreal agility. Even with his kicking, which is not his strong point, he hit all his targets. Very pleased with him.’’ Sandy’s affiliate Melbourne selected Martin in the 2008 pre-season draft. Thirteen years later he’s in his first year at the Bulldogs, having played 57 games with the Dees and 133 with Brisbane.
Aaron Naughton
Naughton’s old man is actually from Frankston, so that might explain the terrific mullet he’s running with this season. The young star was born in Victoria before the family moved to Western Australian and he came up through the Rocklingham Rams juniors before trying his hand in the WAFL with Peel Thunder. Naughton was in the stands as the Bulldogs claimed a historic premiership in 2016, having playing in the Under-17 Future Stars game the day before. Little did he know that he would be spearheading the Dogs’ next premiership push five years later.
Josh Schache
The tall left-footer joined the Bulldogs from Brisbane. But he emerged from country Victoria, taking his first kicks at Seymour juniors. In the local press he’s invariably referred to as “Seymour’s Josh Schache’’. Schache progressed to the Murray Bushrangers and won the Larke Medal at the Under-18 National Championships. Brisbane claimed him at No. 2 in the 2015 national draft, taking him to the club where his late father, Laurence, had been the leading goalkicker in 1992. Schache has been with the Doggies since 2018. Ben Davey, now Seymour’s assistant coach, was an assistant with the Bushies and would collect Schache for the drive to Wangaratta for training. “We spent a lot of time together on the road, me and Josh, and he’s a great kid, impossible not to like,’’ Davey said this week. “He was always well above in junior ranks. He was so tall and had great hands, and was good below his knees as well. I’m a big one for bringing those tall blokes along a bit slower. “They don’t hit their straps until they’re 23, 24. “Everyone was expecting a lot of him early. It’s taken time for him to find his feet but I’ve been so happy to see him showing it in the past few weeks.’’
Anthony Scott, Western Bulldogs
Former Brisbane defender Hugh Beasley sent News photographs of Scott from when they played junior football together at Kew Comets. They were from the Under-12s and 13s. It’s good going for an under-age team to produce two AFL players. Remarkably, the Comets produced five: Saints Jack Billings and Jack Sinclair and Kangaroo Luke McDonald played in the same Comets team as Beasley and Scott. Left-footer Scott had to take the long road to the AFL, a journey that began with a listing at Oakleigh Chargers, his VAFA Rising Star award at Old Trinity in 2014 and VFL stints at Richmond and Footscray. The Bulldogs put him on their AFL books ahead of the 2020 season after he won the Footscray VFL best and fairest in 2019. “’Scotty’ has done it the tough way,’’ Beasley, who played six games for Brisbane Lions, said. “It’s unbelievable how he’s done it. He was always told he was – well, I’m not too sure if he was told it – but, ‘Not tall enough, not strong enough’. “He kept on working on it, working on everything any recruiter told him as to why he wasn’t getting a game in the VFL. Then he worked on everything that the AFL coaches told him as to why he wasn’t getting drafted.’’ As a junior player Scott was a “silky left-footer, clever, who knew how to get himself out of a tight situation’’, he said.
Bailey Smith
With four goals in the preliminary final, it was Bailey Smith’s night. The midfielder was an East Malvern Knight, joining the junior club as an Auskicker. In 2013 he won the under-13 Division 1 best and fairest, on a night when the other league medal winners included Jake Bowey, Max Holmes, Hamish Brayshaw, Finn Maginess and Hamish Brayshaw. Smith progressed to interleague and Sandringham Dragons squads, starred in the NAB League as a top-ager and the Dragons’ captain, and went at No. 7 in the 2018 national draft. Through his rise he retained fond memories of his day as a Knight. “Back then you had no worries in the world,’’ he said. “You just went out and played with your mates, it didn’t matter how many touches you had, you just enjoyed it. It was just the best. And they were some of the best nights, you’d train and then they’d have a pizza night afterwards … we’d be outside still kicking the footy late into the night.’’
Roarke Smith
The Bulldog who has overcome so many setbacks counts Sunbury Kangaroos as his home club. After coming out of the under-16s in 2012 he played two senior games in the senior side in 2013. Twelve months later he received the coaches’ award at Calder Cannons and was rookied-listed by the Dogs. Knee injuries held him up and at one stage he was delisted and brought back as a rookie. But with his pace and poise Smith has been a valuable player for the Dogs in the past few weeks and is out to add an AFL premiership medal to his 2016 VFL premiership. It would turn a hardluck story into a tale of triumph.
Adam Treloar
Treloar was in Collingwood colours in 2018 but he returned to his junior club, Noble Park, to coach the under-12 team, his way, he said, of putting something back into football. No matter how high he has risen in the game, he’s always stayed in touch with the people who helped him as he was coming through. Everyone says it about him: he’s never forgotten where he came from. Raised in Dandenong by his devoted mother, Darlene, Treloar started with the North Dandenong juniors but, when it didn’t have enough players for a team, he switched to Noble Park. He won club and competition medals, moved on to the Dandenong Stingrays and was drafted by GWS, his AFL debut coming in 2012. The right-footer transferred to the Pies in 2016 and, amid much controversy, crossed to the Doggies this year. “Noble Park were fantastic to me. They taught me how to play footy and were a massive part in me becoming an AFL player,’’ he said. “As I got older and as I got better and they saw I had some ability, they invested their time in me. They wanted me in the rep teams and to get drafted. That’s exactly what happened.’’
Laitham Vandermeer
They call him “Shepp Dog’’ – former Bulldog Sam Lloyd coined the nickname – but Vandermeer is from Mooroopna. His father, Jeff, was a champion for Mooroopna in the Goulburn Valley. Vandermeer junior went to boarding school at Xavier College when he was 16, and played in the APS team with future Dogs teammate Bailey Smith. The talented forward was also with the Murray Bushrangers, where he had his first games in 2016 and was given an extra year as a 19-year-old player in 2018. That year the Bulldogs claimed him at No. 37 in the national draft.
Cody Weightman
“Flea’’ came through the Beaconsfield juniors, starting in the under-9s and going through to the under-19s, along the way winning eight best and fairests, taking a league medal and captaining interleague teams. In his last match for the club, in 2018, he starred in a premiership, receiving the medal as best-afield. Weightman played school football for Haileybury College, figuring in the 2016-17-18 premiership teams (in 2018 he was captain). And he was with the Dandenong Stingrays in the NAB League, a star turn at the Under-18 National Championships prompting the Bulldogs to select him with pick No. 15 in the 2019 national draft.
Bailey Williams
Now one of the best rebounding half-backs in the game, Williams was drafted as a midfielder. A 56-disposal performance for Glenelg caught plenty of attention from recruiters and the Bulldogs pounced with pick No. 48 in the 2015 draft. He made six appearances in his debut season but missed out on the 2016 premiership, instead playing in Footscray’s VFL flag. After 41 games in his first four seasons, Williams established himself in the senior line-up in 2020, playing 18 matches and winning the Dogs most improved award. Will have a big task on grand final day trying to keep the likes of Charlie Spargo, Bayley Fritsch and Alex Neal-Bullen quiet.
Easton Wood
Another of the Dogs’ bush brigade, Wood grew up in Camperdown. “From about the age of five, we’d go to the local showgrounds and there would be a big bag with two kinds of jumpers in there,’’ he told the Herald Sun last year. “They’d just throw them out to all the kids who rocked up and you’d be on one team or the other. I loved kicking the dew off at about 8am when it was freezing cold and admiring the cow pats on the ground. It was a real country affair. “When I got older I played for the mighty Camperdown Magpies before heading to Geelong Grammar as a boarder on a scholarship in Years 11 and 12.’’ Then Dogs recruiting manager Scott Clayton watched Wood playing for the Geelong Grammar team and decided to draft him as a “smoky’’. He nabbed the versatile right-footer at No. 43 in the 2007 national draft, and the colt from Camperdown went on to AFL highs of premiership captaincy and a best and fairest.
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