A beautiful bond: Sam Jacobs to honour late brother in Adelaide v GWS Giants final

ON THURSDAY night, Sam Jacobs will be playing for more than an Adelaide win and a preliminary final berth. This is the beautiful brother bond that was cut tragically short.

Adelaide's Sam Jacobs with brother Aaron.

ON THURSDAY night, Sam Jacobs will be playing for more than an Adelaide win and a preliminary final berth.

For Jacobs, his qualifying final performance against the GWS Giants will be a tribute to his late older brother — a man that was always proud as punch of the ruckman’s AFL career.

Jacobs took bereavement leave last week after the passing of his brother Aaron due to illness at the age of 31.

As Crows coach Don Pyke explained on Wednesday, it has been a “tragic set of events” for Jacobs and the family over the past week.

But Pyke said there was no way Jacobs was missing out on Thursday night’s game.

“I’ve been speaking to Sam on a pretty regular basis. He’s going to play, he’s in a really good space to be able to do that,” Pyke told reporters on Wednesday.

Crows ruckman Sam Jacobs (right) with brother Aaron in their junior playing days with Ardrossan, meeting Simon Goodwin on Adelaide's 1997 grand final tour on Yorke Peninsula.

“He made a pretty early decision that he was keen to play. He’s worked himself into a mindframe whereby he’s not only ready to play, but perform.

“Knowing Sam, it gives him a little extra incentive for (Thursday) night. Certainly the guys, as they have, will get around him and support him. He’s ready to go.”

There was only a two-year age gap between Sam and Aaron, who grew up together in the Yorke Peninsula town of Ardrossan.

Aaron was always one of Sam’s biggest supporters. Even as recently as late August, he stuck up for his younger brother by retweeting a comment that suggested why Sam should be the All-Australian ruckman in 2017.

Jacobs beat Ryder in all stats bar two and dominated him in the showdown, you'd expect Jacobs to be the AA ruckman. @warrentredrea 🏅

— Nathan pierson (@Npiero_18) August 28, 2017

After Adelaide’s Round 18 win over Geelong in July, Aaron even featured on Channel 7’s ‘Roaming BT’ coverage.

#ROAMINGBRIAN | BT chatting to any Crow he can corner after @Adelaide_FC cruised past @GeelongCats by 20 points. Crows #1 contenders now! pic.twitter.com/CSciv53SZJ

— AFL on 7 (@7AFL) July 21, 2017

Asked why there was such a difference in height between the two brothers, a confident Aaron said: “Not too sure! Mum’s side of the family, I think.”

And on his brother’s on-field form, Aaron said: “He’s playing very well this year.”

Sam also repaid the support, even venturing back to his home town to pull on the whites a few times and play cricket alongside his brother during the summer.

Adelaide's Sam Jacobs with Aaron after playing cricket.

Jacobs took to Facebook last week to pay tribute to Aaron after a long battle with illness.

“My beautiful big brother. I will never be able to replace the massive empty feeling I have now in my heart and I can no longer tell you how much I love you and how proud I am of the person you have become,” Jacobs wrote.

“You have always been my inspiration and I have got so much strength from watching you battle and fight no matter the challenges you faced and it was always done with that happy, infectious smile on your face.”

“Rest In Peace Azza, and I’ll continue to make you proud and keep your spirit alive!”

Sam Jacobs with parents Corrine and John with late brother Aaron. Picture: Sarah Reed

Originally published as A beautiful bond: Sam Jacobs to honour late brother in Adelaide v GWS Giants final