Adam Saad’s younger brother Noah Saad following in star Bomber’s footsteps
Eight years ago Bomber Adam Saad’s star shined brightly playing for a World Team which set him on an AFL path. Next week his younger brother Noah will get the same chance.
AFL News
Don't miss out on the headlines from AFL News. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Being closer to his family — and Adam Saad has a big one — played a huge part in the Essendon defender’s decision to move back to Melbourne after three years on the Gold Coast.
And helping guide his youngest brother Noah, one of Saad’s two brothers and three sisters, on his path toward his own AFL career, is way easier when you live in the same house.
Noah Saad, 14, has been picked to take part in the AFL World Team program for boys aged 14-16 from multicultural backgrounds.
The program includes two games next week against the Flying Boomerangs squad, the equivalent program for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders.
The younger Saad’s selection comes eight years after Adam played a starring role for the same World Team, a rare representative selection for the older Saad who was drafted from the VFL, and via the rookie draft.
“I never played in the national championships or with Vic Metro or anything like that, so the World Team was a big deal,” Adam Saad told the Herald Sun this week.
“We played against Queensland and a couple of other teams … and it was good for us to play in front of recruiters, and under a bit of pressure too.
“It was a big learning curve for me and improved me as a player.
“So it’s very, very exciting for Noah. He’s only 14 and to get to take part in the world team, I think it’s going to be very good for his development.”
Two years ago, when he was still at the Suns, taking more bounces than anyone in the AFL, Saad had little impact on his youngest brother’s football.
So much so Noah is a right-footer, and a forward, who “loves kicking a goal”.
There’s a middle Saad brother too, 20-year-old Muhammad who is trying to forge his own football path. He’s on Coburg’s VFL list.
But all that distance meant Adam Saad was missing out on too much.
“I missed two or three years of Noah’s life, and he’s a young kid, that’s important time,” Saad said.
“Now I am back, I am so grateful to see them every single day, and be a part of his life again.
“I watch him play every single weekend for Glenroy under 15s, and he has a lot of talent.
“He sees me every day, sees the way I go about things and asks a lot of questions. It could be about nutrition, recovery. We are always chatting.
“But he’s my little brother, so it’s not always about footy, it’s about living life. It’s just about being there for each other.”
SOLIDARITY: SAAD, HOULI EMBRACE
RAMADAN: HOW STRINGER SUPPORTED SAAD
Muhammad is also a key cog in the Adam Saad Academy, which on Wednesday hosted 24 teens at Essendon’s Tullamarine Headquarters.
Footy has always been a massive part of the Saad family, and with Noah now on his own pathway, it’s just getting bigger.
“My dad played back in the junior days, my uncles played footy,” Adam said.
“Footy has always been a part of us, always been the sport we loved. To get drafted was an absolute blessing, something I will never take for granted.
“Sport is truly amazing, an amazing thing for everyone, what it can provide for us all.
“For Noah it’s about working hard, and seeing where that takes him. It’s about building those good habits, and keep playing the way he’s playing, and hopefully, well you never know.”
Hunter tragedy latest shock to strike the ‘good-time Eagles’
Ben Cousins was the poster boy for the downfall of West Coast before his remarkable life turnaround. Adam Hunter’s tragic death is the latest example that not every Eagle was as lucky.
Jamarra takes first step towards Bulldogs return
He may not be in Queensland with the rest of his teammates, but Jamarra Ugle-Hagan has taken the first steps towards a return as the Dogs near a decision on their final list spot.