Geelong draft smokey Lawson Humphries and his former coach reflect on his transformation

Lawson Humphries looks a natural AFL footballer, but 18 months ago he was an average WAFL reserves player. The promising Cat and his mentor reflect on the turning point and his stunning rise.

Geelong youngster Lawson Humphries is only three games into his AFL career and already he is aiming for the stars.

The composed and skilful defender aspires to become like two of his teammates – speedster Max Holmes and decorated two-time premiership star Mitch Duncan.

Becoming the next Holmes or Duncan may seem ambitious, but so did being drafted at the end of 2023 when he started that season in the WAFL reserves at Swan Districts.

Humphries, taken as a 20-year-old with the second last pick of the 2023 national draft, has taken to AFL footy like a duck to water.

He hit the target with all but one of his 23 disposals in Friday night’s win over Collingwood and took a couple of telling intercept marks back with the flight.

“When you’re trying to mark the ball you want the ball in his hands,” Geelong coach Chris Scott said of Humphries post-match.

The 70,000 crowd he played in front of was a far cry from his reserves games last year, where there was usually around 2000 fans in attendance.

Above all, the team-focused Humphries is striving for another ambitious goal: a premiership with the Cats, which would make it back-to-back flags for the smooth-mover after being part of the Swans’ reserves premiership last season.

Lawson Humphries has caught the eye in his first three games. Picture: Robert Cianflone/Getty Images

“I mean I wouldn’t have imagined a year ago that I’d be playing in front of 70,000 people at the MCG,” Humphries said.

“I guess this year (the goal is) is a flag. It is a bit audacious obviously but I guess for me this year it is about solidifying my sport in the side.

“So I really look at Max Holmes’ game and I think that’s kind of where I want to get to. Being able to have that position variety that he has and even like a Mitch Duncan type with his ball-use, so probably a bit of a mix between Max and Mitch.

“I’d love to get to that kind of quality of footballer, but there’s a lot of hard work to go in between that.”

WAFL RESERVES TO THE BIGTIME

Humphries knows a fair bit about hard work. That’s what got him into this position he feels privileged to be in.

The Wickham product from up in the Pilbara region was part of West Coast’s Next Generation Academy but was overlooked by the Eagles.

Humphries returned to Swan Districts and put together a solid WAFL reserves season in 2022 but a lack of fitness was holding him back.

That was when he came to his reserves coach and mentor Greg Harding and insisted that he focus heavily on improving this area of his game, leading to a dramatic transformation.

“He was probably coming off halfback for the majority, showing glimpses but he wasn’t getting a great deal of the footy just based on the fact that he didn’t have a body that would allow him to play at the required level for four quarters,” Harding said.

“Back then he came to us and said, ‘listen, I don’t want to touch the footy really before Christmas, all I want to do is pour all my time at the footy club into my body’.

“He came into the 2023 season as a completely different athlete with a mindset of treating his body in the correct way to play at the higher levels. We saw him in the pre-season, took him out of halfback to on-ball and he was consistently hitting 30 (disposals) and was building his tank through added midfield minutes at reserves level.”

Lawson Humphries with his family in the rooms after his debut. Picture: Josh Chadwick/AFL Photos/via Getty Images

Harding has always seen enormous potential in Humphries. He had seen him play as a 15-year-old given the Pilbara is part of Swan Districts’ zone and helped develop him through the junior ranks.

Humphries said Harding instilled him with the belief that he was good enough to achieve his AFL dream.

“When I was slightly overweight, not running as well, he said you have the potential if you can work hard enough and I think that just gave me a lot of confidence as well in my game. Probably at times I didn’t have it, and he gave me that confidence,” Humphries said.

“Having to earn my spot through the long way I guess as a mature-ager, I just became a lot more confident in my abilities.

“I’ve had to do the hard work to get here, and I feel that’s really held me in good stead. I’ve always had a lot of self belief in my game.”

Humphries’ standards have only improved at Geelong, with his initial move with fellow Indigenous Cat Brandan Parfitt providing some welcome guidance.

”Obviously it is a big move, I was living with (Brandan) for the first six months and it really helped me out and put me on the really straight and narrow with the professionalism of playing AFL,” Humphries said.

“Just having that connection, both from up north, we cook a lot of the same stuff and we like our rice meals and just little things like that that made me feel at home, so definitely made a big difference.”

Humphries takes a selfie with fans. Picture: Josh Chadwick/AFL Photos/via Getty Images

DRAFT SMOKEY

Normally players have to toil away for years at WAFL league level to get the attention from AFL clubs.

Humphries only made his debut in round eight of the 2023 season.

It is understood Humphries spoke to more than a handful of clubs in the lead-up to the draft, including both WA sides.

Harding lauded the Cats recruiting staff for taking a punt on him in the national draft, a risk that is reaping early rewards.

“For Geelong to pick a kid like that off nine WAFL league games is an incredible pick by that footy club,” Harding said.

“It was really surprising because you just don’t see kids that have that season at WAFL level, play half and half in the reserves and league and then get on an AFL list.

“I thought it was more of a rookie shot but the foresight that Geelong have shown over the years has come to the fore again and they’ve picked up a kid that, by the way it is tracking at the moment, he is going to play 100 games for the footy club.

“I think it is a really astute call from Geelong to pick the kid up because there is 18 clubs that could have picked him up and Geelong are the ones who pulled the trigger.”

NEVER MET A BETTER KID

With Humphries boarding at Hale School on the other side of town, Harding spent plenty of hours in the car driving him to games as he was going through the junior ranks.

He knew instantly that Humphries was special.

“Straight away you just knew you’d never met a better kid in terms of his character and his honesty, the way he held himself, the way he spoke, he was humble,” Harding said.

“He ended up being head boy at Hale. A young kid like that coming out of a country town, they just don’t become head boy of a massive private school like that.

“He’s always positive, he’s always got a smile on his face and I think you’ve seen that in his first three games of footy.”

Humphries always has a smile on his face. Picture: Josh Chadwick/AFL Photos/via Getty Images

That temperament has helped him make the seamless transition to AFL footy.

“I think that I one thing that I have been really good with, in staying level headed because it can be a bit overwhelming I guess. But I feel like I am really grateful for the opportunity to be playing in front of so many fans, it is a dream come true,” Humphries.

Humphries showed just how grateful he is to Swan Districts by giving Harding a call ahead of his debut to let him know he would be facing Essendon.

“You just don’t get that very often (from former players) and that’s the one act that sums him up the most,” Harding said.

Originally published as Geelong draft smokey Lawson Humphries and his former coach reflect on his transformation