Carlton recruit Jarrod Garlett vows to seize second chance with Carlton after rough time at Suns
CARLTON second-chance draftee Jarrod Garlett has criticised former club Gold Coast for failing to look after its young players and says the Blues have already made him feel settled.
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CARLTON second-chance draftee Jarrod Garlett has criticised former club Gold Coast for failing to look after young players.
Garlett was drafted by the Suns with pick 15 only three years ago. But the livewire utility last year walked out on the expansion club to return home to Perth — his homesickness exacerbated after his brother, Desmond Lawson, was diagnosed with a terminal illness.
Desmond was told he had less than 12 months to live with a burst blood vessel on the brain, but his miraculous recovery spurred Garlett towards reigniting his AFL career.
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Garlett this year impressed for WAFL club South Fremantle, leading to Carlton’s AFL lifeline with the last pick — No. 78 — in Friday night’s national draft.
The 21-year-old, today surrounded by the Blues’ teenage draftees, Paddy Dow, Lochie O’Brien, Tom De Koning and Angus Schumacher, said Carlton and Gold Coast were poles apart when it came to their support systems.
“Carlton got me in and settled me down right away. At Gold Coast I was sort of bouncing around, I didn’t really feel settled,” Garlett said.
“Here they’ve got a lot more indigenous boys in the team, and it’s not just that, but the surroundings we have, we have a lot of support. We have way more support than what I had back at the Gold Coast Suns.
“I feel way better compared to when I first moved away. I feel a lot more comfortable and know what to expect now, and I know I’m feeling way more settled than I was at Gold Coast.”
Garlett managed only 17 games in two years at the Suns, but with a baby on the way, said he was determined to seize his second chance.
He has moved in with cousin Jarrod Pickett and is “in a really good place, mentally”.
“I’ve got a little one on the way, which has made me more determined to push harder and work harder and stay in the system longer knowing it’s not just for me now,” he said.
“I’m ready to settle down at this club, I’m really enjoying Melbourne at the moment, so I’m happy here. I’m feeling pretty privileged to get a second chance ... it just feels like a good culture here.”
Garlett vowed to bring speed, endurance and flair to his new club with a “take the game on” attitude.
“I feel pretty comfortable playing any position. I’ve been back in the WAFL and playing a lot in the backline,” he said.
“I can use a lot of my dash off that back half ... I feel my body has matured a lot more, I’ve got a bit stronger and I don’t mind getting forward and kicking a few snags.”
Dow, O’Brien, Schumacher and De Koning said they were quickly adjusting to AFL life together, with the former three all playing TAC Cup at Bendigo Pioneers and all four representing Vic Country.
O’Brien has already nicknamed “Windscreens” after the glass company and Dow is making good progress from shoulder surgery.
O’Brien, taken with pick 10, was state 400m record holder (51.06) in the School Sports Victoria system before developing a cannon left foot with the footy. But it wasn’t always that way.
“I was known to be a slammer. For those people who don’t know, that’s the kid who just chucks it on the boot whenever he can with no real technique,” O’Brien said.
“But I had a lot of help ... it’s probably one of my strongest attributes at the moment.
Dow said it would be “unreal” to play a senior game in year one. “It’s definitely intimidating at the start, but I would say that over time, and getting to know these boys, makes it much better,” he said.
“I’m not too scared to play against bigger bodies. I’ve done that before."
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