SFNL: Skye unveiled its youngest debutant in club history and he didn’t disappoint

Skye named its youngest debutant ever on Saturday and he didn’t take long to settle in at senior level, producing a best afield performance. See what happened.

From left to right: Coach Aaron Pacey, debutant Jake Robinson and captain Jordan Thomas.

Skye coach Aaron Pacey described Jake Robinson’s first senior goal rather succinctly.

“Huge,” he said proudly.

While it may align on the same scale as a regulation first goal, Robinson’s major was sweeter than most.

At just 15 years and 10 months old, he stands as the Bombers’ youngest ever senior player.

After the capitulation of his under-16s Carrum Downs side — which failed to generate enough numbers — Robinson opted against further junior footy elsewhere and instead wanted to give open age footy a crack.

Made clear by discussions with Jake and his dad Chris, there were no expectations, nor hard feelings, if the rigours of a senior pre-season proved too much.

But reliably, Robinson – aboard his push bike – just continued to show up.

And it was that eagerness that not only earned him a place in the reserves each week but forced Pacey to hand him a senior debut in the Bombers’ clash with East Malvern on Saturday.

“Yeah, he was always a smiley kid, we didn’t hear much about him early days, he just kept turning up to training,” Pacey said.

“He had a handful of mates come down as well and they got persuaded to going down to Mt Martha, I think he had one night with them and said he preferred training with the seniors at Skye.

“I said: ‘we would keep having you at training, don’t let it ruin your junior development and if that’s what is best for you, we would recommend you doing that’.

“But, through conversations with his dad Chris, he said he (Jake) was really enjoying it.

“We said we would do the whole pre-season and if you pull the pin, there’s no hard feelings, he’s only 15, but the way we saw it, he was a kid buying in and holding his own.

“The rest is history, he started coming every night, asking more questions and he came out of his shell a lot and gained a lot of confidence.

“Before you knew it, he was lining up in the twos Round 1 and he hasn’t taken a backwards step since – he’s gotten better every week.”

Jake Robinson earning a Gatorade shower post-game.

From left to right: Coach Aaron Pacey, debutant Jake Robinson and captain Jordan Thomas.

In the lead up to the game, president Michael Kane noted that Robinson’s goal from outside 50 last week in the twos caused a reception that tested the stability of Carrum Downs Recreation Reserve pavilion.

Pacey had no disagreements, explaining how Robinson became a bit of a club favourite.

“He got put on his arse a couple of times but he gets up with this smile on his face every time, he is just a footy nut,” he said.

“He got on the end of a chain and kicked a goal in the first quarter, which was definitely the highlight of the day.

“Very quickly (about his rise to becoming a favourite). Being so young and enthusiastic, he is always asking what he can do to get better, get stronger, to learn.

“He is always constantly asking what he can do, I think that’s a really valuable trait for a young man to have, not just in football but in life in general.

“He’ got a bright future ahead of him, I think he has the capability to play a higher standard but that’s up to him.”

It was a dream debut for Robinson, who was named best afield in the 7.9 (51) to 6.6 (42) victory over the Panthers.

Robinson celebrating a goal.

*Elsewhere, eight goals from Nick Corp steered East Brighton to a 18.7 (115) to 12.7 (79) win over Highett.

*Doveton bounced back with an 8.9 (57) to 7.9 (51) win over HamptonPark.

*Murrumbeena shook off its early goal kicking woes to defeat Keysborough 8.15 (83) to 3.7 (25).

*Six majors from Patrick Chin saw CaulfieldBears defeat Black Rock 15.17 (107) to 6.9 (45).