GWS Giants star Jeremy Finlayson motivated by the 17 clubs who didn’t want him
Jeremy Finlayson says he has used his brutal snubbing by all 17 other AFL clubs last year as motivation for this finals campaign.
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Find of the year Jeremy Finlayson is proof you don’t have to sledge someone to motivate them.
Sometimes completely ignoring them hurts even more.
Reluctantly put onto the trade table by a salary cap-hampered GWS at the end of last season, Finlayson has revealed how he was subsequently brushed by all 17 rival clubs – a snubbing so brutal he says it has fuelled his stunning rebirth in the Giants’ forward line.
GWS overcame a hostile Brisbane crowd at the Gabba last week and tomorrow must conquer the cauldron of 80,000 Collingwood fans baying for blood at the MCG.
But firing up in the face of the tsunami of opposition hate hasn’t been difficult for Finlayson, who reminds himself that these were the same clubs that slammed the door shut in his face.
“I look back at it now and no club really wanted me,” Finlayson told The Saturday Telegraph.
“That’s where every week I go out there and be like, ‘I’m just going to give it my all against this club.’
“I still had years left on my contract and deep down I wanted to stay. There were salary cap problems (at GWS), which wasn’t my fault.
“But (being ignored by the rest) is now motivation for me.
“It kind of doesn’t burn me now, because they’re all on their off-seasons and overseas, and we’re here playing finals footy.
“All the Victorian people down there are writing stuff about us and we can’t hear any of that.”
As crucial as Jeremy Cameron’s Coleman Medal-winning tally of goals has been this season, perhaps the greater bonus has been the 42 booted by Finlayson, a man previously consigned to the Giants backline.
Finlayson is one of the great success stories of the AFL.
When he first moved to Sydney from the Riverina, he was so overawed he barely spoke a word to anyone other than Giants head of development and welfare, Brett Hand, who had Finlayson live with him and built up trust.
Now, Finlayson has committed to working as a mentor for young Aboriginal kids at the Juvenile Detention Centre at Blacktown – with plans to be a face for them as someone they can fall back on and be accountable to.
“Jeremy had low self-esteem with regards to academia and how to interact with people. But his football skills were exceptional,” says Hand.
“People say, ‘oh, how can a guy who has played back for the past couple of years go and play forward? Well, he’s a natural forward who came to us as a forward. We played him back to teach him a few things because he was a lazy forward.
“The move forward for us hasn’t even been a surprise.
“But off the field is where he has started to grow. He’s now got a sense of where he belongs with his indigenous culture and that’s what’s impressed me.”
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That’s not to say it hasn’t been a rocky road.
Finlayson revealed recently he forged a mental health battle last year which forced him to take time away from the club after a round nine match in 2018.
“We’d been aware that he had his issues. He had to face up to them. It got to the stage where he came to me and we had a meeting, him, me and Leon (coach Leon, Cameron),” said Hand.
“It was a bit of, ‘if you want to continue playing AFL footy, you’ve got to do something about this, mate.’
“He wasn’t open to it early, it hasn’t been easy. But he opened up and said, ‘yeah I do need help.’”
Hand and Cameron knew it was a “stab in the dark”, but recommended to Finlayson he should stop living with teammates and instead move out on his own.
“And I’ve had my best year to date,” said Finlayson.
“I’m thankful for what Leon said to me. It’s been the best thing I’ve ever done because I’ve taken more responsibility to get myself into shape and get moving and it’s allowed me to escape from football which was what got hold of me last year.”
Originally published as GWS Giants star Jeremy Finlayson motivated by the 17 clubs who didn’t want him
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